by Lisa Derby Oden
 

"I am a first time horse buyer who had a difficult experience. I am trying to find out if what happened to me is normal and to be expected or not. Here’s what happened:

I was attempting to buy a young quarter horse. My trainer and I had both ridden the horse and thought that he was a good prospect. A price was agreed upon and the seller stated that there was no problem with having a pre-purchase done. She asked me to notify her when I had a date and time. I had to call over a dozen vets to find one willing to travel to the buyer’s barn and with time to do a pre-purchase. This was complicated by the fact that I don’t own a horse yet, and so am not a client of any vet yet. After a week of searching I found someone and the appointment was set. Since it was spring (vaccination and breeding season), it would be 10 days before the vet could schedule an appointment. When I called to tell the buyer of the date, she got furious. She began yelling at me telling me how ridiculous it was to want a pre-purchase, on a perfectly healthy four year old horse. She repeatedly told me that a horse only worth $4,500 didn't need a pre-purchase and that the whole thing was “B***S****” (sellers words). She wanted me to use the vet that she lived with, and who had previously examined and treated the horse, as well as had done her pre-purchase exam. She told me I had to find a vet to do the check in the next 5 days or she would refund my security deposit and go on to another buyer. I did finally find yet another vet and had the horse vetted. The examination revealed numerous problems, starting with swollen lymph glands, wheezing from strangles or other previous respiratory infection, and a positive reaction to hoof testers to the heels of both front feet. During the vetting, the seller made negative remarks about the findings, stating time and again – ‘BS. There is nothing wrong with this horse.’

So, what do you think - is this normal or did I run into a difficult seller?”

This is the kind of story that makes me shudder.  It is a very good example of a horse professional behaving very badly. Sadly, one bad apple like this does put a negative stamp on the multitude of good apples. Not all horse sales proceed like this, thank goodness. Let’s take a look at how things could have been handled differently - with a customer service perspective and a professional demeanor.

 1)    The first consideration here is that a first time horse buyer probably needs more care during the process than a seasoned horseperson. By this I mean that the first timer is involved in a learning process. They have not had a previous experience (good or bad) to compare their current experience to. Working with the first time buyer to educate them to the industry and how the process works should be part of the seller’s job. Granted, there are varying selling practices in the industry. A professional seller will advise a buyer of that and mention what the variations are.

2)     A second consideration is that the first time buyer is often more emotionally involved when looking for their first ever horse. They have a tendency to “fall in love at first sight.” This leaves them vulnerable to questionable sales tactics. The professional approach is to look for the win/win, looking to be sure the transaction is good for the buyer, seller, and the horse. A bad deal will follow a seller for a long time. Word-of-mouth is strong in the horse industry, and it is common marketing knowledge that unhappy customers talk louder and to many more than do happy customers. Bad experiences are relayed to 10-20 others, three times more than good experiences. The seller is not responsible for the buyer’s emotional attachment, but the seller can choose not to manipulate it. 

3)     The third consideration is not to make any assumptions about the role that a buyer’s trainer has in the transaction. Ask. Again, there are a wide range of practices that can vary from discipline to discipline, so it is best to find out from the start. In some instances, the trainer handles the entire process. In others they are more in the background acting to evaluate the horse’s disposition and handling and riding performance on the date that they evaluate the horse.

4)    The fourth issue relates to taking a deposit. In this scenario it seemed that the rules changed mid-stream. But perhaps there were no rules to start with, or at very best, the rules were not clear to both parties. Perhaps you as the seller know what you have in mind when you take a deposit, but unless you communicate that to the buyer they won’t know. For example:

Is the deposit refundable and if so, under what circumstances? (What if the horse doesn’t pass a pre-purchase; becomes ill or lame during the interim; or if you as the seller determine this buyer turns out not to be appropriate for the horse.)

Does the deposit apply towards the purchase price?

What timeframe does the deposit cover? 

Will the horse continue to be shown for sale while under deposit?

 In the opening scenario, when the buyer decided that this horse was not right for her following the pre-purchase findings, she was told there was no problem in getting her deposit back. The seller told her that her check would be mailed back to her. Because of the seller’s previous erratic behavior, the buyer decided to put a stop payment on the check just in case. To this day, she has never received her check back from the buyer.

5)     Now that you have started to talk terms of the deal, put it in writing. In the horse industry it is not uncommon for transactions to be made verbally. But the “good as a handshake” deal can quickly fall apart, and many terms can be easily forgotten. Put it in writing. The process of doing so often triggers more detailed thinking and questions that both sides would like answered. If you are a buyer or a seller and the other party is unwilling to document the terms of the transaction, it is time to walk away.

There is no telling whether this seller would have agreed to put something in writing or not, or whether having it in writing would have changed the behavior. By putting it in writing, both buyer and seller now have a paper trail in the event of legal action.

6)     A common sales tactic in many walks of life is to create a sense of urgency to get a buyer to take action. In this scenario the sense of urgency created was more like a threat. Putting this pressure on a first time buyer smacks of the seller taking advantage of the situation. Perhaps the seller was frustrated at the time it took to line up a veterinarian. That is, however, part of the sales process and could have been discussed up front.

7)     Another interesting aspect of this scenario is the situation with finding a veterinarian for a pre-purchase exam. The debate here is not whether a pre-purchase exam is worthwhile or not. That is a matter that has many shades of gray of its own. The point in question is the seller’s recommendation to use her live-in partner. There are many areas in our country where it might be difficult to find a veterinarian other than the one that has been giving the horse its annual care to do the pre-purchase, due to lack of veterinarians in the region. That is not the case with this scenario. The seller’s comments here show a lack of professional integrity. Her comments related to the value of the horse are also out of line. They really discount both the buyer and the horse. And her general lack of respect for the buyer in general demonstrated by yelling and swearing…..all I can say to that is that it is totally unacceptable. If the seller were a horse, she should be round-penned until she becomes more agreeable.

Buying a horse can be a scary thing for a prospective horse owner to do. Time needs to be taken to properly evaluate the horses that catch the prospects eye. Getting emotionally involved with a horse before it has passed all evaluations puts the buyer in a very vulnerable situation, but is often difficult for the first-timer to avoid. Honorable professionals do not take advantage of this. Yes, it is the buyer’s responsibility to ask the proper questions, handle the horse sufficiently, and do the research needed to make their evaluation. A seller is not required to disclose health issues, vices, or other conditions on their own unless they are asked directly about these topics. Sellers should be direct from the beginning however, about their selling process. This is the hallmark of the truly professional sales people in the horse industry. The way a professional handles the sales transaction can make all the difference in the world – the difference that keeps a prospect coming back each  time they are looking for a horse, as well as providing positive referrals.

This article was kindly supplied by Lisa Derby Oden of Blue Ribbon Consulting Lisa provides
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