Step 5: In-Person Evaluation
The in-person evaluation is a critical step during which you will ask additional questions, confirm information, and form your own opinions on the horse. If you followed the previous steps correctly, you should have many of your questions already answered. Those questions should have also weeded out a few more horses from your starting list, ensuring the time you take to visit the horses left on the list is time well spent for both the buyer and seller.
The goal during the in-person evaluation is to gather information to complete Phase 2 of the Prospective Horse Evaluation form. Allow the conversation to flow naturally and avoid using the form as a checklist. Holding the form on a clipboard and marking down your answers in real time can be intimidating to the seller. Instead, have a few notes regarding your questions, make notes as needed, and focus on being present in the conversation. Additionally, ask the seller if you can take photos and videos while you interact with the horse. These will assist you in reviewing the horse and completing the form in full once you leave the seller’s location.
The seller may choose to bring the horse to you, meet at a location with an arena, or at the property where the horse is kept. Make sure that when discussing trialing the horse, you confirm the location has an area where you can ride the horse (if you are looking for a riding horse). It is highly recommended that you bring at least one person with you when meeting the seller. This is not only a safety measure, but it will also ensure that you have multiple eyes and opinions, which will help you make an informed decision.
It is a good idea to arrive a few minutes early so that you can observe the seller catching the horse. Unfortunately, not every seller is honest, and some may try to hide the fact that a horse is hard to catch by having them caught and waiting for you. You should also examine the horse for saddle marks or sweat from being worked before you arrived. If the horse was already ridden or lunged, it is a red flag that the seller is potentially hiding the horse’s normal behaviors by making them tired.
Observe how the horse responds to the seller as they are caught, handled, saddled, and ridden. You can learn valuable information about the horse and better understand their training background by observing how the seller interacts with them. As they demonstrate the horse’s skills, make sure to ask questions.
Besides observing the horse’s behavior, you should also assess the horse’s overall condition and health. Some good questions to ask yourself as you watch: Are they sound? Do they struggle to pick up a certain foot? Is the coat glossy or dull? Are they at a healthy weight? Do they perform movements smoothly or stiffly?
After the seller has demonstrated the horse’s skills, it is your turn to handle the horse. You will want to trial both mounted and unmounted skills consistent with your lesson program needs.
The first thing to note is how the horse reacts to your approach and how they choose to interact with you. Pay attention to the horse’s overall demeanor. Consider, are they curious or fearful, engaged or stoic, tense or relaxed, docile or sensitive, bold or timid, dominant or submissive, affectionate or independent, social or aloof, inquisitive or wary, expressive or reserved?
Run your hands over the horse’s body, paying special attention to their back and legs. Look for sore spots, bumps, or any other abnormalities. You should palpate the horse’s back before and after riding to see if there is a change.
Next, lead the horse, performing walk transitions, trot transitions, backup, halt, and turns. Ask yourself, do they move out of your way when you turn? Are they prompt or slow in halting and walking forward? Will they trot easily, or do they lag? Do they turn their front end and hind end away on cue? Do they respond promptly when asked to back up? Do they back up straight or in an uneven pattern? If they are uneven in their backup, this may indicate a soundness issue. Take time to lunge the horse as well to observe their behavior and soundness.
While you are unmounted, test the horse’s reaction to various noises, movements, and objects. Is the horse okay with clapping? Fast movements? Someone hugging them? A ball being tossed? A jacket being taken off?
Pay close attention to how the horse reacts to an unknown or surprising stimulus. Every horse will spook at something, but the way they spook is critical to their success and safety in your program. You are looking for a horse that freezes instead of flees, one that becomes curious after the initial startle, or quickly returns to a relaxed state.
Once you have assessed the horse on the ground and are comfortable with their behavior, it is time to evaluate them under saddle. Always have the seller ride the horse first to demonstrate their capabilities. This will also keep you safe, ensuring that the horse is moderately well-behaved under saddle. If the seller won’t ride the horse, you shouldn’t either. If you decide, before getting on, that the horse is too much for you to handle, it is okay to decline to ride.
Pay attention to how the horse stands for mounting. You may choose to intentionally rub your leg over the hindquarters as you get on to test the horse’s reaction. Once mounted, pet the horse on the neck and back to test their sensitivity. Move around a little to see how comfortable they are with an unbalanced or fidgety rider. Take your feet in and out of the stirrups multiple times.
Walk, trot, and canter the horse in both directions. Play with different levels of contact, leg pressure, and seat cues to determine which the horse responds to best. Perform many transitions, changes of direction, halts, and arena figures to gauge the horse’s capability. Ask yourself, is the horse prompt in transitions? Are they sensitive or dull? If the cue isn’t clear, how does the horse react? What is the quality of each gait, and would they be appropriate for your clients? Are they soft and supple or stiff? Do they feel sound? Sometimes unsoundness is more apparent through feel than visually.
Once you have a good sense of how the horse behaves and moves under saddle, dismount, again paying attention to how well they stand. Remember, this is not a lesson or free ride on a horse, so use your time wisely and be efficient, but thorough, in your assessment. After riding, remove the saddle and again palpate the horse’s back to check for soreness.
Once you have received answers to your questions and assessed the necessary skills, thank the seller for their time. Emphasize the positive qualities you observed and try to avoid negative comments. If you already know the horse will not be the right fit, kindly explain this to the seller, emphasizing that your program has strict parameters and you don’t think you will be the right home. For example, you could say:
“Thank you for your time. Skip is a sweet horse. Unfortunately, with our strict parameters, he’s not quite what we are looking for, and we don’t think we would be the best home for him. But again, thank you for allowing us to come meet him and for your time.”
The goal is to keep a positive relationship with the seller. If you determine you want to pursue the next steps with the horse or are undecided and would like to discuss with your team, inform the seller that you will need a bit of time to consult with your team. Let them know you will be in contact in 24 or 48 hours. The shorter and more precise a timeline, the better, as the seller may have other interested buyers.
It is not recommended to commit to a horse right away, no matter how much you may love them, because it is important to consider the decision and discuss it with your team. This will also give you time to complete the Prospective Horse Evaluation form, which may reveal trends that lead you to decline the horse.
Following a team discussion, you have two options:
- Kindly thank the seller for their time, but decline the horse. Don’t blame the owner or horse for the partnership not working out. You want to leave things on a polite and amicable note. You never know when they may have another horse for sale or up for donation. Say something to the effect of “thank you for your time, but we have decided not to pursue this horse further as we are not the right fit for them.”
- Inform the seller that you would like to proceed with the horse, as they seem to be the right fit for your program. This is when you would move on to setting up a pre-purchase exam. Note that if you are setting up a pre-purchase exam, you should enter it with the assumption that you will purchase the horse unless something significant is revealed during the exam.
If you are unable to trial the horse in person, you can still use a similar process by analyzing videos from the seller. If you choose to buy a horse without the in-person assessment, make sure you do your due diligence. Talk to the seller, watch videos of the horse, and even facetime to see the horse in real time. Look into reviews about the seller to see if they have a good reputation. Make sure to complete a PPE with a trusted veterinarian. While looking at horses outside of your visiting range does increase the level of risk, it can open up more opportunities for potential horses.
