Would you buy a horse you haven't ever met?

I did twice, they came from a kill pen about 2 hours away and there was no way to go see them before hand(very shady I know) so all I had was a few pictures and a video, I got Bella(ottb) at the end of May and then Legacy(leopard appy) beginning on June, both have their issues but overall are great horses

I bought Sunny sight unseen. Best thing to ever happen to me.
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I bought Scout without seeing him in person. Found him through an online classified site, only a few minutes from home, but I was away at school and unable to see him until the next weekend. He sounded like exactly what I was looking for, and I didn't want to lose out by waiting, so I called my family at home and sent them to take a look (they've indulged my equine obsession for so many years it isn't funny...). My sister checked him over and test rode him (the sellers had only had him for a month, and had never ridden him). Dad was willing to drive away - Scout looked pretty rough in terms of condition. Sis was impressed with his potential, though, and offered to buy him from me if I decided that I didn't like him when I met him. Of course, I loved him.

If you're planning on buying a horse sight unseen, definitely do all research possible, and, if you can, have a trusted horseperson check it out and report back before buying.

Ive bought a few of my horses sight unseen or untried.
Lucky I never met.
Sky I met when lame with severe abscess when I went to pick up lucky and had him dropped off to me a few months later.
His sister opal I knew about and rode once. Got her a year after that.
Duke I got after meeting him without ever riding him and had him on x-ties for a few minues tops the one time I did meet him at about 10pm.
Ridge was a rescue and I had limited handling with and rode once but he was on my property after quarantining so it was pretty clear he was mine.

Lol now that I think of it, all my horses have pretty much found me! Even my first horse nevada was basically a gift - though I DID know and ride him for a year before he became mine (which was good since I was 16 at the time)!

Lucky

Sky


Opal (student on her)

With her son max (regis OLD NA)

Duke

Ridge


Follow your gut ;)

I don't think I would, but then again, if I really liked the look of a horse, I might. One of my friend's bought both her horses from a video, and she has had great success!! Guess it really just depends on the horse, and on the person:)

I have bought 3 horses sight unseen. I will never do it again. I love each of them, but none were what they were marketed as.

Romance was advertised as an in foal mare with a history of doing pony club. She turned out not to be in foal and I have a strong suspicion she has never had a saddle on her back before coming to us.

Nippa was advertised as an awesome little pony that hadn't been broken in properly, but had packed around kids bareback (:roll:). What I got was a nervous wreck who couldn't be caught and gets even more nervous when children are around.

Trojan was advertised as a calm, mellow boy ready to be broken in, previous injury, but declared sound by multiple vets. He arrived high strung and freaked out. He appeared to have a history of abuse as well. We also discovered that he was completely unsound on the leg we were told was sound and also had a spinal injury. Both were deteriorating rapidly. We had to put him to sleep.

Now I can not imagine my life without having any of these horses in it, but I have also learnt my lesson.

I personally would not. I took a horse on a trial after a friend saw it as the horse was a distance from me. I ended up spending $800 on a horse I did not own to find out what was wrong with it before I committed to buying. If I had seen the horse in person before it arrived home I would have walked away.

Personally, no, I wouldn't. Especially if I were looking for a horse to ride. But I also think it depends on the person. I'm the kind of person I cannot ride a horse well unless I have a connection with them. However, if you can happily ride just any horse and don't need that connection, it may be a different story. Even if a friend looked at the horse and rode it and said I'd love it, I still wouldn't.
Example: Someone in our pony club saw this horse on Dreamhorse all the way on the East Coast. She had a friend who lives in Florida, go over to check the horse out. She did this, loved the horse and said he would be wonderful for my friend.
WRONG. Horse was supposed to be a gentle, solid 2'6" jumper. He's very sweet however the first time she ever jumped the horse, he fell over a twelve inch cross rail. Never buy without seeing.
The only time I would ever even consider it would be if I was rescuing a horse and knew of all the issues it could be. Still, even then, I'd be worried.
I think it's very based off of what you're looking for in a horse and what you expect. Personal preferences :)

I wouldn't do it. But like others have said, that doesn't mean it will be a disaster! :)

I was considering several out-of-state horses before I bought my gelding, my trainer would have visited and tried them out first though. I trust my trainer, so I would have been fine going by her opinion.

I wouldn't buy a horse that neither of us had ever seen/tried though.