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When you have found your "Dream Horse" the first thing you need to do, sad to say, is to wake up! Emotions have to be put aside and some common sense has to take over.

You need to make sure that the horse is sound and suitable for what you intend to use it for. A vet check is a good place to start.

Use a vet of your choosing. Do not use the seller's vet avoid all possibility of bias. A good vet should start at the nose and work their way back to the tail. X-rays should be taken of front and back legs and feet. A brood mare should also be ultra-sounded and cultured.

Do not take every thing the vet says as gospel. Use your own common sense. If a horse has a bone splint but is sound on it and you are only going to use it for gentle trail strolls, there is no problem. The vet has done his job by pointing it out but you have to decide if it is a problem or not. Vets are also not infallible.

I recently had a horse fail a vet check because the vet "saw an abnormality" in her eyes. The vet mentioned cataracts, but I thought it unlikely in a 4-year-old. Instead I took the mare to New Bolton (where they treated Barbaro) to see an ophthalmologist. The final diagnosis is that the mare has visible circles in her eyes where the sections of the lens join but that it has probably been there since birth, doesn't affect her vision and is unlikely to deteriorate. The purchaser's vet is standing by his original opinion that the horse would be unsafe for children to ride because it might shy if can't see well. The horse has never shied at anything; has been trained exclusively Western but jumped every jump it was pointed at during the pre-sale trials; and has never shown any signs of a vision problem.

Instead of using her own common sense, the buyer is listening to the vet and has pulled out of the purchase. Her loss, not mine, but nevertheless an example of how blind faith (no pun intended) in the vet check can be misguided.

Once you have the vet report, have tried the horse up the whazoo to make sure that it is really the right one, gathered opinions from at least one knowledgeable other, and have made your decision, now is the time to negotiate.

It is fairly safe to assume that unless the seller has advertised the price as "Non-negotiable" or "Firm" that the asking price has some flexibility in it. By the way, it is pretty safe to assume that for non-negotiable and firm prices too. A general rule of thumb is that the price is inflated by 10-15 %. So if the asking price is $800 make your opening bid $680 which is 85% of the price. If the asking price is $10,000 offer $8,500.

Expect this first offer to be refused and take the rejection with good grace. As the seller what they would accept and then offer to split the difference and come in slightly lower. Point out that the horse is not perfect (even if you think it is). Mention any flaws found in the vet check or noticed when trying the horse to justify your lower offer.

Play the negotiating by ear. Don't be so hard nosed that you alienate the seller. Be reasonable. If you think the sellers' latest offer is acceptable, then accept it.

Before parting with any money, make sure you have the coggins and all the vaccination records and that every shot is up to date. If not, refuse to sign the bill of sale until the seller has them brought up to date. After the sale is complete, make sure you get a record of the feed, hay and supplements your new baby is used to and ask the seller if you can take a half bag of feed to mix with your own to avoid any colic problems on changing from one feed to another. Before you leave, get the dates of the last shoeing and worming so you can keep you companion on the same schedule.

Then go home and enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Heather J Powell.
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