WITH MICHAEL BAKER

If it was a perfect world, when we went to look for a new horse, we would be looking for one that was specifically bred for the discipline. Statistically, the best dressage horses are going to be German Warmbloods, bred on dressage lines - the same with the showjumper. If we are looking for an eventer, it would be nice to be able to buy a horse with a family history of success in the sport. Although again, in eventing the horses do seem to come from a much wider range of backgrounds. They are mainly Thoroughbred, of course, but there are horses from all breeds that event.
Now we are starting to see breeders producing horses specifically for eventing - and even with the horses coming off the track, we are looking for lines that have proven themselves as eventers.
For most of us however, it is unrealistic to buy a specially bred horse, because they are just way too expensive... so we have to think again about horses off the track. If we can find a Thoroughbred that hasn't raced, that is probably the next best thing to the horse that has been bred for eventing. Horses bred to race, but haven't made it to the track, and those sort of horses are around, and I'm seeing more of them lately, and searching them out.
Really good race horse trainers know when a prospect is not going to be fast enough, and they just won't put the effort into those horses and so you can get them before they race - and the less racing they do, the better for us, the more chance they will stay sound.
If you are looking for a horse, you've really got to be prepared to look at a lot of horses - start developing some contacts, get the feelers out, let people know that you are looking, visit the trainers, visit the track...
Although you are going to be looking at a number of horses, try and narrow the specifics. So if you are looking for an eventer, try and work within an age range, a height range, and obviously within a price range, and try to stick to your criteria.
Most good eventers are going to be 16 hands or higher, and once they start to get to 16.3/17 hands, on the whole they are getting too big. There are always going to be exceptions, horses smaller than 16 hands and bigger that 17 hands that do the job - but the bulk of good eventers are within our range. Be prepared to look at bigger, or smaller, horses, but be prepared to be fairly harsh in your appraisal because they are not as likely to make the grade.
Try and get sellers to be fairly straight forward on the phone. You are going to be doing an awful lot of travelling. Before you drive for a couple of hours, you want to make sure that the horse is sound and sound in the mind. I think you have to be fairly firm, tell them, 'I'm travelling all the way from x, has the horse got any history of unsoundness'. They know if the horse has done a tendon, or is an absolute fruitloop. Sure people are going to lie, but you still have to go and look.
Most of the time you know within five minutes if the horse is suitable, and you might not even have to get on its back, but if you don't look you don't find them.
Before you leave home, draw up a sheet, and when you get there, give the horse a score, especially when you are looking at a lot of horses. I've done that when I've gone out with clients looking at four or five horses in a day, we'll give them a score for conformation, for temperament, for walk, trot and canter, and score for the jump. Video everything as well, then when you get home you can properly assess them.
When you look at a horse on its own, and you can get really excited about it, because it may have a brilliant trot or a great walk, and miss the overall picture. It is easy to get carried away with one aspect of a horse and not look at the total picture. Use your score sheets and video and you get a very good comparison of the horses.
When I arrive if I don't get straight back in the car, the first thing I look at is the horse's conformation. Hopefully the horse is in work. That's another important thing when you are looking at horses, it's so much easier if they have had at least a few weeks schooling. Beware of the horse that has just come in after a spell, and beware of the horse that is not in work. There are unsoundness problems that aggravated by work - and anyway, it is so much easier to get an idea of how good the horse is if it is in work, it's muscled up, it's strong, you can get on and do a lot more with it, and get a better assessment of the horse. There is nothing worse than getting on a fresh horse and having to work it for half an hour to get on top of it, then five minutes later the horse is exhausted and you can't do anything with them. It makes a big difference if you can look at a horse that someone has been regularly working.
First look at the conformation to decide if you want to go any further. Even though you might have travelled a long way, don't be afraid to say, 'He's not the type we are looking for, I won't waste your time' and walk away.
If you do want to keep looking, make the owner ride the horse first. If the horse has been advertised as educated to a specific level, then that is what you should see. It is always safe to put the owner on first. You don't know the horse at all, it could be a fruitloop, put the owner on and make sure the horse is not a nutter.
The other thing about putting the owner on first is that it gives you an assessment of the owner's riding ability and it gives you an idea of what he or she has been doing with the horse, and what problems might be there in the way the horse is schooled. Sometimes you will look at a really good horse, but the owner is a little bit scared of it, or too aggressive at it, and this can be a bonus for you, because you can see why the rider wants to sell the horse, and if you think you can deal with the problem, then this can be your chance.
Get the owner to jump the horse for you. If it is meant to be a D grade showjumper, watch it over D grade height fences.
When the horse is working obviously you are looking for any irregularity, it should be regular in walk, trot and canter. Look for straightness in the way the horse moves. Look for three very distinctive gaits: look for the horse that relaxes in its walk, a horse that you can push and ride in the walk, and it has to make a little effort to get into the trot. In the trot, the same, look for a gait that is its own, not a jig jog, not falling into canter, a sound basic trot and a sound basic canter.
The horse doesn't have to have fantastic movement. I like a horse that is strong and sound in its movement because you can always develop that. The walk is most important, and most under-rated, it is the one gait that is very difficult to change. If the horse hasn't got a long and relaxed stride in the walk then it is very hard to change.
From a soundness point of view, look at how it moves from the front, and then look from behind. Look above the quarters and make sure there is no irregularity whatsoever in the way it moves.
Once the owner has put the horse through its paces - and don't be afraid to ask the owner to do a little extra if there is something you want to see - then have a ride yourself. From the movement you get on you are assessing what is happening underneath you, looking for the feeling that the horse is strong and regular.
A strong sound horse will tend to naturally halt and stand square, and stand over its four legs. If a horse has got a bit of a problem, then it tends not to walk into the halt and come square, they tend to shuffle and leave one leg back a little.
If you are working in the horse's natural environment, then after you've worked him a while, and you feel safe on him, take him out of his natural environment. That is really the only way to assess the horse's temperament - take him into a paddock or a trot down the road. But do be careful of your safety - you don't want to be going down a busy road with a horse you don't know.
If you really like the horse, try to arrange to meet the seller and the horse at a location that is unfamiliar to the horse.
It is always a bonus if the horse has been out and competed, particularly if it has competed well, then you know that it can cope with that environment.
Always take into consideration your level as a rider. If you are a novice rider, or in particular a novice young rider, then you should be looking for a horse with experience. Don't go looking for something off the track if you are 14 and just coming off a pony - you need a horse with experience. If you look at all of the riders that have made it in any discipline, it's the exception to the rule when the rider makes it with a horse they have schooled from nothing. Most of the riders get their break on an educated horse that can show them the ropes - it is after that they can take on, and bring on, young horses.
I get every horse I buy vetted just in case. Your own soundness assessment from what you feel when you ride it, is very important. You can see bad conformation, and you can see if something is not symmetrical - if the horse is uneven - and the vet will pick that up too, but if you are riding the horse and you feel a difference in the way the horse works through on the left side from the right side - there are always going to be horses that are stiff to one side - but if you feel a dramatic difference, or sometimes you can feel an irregularity that cannot be seen from the ground. If there is something about the way the horse moves that is just not quite right, then trust your own assessment.
How I treat the information the vet gives me depends on the horse. If I was buying a nice four year old eventer, and expected to be able to compete it for years and years, then I would take it on if the vet said it had wear-and-tear from too much work when it was young. But if we are looking for a horse for our 14 year old rider, a horse in its early teens, and the horse is a bit stiff or arthritic, that's completely different - that horse has probably coped with its problems for a long time and you are looking at the rider getting experience, so if you got a couple of seasons, you would be happy.
I don't go mad with the vet check. I don't get horses x-rayed unless the vet advises that, but I always get the vet to have a look in case I've missed something.
No matter how careful you are, you will get it wrong. No-one will buy a champion every time, no matter how experienced you are.
You have to be very picky. The cost of the horse initially may seem high, but when you look at the amount of time and money you are going to put into the horse, the purchase cost ends up being small fry - unless you are paying big bucks. If you want to eliminate the risk the only way you can do it is spend lots of money - buy a proven horse.
Even then, you have to be a bit suspicious when a really good horse comes onto the market, why are they selling that horse? If you have the money, then the best way is to approach the rider of the horse you want. There are very few that aren't for sale, as Eddy Stibbe has proven in the past. But then again look at Eddy, he's paid a lot for horses that he has never been able to win with.
I'd rather buy a horse from a not very good rider. Ideally you go along and see a superstar horse with an inexperienced rider who hasn't got a clue what he or she has got - that's where you get the best horses.
The problem is that there are more and more people out there looking for horses, so you are going to find it harder to locate those bargains. Even horses off the track, if they are good, are going for bigger and bigger dollars, to the point where I think we are going to see more horses bred specifically for eventing. We see that in dressage and showjumping, but now with horses coming off the track with a $10,000 price tag, it is worth breeding horses for eventing. Once that happens, then horse hunting should be easier.
Remember - if you want a good horse, be prepared to travel, be prepared to be disappointed, and most of all, be prepared to look at lots and lots of horses.
Oh, and, good luck. You'll need it.