[Speaknoevil]

I've never been horse shopping for myself, my horse experience has always revolved around dealing with other peoples' animals. That said, I'm possibly going out in the near future to look at a 4 year old registered Percheron gelding that I just happened to come across in an online ad that fits the very basics of what I've been looking for. I've already asked some low-grade questions (ie; Is there anything worth noting about his vet and farrier history, whether he's shod or barefoot and how he handles it), and I asked the seller to provide me with more photos to make sure he was worth taking a closer look at. Yes, he is! The seller has had him since he was 5 months old, says he's never been sick, he's UTD, I assume on vaccs and worming (I'm not sure when the farrier was last out, but his feet don't look like they need to be done for another couple weeks at least), she says he's green broke but a very good boy, does however tend to lean on the farrier a bit because he can be lazy, but otherwise nothing else of note. If I do end up going out there to look at him, are there any other questions I should have on my mind for the seller herself before I have a pre-purchase vet exam done?

[Berlunz]

ask how his ground manners are
ask if he has ever reared or bucked
ask why she is selling him and not keeping him (very important question).
Does he spook easily?
How many days of training has he had (how many times under saddle) and who trained him.
Whats the longest she has ever ridden him (20 mins? an hour?)
Has he done trail? English? Western?
Does he know his leads and transitions at all?
Does he ride in a bit or a hackamore?
How sensitive is his mouth and seat?
Does he load, clip or tie?
When was he started and if it was young, how much was he worked?
Can you do a 30 day (or less if 30 is too much) free lease to test him out?
How tall is he? How tall are the parents?
Does she own the parents? What are their dispositions like?

Here I am going to be brutally honest... I dont think you should be getting a green broke horse as a first time owner. Just looking around this site you can probably find many people who got a greenie as a first time horse and it turned out disastrously. Others werent even first time owners, and they had experience but a green horse is young, unpredictable and even if they arent mean, they are still often easily spooked. Do you know how to properly train and handle this horse? A big draft breed, that is green broke, is not my idea of a first time owners horse. Not only is he green but he is likely big and heavy and thats a bad combination for a first time owner.

Also keep in mind when you go to see this horse that he is young and may not have hit his terrible stage yet. Some horses are started at 3 and are perfect angels, then suddenly they hit 5 or 6 and they turn into little demons, testing their ground on everything. He is only 4 and its possible he could be calm and sweet now but in a year be a complete hellion, on the ground and in the saddle, will you be able and ready to deal with him if he turns into this? Or it may be they just have not pushed him enough yet to make him react. In other words they jump on for 20 mins, trot around and get off, but if you actually try and make him work, he might lose it and start bucking/rearing etc.