Getting Direct-ion

July 16, 2008

Andrea Strain on horse Luigi

Courtesy of Professionals Direct

Horse sense is said to be as old as the hills, but most of us wouldn’t know a good horse if it came up and bit us.

So how do you go about buying a horse?

It isn’t like buying a car where there are registration papers to exchange and government forms to fill out. The transaction, often times in the five-figure dollar range, is as simple as buying a used dishwasher.

“When someone is looking for a horse they tend to go to someone they know,” explains Andrea Strain, a professional who owns and operates Villa Training Stables in Langley.

Problem is, if you don’t know anyone in the horse business, as is the case with many prospective buyers, it’s a real case of buyer beware.

“You hear horror stories of horses being sold without bills of sale, things like that,” Strain continues, though noting the vast majority of horse sales are on the up and up.

Still, she and others in the industry see room for improvement on the self-governance side when it comes to the purchase process. To that end, Villa Training Stables has joined forces with three stables and their trainers—Tamara Hall of Meadowland Farm, Brent and Laura Balisky of Thunderbird Show Stables, Kendra Best, 5-Star Stables and Ashley Papalia of Villa Training Stables—to create Professionals Direct. The group expect more stable owners and trainers to sign up to the program as word gets out.

“I’m relatively new to the business and what I find lacking is a communication network between trainers from different stables,” Strain says. “We all kind of live and work in our own worlds and don’t do too much talking with each other about things.”

Apart from the obvious of declaring any health issues with the horses for sale, trainers in the program will be able to tell one another about the specific personality traits of a given horse.

Says Strain: “Just like people, horses can be quirky. They aren’t perfect.”

A horse that’s fine with an adult owner who wants to ride the trails probably won’t suit a youngster who wants to jump and compete.

Strain says the program is still in its early stages with a website to come online shortly.

“We want everyone to know what they are buying, and through Professionals Direct we want to demonstrate we’re standing behind our horses.”

Visit www.professionalsdirect.ca or call 1.866.631.1592

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Getting Direct-ion

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