Buying a horse out of state

[jettgirl24]

Hi Guys,

I've been in the horse biz for many, many years now but I've never purchased a horse out of state. I found a Hanoverian colt who is the nephew of my current horse... He's the spitting image in fact and I am thinking VERY hard about pursuing him. His bloodlines are awesome and tend to produce horses with great temperments. I absolutely LOVE my horse and my trainer and I were just joking the other day that we wished we could clone him... This baby is about the closest thing

I've got a free plane ticket that I need to use by February anyway, so if I decide to pursue this I'll definitely go look at him in person before making a purchase decision.

Have any of you purchased a horse from across the country before? I will want to do a vet check for sure... Do you guys have any advice on how to find a good vet in an area I'm unfamiliar with? Do you have any other words of wisdom that might help me if I go through with it?

 

[EweSheep]

Yes I have. bought a tobiano black and white Miniature colt stallion from a breeder in Texas.

Her and I talked alot over the phone, mailing, etc at least a month. Then talked to other breeders in TX to get their review on that breeder. Everything was positive. So her and I worked together for a shipper and it was GREAT! I was very pleased with the colt and she had nothing to hide. Had his Coggins test and vet check before he left the state at my cost.

It was a positive experience for me.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I didn't buy one but I did adopt one from TAMU in September. They were fantastic to deal with, very upfront about everything, answering all of my questions. All her shots were current and the coggins and vet check were done the week she shipped. Equine Express out of Pilot Point, Texas did the actual shipping for me and they were terrific as well. They took great care of her and she arrived here in tip-top shape.

Ginger is a sweetheart and I cannot believe she's only been here a couple of months! It feels like she's always been one of mine. All around it was a great experience.

HTH

Rusty

 

[welsummerchicks]

I have bought a couple from fairly far away. You have a very different situation from buying a family pet. And, based on what good quality Hannoverians from proven bloodlines cost, a mistake would be an expensive mistake.

As you probably already know, there are pro's and con's to 'raising your own' in the sport horse world. It's a gamble, but oh what a fun gamble.

Perhaps you can find a vet there, by asking your own trainer, or asking other trainers in the area. In most cases, it is very unwise to use the seller's vet, or ONLY her vet. Her vet is usually fine to take xrays and such, but NOT to examine, evaluate the animal or offer a recommendation.

This should be someone who regularly does prepurchase exams on warmbloods and is familiar with how different their xrays look.

With the baby baby, the major thing is to be sure he doesn't have any age-related developmental orthopedic disorders - like OCD, epiphysitis, contracted tendons, or of course - any youthful injuries that might affect a sport career. The prepurchase also can detect neurological disorders, and test lungs, heart, vision.

All flexions as well as ankles, stifles, knees, hocks, xrayed, whether he's a weanling, yearling or up. It should include having the horse move on different surfaces, manouvers, etc. You can then have the xrays read by one or two different vets. The 'reader' can be anywhere, as you'll fed-ex him/her the xrays. The reader will send you a report and you can go over it with your vet.

It is a good idea to have the prepurchase exam videotaped, if you can't be there. The videotaper should videotape the vial number for the blood sample, and the blood should be tested for drugs etc.

You may want to have someone who judges young sport horses to go out and evaluate the youngster's potential - conformation, gaits and working temperament. Your trainer may not want to do that if s/he doesn't evaluate baby babies all the time.

If the youngster has been shown, it would be nice to have the results. That can help too.

That's it basically. Network to find a prepurchase vet in the area. Have a very complete prepurchase done. Have the xrays read by 1-2 other vets. Consider having an expert in young sport horses evaluate his potential. Put all the info together, have a sitdown with your trainer, and make the call and pop the cork on the bubbly.

If you do buy, please set up a very conservative nutrition program for your growing youngster, so to avoid growth problems, so he can be 'all he can be'.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
Yes that is who I had my mini colt shipped. Equine Express, they are GREAT shippers and they do care about the horses! They would make phone calls twice or three times a day, where they are at and how the horses are doing. Sometimes they will do discounts if they do have enough horses "on the way drop offs", you can get a discount. Thumbs up for Equine Express!

 

[jackrooster]

Im from Maine and i got my Arabian mare from Washington state 2 years ago. The vet we used was the vet that did the farms horses and they just let him know ahead of time that we needed a vet check so he could get us in.......buut this was at a big show barn too.....is he at a show barn or someones house?? We did a vet check, a drug test and everthing you could think o to make sure there was nothing wrong with her for the price we were going to pay for her. But she was all worth it!! The best of luck to you!!

 

[jettgirl24]

This colt is at a show barn so I'm sure they are accustomed to the selling process. I'll definitely be getting a full pre-purchase done and really want to find a good vet that isn't the one used by the breeder. If everything went through I was considering doing the hauling myself but during this time of year I think I would feel more comfortable with hiring a professional as I'm not super comfortable with winter driving conditions. I'll check out Equine Express for sure.

Thank you all for your advice, it's a big decision and guidance is always appreciated

 

[welsummerchicks]

Wow it sounds like you are pretty well prepared already. Have a look at Blue Chip and a couple of the other premium companies that handle larger sport horses(not because he's so big yet, because the bigger rigs are heavier).

The um, arrival time is usually...er...'flexible' and they will call you when they are within an hour or two of you, usually.

You might consider trying to minimize the number of stops and loads/unloads/reloads on the trip - a direct trip is usually more expensive, but less stressful on little ones and exposes them to fewer hazards.

I don't know if you want to pay for it, but a full size stall might be a good option, so he can get his head down and cough and clear his respiratory passages (can help them to not get sick on a long trip) and move around. Youngsters are usually less stressed if there is another horse in the rig with them(has its pluses and minuses).

It really is better to let them do it if the baby is across the snow belt or if it's a long trip. Their rigs are bigger and heavier and get down through the wet and snow better, and get better traction.

 

[jettgirl24]

Thank you, I'll check out Blue Chip as well. I'm in western WA and he's in Iowa so they'll have to cross a number of passes. I know that professionals are well accustomed to driving in the snow but I know I will be a nervous wreck the whole time

 

[welsummerchicks]

They may go 'down around' in winter, they may have to if I remember how some of your passes behave themselves in winter. Aside from that, most big haulers don't take a direct route to you unless you pay for a direct trip...sometimes not even then, LOL. They're likely to have several stops on the way anyway, maybe downcoast in this case, but they still will have to go over a bump someplace if they're coming from Iowa. I would not assume they take the most direct route...they usually don't make the trip until they can make several stops.

It is exciting, and nervy. BUT....don't count your chickens til your eggs are hatched...let the prepurchase process do its thing.