I like to buy and sell a few horses here and there. I'm lucky in that I live in an area where there are quite a few good horses available broke on the ranch, and we have the coalminers with their 40 acre ranchettes. Its taken me a while but I've learned a few things. If I'm going to a sale with a horse and I advertise him, I will have him checked for any soundness or health issues by a vet. Next I will describe him to the best of my ability, and then I will give my name and phone #. This way you can call and I will give you referrences, or you can set up a time for you or your representative to come and try him out. Once the horse goes thru the sale though, he is yours. This is the best I can do. I don't know your ability, your setup at home or your feeding program. Here's a couple of "for instances". Before I left to go to the sale in Clovis, NM last year, the "Native" tells me to watch and see what a certain horse brought as she liked his bloodlines. It so happened I was able to get him fairly cheap. Well, after a couple of days in the pens, he got kicked out with the geldings. A few days go by and I went out to jingle in the horses with the intention of riding the new one. I was ashamed of how he looked. Come to find out, he was raised in the feedlots and didn't know how to get out and hustle. He had dropped some weight and I ended up having to feed him all winter. All my other geldings didn't get a hatfull of grain and very little hay all winter and stayed mudball fat. This problem wasn't the sellers fault, nor was it mine, its just two different ways of keeping and raising horses. The next scenario happened with an old trader I know from here and it was private treaty. He had a beautiful buckskin gelding that I just had to have. I asked about the horse and any holes he may have. The old man said, "well my daughter has just started him and he'll crowhop a couple of times and then quit". What he didn't tell me was that no one had ever managed to stay on past that second hop. I got him home and a couple days later decided to get him in and see what's what with "Ol Beautiful". Everything is going good until a dog 100 feet away barks. There was the excuse he needed and I was ready, chin tucked, toes out and a deep seat. By the second "crowhop" Ol Beautiful is wondering why I'm still there. By the third hop, he aint doing nothing but gatherin' steam. The fourth hop, I'm lookin' goooood. The fifth hop my left rein breaks. Now I'm off center and the seventh hop sends me skyward. Looking down at the saddlehorn and knowing this is my next landing spot, I'm gettin scared. The eighth hop is the clincher. As me and the "Native" pull up at the St.Onge, SD sale (she's driving as both of my arms are broke) every trader there runs up and wants to know the story on Ol Beautiful. All I said was "I hope that sorry SOB makes some good glue". That was enough of a description I thought. He ended up as high selling loose horse, and even went better than most ride thru's. The old man didn't lie. As soon as I came off he quit hoppin. I once sold a horse to an overweight weekend warrior friend of mine. I was honest and told the good and the bad about this little horse. Well, he just had to have him so we made a deal. Six weeks later he called and said things just weren't working for him and this little horse. Six weeks is a long time, but he was a friend. I tried to make it right and he said he'd trade for a little grey I had. I was taking a beating, but he was a friend. When he unloaded the original horse I had to look twice because I didn't think a horse could be that poor and still stand up. I stuck by my word and went ahead with the trade, but I let him have a good cussin. After I got the pounds back on him I went to try and work him and realized he had completely ruined this horse. I called and asked what happened and he told me that his dog was nippin at this horses heels and he got to kicking whenever something or someone come up behind him. Then he said when the whip wouldn't take it out of him, he drylotted him. Now when I sell private treaty, I get paid up front and you have a week to try him out. I take pics and video, and if he don't come back the same way, then you own the horse. I'm not a fan of the Billings Sale, but they will give you till Monday morning following the sale, I believe, to inspect the horse. Sorry for being longwinded, but I think there are way too many variables with horses and horsesales to offer much in the way of guarantees. as I've always heard, BUYER BEWARE !!!