Checking the Horse Out

So, now that you've found a horse that sounds good, you need to go see it and try it out. Here are some things that you should notice:

1. Is the horse in good weight, or is it overly fat or skinny? You shouldn't be able to see the horse's ribs, but you should be able to feel them. If you can't, the horse is severly overweight.
2. Is there a noticeable limp or any unsoundness? Don't buy a lame horse!
3. Does the horse seem nice, do you like his face and expression? Although this may seem silly, if there is something about the horse you don't like, go go any further.
4. What is the horse's attitude like? Is it acting angry, or in pain? If the ears are back, eyes are rolled, or teeth are bared, that means the horse is NOT in a pleasant mood!
5. Does the horse look sedated, over tired, or lethargic?
6. Are the horse's hooves in good condition?
7. How is the horse's overall conformation? The way a horse is built is very important. Does he look well balanced? If you aren't sure, you should take along a professional to help you decide.

Watch the horse to see how it behaves:

1. How are the horse's overall ground manners? How does it act toward people?
2. How does the horse behave when being groomed? Is it head shy or ticklish? Does it allow its hooves to be picked, or does it lean on or try to kick the handler?
3. When it is being led, does it behave well? Does it walk, trot, stop, back up, and turn well?
4. If possible, have the handle trot the horse on a hard surface, and watch its movement. See if there is any sign of lameness.
5. If possible, ask to see the horse longed or round penned, to see how it moves and how it behaves.
6. Watch the horse get saddled and bridled. Notice if it acts mean or stubborn with bridling.
7. Watch the horse while the handler rides it. Ask to see it walk, trot, stop, back, turn, and canter.
8. If you are going to buy the horse for a specific purpose, like jumping, barrel racing, showing, ect., then have the handler show you the horse performing that event.

Next, you should go on a test ride. If for any reason you have a feeling you shouldn't ride the horse, or you don't feel comfortable riding the horse, don't! There are other horses out there, and it isn't worth it to get injured. If you do ride, see how the horse performs for you:

1. Overall ground manners, and how it acts toward you.
2. See how it acts as you mount and dismount.
3. Walk, trot, canter, turn, back, and stop the horse. Ride it around for awhile and see how it feels to you, and how it performs for you.
4. If you are buying the horse for a specific purpose, then try the horse out for that purpose.

If the horse performs better for the handler than for you, it may need a more experienced rider. If you really like the horse, and you want to buy it, make sure you see the papers, coggins test results, and veterinary check results. The papers are important. Don't buy the horse on the agreement that 'the papers will be mailed to you'. Ever. If you take the horse home, but you don't have the papers, the horse isn't yours. It is still the seller's, and they can claim you stole it, or they can resell the horse without you even knowing.

If the horse behaves well, is healthy, and seems to be what you want, consider buying it. You may want to look around at other horses, and then choose the one you like best. It is also a good idea to have a professional horseman come with you to help evaluate the horse's performance and conformation.

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