What happens when you go to a dealers?

[22Cookies]

Hello,
I have ANOTHER qu, sorry!

Ive seen a horse advertised on a dealers website and am hopefully going to have a look next weekend but I've never been to a dealers before and dont really know what to expect if i do go.
How long do you spend with the horse?
Do you groom and tack up or is it already done?
How long do you usually get to ride?
Can you usually ride in a few different situations?
Are you expected to pay what the dealer says if you like the horse or are you supposed to negotiate?
I'll be taking someone with more experience than myself obviously but I would like to know a bit more before I turn up not knowing whats going on!
Any past experiences, hints and tips etc would be gratefully received!!

xx

[BEX101]

It can differ from dealer to dealer. I suspect most of them wont put up with time wasters. Ask loads of questions because you have more "come back" off a dealer and i have known dealers being forced to take horses back when they turned out not as discribed. A GOOD dealer knows its in their best interest to match you to the right horse so that they dont get any bad press. Remember phrases such as "has seen hounds or has hunted" doesnt necessaraly mean its good to hunt - just that it has in the past.
Be honest about your own abilities. If you give the impression your better than you are or ask to buy a Grade A showjumper, its your own fault if the horse turns out too much for you.
Most should let you ride in different situations, afterall they probably get asked everytime. Definitly negotiate but often they wont come down too much so try andnegotiate of things like tack or delivery (every penny count)
Ask if you can do the tacking up.
Its a shame that all dealers get a slightly dodgy reputation because of the actions of a few. I used to deal a little a few years back and was frustrated to find bad rumors going around about me - all because i refused to sell someone a pony that i thought was unsuitable for them.

[chescar]

There are some very good dealers around - but remember, they can only tell you what they know about the horse - which is probably very little

[casper_cb]

I've never had a problem with buying off dealers, the horses have always been lovely and I've never felt rushed or that they've been trying to hide something. (Had a legal battle however when part-exchanging with a dealer but that was not to do with the horse we bought from him) Private sellers and professional riders have been in my experience much worse.

I tend to arrive 10 minutes early, that way you can catch them slightly off guard, the horse may still be in the stable when they've intended to have it standing on the yard as it weaves?! Watch them lead the horse in hand, trot it up and down, tack up. Make sure to pick the feet up yourself. I'd expect someone to ride the horse first, put it through walk, trot, canter, then ask if you want to ride. You can say no if you don't like the look of the horse or how it's behaved. You then may be given the opportunity to jump, they might let you get straight on with jumping, or put their jockey back on to do the first few jumps.

I always like to dismount at the end and just make sure the horse will stand happily next to me when tacked up. I then go back to the yard and ask to see the horses passport and ask any other questions I might have. If it's a dealer selling on behalf of someone it will never hurt to ask for the owners details so you can ask further questions.

Not all horses being sold through dealers have quirks, many are superb horses where the owers don't have the time/facilities to show the horse at its best.

[rowy]

Hi,
I bought my first horse from a dealer, was a big mistake.
she was in awful condition, was just chucked out into the field with a thin rug on all winter (she is a very sensitive tb) with a headcollar on which caused very bad rubs on her face. You could see her ribs and had no muscle, mite bites. She couldn't bend her head down to the floor when we got her. She was frightened of eating her food and was very cautious around people. Scared of jumps and poles. We didn't know much and they took advantage of this and sold us a very badly sitting saddle so after a few months getting her condition back and we sat on her, she kept bucking. They gave us a rug that was too small for her as well. we just fell in love with her though and had to rescue her!

Though, not all dealers are as bad, you just have to approachthem with caution. We bought our second horse from a dealer and whilst they ripped us off a little, the horse had very good breeding and lots of potential! Nothing wrong with him, he was perfectly healthy.

The really bad place is called Wentwood livestock in case any one is thinking of going there.

[gallopinggelding]

Take someone or two that are experianced, i had months of searching for the one and was lied to animals not described, total waste of time and diesel money was really hard, i stayed clear of dealers as i thought id get burned/ripped off
i ended up buying private <so i thought >what a nightmare horse must have been doped was totally differant when at home did every thing rear,etc,,
found out later the persons did buy and sell a lot , you can never tell as so many people do this as a side line anyway, cut a long story short this horse was gone after a few months decided to keep looking and went to a dealers a small one who people i knew had sold/ bought horses from , he sent me a horse and gave me two week trail with longer if required , i bought him after two weeks though incase he changed his mind !Go to a reputable dealer who will sell you the right horse and will give you after care word of mouth etc,, you have more rights with a dealer and, the first one off the private seller was teen done it all and the dealer sold me a youngster but much more me and was half the price !good luck and keep us updated:)

[funkyboots]

if hes a honest dealer with a site and your taking a expirienced person...maybe even make a second visit...you would'nt look at a house once or marry a bloke after the first date would ya...(altho if i'd known i had to wait 15yrs and still nothing..lol)

[abudke]

There are honest and dishonest dealers, if you are inexperienced, take someone with you who will give you honest advice.
I bought my last horse from a dealer and never regretted it, but I knew what I was looking for and I have ridden for many years.
I think Casper has given you good advice, arrive early, ask to tack up yourself, have him ridden and jumped for you before you get on yourself.
A well handled horse will be calm but curious about you, he will come and check you out, sniff you and won't mind being touched. If the horse turns away from you, blanks human's out or seems frightend, I would be suspicious because it indicates that he was badly treated somewhere along the line (not necessaryly by the dealer).
Never ever let anyone rush you into a decision. If you are not sure about the horse, ask to ride him a couple of times. I would never buy a horse that I haven't ridden at least three times and any reputable seller will accept that.
Obviously, a dealer wants to sell as quickly as possible, every day the horse stays at their yard it costs them money. Sometimes sellers try to hurry your decision by implying they have someone else interested. But don't let that rush you, you might be unlucky and someone else buys him, but at the moment it's a buyer's market, there are lots of horses available, another one you like will come along at some point. Buying the wrong horse in the rush can be a painful and expensive experience in the long-term! Don't make an emotional decision and buy a horse because you feel sorry for him; unless you have plenty of money to waste, lol.
Considering that dealers usually don't know that much about the horse themselves, ALWAYS invest in a 5 stage vetting, it can save you a lot of money and upset later on.
Never pay the full asking price, dealers expect you to haggle! Usually horses come without tack or rugs, if the dealer doesn't want to go down much in the price ask for tack or rugs to be thrown into the deal (and check it out beforehand so it fits).
And remember, the recession had one positive consequence, there are a lot of horses for sale and horses have come down in price, you can expect to pay at least 20% less than you would have paid 2 years ago, so haggle!

[22Cookies]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your advice.

Ive seen three horses in the last couple of weeks. 1 at a dealers and 2 private. The horse at the dealers had a filled leg which I wasn't sure about so decided to leave him although he was exactly what I wanted in every other way (he is now sold to someone else anyway!).
One of the private seller's horse was way too young for me to take on so had to leave him too and the other seller was selling the horse on behalf of someone else who hadn't signed the passport and wasn't present at the viewing. Dodgy!! Left that one as well, lol.

BUT, Im going to see another one at the same dealers as above. I have heard from word of mouth from a lady that really knows her stuff that it is a reputable place and this horse sounds great - forward going but safe, TB x ID, 10 years, done a bit of everything etc. So we will see...

Im excited but dont want to get my hopes up too much just incase!

xx

[BEX101]

good luck with it

[22Cookies]

Oh dear, the horse at the dealers today didnt work out. She was very forward going and I wouldnt have felt very safe and comfortable on my own with her so I decided to leave her. I tried another one but she didnt have any breaks!!
I might be going to see another few this weekend, its exhausting though trying to find the right horse, lol.
Im thinking of trying Irish Cobs near birmingham - does anyone know anything about them? They seem reputable from their website but would be good to hear any info/experiences people have about them.

xx