Buying a new horse is never an easy task, partly because there are always a myriad of options to choose from. You may have whittled down your details considerably, but there will always be more horses on the market than you have time to see.

Strategy is important, whether you are buying horses for racing or pleasure. You will have different criteria if you are looking for a child or an adult, as well as the experience and skills of the rider will make a huge difference. So what is the Correct strategy to buy horses?

1- Never buy the first horse you see

I know all about love at first sight. It happened to me when I was a senior in high school, and the horse’s name was Bella. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen: perfect match, wide-set eyes, a slightly sloping forehead. Riding her was like sitting on a cloud, and she knew she had to have her.

It worked well with Bella, but it’s not always like that. If you are in the market for horses, be sure to see as many as possible. You can always go back and see if that first horse is still available, and most horses don’t leave the market that quickly anyway.

I always tell my clients to look at ten horses or more before making a decision. This will give you an idea of ​​what the market has to offer and will delay your decision until you can think about it. You may find that the horse you really love has some obscure problem that you don’t want to deal with.

2- Buy locally

If you are buying horses that currently live on the other side of the world, you have plenty for future travel. It’s never a good idea to buy horses that are out of sight, and most of us don’t have time to go from town to town in search of the perfect animal.

Unless you have very specific criteria for an Olympic level horse, you can find a suitable animal pretty much in your own backyard. Depending on where you live, you may be able to limit your search to a 100-mile radius without a problem.

You’ll also find that buying horses locally means there’s less chance of running into a scam. People are much more wary of ripping off customers who live around the corner.

3- Request a Drug Test

You may be the most honest person in the world, but not everyone is that scrupulous. Some horse breeders drug their horses before showing them to keep them calm and supple. This means a serious shock when you bring the horse home and end up in the dirt. Take a drug test and have the horse examined by a qualified veterinarian before you write that check.

4- Take the horse home

Buying horses, as mentioned above, can be a nasty business. If you really want to protect yourself, insist on a trial run with the horse before your purchase becomes solid. Pay for the horse and take it home for a week with the option to sell it if it doesn’t work out. This gives you the opportunity to test it on your own territory without pressure.

This is particularly useful when purchasing school horses for a lesson program. Since school horses must possess a very specific set of qualities, a trial reduces the chances of buying a flop. Just be sure to make it clear in the documentation that you have the option of a full refund if the horse is not what you thought.

5- Grow slowly

If you have a horse business, you will buy horses left and right. Just don’t get too far ahead. Your equine inventory is your greatest asset as a horse business owner. Whether you’re raising horses or giving lessons, a large part of your income is in the hands of those animals. Making quick purchases is a mistake.

The same is true if you are a serious competitor hoping to amass a stable of high performing horses. His greatest asset in the ring is the diversity of his animals. Buying several horses at once does not give you the opportunity to learn the personality of each horse before choosing the next one.

6- Request X-rays

Depending on where you live, a typical vet checkup to buy horses may not include full X-rays. An x-ray of the horse’s navicular bone, for example, will illustrate whether or not the horse has undergone significant changes to the navicular that could lead to lameness in the future.

In addition to the x-rays and the aforementioned drug test, your vet should examine the horse:

• overall health
• Medical history
• hooves
• teeth and gums
• Coat, mane and tail
• dietary health

When buying horses, your vet’s recommendation is just a starting point. You may realize that you can live with your horse’s poor eating habits or changes in the navicular, but at least you know about them. And health discoveries can become bargaining chips in the purchase of a horse.

7- Horseback riding

You would think this would be a given, but I can’t tell you how many times I hear of someone buying horses without actually riding them first. This is a big mistake, not just because you won’t know what you’re getting.

All horses move differently and respond to different commands. You won’t know if the horse is a match for your training, experience, and abilities unless you actually sit on it. Riding horses before buying them should be a priority, no matter what the owner says.

8- Horseback riding in your discipline

Let’s say you’re a three-day eventer. Before buying horses, you must try them in dressage, stadium jumping Y cross country before I write that check. If you don’t test the horse in your specific discipline, you could make a mistake. He may be excellent on the dressage ring, but he rejects every jump you point out to him.

9- Buy from someone you trust

Why do you have to resort to buying horses online? Or through classified ads in Canada? You don’t realize how many people you know until you start going through their names: Your friend knows someone who knows someone who owns a stable and has hundreds of horses for sale.

It’s that easy. You may want to think about buying horses from the farm where you take riding lessons or from someone your trainer has done business with in the past. Buying from someone you know (or someone you’ve met through a personal grapevine) is the safest way to buy horses.

10- Bring a Trainer

Unless you are a professional jockey yourself, you shouldn’t even think about buying horses without a trainer present. He or she will look out for your best interests and will be able to spot obscure details that you would never have noticed. Regardless of how independent you are, a coach is essential throughout this process.

People will always make mistakes when buying horses, but you can eliminate most of them if you have a plan before you start looking. Write down your criteria and decide exactly what you want before you start calling the numbers in the classified ads.