I agree make sure there is a contract of some sort. I have owned 4 horses in my life. One was my first horse. A sweet little dead broke mare that was great but ended up being closer to 20 than the 12 I was told. I had to sell her due to my lack of time while I was in college, but I got two more two years ago. One was a 12 year old quarter horse the other a 12 year old appaloosa. They were both sold to me as again beginners horses. I got them home gave them a couple weeks to settle in and I couldn't do anything with the appaloosa. She bucked and stove up on every ride and eventually bucked me off. I called the seller and he said if I didn't like her then take her to an auction. I couldn't do anything about it and he had no reprecussions because there were no contracts. I found a home for her taking a big loss and found a paint that I liked. I went tried her out and again no contract. She ended up being a descent horse but you could not touch her back feet and she was again much older than I was told. I can't say I didn't enjoy these horses because I enjoyed them all and the experience they gave me but the main lesson I've learned is that there needs to be a contract, you don't need to buy without testing the horse thouroughly, and its ok to put a deposit down and go home and think about it a day or so. I lost both my horses back at the beggining of winter (one to colic and one to a tobacco barn colapsing in the snow) and I miss them dearly. I hope to look for something soon because I can't imagine my life without a horse but I will definitely be one the defense this time when I start looking. There are just too many horse traders out there to not be on defense.