Unless you have had a long standing relationship with the seller and totally trust him/her, NEVER buy a horse sight unseen. Videos can be fudged. I would ride/drive an animal and inspect it minutely and in person plus arrange for a vet check if I found something abnormal. Buying in state, even next door, can present problems if you don't have hands on the animal. Forget about trying to give the animal back and getting your money after the fact, especially after you have paid for transportation as well.


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

We were going to this, but decided to find an experienced horse vet to look it over. The videos were great except for some slight bit resistance. Training issues can usually be fixed, but health issues can get very costly even if fixable. I asked the seller for a reference first, and she recommended her vet. This vet had never seen the team. I called the vet and spoke with her about a "prepurchase exam" and explained the situation. She was awesome, and totally understood! I lucked out and not only got a vet, but an experienced draft teamster out of the deal. She knew of the owner, but there was clearly no relationship there. She said they were fans of doing most of their own vet care. (Red Flag number one...not always bad, but worth looking into!) She actually went out, gave a thorough exam, then had them hitch up and drive the horses. Turns out, they had been turned out to corn stubble all winter, and their mouths were so bad their gums were bleeding and teeth were messed up. She said they needed probably $1000 worth of dental work and antibioitic to combat the gum infections and repair some of the damage. One had a minor club foot, and both were very "green" in her opinion. She suggested a long road and lots of farrier expense to fix hoof issues as well. No coggins or vaccines on file. The green I didn't care about as much as the rest. They were asking a steep price for such animals. She cost me around $360.....money well spent! She explained the faults to the owner, so they'd know I wasn't lying. We were still willing to purchase the team if they dropped the price by half, leaving me enough to fix them up a bit. They wouldn't budge on price. No deal, and saved me a weekend of travel. I wouldn't even consider such a purchase without an exam at minimum. Even a $200-$300 plane ticket to preview the animal is worth the expense you may incur sight unseen!


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Hello, I have been buying, selling horses from far away for a long time. Its very doable if you follow some basic princples;
1. Only buy if it is EXACTLY what you want and need.
2. Ask to speak to past clients.
3. No one should be afraid of a vet check, especially if this is a perfomance horse.
4. Check the seller out online.
5. Try and find someone locally who can see horse for you if travel is out of question.
6. Long time buyer of horses from video and our pictures and I am 51%. So please be careful and do your homework.


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum

Read Nora's post about ten times until it sinks in. The probability of getting a bad purchase is many times more than getting a good one.

If the horse is close to what you think you want, go see it personally. If it is a $500 horse it isn't worth the risk. You can find $500 horses everywhere. If it is a $5000 horse, it is worth the outlay of money to pay and go see it.

There are probably sellers and breeders out there that are quite reputable. I sure have not met many of them yet.


6 years ago via Forums | Front Porch Forum