What is the difference between adopting a horse and buying one? Which is better?

It really varies on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend and why. You can find amazing horses for adoption that are pure bred, papered, and sometimes even trained. Some places allow a vet check, others do not, so again it varies. The terms of an adoption will vary as well.

With a sale, you buy the horse outright and it is your, and you can resell the horse or do whatever you want legally speaking. You can have pre purchase work done if you want a vet check, and in some cases, people will let you take a horse on trial. Some rescues allow that as well, but it's rare and really varies by rescue.

More important than whether the horse is a rescue or a sale horse, make sure the horse meets your needs! If you need to know the full history on the horse, usually sellers have more info than a rescue, but again even that varies. At the end of the day, if the horse is right for you, it doesn't matter where it came from.

nothing.

adopting means you PAY

buying means you PAY

it's just a nice word that rescues use to make you feel warm and fuzzy.

that said,

It is better to buy/adopt a horse from a rescue (that's got a good reputation).

why?

because those horses are just as good as any other horse you find anywhere else.

those people who say, "rescue horses are trouble!" are plain ignorant and don't know what they are talking about. they are uneducated about rescue horses.

There are a lot of horses who end up at the auction yard for all sorts of reasons.

They are horses that are HEALTHY, WELL TRAINED, SOUND, very nice riding horses...

The owners dumped them because they could not afford them, didn't want them, didn't want to bother with selling (it can take time to sell a horse to a private buyer),

An auction is fast money in the pocket.

I know of a rescue (ValleyViewEquineRescue) that rescues horses from slaughter. They have sold (adopted out) horses that have gone on to be great rides for rodeo, trails, dressage, hunter/jumper, etc.

Why "adopt" instead of buy?

Because you are helping to save a life.

Sellers typically don't want to dump their horses for slaughter. They wait for the right buyer.

Yes, there are sellers who don't care, but you find ads about nicely trained horses, and they won't end up going to slaughter.

Rescued horses were slaughter bound and have been rescued and your money will go right back to rescuing more.

If you adopt a rescue horse from a legitimate, well-run horse rescue, they will have evaluated the horse for health, attitude and aptitude. They will be completely honest with you as they absolutely want to find the right home and not have to take the horse back later.

Unfortunately in the scary world of private sales on the open market, you aren't really going to know the lies you are being told until it's too late. In fact, the only way you can somewhat protect yourself in the open market is a complete vet check plus being able to take the horse home for at least 1 week pre-sale. At least by then all the drugs should be worked out and any lameness/instability/unsuitability will be apparent.

Great question! I have three rescue horses that I have adopted. THe rescue will come out and investigate your property to make sure it is a safe place, they will also do various inspections. I work with BEHS in Texas and they do a 6 month and 12 month inspection to ensure the horses are cared for, trimmed, vaccinated, worked, etc. Rescuing can be very rewarding, and you tend to know what you are going to get, however you can never sell or breed the horse. If you want to get rid of it, it goes right back to the rescue.

sahorsesupply.com

sarawinder.com

Horses from rescues tend to come from poor situations, many come from auctions where they would have been sold for meat. Some come from other situations where they were not kept in good condition. Generally, they might not be will trained, but can be worked with.

When you go out and buy a horse, you generally are looking for something specific. It might be a certain breed, or be trained to do something such as jumping or just trail riding.

Neither one is good or bad, it depends what you are needing in a horse. Rescue horses can be great, but you might not be able to do everything you want or it could be a long time before they can do much riding.

Adopting if you're thinking about the Horse before yourself which you should be