Saturday, July 10, 2010

What kind of questions do I need to ask about a horse for sale?

My dad normally does this but it's my turn to take responsibility so I need to know what kind of questions I need to ask when I call the tonight?What kind of questions do I need to ask about a horse for sale?
1. Why are you selling the horse?





2. What type of documentation does the horse have?





3. Has the horse had any medical problems or major injuries?





4. Does the horse have any behavioral issues?





5. Who trained the horse, and what type of training method did they use?





6. What type of environment is the horse used to?





7. Does this horse have experience doing the type of work I want it to perform?





8. How many owners has this horse had?





9. How long have you owned the horse?





10. What type of medical check-ups and care has the horse had? How does the horse respond to the vet?





11. How does the horse respond to a show environment?





12. How does the horse respond to other horses? Is it usually kept with other horses?





13. Is the horse shod? Does it behave well with a farrier?





14. For what level of rider would you recommend the horse?





15. What type of riding do you do and how often?





16. What do you feed the horse?





17. May I contact the horse's vet, trainer or farrier?What kind of questions do I need to ask about a horse for sale?
Ask what breed, and if it matters to you, ask whether its a pure or cross bred. How old it is and how long the owner has had it.


You should definitely ask if it's had regular vet visits, if it's up to date on all vaccines and etc. How recently shoes have been changed..


Also ask if the horse has any special dietary or medical issues (teeth, legs, etc.) or if it needs any kind of special attention. You might want to ask if it's ever been pregnant or seriously injured.


ask about the cost..and even ask if you could schedule a visit to see the horse..





good luck!!
First of all, soundness. If the horse is not 100% sound, chances are that it will get worse over time. Don't buy a horse where you will have to spend a lot of time cold hosing it, or walking it, or resting it, etc. Ask if it has any vices or bad habits. Then ask about how bomb proof it is. Ask if it trailers and clips. It's age, fitness level, training level, showing ability, experience in general, etc are all good things to cover. Do not be afraid to ask lots and LOTS of questions. Cover all the areas that you need to know about your horse. Hope this helps.
When I bought my first horse these are the kind of questions I asked...


1. Does he have any bad habbits like cribbing, wind sucking %26amp; so on? (If he has any bad habbits you need to know about them to see if they can be sorted)





2. Why are you selling? (Alot of sellers have their reasons like the horse is to small %26amp; so on)





3. What does he spook at? (If he spooks at something %26amp; you're not aware of it you could be in real danger say if he doesn't like traffic)





4. How long have you owned him? (The longer they've owned him to better becuase the more they'll know about him)





5. Could I lease/loan him for 5 weeks before I make my desicion? (If they don't allow you to do this there COULD be a slight problem with the horse if he's moved yards and so on)





6. Is ok if my riding instructor comes to check him out? (You need an experienced buyer/rider or all around horse person)





7. Will you ride him first? (If they won't the horse usually has some sort of bad riding habbit)





8. Has he ever had any bad injuries that will stop him doing stuff? (Say if he's fallen bad %26amp; damaged his legs he might not be able to jump or compete)





9. Is he good with other horses (This is something improtant you want a horse who will get on with others if he's staying at a livery)





10. Is he prone to anything? (if he's prone to laminities or colic you need to know)





11. Can you load him into a trailer? (Some horses don't load %26amp; can become dangerous if they're scared)





12. The basics like Is he good to catch, groom, load,bath %26amp; so on (You need to know that so you know if you'll be able to handle him)





13. The basics about him! Like his age/breed %26amp; so on (Just incase you're looking for something pacific)





14. His past owners (If the owner doesn't know the person HE/SHE bought the horse off of you could take a chance in it being a stolen horse)





15. Is he good with children (If you keep a horse at a livery there is bound to be children who will want to stroke him)





Hope this helps %26amp; hope you get what you're looking for =]
1. Horses name, age, gender


2. What it is trained to do


3. Does it have any vices?


4. The reason of the sale.


5. Horses behavior.


6. Would it pass a vet exam?


7. Has it had any type of sickness in its life?


8. How many owners before this one has it had?


9. Is it bombproof?


10. How old is the rider that rides it.


11. What kind of tack is used?


12. diet?


13. pedigree?


14. Any registration papers.


15. Has it ever been off property and how did he act if so.


16. Clip, tie, wash, load?
When I buy my horses I always Make sure I know the height, breed, color, gender. If your looking for a gelding make sure he really is gelded, I've known some people who have have been cheated on that. Ask About the horses past and his health and you may want to come in contact with the horses previous owners. Ask if there has ever been any lameness, tendon problems, any broken bones. Ask if the horse is spooky and the temperment with a good description. Ask what the horse has done(barrels, hunters, dressage, ect.) Ask if the horse has had any problems with any discipline you may want to do in the future. Make sure he dosn't have any bad habbits, bolting, bucking, rearing, biting, cribbing,ect. Ask if he trailers/loads well, if he clips, bathes. I'm sure you'll come up with other things to ask but these are the basics.





Hope this helps, Good luck with your horse!
Breed/color


Age


Name


Height/Weight


Broken? if so what disicpline


does he stand well for farriers/vet


does he stand well for mounting


has he ever been injured


current on shots and coggins test


price


does he come with any tack (included in the price)


what sort of grain does he eat (if any)


does he do well around other horses


has he ever bucked anyone off


ever kicked anyone


bit anyone


does he cribb


does he suck in when your cinching him up


whos ridden him (age, weight,)


is he registered?
breed, age, conformation, stall bad habits(ie. cribbing, biting, etc) past injuries, past illnesses, past owners, pedigree, showing ability, bomb-proofingness, training, property bound (you DONT want it), special feed, you get the idea...oh and trailer habits and if it can even trailer
go with the first two people

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