In some cases, policies are developed to deal with situations that are the exception rather than the norm, but when you sell as many horses as we do, all bases must be covered.

VSH accepts cash, certified checks, and wire transfers.

SELECTION AND PRICING

Selection

VSH has access to a large selection of horses. All Horses are located on one our four (4) farms in Virginia.

Our horses are priced to sell. Our most popular "lines" of horses sell quickly, so if you are seriously interested in a horse you have the option of placing a deposit. (Please read and understand the deposit policy).

Pricing

VSH has a two tier pricing policy: Internet Sales and Farm Sales. In addition, we periodically offer Sale Pricing and special Package Deals.

Internet Sales. A significant % of our horses are sold through Internet Sales. If you'd like an Internet price quote for a specific horse, please send us an e-mail and request one.  If you select to purchase through an Internet Sale, a Sales Appointment to our farm to "select" a horse is not included in the transaction.  An Internet Sale is exactly what the name says....sale of a horse over the internet, relying on pictures and an exchange of information.

Horses that are sold over the internet are sold as unconditional purchases and are priced accordingly. When a horse is purchased, the buyer is accepting a level of risk traditionally born by the seller in exchange for discounted pricing....When you purchase a horse that is still in Canada, we will provide you with the same information that has been provided to us.  We are not in a position to "represent or misrepresent" a horse. Once you purchase a horse, you own that horse from the moment of purchase forward. We do not view horses as "merchandise" and so all horse sales are cash sales, payable by wire transfer or cashiers check. Occasionally, we will accept credit card payments for the convenience of the customer, but such payments are not subject to credit card dispute procedures.

Farm Sales. Our other pricing mechanism is for Farm Sales. Prices for Farm Sales are reflected on each horse accordingly.

A Farm Sale allows our customers to come to our farm, view or try several horses, and then make their selection. Since we have horses in several locations, Farm Sales require that we transport horses to our main farm for viewing. In some instances, Farm Sales require us to have a rider available to show whatever horses are selected. The horses are transported back to pasture after the appointment.

Prior to scheduling a farm visit, we will spend a considerable amount of time outlining each customer's specific requirements, and selecting and discussing suitable horses, both by e-mail and over the telephone. In the vast majority of cases, we will advise you NOT to schedule a farm visit unless we have a minimum of 3-4 STRONG candidates.

All farm visits are scheduled and confirmed sales appointments.  The main sales facility is also our home and is located on private property accessed by a private road. While some horse farms are open for drop-ins and drive-bys, we have stallions and untrained horses and our insurance does not permit this type of business activity. We ask that all visitors respect our privacy as we would certainly respect yours. A DEPOSIT IS NOT REQUIRED to confirm a sales appointment, however, sales appointments are only scheduled for those customers with a serious interest in horses that we have determined are suited to the requirements that have been defined and discussed. While we wish that we had the time, staff and resources to do so, we are not able to schedule appts for those who would like to schedule visits "just to look". 

Sales Pricing. From time-to-time, we will institute special "sale" pricing for certain horses. We reserve the right to do so, and this in no way has an impact on the price that a buyer has paid or may pay for another horse.

Occasionally, we have made a mistake in posting the price of a horse to the site. Although we make every effort to post accurate and up-to-date information, PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Horses purchased at annual production sales, public exhibitions, our open house and other sales events are sold unconditionally without warrantee unless specifically stated otherwise in a purchase contract signed by both parties. Policies related to returns do not apply to such purchases. VSH may choose to take a horse purchased at such an event back on consignment subject to the consignment sale policy stated below and a signed consignment sales and boarding agreement, but is under no obligation to do so.

Package Deals. We offer very attractive pricing to those interested in purchasing multiple horses. All discounting will be done AFTER THE FINAL SELECTION of the horses in the package. If vetting is involved, this will be AFTER the horse has vetted successfully. Discounting will be based on the FINAL purchase price and number of horses involved.

PURCHASE POLICIES

We have many horses here and we want our customers to chose the right horse for them. WE DON'T DO A HARD SELL. We are uncomfortable telling customers that we have others interested in a horse. If you find a horse you wish to purchase, PLEASE place a deposit, or don't be disappointed when a horse that you were interested in was sold. In addition, if you do not place a deposit, please do not expect to purchase a horse for a previously quoted price.

We update/adjust prices seasonally as well as individually.

Deposit Policy

For horses currently in Virginia, a $500 minimum deposit will hold a horse and guarantee the price of that horse for 10 days. Deposits are nonrefundable, but can be applied toward the purchase of any other horse on the farm or towards the selection, purchase and importation of any horse from one of the ranches we work with. Deposits must be re-applied within 6 months.

Upon Full Payment

Horse transportation will be arranged following receipt of full payment of all charges. This also applies to horses which customers intend to pick-up directly from Canada.  It is our practice to execute a Purchase contract for all sales involving a deposit and a Bill of Sale for all sales. If you leave a deposit or pay for a horses at a time when you or VSH is not able to print out and sign a purchase contract, you are agreeing to the purchase under the terms of the standard contract posted on this website. Please be certain to read and understand our purchase contract prior to leaving a deposit.

A bill of sale and all other documentation will be provided upon payment in full, and at the time of a horse's delivery.  If you do not receive a purchase contract or bill of sale, it is your responsibility to request this sales documentation.

Vet Check

ANY HORSE over the price of $1,800 may be vetted in advance and according to the policies outlined below. The outcome of a Vet check has no bearing on the purchase of a horse, however, should a horse fail to pass a vet check, your deposit can be applied to the purchase of another horse.

If your purchase will include a vet check, please be sure to make us aware of this early on in the selection process. A list of qualified local veterinarians will be provided upon request. VSH will charge a holding/facilities charge of $75hr/person for each vet check. Our purchase agreement stipulates that you release a copy of any x-rays or exam results to Virginia Sport Horses.

Horses priced under $5,000. For horses priced $5,000 and under, vet exams have to be performed at VSH during hours regularly scheduled for such activities.

While we are happy to provide this service in situations where it is requested, we require a confirmed sale. In addition, we reserve the right to no-sale a horse rather than offer the above allowance if we feel that the horse's price or our profit/loss position does not warrant the above level of scrutiny.

Horses priced at $5,000 and above. Vet exams for horses priced over $5,000 may be scheduled separately and may be performed by the vet of your choice. Exams for horses priced $10,000 and over may be performed by the vet of your choice and the holding/facilities fees are waived...HOWEVER, all exams must be performed AT VSH.

Package Deals. If you would like us to round up a group of young horses for a vet/selection process, we will do so free of charge for group purchases exceeding $10,000. For purchases that exceed $5,000 we will do so, but you will be billed in advance for salaries and expenses up to $500, (a sum considerably smaller than the vet bill).

Potentially Harmful Diagnostics. "Full limb" flexion and other controversial and/or potentially harmful diagnostic procedures are expressly prohibited. Please take the time to educate yourself regarding the diagnostic procedures to be employed by the veterinarian you choose to perform the prepurchase.  Chiropractic damage to the rib cage and tearing of cartiledge may result from over flexion.  Horses can be injured and made lame by improperly executed flexion tests.  

Flexion tests may not be possible on some young horses. Radiographs may be administered with the aid of sedation in all cases. The practice of sedating horses for radiographs is widely used, accepted, and preferred by many veterinarians for safety reasons. If a flexion test is not possible, and the purchaser declines Radiographs, then the veterinarian will consider the exam incomplete. Deposits are placed to reserve a horse and take it off the market and as such are non-refundable regardless of the outcome of a prepurchase veterinary exam.

Veterinary holding charge.  We have had veterinary examiniations take up to 6 hours. The length of the exam is determined in part, by the number and type of diagnostics ordered. Physical presence of the purchaser at the vet exam does not constitute a waiver of the veterinary holding charge. It is our experience that many purchasers are not capable of performing the tasks necessary to assist a veterinarian to complete such an exam on ALL HORSES. Please be aware when ordering vet exams with several diagnostics that you are agreeing to compensating not only the veterinarian, but also those who are assisting on your behalf for their time. In most cases the holding charge is a fraction and insignificant % of the veterinary charges and should be considered part of the cost of the exam.

For insurance and liability reasons we need to be present during all hours that visitors are on our farm. The veterinary holding charge will apply from the beginning of the scheduled time for the visit, until the purchaser  and the veterinarian leave the property.

Mares in Foal

You are invited to pregnancy check any mare prior to purchase. In most cases, if we suspect a mare is in foal we will pregnancy check them ourselves because we would prefer to keep a mare if she is bred. Pregnancy checking for mares 0-30 days is generally done by ultrasound and is very accurate. Beyond 30 days palpation is the generally accepted practice and it is accurate for confirmation of pregnancy, but not due date. If you choose to purchase a mare that has been pregnancy checked by palpation you are accepting a mare that is confirmed in foal with an estimated foaling date. From the moment that you purchase the mare, you own the mare. VSH does not guarantee the foaling date of any mare purchased.

Foal Purchase Policies

Foals imported from Canada must be paid in full by one of VSH's payment methods prior to shipment.

Foals BORN IN VIRGINIA are sold with 1/2 of the sales price down and the final payment due by weaning. If you change your mind, than we expect you to honor your agreement and pay for the foal.

Guarantee of color. Foals, not unlike babies, frequently change hair color. In some cases (particularly black and grey) foal color is not an indication of color at maturity. Most foals achieve their true color by the time they are two. We make no guarantees of horse color.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES PROVIDED AT A COST

The following services are offered at an additional charge: gelding, trimming, temporary boarding, training, home delivery, delivery coordination, health inspection and certificate.

Transportation

Trailer Loading Charge: All of our horses will load easily and willingly in an OPEN STOCK TRAILER. We are happy to arrange reasonably priced transport for you in a suitable trailer.

NOTE: Our horses are not priced to allow us to spend time training -- or ruining training -- by forcing your horse to load in a small or uninviting trailer (a trailer that may seem large to a Quarter Horse can be quite confining for a full grown draft cross)... Please be aware that a "penny-wise/pound foolish" decision which involves saving $100 on your part can traumatize your new horse, cause frustration and anger, and is just plain dangerous... No one is happy when they have to go home without their new horse and then pay to ship him anyway. For that reason we charge a $100 trailer loading surcharge for those who intend to pick up their horses themselves. We will happily assist you for up to one person/hr (i.e., 1 person for 1 hr is the equivalent of 2 people at 1/2 hr ea). If your horse loads in less than 1/2 hour with one person's assistance, this surcharge will be refunded... After 1 hour, we will be happy to arrange alternate shipping arrangements.

To date, not one customer has paid this charge...we attribute this to our up-front honesty in stating this in our policies so that customers may make better informed decisions regarding their trailering arrangements..

Delivery: We are happy to provide local home delivery ($250 for up to 50 miles) as a service to our customers. Above 50 miles our charge is $3.25/mi.

We are also happy to provide VERY REASONABLE quotes from a list of regional shippers that we use regularly. In the past we have been able to secure transport fill rates as low as .55/mi and in some individual cases have found backhauls up to 1,700 miles for as little as $350.

VSH is not responsible for accident, injury or death on any of our shipments or shipments that we broker or arrange.

Shipping Policy: While we are happy to assist our customers in the procurement of shipping services, we assume no responsibility for transport companies. We do our best to screen shippers and to advise our customers when we have had complaints or have found a shipper unprofessional or lacking.

When you ship as many horses as we do, occasionally a situation will arise where the shipper and/or the customer have differing expectations. We do all that we can to avoid these situations, but if this does occur, the dissatisfaction regarding shipping has nothing to do with the sale of the horse.

Awaiting Shipment: Our horses live outside on pasture 24 x 7, 12 months out of the year. This is quite common in Virginia. Summer pictures will show horses fat on our rich pastures with sleek, shiny coats, often freshly bathed. Winter conditions are quite different. Horses living out develop thick winter coats and generally are not bathed, unless they are in training and living in the barn. Particularly, while awaiting shipment, our horses are kept in a paddock with a run in shelter and so may have muddy legs. If kept off pasture for an extended period of time due to shipping delays they may lose weight or not look their best at shipment time.

For that reason we have developed the following policy:

When payment is tendered for a horse currently living out on pasture on one of our 4 farms, we will retrieve that horse from pasture and place it in a stall. There it will stay until the shipper arrives. We have professional shippers picking up horses at least once per week, so there is no reason why a horse would be stalled more than a few days prior to shipment. Horses are stalled prior to shipment for a very good reason. This is so that your horse will not have the possibility of sustaining a pasture injury due to turnout with unfamiliar horses prior to shipment. Stall board for horses awaiting shipment is $15/day. If you would like your horse's feet trimmed during that time the charge is $85. If you would like the horse groomed on a daily basis, or prior to shipment, the charge is $45/session. Newly arrived horses are pastured and quarantined in the groups that they were pastured and/or shipped with until the arrival of your shipper.

If you waive the above services, then please do not complain about the "condition" that your horse arrived in. While many sellers of horses include these services at no charge, these services are not reflected in the sale price of our horses. Our horses are priced such that customers may choose whether or not they want to "pay" for services.

Boarding Policies

When a horse that you have purchased arrives at Virginia Sport Horses it will be considered a "boarded horse" from the moment of arrival and thus subject to the rules and policies outlined in our Boarding Contract. VSH is not responsible for accident, injury, illness or death of any boarded horse. It is your responsibility to request and read the boarding agreement. Arrival at our premises constitutes your default agreement to the boarding contract. Please note that boarding at VSH is a service that we offer to our customers with respect to the purchase of a horse. Our boarding policies are not intended to be similar in any way to those of a boarding facility, lesson or show barn. 

If you purchase a horse and leave it here it is considered to be boarded and subject to the terms of our boarding contract, board will accrue at a rate of $15 per day. If you fail to contact us, and return 6 months later, you will have to pay accumulated board and your horse may have been sold. Any injury that occurs to a boarded horse (from the point of purchase going forward) is the responsibility of the owner.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If we make an agreement, we will honor that agreement, we expect the same from our customers.

Taking Possession of Your New Horse

When you pay for a horse, ownership is transferred.  When you take possesion of the horse, you are accepting the horse.  All horse sales are cash sales in nature.  We accept certified check, cash and wire transfer as payment methods. We will, upon occasion, accept credit cards as a convenience to our customers, however, it is with the explicit understanding that the transaction is an unconditional cash sale not subject to credit card dispute procedures.  When you take possession of a horse, even if you have paid with a credit card, you own the horse and the transaction is still final.

If you ask that we transport your horse and drop it off when you are not present, the transaction is still final. If you are not comfortable with this than do not arrange such a delivery. If you find that the horse does not suit your needs after the purchase please call us and we'll try to work out a solution, either by applying your purchase price to another horse or recommending a suitable trainer.

If the horse you purchase does not suit your purpose, it can be returned to VSH. We will make every effort to resell your horse on a consignment basis. You will retain ownership of the horse until it is sold. You will be responsible for a $500 restocking fee, return shipping, and all board and other expenses from the time the horse arrives back at VSH until the time of it's resale.

Taking Horses on a Trial Basis

This is a business practice that is often recommended as a sales technique for a horse with "issues"... Our horses are young horses which seldom have "issues", so we don't use this technique.... You are welcome to purchase a horse and have it vetted within a 24 hour period by your own vet. If there is a bona fide veterinary problem that would preclude the horse from being a candidate for the stated use, and you provide us with the vet report and any diagnostics within that period, the horse may be returned within 24 hours of receipt of the veterinary report and your purchase price will be applied to another horse of your choice.

Buyer's Remorse/Ugly Duckling Yearlings

Please do not ask us to take the horse that you purchased months ago back in trade -- ESPECIALLY if it has been injured. Our good, repeat customers buy horses from VSH because they have no issues, we would not sell you a horse with a previous injury, so please don't ask us to do that to our customers.

Occasional injuries occur.  Since we are in the business of selling only sound young prospects,  when a horse is discovered to be/becomes unsound, we place that horse in the best situation possible based on it's fitness. If you would like our assistance in donating a horse that has since been injured on your property to a good home locally, we can do so.

Please do not bring back the "cute little foal" that you purchased because he reaches his ugly duckling yearling phase. What if your parents traded you in when you were a pimple faced middle schooler with braces? If you have never had the experience of raising a draft cross to maturity, you would be amazed at how long it may take for a horse destined to be 16H to reach full height. Most of our horses are selected to be 16.2H+ and we have seen even the youngsters that we thought would only reach 16H hit that by age 2 1/2...eventually to hear back that the horse finished at age 6 at 16.2H+.

Prima Donna Trainers, Unreasonable Boarding Stable Staff, Last Minute Purchases

We have shipments from Canada to Virginia every 4-6 weeks. We cannot be responsible or impacted by your last minute decision to place your horse at a facility managed by any of the above....

Most of our horses are young and are imported and transported from a considerable distance. Under the most careful supervision, it is impossible to avoid occasional respiratory illnesses, low fevers, or anxiety. Believe it or not there are many local trainers and large boarding stable managers who are sadly lacking in "horsemanship" skills and do not understand the basic concept of quarantine of new horses or of how to handle a young horse, let alone health care issues. If this concerns you, we are happy to provide a health inspection and certificate at your expense. Please verify with the person at your boarding facility if this is required, or unnecessary, in advance of transportation of the horse to the facility.

We can also provide you, or your facility, with links and information about what to expect, the care of a horse that has been transported 3,000 miles, or the introduction of a new foal into your barn. There are many useful resources available.

Mature horses imported from Canada may be vet checked prior to arrival. Young horses can be halter broke and or gelded prior to arrival. All of these things can be handled and handled well if the horse is selected and paid for in sufficient time to execute these services and transport the horse to VA. If you change your mind at the last minute or add a horse to our shipment with less than 10 days of lead time prior to departure, then we cannot guarantee that the horse will have been thoroughly halter broke, or that his feet have been trimmed etc.

We offer boarding, training, health certificates, gelding and trimming services prior to delivery.

If you have made a decision that results in a minimally halter broke or untrimmed horse arriving at a barn...and have waived the above services, please have the courtesy to inform the barn manager of your decision. Let them know you have accepted the horse, and prepare them for the horse that will arrive.

Please be cognizant that your decision to waive these services also places our reputation on the line. As you can see from our Customer Comments page, we have many repeat customers. Repeat customers who have purchased 3 and 4 horses from our farm. We do not wish to impose policies that result in higher costs to all of our customers for situations that occur in a small percentage of cases.

Theft of Work Product and Business Interference

The following verbiage is intended for a very small percentage of individuals who we do not desire as customers...these people know who they are and will understand this completely...if you don't understand it, it is not meant to apply to you... We apologize for having to say something so unpleasant..yet necessary: 

Here at VSH, we sell hundreds of horses a year. This is our business and our full time occupation... While there are many individuals in the world who buy and sell horses for a hobby, our customer's choose us because we are honest and ethical business professionals. There is significant work product involved in each listing on our site. We don't just slap pictures of horses on a webpage. You would not dream of going to work if you were not going to be paid, so why would we??

If you use information gleaned from our site to determine our sources and then attempt to purchase a horse that we have listed for sale from the farm so as to save a few pennies by cutting us out of the loop, you are stealing our listing and our work product... Unlike others, we actually visit and inspect many of these horses in North Western Canada. This is an expensive undertaking and we do this so that WE may sell them to OUR customers.

Most large shipments of Canadian horses coming into the US (other than at foaling season) are those that we are either commissioning or have placed the majority of horses on... Many people who purchase horses directly and legitimately from Canadian Ranches are able to get them shipped for a reasonable rate and when they want them due to the fact that we commission or place a significant number of horses on the shipments coming out of Canada. At least one shipment per month drops at our farm and we have horses booked on shipments each month to Florida and California. We are under no obligation to put a horse that you have dishonestly purchased through the theft of our work on one of our shipments.

No Sale

These are our horses and we care about where they go. We reserve the right NOT to sell a horse.

References and Customer Comments

We have numerous references that we are happy to provide upon request. In addition we do post comments from our customers to our website. Our customers enjoy their horses and enjoy seeing them on the site.

We do not give out customer names other than as references or publish the last names of our customers for a very good reason... Respect for privacy. The internet, which has been such a marvelous vehicle for our sales, subjects people to all manner of unscrupulous individuals. It is for that reason that we don't divulge the identities of our customers or suppliers.

Pictures and Video Clips

Unlike many other farms, we START young horses and sell them when our customers want them, at whatever level of training. The pictures and videos that you see on our site are "working versions" intended to show exactly where the horse was in its training on the day that it was shot...usually during an actual training session.  Some of our trainers are TB jockeys and exercise riders that have been riding horses almost from the time that they could walk.... While to the novice eye they may not appear to have the attire, hands, legs or riding style of a hunter or dressage rider, this is not their job.... Their job is to START a young horse. They have excellent seats and are expert at getting a young draft cross to move forward willingly and are able to "ride through" anything that may come their way....

After our young horses are STARTED...going forward happily at the w,t,c and understanding leg aids, then they are put into our riding rotation and ridden by either a dressage or hunter trainer.

99% of the pictures that you will see on this site are taken by Liz Booth on our main farm in Virginia.  We may occasionally crop pictures (to remove the manure pile), but we DO NOT edit pictures.

We have MANY pictures of each horse that don't make it to our website. We are happy to provide those to our customers in their "raw form".

Origin of our horses: Over 90% of our horses come directly from the farm where they were bred or were bred here on our farm. In years past we did import a significant % of our stock from PMU farms in North Western Canada. Today, the majority of our horses are bred in the United States. In 2007 we purchased exactly 13 horses from NAERIC (PMU) Ranches.  If the quantity and type of Sport Horses that meet our purchase criteria were available on PMU Ranches then we would certainly buy them.  While we have and continue to purchase horses from a handfull of 2nd and 3rd generation breeders whose families once held PMU contracts prior to 2002, these horses and breeders have all but disappeared. Anyone with any questions regarding the origin of our horses is encouraged to contact us directly at 540.872.3517 and we will be happy to answer any questions that you have. 

Abandoned Horses

If for any reason a horse or horse is left on our property with no payment of board for 14 days or more, that horse is considered abandoned and the owner is remanding that horse to VSH to care for and/or sell or place as and when and if we see fit.  Abandonment of a horse does not excuse an owner from his/her responsibility to fullfill monthly obligations specified in a boarding contract. VSH is under no obligation to sell a horse to recoup unpaid board expenses and is not bound by the terms of the Virginia Statute for Stablemans lein in respect to any requirements with respect to the advertisement or sale of an abandoned horse. VSH reserves the right to pursue all legal means to collect any and all debts with respect to abandoned boarded horses regardless of the disposition of the horse.