Pictures would definitely help!

 

I would get a thorough vet check and let that decide me. The things that you mention wouldn't stop me from strongly considering him (thus being willing to pay for a vet check) if I likely the horse.

 

I think that price is a steal of a deal.

I myself have a coming-9-year-old that is 2D locally (3D at the bigger races) who can spin and do flying lead changes (and other reining things), showmanship, can carry a flag in parades, and do just about everything.

If I were to be selling him right now (which I'm not, of course) I would most certainly have him priced above $10,000 for all the things he can do.

He's also missing a chunk of muscle in his forearm from getting kicked by another horse when he was a yearling. Has never bothered him.

If you are worried, I would do a pre-purchase vet exam. Otherwise, again, I think that's a great price for a horse that can do all those things.

 

I agree the horse sounds like a really good match for what you want to do. If he is all you described him to be and passes a vet a check - I would want him in my barn!

 

Do you have intimate knowledge of this horse's abilities or are you going on hearsay? Do you know for sure the leg injury is that old or more recently acquired which could be a big reason why he's up for sale. Scar tissue, the scarring your can't see, doesn't move like muscle so there's no guarantee it won't bother him after a hard run. My concern would be about him being buted. A vet check can't necessarily tell you if this horse will favor this leg unless it runs a few hard sessions. I know a gal who'd beat on her horse which bore a long scar down his hind leg if he limped. He learned to not limp when she rode. Afterward he'd be so sore he could hardly walk.

 

I've seen pictures of him in a parade, on trails, going down the road, in the drive thru at McDonalds. I also brought a flag (though not as big as the ones they use in color guard) out with me and it didn't phase him. I saw videos of him barrel racing. And when I went out to see him she showed me his reining spin (although it wasn't that great, because he hasn't been ridden for a while). So yes, a lot of what she claims he can do/has done I have either seen on pictures, videos or in person. It's not a leg injury, it's below the withers. About an inch down and 1-2" in length. There's no way I can know for sure when it happened, I'm just going by what she said. But there is white winter coat hair there now so it can't be brand new or anything. Is there any way to tell if a horse has been given Bute?

 

The first picture (which is a really bad picture of this horse- I'm pretty sure he's just had a bath, haha) shows the scar under his withers. The other pictures (I cropped everyone's faces out, since they're not mine) show him in a parade, going through a drive thru, etc.

 

More pictures!

 

Get the Vet check. This horse looks like a gem, if he is sound and healthy.

 

Do you have the videos of him running?

 

She had to show them to me on her phone because they are on a private FaceBook group (and apparently the phone she had the originals on fell in the bathtub). I am going to make a FaceBook so that I can access them myself but I'm not sure if there is any way to get them onto my computer so that I can share them. I will definitely try though!

 

I'm just pretty sure I recognize one of the places where the horse is tied up at.

 

Could be... the horse world is so small! :shock:

 

If I'm seeing rightly, the spot by the withers may be from poor saddle fit or a rider riding heavy on one side. This causes poor circulation in the area and the hairs turn white.

 

I didn't know that. Interesting... If that was the case though, why would she say he got injured? I'd think an injury, which can cause lasting problems, would be more alarming than poor saddle fit, which can be fixed. I wish I'd taken a better picture of it while I was there.

 

My gelding has a 1 1\2 inch mark near his withers from a bad saddle fit from before I got him. Its never given him any issues at all.
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Usually (although not always) I would expect white scars on BOTH sides of the withers if the scars are from poor saddle fit. But yes, if a poorly fit saddle is used on a horse, the pressure from the bad fit can "kill" the hair and cause them to turn white.

You'll see the same if a horse got rubbed by a girth/cinch badly, or if severe spurs were ever used that actually cut the horse.

 

I would suggest you run a few patterns on barrels with him. What some folks say "prancy" if he has been running all weekend, could be rearing and fighting the gate. 2D and 3D are great, but what size pattern? Small or large? 13 and 14's on small patterns are wonderful, what does he run regulation size?
Qualifying for NBRA is great, but it just means the horse won enough points to qualify. My granddaughters horse qualified this year and she did attend that many races and they were all local small races.
I am not trying to discourage you, but until you sit on that horses back and make a few runs, how will you know if you and he even get along? How will you know if his "prancy" is okay or really a soured gate attitude?
Don't buy him until you run patterns on him. Just saying from experience.
My daughters mare was a great mare, but when we bought her they expressed she got a bit "silly" at the gate after a few weeks of riding barrels. Yep, she got silly all right, we had to back her into arena. My granddaughters barrel gelding that she qualified on for this year in Georgia was the most mellow sweetheart in the world, until he had run a few weekends in a row, then he started being a jerk at the gate. What I am saying is some folks ideas of "prancy" can be just that, or can be game changing.

 

This totally makes sense. However, this horse has been off all winter (as most have in my area) so he's not in good enough shape to full out run a pattern or I would definitely ask to at least watch him run. That makes it rough.

 

You could ask to ride him at a show in exhibition to see how he acts.

 

Do you know his HYPP status?

As for the bute, you can ask the vet doing the PPE to draw blood for a drug test.

 

No, I don't. Can a vet help me with that?

 

Well, then you are taking a lot of chances. Basically buying the horse by videos and looking at him. A vet check will tell you if he is sound, but not riding him before you purchase him for barrels, just taking the sellers advice is not a good thing. Might be exactly as she says, might be a monster in there hiding.
Been there done that. I'm sorry,but being involved in horses year after year for decades, I have learned that most sellers are not going to tell you the bad, only the good and sweeten the bad issues.

 

I have to agree with wyominggrandma.
There's a lot if good horses on the market for $3,500. You can easily find one that your able to try out more and really see if they are a good fit.
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Unfortunately, I've found very few that fit all my credentials for that kind of money. Most are way more expensive. And I recently got hit hard and unexpectedly with owing taxes, which knocked what I can pay down by several hundred and the owner is willing to work out payments with me, which most people are not (and who can blame them?). So I either get this horse, try to find one even cheaper that fits what I'm looking for (which isn't likely) or I can just wait and not get to experience the things I want to experience in 4-H (because this is my last year). Which I am willing to go with the last option if I have to because I know it's not worth making a mistake just because I'm in a rush to get a horse for 4-H. But I am hoping to be able to get one in time. I could ask about riding this horse in exhibition but I don't know how easy it would be to do that. She may be able to haul him to an indoor arena so that I can pattern him though.

 

Get a PPE done. You say he's been off all winter? I don't think he'd be too out of shape. At most you could probably easily trot/canter the pattern.

If you decide to buy him, take him out on trial.
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Yes, I can trot/canter him for sure. I can ask about buying him and having a trial period! She'd probably do it. But I don't have a trailer yet so I still probably couldn't get him to a show.

 

Where all have you looked? He doesn't sound like a bad horse, I would just want to test him out more.
To be perfectly honest it's your last year of 4H, after that you only have your other goals and your going to want the perfect horse for that. So don't settle and say it's this horse or nothing because your rushing for 4H. I'm not trying to deter you, just don't be rash. At least see if you can try him out on the barrels. Go easy and he will be fine.

 

Well, I've been scouring every site HorseClicks, Equine Now, Equine, Horseville, Craig's List and checking on local farm's websites for the last 3-4 months. And this is one of the very few horses, still available that meet most or all of my qualifications. I'm not saying I'll never ever find another horse like this... Of course I would eventually! I know it would be stupid to base buying a horse off 4-H, which is why I am looking for a horse that can take me beyond that. And competing in NBHA and/or IBRA is my next goal, which this horse has already been doing. He's also done a bit of reining, which I would love to learn. So he can certainly take me beyond my last year in 4-H and I feel like I could learn a lot with him. I will at least pattern him at her house or the indoor arena before buying! My neighbor bought his son a contesting horse that ended up being crazy in an arena, so I definitely get what you and wyominggrandma are pointing out! I'm just unsure of how I could get him to a show before purchase. It may not be easy! And she's wanting to either sell him or keep him and get him ready to run this year.

 

Check out the Facebook groups, Fast Horses for Sale and Barrel Horses For Sale. Also the site BarrelHorseWorld, there is a person in KY who sells a lot of nice horses for good prices.

Just make sure you know what your getting into. I've seen many people buy a horse who turned out crazy or not know half of what it was claimed to. Mostly new to it people.
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I've been on BarrelHorseWorld... Most horses on there are pretty pricey. The guy in KY... Is he the one who always has pics of the horses tacked up in front of the fence (Like literally every single listing has the same picture, just a different horse- and there is a lot of them!)? We're not too terribly far from KY but it would still be quite a job to get my family on board to go down there! But maybe if I was going to look at several horses they'd consider it! I just recently joined FB (two days ago, literally) so I'll check around on there. Saw a barrel/jr rodeo mare for only $2,000 that wasn't too far away but she is already sold and was only put on three days ago! Not many good barrel horses out there for cheap!

 

And thanks, BarrelRacer23, for the good advice. I'm trying to make sure I'm making this decision with my head, not my heart! And sometimes it's hard to tell the two apart!!

 

Your welcome I just want you to know there's good deals to be found. Ive seen quite a few, unfortunately it's normally by word of mouth from knowing everyone. I've seen good horses sold for under 2,000. I've sold a mare similar to the gelding listed on payments before. Sometimes you have to get picky.

 

Yeah, sometimes I think I'm too picky... Maybe that's why I'm not finding much!! I have a list of what the horse must be, what I prefer it is and what would be a dream, haha!

MUST:
-Carry a Flag
-Be a Finished Barrel Horse- No "prospects"
-Fairly calm
-Trail safe
-Road safe
-Stand tied
-Stand for farrier
-Load in trailer
-Pick up all four hooves
-UTD on deworming/vaccinations
-15 or under
-Over 13.2hh
-Under 16hh
-No serious health issues
-No serious behavioural issues
-Not aggressive- will be turned out with minis
-$2,600 or owner has to be willing to take payment plans!

PREFER:
-Gelding
-Between 14.1-15.2hh
-Goes barefoot
-Under 12
-Registered
-Under $2,500

DREAM:
-Buckskin Quarter Horse
-Rich bay
-Flashy Bay or Bucksin Paint (with blue eyes)
-Free

 

What about putting up an ad asking if you can do a free lease on a horse for a year? You could probably get a much fancier horse that way. Owner being in college or pregnant or something.

 

This is what my mom suggested but my dad says if I bring a horse to our house... Then my Welsh Pony has got to go. So I'm not willing to give him up for a horse that isn't even mine and will be taken back. Other than that, I'd consider it!