Adverts: wording that puts you off.

TGM said:
I wouldn't be put off by one phrase on its own, but weigh it up against all the other wording and pictures in the ad.

For example, one poster mentioned the phrase 'home-bred' and I must admit I have always thought it a dubious term as I know so many 'home-breds' that have no manners and are allowed to walk all over people. However, I still went to view one and yes, we did buy him!
Click to expand...

To me, homebred is not about manners or quality, I would use this term in the add as a short way of saying 'I have bred that horse, therefore known it all its life, its full vet history and quite possibly its dam/sire or both can be seen'
 
'Gelding' :)

I tend to get on a lot better with mares and if I was looking to buy I would want one.

16hh

I want something 15.2hh or under.

Other than that which just really relates to what I am looking for I'll agree that POA tends to make me think 'more than I can afford' instantly.

I also find baby talk and poor spelling and grammar really irritating. Particular bug bears of mine are x's when the mean xs plural not possesive, main for mane, guilding/gilding and variations on theme, confirmation for conformation and (relating to the original topic) getting the colour wrong. I'd rather see 'orangish with a blonde mane and tail' than palomino for a flaxen chestnut.
 
Long lengthy ads that go on an on and on, keep it simple and factual, otherwise it's a chore to read through when they are a solid block of text.
POA - All I want to know is if it's in my budget, or whether their idea of price is in my budget! Makes me think the seller has an astronimcal price in mind.
20/25 etc years young - I know many horses go on well into their twenties but if I had a horse up to that stage in its life I would like to think I'd keep it for his final years.
First to see will buy - Well not necessarily, how do you know?!
Ads with awful photos, the number one thing that will sell your horse (or anything really), and shoddy photos are no excuse these days!
Text speak, bad grammar as many others have said. This really irritates me, it makes me feel the owner is somewhat childish/uneducated!
 
I disagree, long ads for me are better, esp. if i'm trying to give a really accurate description of what I'm selling as funnily enough don't have time for every joy rider up and down the country to come and see my horses! Also, by writing a long, honest advert, as a seller you have covered your back if the buyer says "it won't do X, Y or Z" when they get it home, and your trying to attract the right person to your horse, not just anyone who wants a bog standard beastie.
 
POA agree would put me off as I would think to exspensive
Whoops have been guilty of using No time wasters.
Years ago I never got to vetting stage, with some never allowed them to get on! this was for my TB who really needed a confident rider as he was nervous when hacking alone,was stated in ad, and had 3 beginners.I was to nervous for him,ace in school but thats no life for a TB.
Recently Did loose viewers as fell for lady who was desperate to view pony for daughter as he was just what they wanted, put 2 people off and then she cancelled,rebooked arrived, spent 2 hours riding prodding, me loosing will to live,wanted to see OH and ring back with arranging another viewing with a friend, like a fool waited the weekend as promised yes you guessed no call so I was a bit mad when had to re advertise him again, No never kept numbers of others, bit dim in the trust department..A call of not suitable would have done.
Sorry about rant will not use it again as see point of view I will breathe and place advert and keep smiling:D:D lol
 
martlin said:
To me, homebred is not about manners or quality, I would use this term in the add as a short way of saying 'I have bred that horse, therefore known it all its life, its full vet history and quite possibly its dam/sire or both can be seen'
Click to expand...

I agree thats what homebred should mean but it often means "I bred a very average foal out of an very average mare i have got (which is not fit/sound/sane enough to be ridden), which I think is the best thing since sliced bred. It has no partiucularly good bloodlines or conformation. It is spoilt, basically unhandled because I am scared of it and is still untouched in the field at 5 years old because I don't have a clue how to break it."
Not all 'homebred' are quite that bad, but I have come across a couple! :p

While I'm on my high horse, I also hate- "totally Unspoilt" when its an unbroken unhandled 7 year old!
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
As has been mentioned I don't think any one saying would put me off going to view. Sometimes it's just the way the advert is put together that makes me feel I would be wasting my time. Loads of cliches & poor photos put me off. When people sort out a few snap shots & post them rather than taking some selling photos that actually show what the horse really looks like or moves like.
Click to expand...


"Photos do not do this horse/pony justice."
So why use those photos? FGS take some that DO do it justice!

I can't bear long-winded adverts in what I call 'dodgy-dealer speak'. IMO a succinct ad which tells the reader all the basics, i.e. height/colour/age/gender/what it can/has done (not what it might do in the future) is all that is needed, unless the horse has any specific problems such as 'has been seen to weave'. Any further details can be discussed on the phone.
 
Haven't read the whole thread so sorry if someone else has said this but "first to see will buy" is a right putter offer for me. I mean, what if I don't like it?:eek:

Mind you it is tempting to go and look and spend ages and then say "Naah, I don't think he/she is the right colour/size/age" etc:rolleyes:
 
BobbyMondeo said:
"cheeky sence of humour"
"hasnt been ridden in x months" - without a reasonable explanation

"not a novice ride" really annoys me when there isnt a reason for it not being a novice ride. ie it could just be forward going, some novices would like that, some wouldnt. or spooky again most novices wouldnt like that but some might be used to it.
Click to expand...

not novice ride -annoys me too - I wouldnt say am novice but then if says not novice ride i wouldnt see it as would assume bit of nutter
 
This thread has made me smile, and at the moment, that's some achievement! I don't mind the spelling, or grammatical errors, the person placing the advert may be scalectric, or uneducated. Neither can be their fault, and you never know, they may well have just what you're looking for.

What I don't understand, is the term "Never sick or sorry". What, in God's name, does that mean? Another is the person who tells me that, "As a 2 year old, he cost five hundred grand, at Keenland", and all that they're asking is five hundred quid. The poor old sod's knackered, shoot him.

I apologise if I'm being a bit blunt, but I've had a difficult day, and this is just my excuse to let off steam! I'm now part way through the first of a succession of huge G&Ts, and this is better "triped" out now, than later!

Alec.
 
'machine'- dont like that. if i wanted a machine, i'd buy a bike etc!!!
interestingly, when i read saw the advert for my horse that i bought a year ago, was just a nice simple advert, listed his good points and comp record (limited as was young). when i rung up about him, she said he was 'green'. i went to look at him and bought him and we have had a brill year- if it had said green in the advert, i wouldn't have even rung up about him. in the end it came down to the fact our versions of green were very different!!
 
Alec, if this thread has made you smile at the end of a crappy day, then that's good - it was just meant to be a bit of fun.

I'll have a G&T too please and will put my hand up and admit that the phrase I LOVE in an ad these days is:

'Anybody's ride - suit novice' - I've done my time getting on scary stuff and thinking it's funny.... Hooray for a 'sane and sensible' horse! Love 'em!
 
I think the thing that annoys me most is when people put,
`it` instead of he or she,
`not a novice ride` i think that if a horse can be ridden by a `novice` it is better means its more safe and what is a novice anyway,
`wins every time` this annoys me because no horse could win everytime not even great eventers win every time.
Sorry bout the long post but i feel i had to explain my reasonings.
:) x
 
I read an advert yesterday but cant remember what web site it was on it just said something like 8 year old bay cob gelding for sale the price and a phone number oh and a photo of it stood in the field. me and my mum laughed and said well what more do you need to know lol.

POA= to expensive
stunning= so its ugly
MARE! that always put me off much prefer to see gelding :-)
 
Last edited:
I'm another who hates "POA". If you actually dare to phone up and it is out of your price range you're treated like you're a "TIMEWASTER" LOL :p

Other pet hates are "potential xyz" in the flesh they're rarely the right type, height or mover to ever live up to the claim!
 
Poor spelling - there are loads of free spell checkers/friends. Just smacks that if someone can't be bothered to check their advert, doesn't bode well for how they keep their horse. I also personally hate "no timewasters" -to my mind this makes the seller look quite agressive - so if I go, and don't like the horse - am I a timewaster? POA - not keen but I have rung and queried when interested. Quite frequently I have found that POA is often quite keenly priced but in a market where you do have a lot of choice, then that is the sort of thing that would put me off. Cheesy wording/sold from field wouldnt bother me. "Not a novice ride" would mean keen questioning but again, would put the horse to the back of the pile. I also bin "would make a great xxxx" on a much older horse because the first question you would ask is - if it would do it, then why didn't you? (unless the advert says something like finances stopped taking this horse forward etc etc).
 
My personal one is like "15 years young"! I don't get why people need to put that and why not just 15 years? Might just be a personal thing though but wouldnt put me off, well maybe a little :p
 
Last edited:
owner pregnant <so cant ride>
promising but needs schooling and bringing on
will accept....
no timewasters
no joyriders
re-advertised due to timewasters
wasted as owner wants a cob...
excellent hack but forward going will swop for quiet pony/horse
 
Rebelzmum said:
Reading what you lot have put, maybe people should just advertise "Horse for Sale" and not put anything else because they are too frightened of being criticised for their ads.
"Sold from field" - I have a perfect one which I bought from the field.
"Not novice ride" - perhaps you should enquire why. It might just be because the owner doesn't like it jogging when out or because the owner is actually nervous
"Has competed" - Maybe it has been out to some shows, but could be a baby so it was taken for the experience, not to win! At least they have taken it somewhere.
I'm not normally critical on here and don't pick fights, but not every horse is suited to every person and that might be why they are selling. It is still worth a phone call to find out more about the horse.
I do agree about POA though - I think it means overpriced.
Click to expand...

Voice of sanity......I would sell a point-to-pointer from the field - because it is on its holiday! I would describe it as not a novice ride, as I want to put off the real novices (first horse / recent graduates from the riding school) - but it has never napped, reared or bucked - but it is forward going TB - but ideal for those who can ride on the roads on a froward going horse.....I would describe it at as 150% because it is in traffic, to clip, load, catch, shoe.....but it might jump at a loud nosie from the other side of the hedge, what wouldn't? Ridden by a young rider - why would that put you off - one of my racehorses was such a sweetie that it was ridden in all his work by my quite nervous 12 year old (he was a hopeless racehorse as it turned out, but is a wonderful happy hacker now!)
What really puts me off is those horses that are described as 'would suit pirelli or natural horsemanship' means that they have tried the normal route and failed!!
Trouble is at the moment that the horse trade is so dire - and everyone is so picky, that as this post started just might as well say horse for sale, and see what happens!!
Goodness me if I was as jaundiced as you lot, I would never have ever bought a horse......let alone in 10 years (some 10 years ago, before I got fed up) bought and sold some 100 really lovely animals of all shapes and sizes and values!
 
almrc said:
My personal one is like "15 years young"! I don't get why people need to put that and why not just 15 years? Might just be a personal thing though
Click to expand...

Miles on the clock...... A differnce between a race horse say that might have been on the go since a yearling, and a cob, that might have been broken at 5 years, bought on sooo slowly, had 2 years off whilst owner had a baby, bred a foal of its own, then did another couple of quiet years......
 
Its not the wording that outs me off as much as the photos. Really, how hard is it to take a few nice pics in these enlightend days of digital phtography??

1) a profile pic, horse stood up nicely. Conformation
2) if broken in, a nice ridden pic, pref in trot.
3) if jumps, a jumping pic!

NO pics with rugs on, directly from the front (the head always looks too big) or anythign too 'cute' unless it is a childs pony in which case as many pics of it being crawled over by kiddies and looking like its enjoying, or at worst is resigned to it. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top