Buying a Horse: Equine Advice by Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey

Horse shopping can be a daunting task and many people buy inappropriate horses. Please prioritize educating yourself, and if necessary take a trusted equine professional to assist you in your purchasing so that you do not become one of the thousands of people who wind up committing to a horse that they do not have the skill set to help. It can become a mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially exhausting situation that all too many horse owners find themselves in.

Just say No...
Over the past week I've received 10 emails and three calls from people panicking because in the last month or two they bought horses... that were:
*Lame
*Had been drugged during try-out
*Not as experienced as stated
*Had major health issues
*Became totally different when leaving a familiar place
*Dangerous behaviors such as kicking and biting

Learn to interpret what horse sales advertising actually means. Practice looking at at least 20 horses before buying one. Get confident at being able to say "no," even if you haven't seen the horse leave the pasture.

 
This is about you and your future, your safety, and your well-being. Make decisions that are good for you.

Make sure that you show up early when you visit a horse, watch the seller catch the horse in either a field or a stall, notice if when they're handling or tacking up the horse if there's a peculiar way that they do things, be sure to visit multiple times, take the horse off-site, load the horse in a trailer (yourself) multiple times, do a blood draw to check for drugging, always ALWAYS watch the seller ride the equine first...

I don't care what was shown in the sales video, everything is usually highly edited.
Too many people wind up with horses that overwhelm them and become frustrated, depressed, and don't know how to get out of the situation.

 
Are there a few success stories? Yes, but the percentage of that is so small that I always tell people the more investigative you are when you buy a horse the less trouble you'll have later.

Please know I share this warning after seeing it all. Most people have no idea what sellers are willing to do to sell a horse.