Buying a horse, especially if it is your first horse, is a very exciting thing. But where can you find a horse to buy? How do I know that the person selling the horse is being honest about their horse? And where are some good places to try to look for a horse to buy?
Where Can I Buy A Horse?
There are so many different places where you can buy a horse. You can buy a horse at an online auction, in-person auction, horse sale sites, competition barns, horse shows, horse breeders, off of online sale sites like craigslist, and more! Before you ever go through with a purchase of a horse, however, make sure to test ride or meet the horse, and have a veterinarian examine the horse as well.
What Are The Best Places To Look For A Horse To Buy?
I believe that it is better to buy a horse from a reputable breeder, competition barn, or other business rather than just finding a horse that your neighbor down the road is selling. This is because businesses are more professional, they likely have more experience with horses, and they want to provide good business and services to spread the good word about them and build their name.
If you are wanting to buy a horse, I recommend looking at these places:
- Competition Barns
- Riding Schools
- Reputable Horse Breeders
- Other Equine Businesses
You can still buy a horse from another location, but I would be more cautious about buying a horse from:
- Online Auctions
- In-Person Auctions
- Online Horse Sale Sites (like Equine Now)
- Kill Pens
- Horse Rescues
- Online Sale Pages (like Craigslist)
What Is The Average Cost Of A Horse?
The average purchase price of a horse is between $3,000 and $5,000 (US Dollars). Horses at this price usually just know the basic training and aren’t taught to do anything extraordinary. These horses are usually your average backyard general riding horses.
Some horses will cost between $10,000 and $20,000 (US Dollars). At this price, these horses are generally of good health, good breeding and bloodlines, are registered, and able to compete in different disciplines but not at the super-high levels.
Horses are able to reach prices of over $100,000 (US Dollars). These horses are often imported from other countries, have exceptional bloodlines and breeding, are able to compete at high-level competitions, and are usually registered.
Horses are known to reach prices of over $1 million (US Dollars). These horses are top-notch. Among horses sold at this price or more include famous successful racehorses, jumping horses, breeding stallions, reining horses, and Olympic level horses.
How Do I Know That The Person Selling The Horse Is Being Honest About Their Horse’s Age, Breed, & Health?
The best way to know if the seller of the horse is being truthful about the horse is to have a veterinarian come do a physical examination of the horse. The veterinarian can tell the horse’s age, guess the breed (if the horse is not registered), and determine if the horse is sound and has a clean bill of health.
If you are unsure if the horse is going to be ideal for or good at your discipline, have your trainer or another horse trainer/instructor come with you to meet and check out the horse. If you do this, then you can have a professional’s opinion on the horse. DON’T FORGET TO PAY THE TRAINER/INSTRUCTOR THAT COMES WITH YOU