Mistakes Made When Purchasing A Horse

If you own a horse or many horses, you probably have at least one story to tell about how you purchased this horse that didn’t turn out to be the horse you thought they would be! This happens far too often unfortunately. So, lets take a minute and look into how this happens.

It all starts in your younger years. You either used to have a horse, take riding lessons or wanted a horse so bad, that you could taste it! All you could think about was you and horse riding out in a field together being best buds. But, then you got older, life got in the way, and unfortunately horses were temporarily left behind. Then life settles a little bit, and you decide you want to get back into what you loved so much as a child. So you start your search for how to start….

Maybe you decide to pay to take a trail ride somewhere, start up a few lessons, or maybe you say I just need to buy a horse to get started. Once you start your horse search, the worst thing in the world is sometimes talking to the people selling the horse. What are the key words most people use when selling a horse? Bombproof, Great with kids, Family horse, husband safe, perfect trail horse, all for only $1,500!

Man what a deal!!! A PERFECT diamond in the rough horse for ONLY $1,500! One thing leads to another and you go see the horse, the horse is beautiful, when you ride, the horse makes mistakes but you chalk it up to being new to the horse, the owner presses you saying many people are looking at this horse and can’t guarantee that they will be on market for long, so you end up making a purchase.

You are so excited! You buy everything that you think you are going to need to bring this horse home today! The day finally comes that you bring them home, and whether it is the first day you ride or 30 days later, this perfect horse isn’t what you thought they would be…

So, what is the #1 mistake people make when buying a horse?

Emotion….

There were signs early on that says the horse wasn’t the right one for you but your emotions got the best of you. Don’t beat yourself up though, you are not the only one, and sometimes you can only learn from making these mistakes!

What is the #2 mistake people make?

Not bringing a trained professional that knows you and how you ride with you!

I believe you should never buy a horse off of only one ride (even though compromises get made when at places like an auction, etc). That being said I think the order in which you go about looking at a horse is first, ask for a video, let your trainer see that video, and if there are no red flags then you alone go and see that horse. Ride and video your ride for the trainer. If there are still no red flags set up another time to ride the horse with your trainer there to watch how you interact with the horse. Trust me when I tell you the horse doesn’t need to be perfect, just perfect for you, and a trained eye should be able to pick that out. If everything passes inspection and there is no gut feeling telling you otherwise, make the purchase.

#3 mistake?

Thinking that you want to grow with that horse!

This is a problem that continues to happen and NEEDS to stop! I think of it like a 1-10 scale. (1 being beginner and 10 being advanced) In order to bring you as a rider from a 2 to a 4 then you need a horse that is an 6-8. Vice versa if you want to improve a horse. It is nearly impossible to move up the scale together because both you don’t understand what you are doing.

I hope this can be helpful the next time you are ready to make a purchase and if you need help with finding that perfect horse don’t hesitate to contact us at 877-57 HORSE.

Thanks for reading!

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