Find, save, message, negotiate

Narrow the market before you fall in love with one horse.

• Start broad: set only budget and country, then read twenty adverts to calibrate what your money buys.
• Add filters one at a time — discipline, age band, height, breed. Adding all of them at once usually returns nothing.
• Sort by newest to catch fresh inventory; good horses in the mid market move within days.
• Use the breed and discipline hubs when you know the job but not the horse.
• Turn off demo listings if you only want live adverts you can act on today.

Build a shortlist you can actually compare.

• Save any horse that meets the specification, even if the photos are ordinary — presentation and quality are not the same thing.
• Aim for a shortlist of six to ten before you contact anybody.
• Compare saved horses side by side on price, age, height, location and record rather than on the advert's tone.
• Set a price-drop alert on horses slightly above budget; sellers reprice more often than buyers expect.
• Note travel distance honestly — a bargain 1,400 km away is not a bargain.

Ask the five questions that separate real prospects from wasted journeys.

• Why is the horse for sale, and how long has the seller owned it?
• What is the current work routine, and has the horse had time off?
• Is there a recent vetting, and may you see the report?
• Can you have a live video call this week, starting in the stable?
• Are the passport, microchip and studbook papers all present?
• Keep the conversation on the platform until you have agreed to view. Never send a deposit to a third-party account.

Agree a fair price, in writing, with the vetting as the condition.

• Anchor to evidence: comparable horses of the same age, level and country — not to the seller's asking price.
• Make one considered offer rather than a series of small ones. Say what it is based on.
• Make the offer conditional on a satisfactory pre-purchase exam commissioned by you, never by the seller.
• Ask what is included: tack, rugs, remaining insurance, transport, and any competition entries.
• Put price, deposit, warranties, vetting condition and the date title passes into a written contract before money moves.
• Insure from the moment title passes, and book transport only once the vetting is clear.