A bit of a rant about loaning :(

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PingPongPony

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I have been looking for months! I have been to see a few horses, one i travelled 300mile round trip, yes 300miles! And it turned out to be completely not as described, she said it has been jumping 1.10m courses but in fact it can barely do a 20m circle in balanced trot, i'm not even going to mention canter! I just don't understand where these adverts get them? If the horse is not as described surely anyone that will go to see it will not be happy? And i'm not asking for a lot either, just a horse that is 16.2hh+ has a good jump and is able to walk, trot and canter without falling over. I don't mind quirks, bucking, rearing etc, i find a quirky horse more fun! My biggest pethate recently is, i have contacted 5 people maybe? No one has got back to me! I emailed them, i also rnag after 1 week of no response, no one picks up and no one rings back. I don't get this either, i mean, if you are trying to get rid of your horse for any reason and you take the time to advertise, surely you take the time to actualy get people to come and see said horse?
I'm just really fed up now and feel like giving up now :( After nearly 5months of looking, looking at horses completely not as described and not getting a response from some i'm starting to run out of energy :( The word of mouth doesn't seem to work either, people say they'll tell others and it seems to end there :(
Am i the only one thats having this problem?
 
I think its just in the current climate the decent ones get either sold or snapped up quickly. Have you tried rescues? And actually doing your own word of mouth by telling local livery yard owners etc?
 
I've found a great horse that i really like at the HEROS rescue, i rang up about him they said he bites, i said that its fine and doesnt bother me, he's advertised as on loan but they want £1500 for the horse which will not be returned if you and horse don't get on or if your circumstances change and he's got to go back. If i had £1500 lying around, i would buy my own :( I have tried to do my own word of mouth, my yard owner is a well known dressage judge and i have asked her too.
It just really annoys me because i have found an advert for a horse that sounds perfect for me, i emailed, had a chat, since asked for photos and video i haven't had a reply, but the person is 50miles away so i'd like to at least see a photo of the horse before i make a 100mile round trip :(
 
I've toyed with loaning for my second, and even buying has been ridiculous. Of the five people who bothered to reply (plenty didn't, including those who specified emails and those I left answerphone messages for), two had already been sold long since but they hadn't updated the ad.

I went to view two at the weekend. They could've been a lot worse, admittedly, but they definitely weren't as described. I'm not sure what bothers me more...the lack of replies or the waste of time viewing unsuitable horses (despite, I might add, trying to be as thorough as possible in asking questions well before view day).

I'm off to see one tomorrow that (fingers crossed) sounds perfect and the seller seems as frustrated by timewasters as I am as a buyer.

OP, where in the country are you?
 
Good luck for tomorrow! Keeping my fingers x'd for you! :)
The one i travelled 300mile rount trip to see could have been worse, only if it was unbroken though, it was truly that bad. I spent a week asking questions, i don't think i could have asked anymore! She claimed that he's been out jumping 1.10m courses, she even sent me a picture of the horse jumping a decent jump out competing. When i got there, saw horse ridden, he could barely trot a circle being balanced, canter... well, a 4 year old would canter better. This horse was 11years old. It was not 16.2 but 15.2 if that. And when i showed the photo to one of the other people at the yard they giggled and went 'thats not this horse! its one that look very similar but is bigger and is a bsja horse, it lives in the next field along' :mad: £60 on petrol, 6 hours in the car, and 2 hourse viewing, most of our day wasted! :mad:
I'm in Lincolnshire, about 30min from Notthingham.
 
PingPongPony said:
And when i showed the photo to one of the other people at the yard they giggled and went 'thats not this horse! its one that look very similar but is bigger and is a bsja horse, it lives in the next field along' :mad: £60 on petrol, 6 hours in the car, and 2 hourse viewing, most of our day wasted! :mad:
I'm in Lincolnshire, about 30min from Notthingham.
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Oooh that's a sneaky tactic! :D I suppose bad sellers rely on the buyer's naivete or feeling pressured or something...other than that, I don't understand what they hope to achieve. You can usually tell straight away if something doesn't seem right, esp when it's that blatant.

I'd've thought being ok with quirks would've opened the market right up for you. I could give you the details of one of the ones I went to see at the weekend but frankly I think he wanted to be retired.
 
Coming from the other side I've been having a disastrous time trying to find someone to loan my ex-racer. He's got his quirks but if you are confident he'll go beautifully for you. Can't jump bigger than 95cm tracks due to a tendon injury. But I say this in every advert and stress the fact he is not a novice ride yet I get people turning up that I have to question whether they even know the difference from front from the back end of a horse! One girl I genuinely had to LEAD round, and another turned up with her trailer expecting to take him away the day of the viewing, even though I'd advertised part loan and the fact he must stay on my yard as my mother would be riding!
Finally found someone who could talk the talk, but when it came down to it couldn't walk the walk so she had to go. I've spent the past three years retraining (he was fresh off the track when I got him) and nursing him back from various injuries that I admit I am very picky but at the end of the day he needs someone who can look after him as much as I do!

I really feel for you though, I get the feeling a lot of people loan out as a last resort and when it comes down to it, don't actually want to do it. And then on the other side, a lot of people want a loan because they see it as a horse with less responsibility and think it easy. Obviously there are those who really want a loan and are serious, such as yourself, but I feel like they are rarer than a diamond in a pig's trough. :(
 
PingPongPony said:
I've found a great horse that i really like at the HEROS rescue, i rang up about him they said he bites, i said that its fine and doesnt bother me, he's advertised as on loan but they want £1500 for the horse which will not be returned if you and horse don't get on or if your circumstances change and he's got to go back.
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Have you tried Greatwood http://www.greatwoodcharity.org/? (It's not a million miles from HEROES and I don't know where you are but if you were considering them maybe Greatwood is OK distance wise.)

I don't know what their terms are but I have known a couple of people that have loaned successfully from them, in one case the horse had to go back and the situation was was dealt with efficiently and professionally.
 
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PingPongPony said:
I've found a great horse that i really like at the HEROS rescue, i rang up about him they said he bites, i said that its fine and doesnt bother me, he's advertised as on loan but they want £1500 for the horse which will not be returned if you and horse don't get on or if your circumstances change and he's got to go back. If i had £1500 lying around, i would buy my own :( I have tried to do my own word of mouth, my yard owner is a well known dressage judge and i have asked her too.
It just really annoys me because i have found an advert for a horse that sounds perfect for me, i emailed, had a chat, since asked for photos and video i haven't had a reply, but the person is 50miles away so i'd like to at least see a photo of the horse before i make a 100mile round trip :(
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Seriously? Thats nuts, who in their right minds would pay that?
 
Have you tired looking at project horse site, I know you said you don't have money laying around but might have something willing to loan or cheap. Good luck !!
 
stimpy said:
Have you tried Greatwood http://www.greatwoodcharity.org/? (It's not a million miles from HEROES and I don't know where you are but if you were considering them maybe Greatwood is OK distance wise.)

I don't know what their terms are but I have known a couple of people that have loaned successfully from them, in one case the horse had to go back and the situation was was dealt with efficiently and professionally.
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They charge £750 to rehome :eek:
 
Slightly different as I'm looking to buy, but spent hours trawling through the internet looking for the right one, narrowed the search down to roughly 10 and only three of the 10 I called answered or returned my call. Again, why advertise if you can't be bothered to answer calls, or if it's sold, at least have the courtesy to let callers know! Grr! I've only viewed one pony so far and thankfully the seller was extremely honest and genuine and although she wasn't right for me, the seller didn't put any pressure on me and the pony was as described. One potential pony was up the Lake District, I stressed that I was from London, wanted to see lots of photos and videos before making the trip up and the seller promises to send them to me but never does - argh!
 
I also looked at hero,s there t&c are crazy. You have to pay I think 30 over the phone when you book your visit to look at the horses and each time you view it appears you have to pay 30. I've viewed horses 3 times in past to make sure there right so there 90 straight away. Am also quite sure you have to use there choice of insurance and if they need to go into the horsepital you have to transport to there preferred one :(
There are some lovely horses and am currently looking for a pony and a horse Heros would of been ideal for a horse but the price and t&c put me off
 
annaellie said:
I also looked at hero,s there t&c are crazy. You have to pay I think 30 over the phone when you book your visit to look at the horses and each time you view it appears you have to pay 30. I've viewed horses 3 times in past to make sure there right so there 90 straight away. Am also quite sure you have to use there choice of insurance and if they need to go into the horsepital you have to transport to there preferred one :(
There are some lovely horses and am currently looking for a pony and a horse Heros would of been ideal for a horse but the price and t&c put me off
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^ this

I had a look too as have homed from charities in the past but Hero's T&Cs really put me off. I can understand some of it may be to put off people who just want a day out and a 'free' ride but it will also put off people who are seriously considering offering one of these ex racers a home.

Same goes for a local charity near to me (where I have loaned from). They want a 'donation' for rehoming. If you want anything half decent that can do jumping etc they ask for £1000 *shakes head*
 
Thank you everyone for suggestions. I have looked at darley and am going to apply tonight. I also had a pm and the horse sounds exactly what i'm looking for, good but has a quirk that will make it more fun :) Still haven't had a reply for any of the people i emailed :mad:
 
If none of the above options that you are investigating come off, it might be worth putting a wanted ad on Horsequest. That's how I found Alf - I was very specific about what I was looking for, and had some really great responses.
 
Have PM'd you.
I did think of putting ads up, whenever i start though, i always find something else, enquire about it, either dont get a response or whatever else :(
 
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