Horse and pony checklist

Before you go

• A horse or pony may not be sold away from its dam before 8 months.
• Every equine must have a passport issued by a UK Passport Issuing Organisation, and must be microchipped. Ask for the passport number in advance and check the silhouette and markings match.
• Arrange a vetting. A five-stage pre-purchase examination is the standard and it is worth the money on any horse you intend to work.
• Confirm what the horse is actually being sold as: hacking, competition, companion, broodmare. The answers diverge sharply.

On the day

• See it caught from the field, and see it tacked up. Never arrive to find it already tacked and warmed up.
• Watch it walk and trot in hand on a hard surface, both ways.
• Ride it, or have your instructor ride it, and then ride it yourself.
• Pick out all four feet. Look at the shoeing and the state of the hooves.
• Ask to see it loaded into a trailer or lorry.
• Ask to see it in traffic if you intend to hack.

Paperwork and history

• Passport, microchip, vaccination record (flu and tetanus), worming history, dental record.
• Competition record if it has one.
• Ask directly: has it ever had laminitis, colic surgery, a tendon injury, or been on box rest? Ask about vices: crib-biting, weaving, box-walking.

Walk away if

• There is no passport.
• You are discouraged from having it vetted.
• It has been sedated. Signs: an unusually low head carriage, a droopy lip, a dull eye, sweating without work.
• The seller will not let you see it caught, or ridden by them first.