My two freinds came over from Jersey to look for horses to buy. Both are experienced horsewomen who have owned and ridden all their lives. Both had the horses fully vetted (as in five stage!), which they both passed. One is now having to have a court battle as her vet and farrier told her a week after the mare arrived that the mare has a deformity in her leg which should have been picked up in the vetting (been there since birth) and should never have passed as she cannot be rideen ever again (sold as 4 year old competition horse). The other horse has a club foot. I'm not going to name the yard because of the court situation and don't want to jepodise the proceedings - but is there such thing as a "reputable dealer"?
Answers:
In Short NO! there is no such thing as a reputable dealer. Horses tend to go to dealers for one reason, a problem. weather its behavioural or physical.
Always use your own choice of vets.Look in yellow pages for a local one to where you are looking at the horse. (first find out who the seller uses) NEVER the one the seller recommends. ALWAYS have bloods taken (proof of doping should temperament change)
The very best of luck to your friends.
ER...HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THAT GUY WHO WENT TO BUY A HORSE BUT FIRST HE LOOKED IN THE HORSES MOUTH.
Honestly I haven't met one. I try to buy from private people rather than dealers and the private ppl have screwed me too at times. I have gotten wiser (or just pretend to think that anymore).
The ones that I have bought my mules from in the last 6 yrs were all private raised and they questioned me heavily as I questioned them about what my intentions were with the mules. The mule ppl haven't screwed me yet, but they are out there and they are KNOWN due to it being a small community of people.
If the sellers didn't question me or care enough about their animals to see that they were going to a good place, I would tend to walk on by.
Yes, there are, but very few and far between. The biggest thing to remember is that the dealers have the horses for a short time. They don't know their history, mental or physical. So even the good ones can send you a horse with problems.
I personally would never buy from a dealer. I buy direct from breeders or owners.
I have shopped for several clients. I've never had one complaint about the horses I found for them. I also have people who come to me and stop here. They've had so many bad experiences buying that they want to go through me. I am honest to a fault, and there is nothing hidden, good or bad. From what I hear though, that is very rare.
Sorry for the troubles. Very dissapointing.
There are reputable dealers/brokers, trainers and breeders. You just have to find them. I am always leery of anyone who tries to hard to "sell" a horse.
As to the specific case you are talking about; obviously your friends do not know as much about horses as you/they think do. Your friends couldn't spot a club foot?! If the horse was completely vetted, the abnormality would have showed up.
I have a vet friend who won't do a vet check for this reason. He says that if he missed something, which he is human and it happens, then he is liable for that. It's a good thing your friends got the vet check but on the second horse with the club foot, could they not see that?? I'm just wondering because a club foot would be very noticable.
As to a reputable dealer, I am sure there might be but I have never heard of one. A private person or breeder would be the way to go. Now with the plants closed many horses that have problems will goto places as sound horses, this is a very sad fact. IMO...reputable is out the window for dealers. All they want is the money, they don't care about the horse or the person buying.
Most vets will not "pass or fail" a horse in a vet check. To much liability from either the buyer or seller (as in this case)They will note what they see as good or bad, possible problems in the future, and from there it is up to the buyer to make a decision. I am curious as to why the buyer did not take the horse to her own vet for the check? If the seller insisted on a check with their personal vet, that would have been a huge red flag (at least to me). Reputable sellers will allow you to take the horse to the vet of your choice. We allow you the choice of a prepurchase check with a vet and a farrier (of your choice) or give you a 5 day window after purchase to do this. And a money back guarantee if the horse is unsound with a written report from the vet or farrier(prevents "buyers' remorse") I personally think private sellers are way more honest that dealers. For most private sellers, it is not the only income they have. For most dealers, they have to keep turning the inventory over, or they starve (which for some would not be a bad thing). Good Luck to your friends.
Edit: One thing I would like to point out about a "club footed horse". I have a horse that a vet called as "slightly club footed". The farrier said that he is was not club footed. So which professional do you believe? Unless a horse is (for the lack of a better term) grossly club footed (and by that I mean that a novice should be able to see the foot is not normal), that would be a point to argue.
A club foot? You would not need a vet or farrier to see that. There are reputable dealers.
I bought my first mare as a 4 year old from a small time dealer. She was a cracker and he tried to buy her back when he saw me competing her a year later!! NEVER get a horse vetted by the dealers vet... always find one yourself or get your vet to recommend one in the area. I know some people who have paid for their vet to travel to Europe to get horses vetted but they are usually buying expensive horses.
If the deformity cannot be seen externally and the horse was not lame on the day of the vetting then I don't see how the vet was liable. Many horses are routinely x-rayed for this reason.
Interesting. I would think an experienced horsewoman of however many years would be able to immediately spot a club foot when they saw one - even if it wasn't "that bad."
I guess there are such thing as reputable dealers but in the horse industry it can be very tricky finding one.
That sucks about the situation - I've been in small claims with a past barn owner and also have a fellow boarder who took a seller to court for a bad vet check as well (the woman's vet cleared the horse, our vet found 3 unflexing legs).
you say the horses were five stage vetted but you dont say if it was the deelers vet who did the vetting or if the friends asked an independant vet to do the vetting.
what i am a bit baffled about is that if they were so experienced, and i am not questioning that fact, is why they themselves didnt spot problems.
dealers can be anything from big sealers to the individual jo bloggs who sells one or two horses. there sre some very very iffy peope out there but on the other hand there are some very genuine people out there as well.
we are not all bad, and many are honest, sadly many are dishonest also
Yes there are but you always have to remember buy beware. Even if your friends vet couldnt do it you NEVER use the sellers vet or any vet the seller might have used always ask questions. The clubbed foot should have been noticeable and not bought. I wish your friends the best but i doubt much can be done with it being over seas and such
the argument that the clients own vet would not travel from jersey is hogwash,i have sent my vet all over the world and any vet worth the name would travel-of course if the cost was too hight then that is a different matter.A4 y.old is at best a very young competition horse and you make no mention of the competition.I have competed in Jersey and found the general standard of competition fairly modest so the uk vet probibaly took that into account.Also,in my experience vets often ask how much the animal cost and vet accordingly,eg if the animal cost many thousands the vetting would be stricter.this is never admitted by vets but they have to make decisions.The club foot as you describe cannot be that bad as a blind man would spot a serious case and the fact your blacksmith can sort it backs that up.
Of course there are reputable dealers,you have slandered the vet,and if you chose the vet,which i am sure you did ,then your judgement is at fault as well-however i cannot believe that a vet would jeopadise a career for a few quid,and i think,after reading your question that you need to reevaluate what you mean by experienced and the fact that your two lady friends have ridden all there lives May make them competent riders,but it does not mean that they are observant.i presume they saw and tried the horse with the deformity,as it was there from birth the horse has evidently got used to handling same and probibaly this deformity will not affect performance.i have had countless horses with so called deformities and they have all worked well and done what was asked.the perfect horse,conformation wise,is a rare animal,and if found would cost well above what would be considered normal,so in other words ,if your friends liked the animals and the heart,and lungs and eyes are fine then get on and enjoy the company and stop moaning.
I have had horses for over fifty years and in my experience have only ever come across one good caring dealer, i would never buy from a dealer as they are only interested in the sale of the horse they are not bothered whether it goes to a good knolagable home, they are not brothered whether the horse is suitable for the person they are selling it too, always best to buy privately, have the best vetting you can and if at all suspicious about the health or condition even the way it handles after you have tried it out for a few time[owner will not mind you coming back and trying it out several time if they are genuine people] don't buy it.Your friends should have had the 10* vetting as it was from a dealer.This would have found the leg problem. A few years ago i went to see a horse[private owner] tired it for a few times felt and handled well, but there was something about him working on his right rein that was not quite right but i though orginally it was something that had happened in his training,i had him vetted 10*[as he was a lot of money to buy] found he had a hole in his tendant, and was buted up to his eye balls, if i had brought this horse i would have worked him for a few days and he would have gone lame,he needed 12month full rest to heal that's if he ever would, later found out this person was selling the horse for her uncle who was a horse dealer, so always be on your gaurd when going to buy a horse, but having said that there are some genuine private owners out there selling there well love,healthy horses.
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