"don't fall in love with the first horse you look at."?

Question

So I've been riding for 6 years now and finally the time has come to buy my own horse. Thats not the problem though. I have only been looking for about a month, and the first horse I visited I have fallen in love with, he is absolutely everything I'm looking for. Now for the problems

The owner is going away to college and wants him out by mid August. I can't take him until September 1st. Where I went to ride him it was hilly. I doubt hes lame. He had a little trouble with his tempo on the down hill, but i was thinking it was lack of butt muscle and balance [[he hasn't been ridden seriously in a year]]. I want to take him on a trial for a week to make sure he isn't lame, will adjust well, get a vet check, ext. The girl sounds iffy about letting me take him. She says that he came very close to selling once but the woman just wasn't ready to take on another horse. I really like him and the girl says that we click really nicely, there are a few problems that we need to deal with first.

Answer 1

So if you're worried about there being a problem with him that you don't know about, get a vet out there to take a look at him while you ask him to walk, trot, and canter. If you're worried about the way he goes downhill, the vet shouldn't  have a problem with watching as you ride him down a hill.

You might have to skip the trial period if the owner isn't comfortable with it. You'll just have to make sure that you want the horse and that you're willing to stick with him. Maybe go out to ride him a few times before you decide. She'll probably want you to buy him before she leaves for college.

If the vet tells you that he's perfectly sound, and you're positive that you want the horse, the only thing left is finding a place for him to stay until September 1st. If everything goes well with the vet, I would suggest finding him a temporary home either at a friend's barn or board him at a stable for a while. You might have to go out of your way to stable the horse until September, but it's only for a few weeks. If you love the horse that much, you'll find a way.

Answer 2

see if you can lease him somewhere for 2wks many people lease paddocks for a bit of cash =D

also with the but muscle and balance im guessing he is a thoroughbred

Answer 3

I have a horse named Sundancer. I remeber when I first saw her on petfinder. She is really cute!

Answer 4

If she is iffy about you doing a trial...I can understand that...so bring the vet to the horse. If she says no to that...walk away and don't look back. Also, see if there is anywhere flat that you could ride...It's understandable that you have been looking for a month now...but patience is the key...there are a lot of nice horses out there right now. To me, it sounds like she is trying to get you to take him before the vet check Since she is already throwing out there that he came close to selling once and she is in a really big rush to sell...just  a lot of red flags to me.

Answer 5

Well the reason she's iffy is probably because things like this happen and sometimes the potential adopter doesn't bring the horse back ie horse thief. I'm not saying you are but what I would do is come up with atrial contract stating the you care for the horse for this amount of time and promise to bring him back etc...

Answer 6

Normally, you *shouldn't* fall in love with the first horse you look at...but sometimes it happens!  Look at one or two other comparable horses, if you can, just to see.  Don't go look at them with the idea that they're not going to be anything you like, either - look at them objectively.  If the first horse is still the best fit for you after that , then go for it.

As for her wanting him gone by mid-August, it sounds like you've only got a discrepancy of 2 weeks or so between then and the time you can take him.  Is money or stall space the problem?  If it's money, see if she'll take all but whatever else you owe in mid August and then the rest in Sept.  If you don't have a place to keep him til September, call local barns in your area to see if anyone is willing to rent out a stall for a few weeks.  You could even see if you can pay the current owner to let you board him where he is now just til you can move him out.

Answer 7

If it were me, I would also not allow the horse to leave my property until he was paid for.

Not that I would not trust the person so much as what if something happened to the horse while it was on trial & then the person trying the horse out no longer wanted the horse, but it was injured either short term or long term?

I am not saying you would do this, because I do not know you, but it has happened.  I would get the vet out to do a thorough vet check at the property where the horse is now kept.  Before purchase, you should always request that the horse be trailered away from familiar surrounding to see how it acts.  At least that is what I was always taught.  The owner should ALWAYS be the first person on the horse either on the property or after being trailered from the property..  If the owner refuses to ride the horse first, walk away.  If the owner refuses to trailer the horse away from the property, offer to do it yourself & have her go with you, again so she will be there to be the first one on the horse.  If she refuses to allow that, then I would be suspicious as to why she was not willing to cooperate & I would walk away.  But, that is just me I guess.....

I can be quite suspicious of people.....

Answer 8

I don't really know what your question is, but if you like him and you know what you are looking for, go for it.  Sometimes you do find the perfect horse the first time.  But make sure to do that vet check!  You don't want to buy him and then find out he has navicular or something.

Good luck

EDIT:::Ahh, ok, I reread and I know what you are asking now.  You could get a vet to go out there if she really, really does not want you to do a trial.  The vet can tell you if he is sound or not (not the same as riding yourself, but it's something) and if he is drugged.  I don't really know why she wouldn't let you take him if you sign a contract and be all legal about it, unless he is buted (why he may not have felt completely lame) or she is just really afraid of you stealing him.  Would you be taking him to a boarding barn?  People tend to think those are more secure than your house.  Talk with her..find out why she doesn't want you taking him.

Answer 9

Take him to an arena not on a trail ride that is the only way to find out if he's really lame. Also when looking at horses tell the people what time you're going to be there and show up anywhere from a half an hour to 45 minutes early without notice. Because a lot of people are shallow and do give there horses calm a cool or products like that. So that way showing up early can prevent them being able to give that to their horse and you can see what the horse is naturally like. Also ask to do a 30 day trial to make sure that you and the horse are going to work.

Answer 10

Can you go to where the horse is to accomplish your goal?  You could change up the times you arrive to see him morning, noon, and night, have him vet-checked on your schedule and have the vet obsrve you riding or at least lungeing the horse.

Answer 11

Just explaijn the situation- you (as most people would be) are not willing to take on a horse that isn't sound.

If there is nothing physically 'wrong' with him ,then they will have no problems with you having a vet look at him, but if they protest, there may be something that they know about but are not letting on. In this case, i would walk away, it's not worth the hassle, another horse will come along.