Pony Shopping

[Flixon]

So I'm in the market for a new horse. I'm quite specific about some requirements (age, height) but pretty flexible on others ...

When I did this the first time, I was clueless; heart entirely ruled head and I bought the first one I saw - but I was very lucky that I bought from someone I knew of who was honest and all went well. This time I'm a lot less clueless. but considerably more anxious. Obviously I will get a vetting and I will not be buying a pony unseen. It is for me, so I will have a trial ride. But what else should I be asking that I cant see / check when I visit? Good to shoe ? travel, clip, past experiences, any quirks, how it gets on with other horses, diet to date , health ( hopefully covered in vetting) ...

Any ideas welcome :-)

Turn up 20 mins earlier than the arranged time for a viewing, if the horse is being ridden/lunged then this is a red flag. Always ask to see the horse being ridden before you ride it.
Don't just ask how it behaves for farrier etc, actually touch horse all over and pick feet out/ask to see it being tacked up etc. Ask to see it do everything you want it for eg dressage/jumping and hacking. Look at the tack it wears and ask why it is wearing it.
Stand back and get a good mental picture of the horse ie conformation/is it relaxed or tense, alert or switched off.
Don't be afraid to ask for a 2nd viewing and 2nd ride. If possible take an instructor or very experienced horse person with you to the viewing and ask them to ride it too.
Ask to see passport and check the markings etc match the horse you are viewing.
It is very much buyer beware, take everything you are told with a big pinch of salt and really take your time. If you get bad vibes then don't ignore them.

I'd say things like shoeing are fairly inconsequential - very few horses are bad to shoe. Unless you want to compete, or go out to lessons etc., travel isn't important either as long as you can get the horse to you in the first place. Likewise clipping - it's nice to have a horse that will clip easily, but you might not want to clip, or you might just have to get them sedated a couple of times a year.

I think the important stuff is the things you will have to do every day, and that not every horse is good at. This depends on you and your setup, but might include whether they like to live in or out, whether they hack out alone, whether they get fizzy in company, whether they buck, rear, take off, spook..., whether they can jump or school, whether they are bargy to handle, etc.

In this market I wouldn't necessarily assume there will be a second viewing. Take an instructor with you first of all.

What are you planning to do with it?

I've seen horses advertised on facebook and then sold unseen within a couple of hours!

Yes,anything decent at a good price is selling extremely quickly.

get on dodgy dealers page on facebook and research names of people who are selling and if it sounds too good to be true - there will be a good reason for that.

The market has really slowed around here and in any case I would personally never buy a horse unseen. I would rather risk losing the purchase than end up with something unsuitable

Nor would I, but for example a friend advertised a nice Connie x on Tuesday and it sold yesterday morning! Ditto a schoolmaster eventer - went on Equestrian notice board last week ,they had so many people wanting to.come at the weekend they had to turn loads away - it's sold subject to vetting already

Buy the horse for the rider/horsewoman you are now, not the one you want to be.

Be super realistic with yourself, your ability and your time, and also what you can be arsed to do.

I agree, turn up early, look for signs of sweat on girth/saddle area, tack up the horse yourself, lead them to the block yourself, get on yourself.

Echo the poster who said do what you need the horse to do daily rather than getting hung up on if it’s an angel to clip, which you’ll be doing 2/3 times a year. So pick up its feet, find out what it’s like to hose off, can you brush behind its ears, is it girthy (which can point to so many issues…), does it need to go in traffic 3 times a week, if so, take the horse out in traffic, will your non horsey other half need to turn them out once a week, consider if they are quiet enough for that, if they travel do they load every time, do they have a preference for 3.5t box/trailers/ big waggon, as most people don’t have an HGV licence the latter could be a problem.
If they are on straw will they cough/eat all their bed, does hayledge send them loopy.
Essentially have a really good think about the day to day and what you need from a horse NOW. If you want to do BE Intermediate in the future but currently don’t like cantering in open spaces, don’t buy the intermediate event horse. If something is perfect in every other way but needs a chifney to be lead to the field and a non horsey partner needs to turn them out twice a week, don’t buy that horse.
These things are so much more important than doesn’t like having it’s front feet done by the farrier or needs sedating to clip…

I'd be a bit wary of anything that needs a complicated bit. But I do think buy the horse for the rider you are, not the rider you want to be is such good advice.

Video of horse before viewing is very useful, and can save a lot of time. Don’t pay much attention to the blather you will get from seller, particularly if a dealer. You are buying the horse that is in front of you. Handle, ride, test it. Do not go alone. Preferably take someone more experienced than you. Do not fall in love with the horse before it is vetted. If at all possible, buy from someone you know. This is not as hard as it sounds. (I bought latest Dhorse from someone I hunted with.)
Good luck, & look forward to your report back when you’ve been successful.

This is so helpful ! I am absolutely buying the horse for the rider I am now. My yard is full of people who have bought eventers etc who are scared to ride them.

On the converse round here horses are taking a month plus to sell.
i also strenuously disagree with non loading being an issue. I take my horses out alone 3-4 times a week, and a good loader is an absolute top priority for me, I can’t improve on our partnership if we can’t get out to train.

Loafing is a big issue for me too. My horse won't load alone, this is a massive problem as we always have to travel with a friend and it really limits what I can do .

I had a bad loader once. Absolutely never again- it would be top of my list. Ditto good with farrier. Horses that are good to load, excellent to clip and shoe tend to be nice compliant happy horses IME.

Absolutely buy for the rider you are now!

And possibly even a bit less? What I mean by that is buy the horse you feel comfortable with, that’s easy for you to deal with alone now. I know personally and through talking to others that I’m a lot braver with an instructor on the ground/ in company than I am by myself. I’d happily ride friend’s horses with them there for eg, that I wouldn’t want to take home and have sole care of.

Along the same lines, it’s a lot easier to whizz up a slightly steadier one, once you’ve got to grips with him/her, than be worrying that you haven’t ridden for two days, and now it’s going to be a loon when you get on or needs consistent hard-ish work (most leisure horses are not in hard work at all!).

When we got ours, nearly 10 years ago, I worried that perhaps he would be a bit too quiet for us, that we needed a 6th gear…? But he has turned out to be the best money I’ve ever ever spent. Happy to pootle if you don’t ask for any more, but was able to step up a gear with extra schooling/doing regular fun things to spice him up as my/my son’s confidence grew.

There is lots of good advice here but also ask for references. So if the horse had been in pony club,ask to speak to the dc. If the previous rider has a trainer ask if you can speak to them. If on livery ask to speak to the person in charge. Also ask them to give their vet permission to email you a copy to their record. I asked one seller when a pony had seen the vet with them. She happily replied “only for vaccinations “ and was then shocked when I asked for the vet record. That pony had recently had a full lameness work up including x rays. Hard to believe she had forgotten that 😩

make sure it has a leg at each corner

I’ve also started looking for a horse for me this time - I’ve bought two before for my daughter. Apart from all the good advice you’ve already had, I’d add look for a horse that’s already doing the job you want it for. So if you want a hacking partner, look for one which loves hacking, if you want to do a bit of dressage then look for one which is well schooled. Avoid horses which need bringing back into work or which are being advertised as having ‘potential’ in a particular area but there’s no evidence of them ever having done that. In my case, there are quite a few hunt horses coming onto the market - I’m sure with a good rider they’d be happy to change career but I’m not good enough to instil the schooling they’d need to do what I want to do so I’m avoiding those.

I’m not in the market for a horse but being able to load easily and good to catch would be high on my list of priorities having had a horse previously that was crap for both . It’s lucky she had other redeeming features ❤️