Anyone purchased from Appleby?

M

Marley&Me

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Hi all,

With the Appleby threads it got me thinking, about what it is like to purchase from Appleby or other similar fairs?


Any good, bad or otherwise experiences? What was the process? Were you happy with your purchase? What did horse turn out like?
 
The saddler I use. Bought a foal from stow, she said they used to go hacking and the foal followed like a dog and they had loads of fun with it. I've been to stow but just to have a look round. Some of the horses were stunning, very well cared for and a huge amount of money. Others were in a very poor condition, I wanted to bring loads home.
 
I'm not convinced that Appleby is actually in the business of selling horses.

I have been a couple of times and it seems more like a traveller gathering where having some horses is some sort of status symbol.

Perhaps they do change hands but it seems as though the point of it is to have a horse worth a lot of money.

I have heard to most ridiculous prices being quoted for very ordinary gypsy cobs.

It seems having a £10K horse is far more important than actually selling it.
 
Yes, I have, the mare was a 3yo. We broke her to ride and drive during the autumn and hunted her during the following spring, she was driven regularly too ....... suspicion set in when, one morning, the shafts did not go down on her, so were duly widened. This happened again a few weeks later. When the vet was here for a cattle job we asked him to check...... she PDd in foal ("I'm shaking hands, give her a few days off") a week later she produced a super heavy wt. colt foal.

We reckon she was covered at the fair.
 
It's years since we bought at Appleby. Two of the best we ever had came from there, one an old fashioned cob (not a coloured vanner) and the other a Connie xTB pony which I hunted for years. But in those days they sold all types. Now it seems to be just the vanner types. They had come over from Ireland fairly recently and weren't in a good way; but you could see the class, and once cherished they blosomed.

Waht were you thinking of getting?
 
Interesting stories, from stuff I have seen on TV I also got the impression that it doesnt have a huge amount to do with selling horses!

@Rose Folly, oh no, I have no intention of buying! I am at the other end of the country and have my hands well and truly full at the mo. I was just being nosey about Appleby!
 
I suppose years ago, good horses were bought from places like Appleby, gypsies probably bred good stock, or horses from them were cheap for one reason or another.

To be honest I think the idea that gypsies have a reputation as good horsemen is a myth. In fact their dealings with anything chickens (they are into cock fighting), dogs, horses, children, women seems to me to be pretty brutish and bestial across the board.

The old way of life is now unsustainable, which is why they rely on crime and being so difficult to deal with the authorities don't want to get involved.

I wouldn't want to do anything which would prolong the existance of a thing like Appleby so would never buy from there.
 
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