13 Questions to ask When Buying A Horse

Hey y'all! I hope you had a fantastic week. I have already done a blog post on 'How much does a horse cost' and 'What to look for in a Barrel Racing Prospect.' So this week I am doing a post on Questions to ask When Buying A Horse. I know most of these are disclosed in the sale ad but I am going to include them anyway.

  1. How old is the horse? This one should be listed on the sale ad, but it doesn't hurt to ask. 

  2. What breed is the horse? This one should also be listed on the sale ad, as well. If not than that would be an important question to ask. 

  3. What are their quirks? You may want to ask the current owners of any personality quirks the horse may have. 

  4. Is the Horse Registered? This is a good question to ask. I know not everyone cares if the horse is registered or not, but if you do this is something you'd want to ask. 

  5. What did the horse do in previous years? ex. Barrel Racing, Trail Riding, Western Pleasure, etc. 

  6. At what age was the Horse started? 

  7. Does he/she wear shoes?

  8. What kind of training has he or she had?

  9. Why are you selling? This is an important question to ask in my opinion. As some can be selling for a behavioral issue, don't have time, or is too much horse. There can be many reasons why one would want to sell. 

  10. Have they ever been injured? This is an important one to ask as well, however you may come across some sellers who may be dishonest about this or the Horse could have/had an injury that they did not know about. 

  11. Have they ever had colic before? 

  12. What level of rider does the horse need? This one is also an important one in my opinion as you want to try and have the best match possible. A beginner would want a more calm horse to help gain confidence, where an advanced rider may want more of a project horse to advance with. 

  13. While this one isn't a question, it is very important to get the horse checked out by a veterinarian before you make a purchase. If you can, have the horse vetted by your veterinarian to rule out any injuries, confirmation flaws, or anything else. 

I hope some of these help you when you go to purchase your next horse, I am not a professional trainer, however these are questions I have learned to ask from buying my horses and from other people. 

S O C I A L  M E D I A

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