THIS week's news that a horsebox dealer from Gloucestershire has been convicted of defrauding a customer out of £2,000 ought to have sent a shudder through the equine community.

In this case the individual appears to have been a particularly bad egg because at the time of the offence he was already on court bail over 24 other horsebox related offences, but it does help to highlight the potential minefield many horse and pony owners enter when they go looking for transport for their animals.

Horsebox, in this instance, does not mean a horse trailer that is towed behind a car or 4X4, but a vehicle that is to all intents and purposes, a lorry designed to transport horses.

Now, while most families would be familiar with buying a car, very few private individuals would usually have much cause to purchase a lorry, unless it was to do with a business. So this is an area full of unfamiliarities and opportunities for the unscrupulous.

Of course, there are many excellent horsebox dealers about with fine reputations built up over many years and the short answer is that if you want to avoid any problems, go to one of those. They have their reputations to protect and will do all they can to keep their customers satisfied.

But, inevitably, few of us can resist a bargain and if we see something advertised at a knockdown price or in some other way particularly attractive, human nature tends to be inquisitive. The obvious caveat is that you get what you pay for.

So the first rule is beware, any goods are advertised at the price they are for a reason. The problem with horseboxes is that the seller can often be talking to people whose knowledge of what they are buying is not great. So there is room for being economical with the truth or maybe not being truthful at all. Knowing that any faults will not be immediately apparent and by the time they are, the previous owner will deny all knowledge.

Horseboxes actually come in two parts. There is the mechanical lorry side common to all vehicles, engines, axles, brakes and so on - although rules and regulations covering lorries are much different to those relating to cars - and the section that carries the horses. This can either be a completely separate, purpose-built container fixed to what is essentially a flatbed lorry or an integral part of the vehicle in much the same way as a bus or coach carries human passengers. This means there are two areas of concern. You need to make sure the mechanical side is up to scratch and also the vehicle is safe to carry equines, the floor is sound, the partitions securely fixed, the ramp works and so on and on.

There's a lot to cover and a lot of grey areas and a wise precaution is that is if you are new to horsebox purchase, take someone experienced with you. They will know what is important and maybe what is less so. If a wayward partition can easily be fixed that might not be too bad, but a hole in the floor could be another matter. Be aware if there are rubber mats all over the floor. Their presence could be an extra safeguard, but lift them up to make sure they are not covering a defect in the floor. No one wants to go to the expense of re-flooring a horsebox.

Remember, considerable amounts of money are likely to change hands here for, although it is possible to buy a horsebox for under £10,000, many more are in the £10,000-£20,000 category and £30,000 plus is not unusual.

The recent Gloucestershire case was triggered by a deal involving a £2,000 deposit, which the victim from Tewkesbury lost completely because the court failed to impose a compensation order. So it's safe to assume the total cost of the horsebox that never materialised was much more than that.

In fact, the defendant was on bail awaiting sentence for defrauding £200,000 in 18 deals over six years, which gives some idea of the cash involved.

Understandably, the Office of Fair Trading has something to say on the matter.

"If you leave a deposit, get a receipt showing the company name and address," said a spokesman. "If you choose to buy or sell privately, the general rule is buyer beware'. Always take a witness with you to view the goods and be a party to any verbal agreement. Better still, write it down. If you are buying a horsebox, ask for a written description of the goods."

Buying a horsebox is something the average horse owning family might do once in a lifetime. It's not an occasion to get ripped off.