Is a Trial a Non Negotiable?

[KiRider]

I recently had a sweet gelding on trial who I ended up having to return after a PPE that revealed significant soundness issues. I’m starting to look around again, but am finding that no one will do a trial. (The only reason I had a trial with this gelding is because I knew someone who knew someone.)

I have always thought a trial was an important part of buying a horse. I can’t imagine riding a horse once, maybe twice, and then making a decision about vetting, etc from there. But it seems like that is exactly what is expected. Am I being unreasonable?

Horses can and do change in different barns, so I’d like to see a new horse in my barn. I also don’t fully trust sellers and always wonder if a horse was worked or drugged before I show up for a scheduled appointment. But on the flip side, I can see where the sellers are coming from too. It’s a big risk to let a horse go on trial, even if the horse is insured. There is a lot that can go wrong both in terms of the horse getting injured or it just having an experience that causes problems the trainer then has to fix.

What do you think?

[Snowdenfarm]

As a buyer, I completely agree with you. As a seller, no way am I letting my horse off site. I do know someone that had the seller haul the horse to her barn and tried it on her own property that way.

[trubandloki]

You can ask, they can say no.

You are not wrong to want one. They are not wrong for not wanting to give you one.

You can also offer a short term lease, where you pay a fee and pay for insurance.

[mmeqcenter]

@KiRider

Am I being unreasonable?

You’re not being unreasonable in wanting/asking for a trial. But it is, of course, up to each seller, and either decision they make is completely fair. It is a huge risk sending a horse away on trial, both in regards to the welfare of the horse and liability for the owner. IME, it was uncommon that the seller let you take the horse on trial before doing PPE. I have only worked with owners (for whom I was selling their horse) that require the PPE done at the horse’s home farm before it can be taken on trial.

Personally, I do not need a trial and have never asked for one. I’m perfectly comfortable riding a horse once and making a decision. I’m also perfectly comfortable buying sight-unseen.

[NancyM]

Green riders often/usually want to take a horse “on trial”. Fair enough I guess, from their point of view. But keep in mind that with many horses, especially greener or inexperienced horses, the first few days or even weeks at a new home, the horse may not be “himself”, not settled in yet, and making a judgement in the first few days may not be fair to the horse (or to yourself). If you are looking to buy a horse who has “been there and done that” and think that you have found one offered for sale, he should be fine on a trial, settle in quickly, and show his true colours. But keep in mind that his behaviour and performance may not stay the same if the level of riding and training, care and happiness is not maintained adequately in the new situation. If a seller is representing a horse as that sort of horse, a trial may be agreeable, and may go well, but it is not guaranteed to continue to go well. But if the horse is inexperienced with going places and different things, the seller may feel that the horse may not be suitable for a person who is needing a “trial”. Experienced riders and buyers like what they see at the home barn, and know that they can deal with whatever happens at the new facility, taking into consideration the quirks that a horse may exhibit when he changes barns, and is OK with giving a horse time to adjust to new surroundings and new ways of riding, and new or different things being asked of the horse. He’s buying a horse, not a guarantee. Green buyers are looking for a guarantee, and, of course, there aren’t any.

The risk of injury to the horse when sending a horse off on trial with someone the seller does not know well (or at all), is a pretty scary situation for the seller. Just about as scary as buying a horse without a trial period may be for a buyer. And yes, there’s always insurance possible, adding costs to the transaction. But money does not always make bad things better, if bad things happen. Both buyer and seller are taking risks when they take a horse on trial, with a buying/selling transaction “incomplete”.

I have never asked for a “trial” when buying a horse, and RARELY give a trial when selling one (I can think of only one time). If someone wants to pull blood on a horse I’m selling in case I have “drugged” it when they came to ride it, go ahead! Please do, if you are the sort of person who is looking for someone to blame if it doesn’t work out as you had hoped.

[TheDBYC]

I’m more than a little surprised that the seller allowed you to take the horse on trial before PPEing.

Eta: @KiRider, you can have a drug screen done as part of a PPE. It’s on the list of items that are considered standard offerings for PPE in my area. I just PPEed two horses. The first, we ended up stopping the PPE before getting past the exam due to a soundness issue. However, we weren’t planning to drug screen that prospect because we were familiar with the seller. The second horse (which we ended up buying, yay!) was super chill under saddle for both my teenager & the seller’s trainer during the test ride. The findings of the PPE were consistent with & appropriate to his age & career history. I knew enough of the selling trainer to know they have a solid reputation in the area. However, because neither our trainer nor I had ever had direct dealings with them, we opted to have a drug screen run. We wanted the CBC regardless & the drug screen is just another vial. It was a little pricey in the here and now. Absolute no-brainer when you consider the amount of money it could potentially save you going forward, though.

[goodhors]

No trials for anything we sell. For all the reasons in other posts. Every ride a horse is being trained or untrained by the rider. Most riders think they are a LOT better rider than they truly are! It is hard enough watching them hang on the reins, miscue, over react if horse makes any kind of unexpected move. Scares the heck out of me thinking what such riders will do to horse when I cannot watch, correct their responses!!

Much riding like that and horse gets really messed up, hard to sell. They are advertised as needing intermediate riders, not for beginners. Buyers calling WANT horses that can do stuff above beginner level in dressage, going over fences. Yet when those buyers show up, they can’t ride such horses, are frightened at FORWARD, big moving horses, so they haul in the reins while clamping their legs on tightly!! They snatched the reins going over fences so the horse lands badly, she then fell off the halted horse. Stopped THAT rider then and said “You are done here!”

They can come ride a couple times, do a PPE. I probably would haul horse to an arena to be ridden there, one time. But horse only leaves when purchased, no leases either. They have to own him to wreck his training. Only takes a short time to add “bad habits” to horse’s repetoire of abilities.

[clanter]

I also don’t fully trust sellers and always wonder if a horse was worked or drugged before I show up for a scheduled appointment.

I would say that is a valid concern but personally all horses we have bought have been from breeders or owners we knew therefor had no concerns regarding a drugged horse.

The horses bought from the breeders have all done greater than expected in our hands. This leads the breeders have a tendency sell stock to us as that we will campaign the horse at a high level that provides reconnection to their programs

[KiRider]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts. It helped me adjust my expectations!

[Djones]

I’m not letting a horse leave my CC&C to a complete stranger. If you have a trainer I trust, maybe. But if you’re that unsure in your own assessment after 1-2-3 rides you’re wasting my time.

[Bogie]

I would prefer a buyer came and tried the horse multiple times. I have, at times, transported to a new place for the buyer to try the horse and see how it reacts to new experiences. I’ve also accompanied a person on a short trail ride so they could test how the horse behaved.

I have been lucky enough to get horses on trial a few times, mostly when the selling trainer knew my trainer. I insured the horses for the time I had them, and I had significant restrictions on what I could/couldn’t do. For example, I was only allowed to jump the horse in the owner’s presence.

I let one horse go on trial because I knew the trainer and the facility. The lady paid for her up front and insured the mare. I offered a refund if she decided within a week the horse didn’t suit. During that week I also made unscheduled/unannounced visits to check on my horse. Sale went through fine. This was her first horse and she – like you – wanted more time in the saddle before making a decision.

[LilDunFilly]

Depends on the seller (and buyer) and what the horse is expected to do.

Lesson barn I worked at got horses on trial all the time. Most of them didn’t work out, but there was no way to test if they’d settle in if they didn’t join the program part-time. We had a lot of supposedly bomb-proof, been-there-done-that horses who lost their mind when they arrived as the barn was very busy (1 of 10+ barns on property with trails and show facilities). However, the majority of these horses came from dealers/other large barns rather than a private individual.

[173north]

I feel like trials have gotten markedly less common even within the past 5 years or so. I do still see trainers sending each other horses, often someone who knows & trusts your trainer will be more open to a short term trial.

I think a lease to own is also a great option - not all sellers will be open to it but it’s worked out great for lots of people I know.

[rulex]

@TheDBYC

We wanted the CBC regardless & the drug screen is just another vial. It was a little pricey in the here and now. Absolute no-brainer when you consider the amount of money it could potentially save you going forward, though.

My vet also offers the option to pull the blood for a drug screen but hold onto it and not run it unless later on issues arise. A way to get the peace of mind but possibly save some money if the horse presents the same once brought home.

[Janet]

The only time I had a horse on trial was back in the mid 1960s. Scout was supposed to be the “first pony” for my sister and me. He was on trial for 2 weeks, and everything was fine. The DAY AFTER me mother mailed the check, he started rearing and went over backwards with my sister. (It had taken him that long to figure out just how “beginner” we were.) The seller agreed to take him back even though the trial was over.

I understand the desire for trial. There is no way, seeing the horse only at the seller’s location, to tell how the horse is going to adapt to the buyer’s facility, routine, and the other horses (especially going from “mostly stalled” to “mostly on pasture” or vice versa).

But usually it is just too risky from the seller’s perspective.

It IS reasonable to ask to try the horse somewhere away-from-home. Or too request multiple test-rides.

[exvet]

I don’t ask for trials, nor do I allow a horse out on trial if I’m the seller for all the reasons stated. I did have a horse purchased for my daughter that the seller insisted be taken ‘on trial’ so that if I felt it wasn’t going to work they would take it back in 2 weeks. They held on to my check. It wasn’t necessary but it was a very nice gesture.

Over 95% of the horses I’ve acquired were either bred by me or purchased direct from the breeder as a youngster (prior to any under saddle training). Like Clanter said, these were individuals I knew with established reputations. A trial was never even a consideration. Fortunately I’ve had very few that I felt ended up being a less than ideal purchase decision. The very few I purchased already going under saddle, I only had to ride once or twice to know if I felt it was a good match.

[Night_Flight]

There’s also the issue of some trainers purposefully pushing the horse as hard as they can during the trial to find out how much it can put up with, and sending the horse back fried if it can’t take everything they’ve thrown at it during that short period of time.

In comparison, when someone buys a horse outright, I think there’s more of an expectation that the horse should to be given some time to settle into the new routine and to have things introduced slowly in order to ensure safety and success for everyone.

[Scribbler]

General comment.

I’ve watched numerous folks bring new horses to our self board barn, ranging from green projects to wellbroke trail horses to well schooled performance horses.

The usual process whatever the level of training or age of horse, is a couple jumpy days. Then a honeymoon of a couple weeks. Then whatever holes exist in the horse and rider skillset start emerging, and if the rider isn’t good at problem solving they can end up with quite a challenge.

So ironically as with the pony example above a 2 week lease is just about long enough for the new rider to mess up the new horse. Either the horse starts to act out before the lease is up and the seller is left to fix the mess. Or the horse starts to act out in Week 3 right after the money changes hands and the buyer gets all freaked out about “long lasting sedatives.”

But it’s usually down to gaps in the skill set of the new owners, especially gaps in ground work if they just expect to get on and ride.
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[Spudsmyguy]

@Snowdenfarm

I do know someone that had the seller haul the horse to her barn and tried it on her own property that way.

I did that for a horse I was selling. They ended up buying her and still have her several years after.

I also asked for a trial on an appendix mare, which they agreed to. I showed up with a trailer expecting to sign a contract and the seller just handed me the lead rope and said “have fun.” The seller ended up giving her to me because she knew the horse was being used in the capacity in which the horse excelled. She was a jumping / eventing superstar. I sure miss her.

[IronwoodFarm]

Horse seller here. I’m going to qualify my comments by stating that I sell a specialty breed that has far greater demand than supply. These days the adult riding horses I sell are gone within days and for full asking price. I have no problem with a PPE; I encourage them since I am acting as the agent and not the breeder. I have blood drawn and held. I disclose all health records. I do whatever I can do to answer the buyer’s questions. Trial – no way. There is a line behind you ready to buy the horse.

I do wonder if the OP thinks the seller is shady, why the seller wouldn’t think the buyer was shady? I have had people tell me some interesting stories about their abilities, horsekeeping arrangements and intended use. I tend to take buyers on face value, but I check references. Also, I am lucky to know many off my buyers because it is a specialty breed.

I am offended that the OP thinks horse sellers are generally crooked. If you think that the seller is doing something shady, then don’t bother with that seller. If you come to my farm with that kind of bias, I really don’t want to sell you a horse. My reputation means a great deal to me. And I am not discounting that there are dishonest horse sellers; I had my share of experiences with them as a kid. I can provide references from my vet, farrier and dozens of buyers. I put the interest of the horse first which is why I can and do say no to some prospective buyers.