~*Sweet Cheeks*~ :
Anyone want to chime in on what to look at on this big guy?
Quite honestly, I think that as basically a beginner (which in a way is really GOOD, since that is the kind of horse being sought!
) you are better off not trying to get clever or investigative... just make sure you see the basic things done. Since the horse is being trailered over you will not get an opportunity to see him being caught or led in from the field, but you should see the usual stuff:
standing tied while being groomed/tacked
having his feet being picked up for cleaning
having saddle and bridle put on
standing still for mounting
generic 'being ridden' stuff
it's not a bad idea to request the seller to take her coat off (while she's riding him) and hang it on the arena fence, so you can see his
reaction, unless she feels that he might not like it (which is not necessarily a dealbreaker but something useful to know about his brain)
if the facility and weather permit, ask if you can see him ridden down the laneway or into the field or something else like that, going away
from the barn/trailer by himself for as far a distance as circumstances permit
do not get on the horse yourself unless you are 100% comfortable with the idea from what you've seen so far, and if at any time you feel
like maybe it was not such a great idea, get off BEFORE something bad happens, you are not there to earn a bravery badge
There are some other things I'd do trying out a horse, but are going to either be unsafe or uninformative in this situation. You can also ask questions like "what type things is he most apt to shy at?" or "what has his soundness been like, is he ever stiff or off?" but not because you should *believe* any answers you get... and IMO unless you really like chatting up sellers it is probably fine for novices to skip this, as not really losing any useful information.
E.t.a. - one thing that it is wise to be on the lookout for, although you will scarcely ever see it even if you look at hundreds of horses for sale, is for the horse to be perpetually "dangly" in his personal bits. If the penis is half-dropped through most of the time you are looking at the horse and seeing him shown to you, there is a high chance he has been given some form of tranquilizer. This is rare, partly because not THAT many people do it and partly because those who do generally have the correct dose down well enough to get some calming effects *without* making the horse all dangly down there
-- but, it is well to be aware of the possibility, b/c you never know.
Those with geldings - do you check out how sensitive they are in the sheath area when looking to purchase a gelding?
Nah, I wouldn't bother. It is virtually-always SO easily dealt with by having the vet sedate the horse, if necessary, that personally it would not alter one iota my decision whether to buy a particular horse, so I really don't care. If the seller *offers* to show you how he reacts to being felt up, sure, but don't try it yourself and honestly I don't think it's worth asking to see.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
