03/23/2026
Horse PSA:
In the past year, I’ve seen a rising number of situations in the horse sales arena where marketing is vague at best, and absolutely false at worst.
Recently, several local horse sale ads have verged on the brink of criminal. A few have resulted in injuries by the purchaser, and even more have resulted in horses being labeled as bad when they’ve just been abusively misrepresented.
We all know this is the risk of not getting a PPE - you can end up with a horse completely unsuited for your needs, far older than advertised, and/or riddled with health issues.
Veterinary procedures are EXPENSIVE, and a “cheap” horse can seem worth the risk. However, you can educate and arm yourself with extra knowledge in other ways too.
It may not be as involved as a PPE, but it can also help a purchaser avoid some big red flags.
After some conversations with other professionals, here is a very short list of suggestions to help guide you through a horse purchase:
- Ask as many standard questions as you can think of when shopping for a horse. The more specific details in an ad, the better. Ask about health concerns, quirky behaviors, past riding use, how they handle hoof care/trailering/saddling/etc, and why they’re selling the horse.
- When going to see the horse, ask to watch the horse work from start to end. You should be able to watch the horse being caught, groomed, saddled, and warmed up. If the owner doesn’t feel comfortable riding the animal for you, ask why that is? If you don’t feel comfortable, LISTEN to your gut!
- Ask an experienced trainer or other equine professional to go with you to check out the horse. They may charge you a fee, but their knowledge and experience can save you from spending a fortune on vet bills later on.
- Learn about basic equine anatomy and movement. The Galvayne’s groove can help you gauge a horse’s age, typically within a few years. Have the owner walk the horse out for you without equipment on - pay attention to how their feet land - if they seem to be limping or out of balance, there may be issues with lameness to consider. View the horse from multiple angles and pay attention to muscle development - are they balanced on all sides of their bodies? Learn about palpation and stretches and how to safely use those techniques to gauge flexibility and possible painful issues.
- There are groups on Facebook focused on outing people who chronically mistreat/misrepresent horses. I highly recommend searching those pages before buying from a seller - it can help save a lot of time and heartbreak.
- If you’re a first time horse owner, find a facility or education center where you can learn the basics BEFORE you dive into the horse world. Having a community’s support to lean on and professionals to help you will make all of the details less overwhelming.
Most equine professionals stay in the industry because we love horses. We want to help people dive into this world and have experiences with these animals that bring so much joy. Too much of the time, animals are misrepresented and pay the price - please help stop this problem!
If you can think of any additional advice for horse shopping, please add it in the comments. And please SHARE for all!
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