Advice re trialling pony before buying

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TripleOG

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I am selling a low value pony and have a viewing soon. Potential buyer has asked whether I would trial which I am happy to do. However this pony will need a while to settle in and in a short time in a new place will I expect have some issues. I have discussed all of this with potential buyer-have been totally honest about everything about this pony.
If it is the right pony for them, it would only move about 10mins away from us. I have done a bit of digging about the buyer and they are genuine and experienced and everything they have told me is true. Turns out we have various mutual friends.
What are people's views on a month's trial? With some or all of payment held by me? Or should I be looking at a sale with a promise to take pony back if not right after a month? Vets bills if needed aren't an issue.
I really need this pony to sell and my concern is that just a week's trial will not show it in the best light and will be returned. It's not a bad pony, just needs time to adjust to a move due to a chequered past.
Of course the pony and child might not be suited so I'm getting a bit ahead of myself but want to have a plan in place! I have to add I wouldn't consider this if they weren't local.
Thanks!
 
I had my pony on trial for 1week i took her to the yard i would keep her at only 10mins away from seller. I didn't pay anything until after the trial. I wouldnt want to buy a horse without trialling it! i think a month is a bit long though without any payment/deposit. I trialled a pony i sold to someone for a month with no payment but it stayed on same yard for part of it. Would definitely want some kind of collateral for a month at another yard just in case
 
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Why dont you do a trial at your place for two weeks and if everything goes well there, agree to desposit being paid before another two or three weeks trial at their place before full purchase?

You don't want to be moving a pony around unnecessarily in case if it has a history of being unsettled by new places and that way you are doing your best for the pony
 
We have one which took six weeks to settle. If she had been on trial we would have sent her straight back. This pony is the one which took us to PC Champs-because we gave her time to settle. i would go for a trial but the pony stays at home.
 
Trials are a vexed question. We've had PC and competition ponies all my daughter's junior riding career. Although we did have her first lead rein pony on loan (and then bought him and he has a forever home with us!) none of the other ponies were on trials. And like the poster above had some of them been we would have sent them back - and been entirely wrong in that decision. The quirky ones always seemed to do better for us. There is something about the mindset - I bought this... now I have to live with it or sell it again - which focuses matters. Whereas on trial there is always the "Am I going to keep this?" thought.

There is an attraction for a trial at your yard first - but if this isn't possible I would opt for sell with an agreement to take back (minus a suitable portion of the cost).
 
Personally I'm not a fan of trials as there are too many variables outside of your control once the pony has left you. However I'm always happy to let people come and try as many times as they need and wouldn't be against someone spending a week or two trialling the pony from its current yard.
 
I also would not let a horse of mine go out on trial. However in your situation I would let them trial the pony but keep it at your yard. If the trial goes well then maybe offer to give them some assistance for a few weeks once the pony moves to the new yard.
 
the attraction of a trial for me is the fact that the horse will probably be a bit silly and unsettled at a new yard, I want to see what it does on a bad day. That way I can be sure I can comfortably handle the horse at its worst(or not so great!) so I know when it settles I will love it at it's best :)
 
no trial - let them come and ride as often as they like at your yard (e.g every day for a week) - what if your pony get sinjured- you can bet they won't be paying!
 
I would not agree to an off-yard trial, there are too many risk factors. A trial at your yard would be a good compromise.
 
I wouldn't let him move off of the yard but I would probably agree to a weeks trial on your yard.

Also, if you need to sell him a month is a long time to then have the horse returned to you, and quite possibly he will need to be worked and settled back in again before being readvertised.
 
We had our horse on trial for a month before purchasing (at her owners suggestion). She is a stressy mare and it was very unsettling for her - made worse by the fact that she was turned out alone as we planned to vet at the end of the trial and needed to avoid potential field injuries that could affect the vetting.

If we had lived locally to the seller, we would have been happy to trial her at owners yard. If you are happy to have someone try your horse at home for a couple of weeks, and maybe an outing to a competition or clinic, depending on what the potential new owners are looking to do, then I would think that would reassure most people.

Even as a first time horse owner, I expected the horse to find the move stressful and for her behaviour to change. If they can see what her normal routine and behaviour is like, that would surely be helpful for them when she does move yards.
 
Generally I would never offer a horse out on trial (after a bad experience with one I did this with, the people were idiots!), however I did do something similar with one horse who was a bit difficult - I knew he would only suit a certain person (he either respected you or he didn't) so I sold him to the first person on the understanding that if they wanted to return him during the first month then they could with a full refund (after that, I would still have taken him back but I couldn't keep the money set aside forever so the value would go down with time since I'd had to have "re-fixed" him!). He was returned within 2 weeks, full refund given. Did the same again with the next person but they were happy and kept him. If they live nearby though, I would probably suggest first to them that you just keep the horse where he is and they take on full care of the horse during the period.
 
The first pony I bought my son I had on a months trial. I paid in cash up front, it was only a few hundred, and then had the pony and treated him as my own. I spoke to the seller nearly every day and at the end of the month I kept the pony and she put the money in the bank. It worked well. As the pony is not worth much and vets fees are not an issue I would do a month. We didn't even have a written agreement, but I accept not everyone is so trusting.
 
I would offer them to trial the pony at your yard. That way they would get to know the pony in a place where it is already settled. He will get to know them a little and hopefully if they proceed to buy, he will settle more happily in his new home. Other than the fact I would never let a horse/pony go out on trial, if they did trial him at their place, they won't necessarily know what parts of his behaviour are down to being unsettled, and what parts are really him. Good luck with the sale. x
 
I would offer a trial at your yard.
I had a 2 week trial with my last boy at the then owners yard. I got to see how he was when he was settled, and get to know him a little bit. I think any new owner would expect a change in behaviour when moving a horse.
If I was selling I would not let someone take him away for a trial! If they were local they could have a trial at my yard only
 
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