Tips for going to look at a horse to buy

I had a good case of butterflies on the way to see Sky for the first time, even though we’d already been through this process with Misty. We drove over an hour and were early, which is always a good idea. When you set up a time to meet your potential horse, always arrive at least thirty minutes early if you can. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to arrive even earlier than this, and here’s why: It will allow you to see the real horse. You’ll watch the owner with them without having to wonder if they are making the horse appear to be better than they really are. If the horse is hard to catch, you’ll see it. If the horse is aggressive toward the owner, you’ll see that too. And it will be unlikely anyone would have sedated the horse at that point.

There’s nothing worse than going to see a horse and having it already tacked up and sweaty from being ridden. You will have no idea if the owner just rode that horse for three hours to make it tired.

Sky lived in her previous owner’s back yard. There were lots of trees and little room to run, but she was well-loved. We parked our car a couple houses away and from a distance watched the owner go out to see her, and she willingly came to him and ate her favorite treat . . . carrots. That showed us she was sociable and wasn’t hard to catch either. More on that later though!

We finally pulled up to the house and chatted with her owner a little bit. Then we made our way back to where Sky greeted us at her fence. I immediately stepped inside her enclosure, and we pulled out the bag of carrots and apples we’d brought for her. She had no trouble accepting the offering from strangers. Her face was happy and relaxed with no fear in her eyes.

One of the first things I noticed about Sky was the length of her hooves. At the time I didn’t know much, but even I recognized they were very long. I think there are three pillars of a healthy horse: teeth, hooves, and back. Take away the health of one, and you will have issues. Sky’s hooves weren’t so long that they were causing her health problems, but it was something we knew we’d need to address right away if we bought her.

As I’ve said, a great test for a potential horse is if you can touch it on all parts of its body. I carefully tested Sky, and she allowed me to do so. I ran my hands up and down her legs, avoiding kick zones, and touched her back, flank, and belly. Then we began grooming her, something her owners said she loved. She stood still without being tied as we brushed her, and she immediately allowed me to pick up her hooves (another great check mark in her favor.)

So the moment came when her owners asked if we wanted to ride her. With much trepidation I agreed. I knew it was always best to let the owners ride first, but in this case physical challenges kept them from riding. My riding knowledge was quite limited. I had only ridden in a Western saddle a few times prior, so I barely even knew how to tie up the cinch. I decided to use my rope halter instead of a bridle, which in hindsight probably wasn’t the smartest move, but I was all into “natural” riding at the time, so on the rope halter went. Sky was used to rope halters, so she didn’t mind.

The owners were surprised we decided to forego the bridle, and it turns out it was probably a good thing since at this time they told us Sky would run away from them when she saw the bridle. That was something that made me pause as I didn’t want to buy a horse that was difficult to tack up, but when we got a look at their bridle (which they jokingly shook later, and sure enough Sky went running) they were using a pretty harsh curb bit on her. It made sense that she wouldn’t want it in her mouth.

I probably shouldn’t have gotten on her at the word of the owners that she didn’t buck or run off, but after an amateur attempt at lunging her I did, and the greenness of each of us became apparent. I was too scared to do anything more than walk, and Sky didn’t really want to listen to the inexperienced girl on her back. Nothing bad happened. I got off, and we talked a little more with the owners.

At this point I was starting to backpedal and have second thoughts, but luckily my family calmed me down. “You can’t train sweet,” my mom said. We could help Sky through pretty much any problem she had, and there were a few (more on that later.) But she had the kindness we were looking for.

We drove away with the date set. We were buying a horse!

I learned a lot from this experience. Here’s what I wish I had known:

1. It helps to bring an experienced, horse-savvy friend with you. It would have assured me to hear from someone with a little more knowledge that I wasn’t considering a lemon horse. Or, if you trust your riding instructor, see if you can pay them to come watch you ride the horse. Having eyes on the ground can be a huge help with your decision.

2. Listen to everything the sellers tell you. Inadvertently they revealed Sky was somewhat bridle shy. To fix this it was simply a matter of bridling her slowly and patiently and riding a few times using a comfortable snaffle. Soon she realized the bridle was no longer going to hurt her. She didn’t mind being bridled at all after that.

3. Always trust your gut. You know how you’re listening to someone and you just get the feeling they’re pulling your leg or stretching the truth? Listen to that feeling. As Sky’s old owners talked with us, we felt none of those warning signs and knew they were genuinely looking for a good home for their horse. It turns out several other people had come to see her, but all of them were harsh with Sky. They liked our gentle approach. We truly cared her. You can’t go wrong putting the horse first.