I've seen a horse advertised for ￡5000 and its absolutely perfect for me! Only I can only afford to pay ￡4000 at the most for a horse, possibly not even that. Should I be honest and tell them now before I go and look, or should I try it out?

Also what do you think is more likely to persuade them to let me have it for less? Being honest or letting them see how well I get on with the horse?

Thanks in advance.

Oh boy, sellers just love people like you!
You have fallen in love with a horse from an advertisement, made up your mind that he is the 'perfect' horse for you and yet you have never even seen the animal in action!

Never believe all you read in an advert. I can write a totally honest advert to induce people to come and try a horse yet there is a lot about the horse that is not said.

pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

!5.1 chestnut lightweight cob gelding. 10 yrs. Bomb proof in traffic, shoe, clip, box, catch. Snaffle mouth, jumps anything out hunting and has competed show jumping and cross country clear. Good flat work.

He sounds a good little horse BUT, he is built like a tank and can pull like a train. He will get his tongue over the bit and just try to hook off with you. He is a very sensitive horse and will, if anyone is the slightest bit tight on him, get extremely hot and tizzy.

I can clip him with no problem but if anyone else tries he is nearly impossible to do. He has done well unaffiliated jumping and CC but he took some riding t do it because he would have either hooked off or just run out given half a chance.

So, although the ad is truthful, it is leaving out a lot. So never go to look at a horse and be certain it is the animal for you. Always go with the open mind that it sounds like the right animal for you but ...........!
As for money, never say what you are prepared to pay. Go try the animal and make a lower bid. In this case I would offer ￡3,500 and come up to the ￡4,000 subject to vet.

pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Always be open minded. Try several horses and look for the faults, use them to bargain the price down.

My way of not having that happen is not looking at horses that are above my price range. I made that mistake once, It was an eventer, jumped 5ft, perfect size and build, fast enough yet careful enough to win, perfect for me. It was $15,000 and my budget was around $5000.


Before going out to see the horse call the owner and see if they will negotiate if not try and raise what you need. If they will go out and see the horse but pay attention to every little detail and all.

Be honest. Tell the people what you like about the advert, but also tell them your top price that you can spend, and be realistic. You don't want to spend all your money buying the horse and then can't afford a vet bill, or a new piece of tack. Most people like that you aren't wasting their time. If the seller is interested in finding a good home and rider match for the horse you might get lucky. I sure did!

First, get a job to start raising extra funds.I think that you should call the owner and talk to them about it first. Ask them if they would be willing to work out a payment plan. If they don't even want to see you, that's that. In this economy, many owners just want to get their horse sold, so they may be willing to reduce the price or do several payments over a year. If they do want to see you, go have a look. If you really click with the horse and they feel that you could give it a good home, they might consider a price reduction.

I would talk to them on the phone about it first. Ask if they are willing to negotiate the asking price or work out a payment plan of sorts. That way you won't be wasting their time or your own. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Also in the future, try to search for horses that are closer to your price range. That way you don't end up really liking a horse you'll never be able to buy and disappointing yourself.

go and see it and tell them straight off that you can stretch to 4,000 but 5,000 is too expensive.... you can never tell from an ad anyway..... my friend found the perfect horse... the owner lied and three weeks after they bought her she started dripping milk.... luckily the person took her back and they managed to get their money back too.... be careful when buying horses.

Go try the horse out, and if you like the horse, then make an offer.

That's how it's done.

If the seller wants to sell the horse, they will. If they want to wait for their price, then they won't. It's really that simple.