Ridecamp: Re: [RC] [RC] Question to ask when buying...

> And don't be scared off by the owner who DOES talk!  I
> find that some people (myself included) are very
> honest when assessing their own animals and will be
> open in discussing faults.  No horse is perfect!  But,
> I also find that many buyers will be scared off by
> this: "if he/she's telling me this much, what ELSE is
> wrong?" when in reality, it can just be an honest
> seller <gasp>.... Personally, if I were a buyer, I'd
> be a lot more put off by the sellers who tell you how
> perfect the horse is (I love "perfect conformation" or
> "no faults" as I didn't know that animal had been
> born)...

I hate to be a "me too" poster, but this is the best advice I've seen in a
long time!  The experienced horseman who tries to really put you in the
picture about both the horse's strengths AND the horse's weaknesses is a
goldmine!  Go see the horses that the owner is willing to describe in great
detail, both positive and negative, and run like heck when all you hear are
superlatives.  All horses have at least minor faults--and you have to decide
which ones you can live with, and which ones you can't.

I happen to be pretty proud of the horses I breed and raise, but I can
critique each and every one of them.  I had a really snooty lady come on my
place one time (one of those self-proclaimed experts who has never owned one
herself) and she told me that she was horrified to find a horse on my place
with a leg fault, and that although I was allegedly knowledgeable about leg
faults, this just proved that I didn't know anything about legs.  My retort
to her was that it was too bad she was not capable of finding the faults on
the other 30 or so that I had on the place at the time....

Heidi


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