July

31

What’s the difference between adopting and buying a horse?

Comments(3) | Undedr: buying a horse

I’m interested in buying a horse, and on the site I’m looking at, there’s this Adopt a horse thing, and I’d love to know the difference between buying and adopting. To me, it seems the same?
Thanks in advance (:

When you adopt you are rescuing a horse from a bad situation. When you buy you are buying it from either a breeder or an owner.


3 Responses to “What’s the difference between adopting and buying a horse?”

  1. Takikio Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 8:59 am

    When you adopt you are rescuing a horse from a bad situation. When you buy you are buying it from either a breeder or an owner.
    References :

  2. Pony Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 9:42 am

    Generally, when you purchase a horse from a private party, total ownership of that horse is transferred to you. You can sell it, breed it, show it, or do whatever you like with it. You might also want to buy a horse that is registered if you intend on showing, or that is already trained to do something like barrel racing, dressage, pull a cart, or trail ride. A previous owner will usually know more about the horse and can give you a more definitive background on the animal.

    When you adopt a horse from a rescue organization, you are getting a horse that has been either rescued from a bad situation, turned over by a previous owner, or it may have been pulled from a feedlot or auction. Less is known about a rescue animal sometimes. They may have been abused, and rescues spend a lot of time and money rehabilitating and retraining horses so they are ready to go to new homes. This doesn’t mean adopting a rescue horse is a bad thing- most rescue horses are victims of human error and bad circumstances, and make wonderful mounts and companions.

    Rescue organizations want to protect their horses from going back into bad situations, so you may never have full ownership of the horse. This depends entirely on the rescue- some will maintain full ownership of the horse for the rest of it’s life, and place stipulations on what you can and cannot do with the horse- some horses may not be ridden again, cannot be bred, and cannot be sold or given away to someone else. Again, it all depends on the horse, and it all depends on the rescue.

    Some rescues will give you full ownership of the horse, but will ask you to sign a contract giving them first rights of refusal to take the horse back if you are unable to keep it. This is called a Transfer of Ownership.
    References :

  3. izzy Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 10:00 am

    Like the person before me said. Adoption is where you are rescuing an animal from a bad situation. They are usually taken from animal hoarders or abusive homes. When you buy a horse you are buying it from a breeder or owner. I would recommend adoption unless you plan on racing or showing the horse. But if you plan on having it as a pet or for activities I would adopt. They are sometimes skidish at first but often end up being better than one you bought from a breeder because in a way they can sense that you rescued it.
    References :