Question.

[lmullen]

Has anyone of the forum had any experience buying/selling a horse on the internet? EH, Dream horse.com.....???

Arena closed down, no cattle now. Too many horses.
10 yr old APHA, geld.
Head, Heel, Ranch rope. Won money.

Started on cow wrk. Loves/hates cows.
Really rates cattle well.

Works cattle, pens, gates.

good with;
Ropes,Tarps,deer,elk,tractors...
Loves the out trail up in the hills.

two-rein to straight up spade.
Western WA.

[JRW]

I bought a mule on the internet. I looked at about 1,000 mules before I found one that was trained enough and cheap enough. He was 700 miles away. I called a vet in the next town over to go look at him for me. I liked the people and they had photos of riding the mule on a big trail trip so I knew that they had actually used the mule. They put him on a big horse transport truck with some polo-ponies and he arrived knowing more about polo than we did.

Chester turned out to be a good mule.

Things can go south, so watch out for yourself.

Yrs,
JRW

[Mulie]

Do you mean just finding it on the internet , or buying it sight unseen? I've seen some animals that looked good in the photo and then in person, just didn't do it. And vice versa, too.

[Excess]

Hehhe. I just about failed every pre-purchase rule out there. I found my horse through an aquaintence I met online and Speedy's breeder was her client. They sent me a couple pictures. We chatted in a chatroom. They sent me a video. I said I'd take him for a trial. No pre-purchase exam, ride, nothing. I put the money down, spent as much as I spent on him to haul him up here from Kansas. It couldn't have worked out better. I probably would do it again too.

[FrancaV]

I think sometimes you just know it's right, even when you do everything "wrong". And people can do everything right and be very unlucky. ... I have not yet gotten into trouble following my heart. I did my head some, too, for sure -- gave things a lot of thought -- but in the end it was my heart that made the decision. Thank goodness for a supportive husband ... lesser men might have been totally freaked out, LOL.

[Excess]

I agree Franca....there was something about Speedy. While I DID NOT want: a white horse, a paint, a quarter horse, a bald faced horse, a blue-eyed horse, a horse under 15hh, a horse under 7yrs old.....there was almost like some higher power telling me that Speedy was mine. It was strange. I got him...but at the time I was a little unsure. Either in my mind or heart. But something UP THERE knew....I felt like I was being pulled towards him even though my heart was set on a mustang and my mind didn't want all the things he was...but somehow, it couldn't have turned out better.

AAAAAAAAAAAND I am happy to announce Speedy has finally hit 15hh!

[FrancaV]

LOL - well, you got one little part of your wish list! And obviously much, much more than you imagined at the time. Cool. :)

[lmullen]

Thanks For The Info.
More Welcome.

[NoBite]

Imullen - if you are asking if anyone has found a horse via the Internet and then gone to see the horse in person, then my answer is YES. When my wife and I decided to switch from Quarterhorses to gaited horses for trail riding, we conducted our search almost entirely via the Internet.

http://www.dreamhorse.com/
http://www.agdirect.com/
http://www.horseweb.com/
http://www.equine.com/

However, we used these searches to locate candidates for personal inspection and riding. No way would I buy a horse sight unseen. But, that's just me. It has been done, certainly. However, I am going to have only one horse at a time. Space, time and money dictate that. So, when making a final decision, it has to be in person.

BTW, we were able to locate a good many horses to inspect within a few hours of home. Actually, I can't imagine searching for a horse WITHOUT using one or more of the above sites.

[reata]

A couple of years ago I had a really nice Warmblood mare to sell for a friend..
I put her in our Horse Deals magazine.. I told the truth about her.. that she was a real nice mare but could be a little pushy if you let her and she had a large scar on a front leg..
Any ways I got a few phone calls and had a few "Lookers" come out.. and a few rode her. But I was glad they didn't buy her..Then I got a phone call from a lady about 12 hours away. We talked and I sent her some more photos and she she asked me to get a vet check done on the mare...
When the vet came out he was surprised how the mare passed the flexion tests for her 14 years. He had me lunge her for about 5 mins each way and just as he was about to say that will do .. the mare started to drag a hind leg ever so slightly ..so we had to keep going and the mare got a little worse. Soon she was draging it almost evey stride.. she was tired and sick of circles and getting real lazy. I told the vet this and he said I could be right but he had to fail her.. I was disapointed because I was sure this mare was sound..Anyways to cut along story short.. the buyer talked to the vet and rang me back and said that she would still have her..but wanted a 3 month guarentee on that back leg.. I was pleased to give it..this was a real nice home for a real nice mare..A couple of weeks later I put the mare on a horse transport and off she went to her new home, sight unseen.
Turns out the buyer was surprised that the scared leg was not worse, and she loved the mare.. She is compeating her in dressage and doing really well.. I often get photos of her winning a blue ribbon.. :-)

[Mares Tales]

I bought two foals off the internet from videos. I bought them completely because of how they moved. I asked the breeder what their personalities were like and how tall they were likely to get and he gave me his impression but since they produce 75 or so foals a year, he couldn`t be exactly sure. He said they were "friendly." Since this farm produces some really nice horses who have gone on and had high standing on the line, cross country, jumping and in the arena, and since the breeder said he would guarantee that I would be pleased and would replace my horse with another if I was not happy.......I took the chance.

I am VERY pleased with how these two horses have turned out so far. One is a 4 year old just being started under saddle and the other is a yearling colt.

It`s difficult enough to buy a horse sight unseen but I took a chance and bought two foals out of two different foal crops, by two different stallions, out of two different mares. FOALS CHANGE A LOT as they grow. Luckily the video I saw of them was at three months. You know the saying "Three days, three months, three years."

To sum up.....I had a very good experience buying off the internet but I built some trust in the breeder. After producing so many foals a year, I took confidence in the fact that he knew what his mares and stallions produced and was straight with me as much as he could be. The guarantee is what sealed the deal.

www.cancadefarms.com