Open your eyes
Horse trader tricks
This information is intended to make you aware how important it is to take an experienced person along with you to buy a pony or horse and it’s always advisable to get a vet to view the animal.
It costs the same to keep a lame or bad horse as it does a good one, infact it cost’s more to keep a bad one as you will incurred a lot more vet’s bills.
Most dealers run a good horse selling business and have an excellent reputation, which is important to them.
It is only a small percentage that is not so honest.
Buying a horse from a horse trader
A horse trader or back street dealer is no different to car dealer.
There are good ones and bad ones.
It’s always a good idea if someone recommends a good horse trader to you, when buying a horse.
The horse that is lively and a handful to manage which has proven difficult to sell would be exercised early on the day you arrive.
The horse selling advert will be very basic and worded carefully so there are no comebacks.
When you arrive always look for sweat marks.
These can found around the saddle area and at the top of the head where the bridle goes.
The horse could also be given something to calm him down so you are not viewing the horse as it usually is.
The lame horse would be given a pain-killing drug to appear sound in order to get a sale.
Horses that are meant for slaughter sometimes end up in these yards with the dealers well aware of their very cheep find.
Pain killing drugs will be administered and the horse will be sold on cheaply.
When you contact the previous owner through the passport you find out that the horse was meant for slaughter and you are faced with either ongoing vets bills or faced with having to put you’re new horse down.
Broken down Ex Irish Race horses (Thoroughbreds) find their way to the UK sold at slaughter price then sold on cheaply again.
Some are fresh off the track,many with leg problems and anyone that has owned an ex race horse knows that they need to be re trained before they are suitable to sold on as a riding horse or for any other discipline for that matter.
For these type of people with no conscience, horses are just money to them and they would sell any horse to anybody, even if it was clearly not suitable for the rider.
A situation like this occurs when an inexperienced person arrives on the yard either alone or with a friend who is also inexperienced or has no knowledge of horses.
The dealer will be friendly and you will have a warm welcome.
Just by asking a few simple questions he or she will work out how knowledgeable you are.
I cannot stress enough the importance of taking an experience person along with you when buying a horse.
Two heads are better than one!
Sometimes horses are sold with the wrong equine passport, because the person selling it does not have a passport so they will give you the passport of a deceased horse.
This equine passport should have been handed back for stamping but these type of people hold on to them.
Some have been known to say they have misplaced it and will forward it on to you.
Of course the equine passport never arrives.
Some people still buy horses without passports and for this reason purchase them cheaply.
They mark up the passports themselves including a vet stamp and signature coppied from an orthentic equine passport.
All illegal, but they are also in a possition to change the known age of the horse to their advantage, just like turning the milage back on a car inorder to get a higher price.
Horses with poor feet - For example sand cracks have been disguised by filling in the gaps with polly filler and painted over with black paint.
To the untrained eye the foot appears perfect and well presented.
Horse Trader > > Home
Questions to ask when buying a horse
Vuewing a horse or pony
Where can i buy a horse from?
Passport information
Information on how to sell a horse
Which horse to buy
Leasing a horse
How to measure a horse
