What to Ask When Buying a Horse?

We’ve all been there, you see an advert for the “perfect horse”, grab the phone and ring the number and as soon as someone answers you forget everything you need to know!! There are lots of questions that can be asked prior to viewing which will hopefully help to rule out unsuitable horses. Try and get as much information as possible before travelling to try a horse to save wasting anyone’s time. A good chat with the owner counts for a lot and you’ll be surprised at the amount of information that can be revealed. Of course the questions you ask will be relevant to you but we hope the following with give you some prompts! Remember, some of these may not be relevant – I mean there’s no point asking if he can jump 1 metre 10 if you only want to hack. Here’s a few ideas to get you started – feel free to comment with any other ideas that may be helpful for fellow horse shoppers.

1. If not fully covered on the advert be sure to start off with the basics – age, sex, height, breeding etc.
2. Reason for sale – it’s always good to know why the horse is up for sale. There are many valid reasons so this hopefully won’t set any alarm bells ringing.
3. Health issues/ vices/ veterinary history. If anything comes up you are not prepared to take on then it’s better to know from the beginning. It’s heartbreaking to fall in love with a horse having tried it only to have to pull out of the purchase due to a health issue. Of course you can never be sure that something won’t come up when you have the horse vetted but at least this gives you the best chance.
4. Hacking: is the horse good in traffic, hacks alone and in company, good in open spaces?
5. Competition record/ experience. Here you can develop your questions around the activities you are wanting the horse for. Perhaps you want to do some dressage so you can ask what level the horse is schooled at. Or if you prefer jumping ask about the height he can jump and what experience he has out competing. If your not planning to compete but like the idea of doing some sponsored rides or training clinics with friends then find out if he has previously done any of these activities.
6. What kind of routine does the horse have? Cover topics such as how many times a week is the horse ridden? Does he live in/ out? Get on okay with other horses?
7. What’s included in the price? This may be stated in the advert but if not ask if tack/ rugs are included or available to buy at an extra price?
8. Is the horse open to a 5 stage vetting? If the answer to this is no then I would recommend not even bothering to visit!!
9. How is the horse with the vet/ farrier/ dentist? Good to know if there are any issues with having routine treatments done! A lot of the time this can be overcome with a patient, calm farrier but always best to know.
10. Has he ever reared/ bucked/ bolted/ napped? Always best to be on the safe side!
11. Ask for a bit of general history about the horse. Depending on how the conversation is going this may have already been covered but if you feel you want more background then this is a good one to start with!
12. Any negatives? Of course the owner will be trying to tell you all the horse’s good points as they are trying to find the perfect new home for their best buddy. However nothing is perfect so if you can get the downside as well as the good side of the horse this will give you a realistic expectation of the horse.

If you’ve asked all the above and the horse sounds promising then the next stage is to arrange a viewing. At this point (if not already talked about) then it’s nice to tell the current owner a little bit about you, your experience, your desires for your new horse and the type of home you could offer. They should know the horse really well and this information will help them think about whether it would be a good match. If all is well it’s time to arrange your viewing in person – just remember to take an experienced person with you for a second opinion!