What's good or bad about the horse buying process these days?

[Tha_Ridge]

@endlessclimb

If you have plans on buying/selling, knock yourself out. If you have someone you are acting as their agent looking for a horse, be my guest.

If you don’t, you are 100% a tire kicker. Don’t candy coat it.

Sorry, but as a frequent seller (four sold in 2021, which isn’t an insane number but impressive for an amateur with a full-time day job), I see it differently—if someone has even a modicum of interest in my horse (even if, at this time, that interest is “I think he’s pretty”), I don’t mind them reaching out to me. It’s good business.

Also, a tire-kicker today might be a buyer six months from now and they will certainly remember the sellers who took the time to answer their questions politely and accurately. I get Facebook messages almost every day asking me if I have X for sale, largely from people who maybe were “tire-kickers” for past sale horses but might be ready to buy now.

[MadTrotter]

It took you more time to write your insulting message to me than it takes for a seller to cut and paste a price/video link.

[Tha_Ridge]

[endlessclimb]

You’re assuming all sellers are the same, but for en-masse sellers touche. Kick away!

[EmilyM]

That’s pretty annoying.

[fordtraktor]

Agreed. Plus, I have bought several horses when I wasn’t “actively looking”…oops!

[cardinale]

@fordtraktor

Agreed. Plus, I have bought several horses when I wasn’t “actively looking”…oops!

Yes, if you are looking at ads and have the space/resources for another horse, you are looking…even if your conscious, rational self says you are not. Ask me how I know…

[fordtraktor]

BTDT. In fact I can’t recall the last time I was actively looking. Somehow there’s a cute horse on the Internet, and suddenly money changes hands and it’s mine, then I have to start figuring out how to break the news to my husband in a way that seems like it was on purpose….lololol

[Sticky_Situation]

Another one I see a lot is that sellers will write in their ad something along the lines of “jumps around 3’6” courses” … but the video and photos only show the horse jumping a 2’3” vertical in the schooling ring. If you’re selling the horse as capable of jumping a 3’6” course, surely you could at least show him over one or two fences at that height, even if it’s the off season and he’s a little out of shape/your ring is small/[insert other excuse here].

If the horse is not, in fact, prepared to jump a 3’6” course and has actually only jumped a single vertical at that height once, then maybe leave that part out of the ad.

[OfCourseItsAnAlter]

I sent a PM to a seller yesterday asking about a couple of specific characteristics that were not mentioned in the ad and then said that if she thought the horse would meet my needs, I would like to hear more about the horse.

The seller replied by simply sending me the ad. The ad that I had obviously already seen because I had PMed her about the horse. I mean, I guess I’m supposed to interpret that as meaning that yes, she does think the horse meets my needs and she thinks that everything I need to know is already in the ad, but really? Would it have been so hard for her to just say something like, “Yes, the horse does have these qualities and I think she would be great for you?”

A response that at least directly acknowledged my questions would have left me feeling a lot more positive about following up than the response I got, which felt a bit like a brush off. And this is a horse that has been on the market for a while, too, so it’s not like she’s being inundated by eager buyers.

I sent basically the same PM to a different seller at the same time and got an enthusiastic response affirming that she thought her horse would be a great fit for me. Guess which one of these sellers I’m going to follow up with first?

[atr]

I bought one off dreamhorse 6 months ago. It was a pretty straightforward buying experience. I’d looked at a lot on FB and warmbloods for sale, as well. On the whole I found sellers pretty helpful and informative.

But no, its not as easy and consolidated as it used to be to search for available horses, I dont think.

[skrosenthal]

My assumption is most of the folks who won’t post video either don’t have it yet or don’t want it widely seen, because the horse isn’t as great as advertised. Both are unfortunate.

We just finished a somewhat arduous search for a schoolmaster type, and my latest pet peeve is people who won’t tell you the horse’s name. Sometimes its breeding and the year, but not the name. It drives me bonkers. Yes, apparently I’m an annoying weirdo who wants to do things like look up the horse’s show record and/or any records available from Europe because I want to know if the horse has done what you say it’s done, but apparently that’s a totally unreasonable question…

[Minxitbabe]

I am one of those sellers that do not post video riding. I will post conformation photos along with give a detailed description of horse and abilities and tell people to PM me for riding video. I just get a little squeamish about the idea that multiple thousands of people could watch the video and judge my riding. Quite silly of me as I do show and everyone there can see every ugly moment during that time. Plus I am sure people really don’t care and just keep scrolling. I figure if people like the way the horse is put together in photos and the description fits what they are looking for they will message for the riding video.

[MadTrotter]

When I was OTTB shopping, the vague horse info is a sales tactic that brokers will use to bait and switch you. It happened more than 3 times, I’d ask about a horse in an ad, and the video I got in a PM was very obviously a different vaguely bay TB. When pressed on why, I am told, “this horse is a better fit for your needs” which wow, a psychic horse broker because I haven’t even shared that info with you yet!

[MadTrotter]

Ok if it’s just once in a while, but if you’re actively selling horses quite often, just pay someone $25 to jump on for a 3 min video. Even a lunging or free movement at WTC or a jump chute video are better than nothing.

My 25 year old friend has legs like a giraffe, and she’s the one who will ride in my sales videos!

[vxf111]

When you message people the video it’s still getting out there. Nothing prevents them from sharing it or thinking bad things about your riding.

I suspect you’re more sensitive than you need to be. Unless you’re scary no one cares about your riding except to the extent it shows what the horse will tolerate. Honestly I can remember one time I even had a thought about the riding in a video and I’m sure I’ve looked at hundreds.

[BroncoMo]

The absolute easiest and best was I know is to sell word of mouth. I sent a favorite home bred prospect to my trainer to put some time on him and get him sold. She thought he would work for several clients in her barn. A few months went by, she put one of the clients on him, she fell in love, we agreed to terms of the vetting, and they sent money. No FB, no dream horse, no stupid emails/texts/messages. Just a clean, easy transaction.

Prospect number 2, proven show horse in the flat, recently started over fences but coming along quickly and a NICE hunter. Client number 2 wants something taller, so I put the horse on FB. My god, the questions. And the people who comment that they want more info on multiple ads of the same horse, on multiple pages. So I PM info, and tell them on the page I PM’d them, and they continue to ask on various pages for more info

[Sticky_Situation]

Seeing less-than-stellar riding in an ad video is actually a plus for me! If the horse is still going nicely despite the rider not being perfect, that’s a sign that it can take a joke and likely has an amateur-friendly personality.

Maybe if the horse is being sold as an upper-level prospect for a professional they’d be more interested in seeing how it goes with a professional in the saddle, but even then I doubt if they’d be too concerned about the riding unless it’s so bad they can’t an idea of the horse’s potential.

I do kind of get what @Minxitbabe was saying though, because there is always “that person” on social media that likes to pick apart other people’s horse care and equipment choice, seemingly as a coping mechanism for their own insecurities.

[OfCourseItsAnAlter]

@Sticky_Situation

Seeing less-than-stellar riding in an ad video is actually a plus for me! If the horse is still going nicely despite the rider not being perfect, that’s a sign that it can take a joke and likely has an amateur-friendly personality.

Exactly! That’s another one of my horse selling pet peeves. If you’re advertising a horse as a beginner safe crossrails-2 ft horse, then I want to see a video of a beginner bumbling around a crossrail course on a loose rein.

As I told a seller not too long ago while trying a horse: “Yes, that’s nice, but what I really want to know is what the horse is going to do when his rider has a moment half way round the course and drops her reins.”

[2bayboys]

I understand but I promise I’m looking at the horse, not you. And if you make some sort of error and the horse is cheerful about it, that goes in the plus column.