Adverts, does it put you off when...

Paint Me Proud

Paint Me Proud

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When reading an advert for horses for sale does it put you off when the advert states things like:-

'no novices as has been wasted in the past'
'Currently being wasted as a happy hacker'

I have been browsing ads for a friend and have come across these sorts of statements a few tmes and it really puts me off. I feel the seller is sort of dictating what you should be doing with the horse once you've bought it. The horse may have potential but surely it's up to the new owner to do whatever they fancy with the horse, even if that is just to carry on happy hacking or enjoying the horse doing whatever.

Wondered if it is just me being over sensitive to advert wording or if other people think this too?
 
I once read a quote by some famous horse person which stated you should never pay for a horse based on its 'potential' but only on what it's doing now. Can't remember who it was. Same sort of thing. Horses don't have ambition. Only riders do. No such thing as 'wasting' a horse, IMHO! If it makes you happy, that's all you need. No matter what you do with it. Im not sure it would put me off, but if Im buying a horse I would not expect the seller to have any input into what I did with him. None of their concern. Unless it was a breeder who was trying to make a name for themselves and wanted offspring to do well to promote their name. I can understand that. I really think people who say that in their adverts are trying to boost the qualties of their horse to up the price.
 
I've never seen that! But all sorts of oddnesses put me off. I have just seen a photo of a horse's head over a stable door, with a neck rug on! What on earth is the point of that? I don't want to see badly ridden horses, or read badly spelled ads either!
 
The wording you gave wouldn't worry me but my pet hate is "no timewasters or joy riders". Yes, I appreciate there may well be people who do fill up their weekends day dreaming but I would say the vast majority of people don't really enjoy horse hunting. It's lovely when you are perusing the Internet to get an idea. When you actually want to BUY a horse, it's a vastly different story!
 
no it wouldn't put me off but I would hope it would put some totally clueless people with more money than sence off though because horses are so cheap to buy these days you often get complete novices (by which I really mean beginers/had 3 lessons 10 years ago and think they know it all and won't take any advice) and then they either completely ruin a great horse and/or up completely over horsed and blame the seller for misselling them a horse
 
You're not alone. It drives me up the wall too.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand sellers wanting their horses to go to homes where their horses' potential will be utilized, but for those of us who are not interested in competing/showing and who are quite content with happy hacking, finding a horse that isn't advertised as an "Olympic champion in the making" can be exceptionally frustrating.

I frequently read HHO's buy & sell pages, virtually every advert is looking for competitive homes and they make it clear in the ad that they're only prepared to sell to those who compete.
 
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The biggest thing that puts me off is "re-advertised due to timewasters" it just screams something went off at the vetting!

In fact any reference to timewasters puts me off as I think it means people are turning up to view and not proceeding for a reason. People don't intentionally view horses they aren't interested in buying but often they give a lame excuse to cover up the real reason they are walking away.
 
people DO turn up to timewaste though unfortunately. We had a loon at one yard i was on who would go and view any horse she thought was nice. i always felt very sorry for the sellers, i never really had believed in timewasters before i met her!.
 
I've been told my horse is wasted with me and could so far with the right rider.....my reply is his main goal in.life is to stay out in the feild as long as possible and eat grass. Not sobbing into his Haynes at night because I want to hack and he could make a fab eventer.
 
yes, gets on my mums nerves too. The same old 'want someone to take them up to this, that or the other' or 'competitive/showing home only'. The horse doesn't know its potential, I'm pretty sure they would be perfectly fine living in a field and never ridden again.
 
Slightlyconfused said:
I've been told my horse is wasted with me and could so far with the right rider.....my reply is his main goal in.life is to stay out in the feild as long as possible and eat grass. Not sobbing into his Haynes at night because I want to hack and he could make a fab eventer.
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This. A thousand times.
 
I'm not too bothered about the wording, but I am fed up of seeing adverts with rugs on horses, horses so far in the distance you can't see them, horses so badly ridden that you can't tell whether the problem is with the horse or caused by the numpty sitting on them, no conformation shot without tack. If I am looking to buy a horse, I am not bothered about its wardrobe, what its current view is, or what its stable looks like. :)
 
I hate the "no time wasters" thing too.

There's a lovely arab on Facebook that says "not for endurance", they want it to go showing. That would have really narked me off if I was still looking.

Also the ones that want bitless, treeless, barefoot people only. They just bug me - imagine if shops put signs up saying "only people over 5'6 and wearing sandals can shop here", they're taking the mick!
 
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My pet peeve is adverts that start with 'THIS IS A HEART-BREAKING DECISION FOR ME...' and then go on to dictate what sort of owner they want for the horse. It's usually accompanied by a badly worded advert rife with spelling mistakes and awful grammar. Maybe I'm a snob, but I wouldn't look twice at an advert like this.
 
I compete so the "competitive" home bit doesn't bother me. I do, however, tend to read it as a horse that needs consistent work.

Happy hackers are a problem. The assumption is that people pay peanuts for a horse that can only hack, because that is all it is good for. However, in reality, there are not many horses who are geniunely well behaved and nice enough to be a decent hack!
 
I really hate adverts which have a whole paragraph about how their brothers aunties cousins uncle died and therefore they've had to make the sad decision to sell the horse through no fault of its own.

Argh for gods sake just tell us about the horse

OH AND!

"I can't believe this horse hasn't sold yet!!!!!!"

Which I always want to reply with, "well I can since your photos are horrific, it's not been ridden for 6 years and you want a million pounds and no time wasters"
 
It annoys me too! I do believe there IS such a thing as a wasted horse, but only when there is actual neglect. Ned is very very happy munching the grass in the field, only being brought in for a groom, or dinner.

And Luci07 - you are so right! A horse who is actually very good at hacking is so hard to come by!
 
When reading an advert for horses for sale does it put you off when the advert states things like:-

'no novices as has been wasted in the past'
'Currently being wasted as a happy hacker'


No, not really, not at all actually.

I always ask sellers to score their horses from 1-10, personal opinions of novice/intermediate varies, scores give me a better idea.

It is pretty normal here for sellers to score horses in adverts.

1 being comatose, 10 being rocket fuelled.
I ask for scores on the ground, and under saddle.
 
Luci07 said:
I compete so the "competitive" home bit doesn't bother me. I do, however, tend to read it as a horse that needs consistent work.

Happy hackers are a problem. The assumption is that people pay peanuts for a horse that can only hack, because that is all it is good for. However, in reality, there are not many horses who are geniunely well behaved and nice enough to be a decent hack!
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Can't say that I paid peanuts for mine. I'm not bothered by price, tbh. Whether the horse is being sold for £2'000 or £20'000, I'm more than happy to pay the price so long as the horse is healthy, has decent conformation, manners and we click. All of mine are well behaved and decent to hack.

It's just difficult to find decent horses for sale where the owners haven't stipulated in the advert that they're looking to sell to someone who is planning to compete/show the horse. That's great for those who do compete/show, but not so great for those of us who don't.
 
The best horse I've ever owned who did a bit of absolutely everything had the best advert ever; "16.1 dun 12 yr old ISH, good horse, gelding £xxxx" followed by a telephone number. I like plain simple adverts, I don't like reading excuses.

I must say though, I really wish people would stop advertising their horses and ponies with a picture of someone standing on their back. I want a horse to ride, not for vaulting and not a circus pony.
 
If I was picky about adverts, I wouldn't have the mare I have now (whom I'm endlessly happy with). I wouldn't forfeit the right horse over the wrong wording. Misspelling doesn't bother me either. I have a friend with dyslexia who says they can't write well but at least they try and that if other people put half their effort into trying to understand, errors would be forgivable and communication easy.
 
Actually, this thread has reminded me of a rather obnoxious advert I read on HHO's buy & sell pages a couple of weeks ago. The ad was for an IDxTB hunter and the owner made it clear in his ad that he wouldn't sell to "females" because previous owner had been a "small female" who had "wasted the horse's potential."

Now, I can understand that some sellers may want to gender discriminate if their horse is not used to being handled by a certain gender, but when the horse has had previous owners of both genders then it strikes me that it is the seller, not the horse, who has issues with the opposite sex....
 
Kat said:
The biggest thing that puts me off is "re-advertised due to timewasters" it just screams something went off at the vetting!

In fact any reference to timewasters puts me off as I think it means people are turning up to view and not proceeding for a reason. People don't intentionally view horses they aren't interested in buying but often they give a lame excuse to cover up the real reason they are walking away.
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Totally agree.

'No timewasters' puts me off, to me it says 'if you try you must buy - if you don't you're a timewaster'.
 
It doesn't put me off unless the owner states that only 'competitive experienced homes need apply, no timewasters' IOW, they want someone to take their horse to the top so they can use it to promote the other horses they've bred. I know plenty of very well bred horses with internationally reknowned lines that are only used as hackers. Horses have no ambition!
 
I LOVE badly worded adverts and rubbish photographs! They tell me so much about the seller. But sometimes there IS something that sparks my interest and I lift the phone and have a chat. It is easy enough these days to get more photos, even video, sent over the Internet and someone who doesn't know much about selling probably won't know much about prices either. One of the best ponies I have here was badly advertised and photographed obliquely through a gate!

No, I am not a dealer and the above applies to whatever I am buying. When buying retail, I always ask for a discount too!:O
 
I'm put off by adverts where there is a factual inaccuracy. Like "out of" xyz stallion or 15.8 hands. There are so many of them!

I may be awfully judgmental but I can't help wondering what kind of numpty has been handling the poor thing.
 
I really don't get the ' must go to competitive home'. I am sure horses really don't mind not competing and are completely contented as long as they are fed and looked after. I would prefer my horse going to a caring happy hacker home than possibly being passed around to further it's competitive 'career'.
 
VikingSong said:
Actually, this thread has reminded me of a
rather obnoxious advert I read on HHO's buy & sell pages a couple of weeks ago. The ad was for an IDxTB hunter and the owner made it clear in his ad that he wouldn't sell to "females" because previous owner had been a "small female" who had "wasted the horse's potential."

Now, I can understand that some sellers may want to gender discriminate if their horse is not used to being handled by a certain gender, but when the horse has had previous owners of both genders then it strikes me that it is the seller, not the horse, who has issues with the opposite sex....
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Wow that is rude. But then is he selling the horse because he is wasting the horses potential too? Who will the horse go to if the owner cannot be male or female? :p

To be honest if I were to sell my horse I would probably vet a potential male owner more than female simply because my horse doesn't get along with men as well as he does women. He will allow it but he isn't happy about it. So that's just for his happiness. I do threaten to sell him to my male instructor at times though like when he breaks his rugs. :P

My horse wasn't actually advertised for sale. I went along to a place that I found out was selling horses, rode a few including him and picked him. So i managed to avoid the terror of the advert with him but the person selling him really just wanted someone for him that could give him some confidence and train him up. She was as well refusing to sell him to a 12 year old that wanted him for competing as he was too young and too big for her. So based on that i trusted her judgement on picking the right owner and i hope she got it right with me. :p In the end he gave me confidence too but it works for us. We are an odd pair.

I did avoid the adverts that said no time wasters or competitive home only though when I was looking online. Saw those as red flags for me.
 
Dunlin said:
The best horse I've ever owned who did a bit of absolutely everything had the best advert ever; "16.1 dun 12 yr old ISH, good horse, gelding £xxxx" followed by a telephone number. I like plain simple adverts, I don't like reading excuses.

I must say though, I really wish people would stop advertising their horses and ponies with a picture of someone standing on their back. I want a horse to ride, not for vaulting and not a circus pony.
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That is almost exactly the advert for our first horse! He was a bay 15h 10 yr old gelding advertised in the Dogs section of the Yorkshire Post, long before the days of adverts with photos were commonplace.
 
Luci07 said:
I compete so the "competitive" home bit doesn't bother me. I do, however, tend to read it as a horse that needs consistent work.
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This is how i read it too. Or "needs to be kept busy". My sister got one just like this. Hes a 15.2 HW coloured cob and is a huge amount of fun. Turn his hand to anything. Gives anything a go, loves xc. He is also a fabulous hack, wanders on the buckle or gallops with the tb's, back to the buckle end the next day. No idea how to advertise him. His looks dont match his personality and we are not sure he would stay the lovely horse he is now if he didnt have the variety! He just has a huge zest for life.
 
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