are people genuinely blind to their horses failings?

smiggy

smiggy

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Have looked at two potential new horses for my son this week. Am a fairly canny buyer having boughtlots of kids ponies over the years, really filter out the adverts then ask all the relevant questions on the phone.
Both genuine sellers, had the horse over a year, geuine reason for sale.
But both completely not as described:confused:
First one 15.1 welsh cob, been to RC dressage championships, lovely hack etc,actually nappy, ungenerous, unestablished canter as in bucked into canter then went disunited, unschooled, needed a stick to get to trot.
Secnd one forward going second pony, jumps x country,hunts, bombproof hack, good in company. Ye gods-total nutter. Son is 14 and very gutsy and he said afterwards it was the only time he has ever genuinely feared for his life :confused: It stood quivering with mad eyes when tacked up, once onboard (in dutch gag on bottom ring) if you relaxed contact to point of flexing fingers it was off. dragged him round course of jumps ad then because idiot child was too polite to say get me off now, he took it over a few cross country jumps towards yard at which point it tanked off completely, carting him across concrete till he had to stop by doing a one rein stop, with both hands on one rein! He had blisters on both hands after riding it for 20 minutes! Actually feel very sorry for that pony, something not rigt with him.
Thing is neither seller seemed to think horses behaviour was at all unacceptable, nappy horse owner seemed oblivious to the fact that horse was spending its time trying to get to gate and mad horse owner said at the end "see he is such a good boy been in for 2 weeks now and just the same as when out" :eek:
 
Seen a quite a lot horses this year for sale that were either not as described, dead from the neck down or too expensive, I think some people live in a dream world, god knows where they pull their prices from.

Give me a youngster any day, I feel for anyone horse buying, although my friend bought from a good dealer DN yard and it was like a breath of fresh air, lovely horses, great facilities no pressure, actually a nice experience..thank god!

Good Luck
 
I wouldn't say completely oblivious - in fact, most ads use words to try and make positive their horse's negative qualities ;)

Eg. Forward going can range from normal off leg to absolute nutter who will only excel in racing or team chasing

Good to hack can range from good to hack from stable to arena, or down the m1 quite happily :p
 
Yes, they are! We've owned four horses and ponies over the last 10 years and they have all come from the trade. Not necessarily dealers but from people who make a living from these animals and the people who ride them. All animals came with a blistering honest description of the their faults and good points and I've never had to sell an animal as the people in question always matched myself and my daughter's well. I've never attempted to buy privatley because I hear the way some people talk about their horses, they are not even on nodding terms with reality! They don't mean to lie, and they don't think they are lying, but there is no way I would want to risk your son's experience for either myself or my kids. Life is too short. We did ring up about one pony last year we wanted as an eventual mother/daughter share. My kids were eight and five at the time, I explained I needed an animal that was laid back and gently around kids and the seller said he was great with children, even her own daughter rode him. I asked how old her daughter was and she said "22!".
 
I had recently advertised a very lovely and promising young sports horse, that was for sale because he hasnt grown quite big enough for (quite a genuine reason i would think)
After the tragic death of my forever boy. I travelled the legth and bredth of the country to view a young horses (ideally 4yrs and broken) and was always promised to see one that was 'straight' or moved nicely or had no lumps or bumps - to get there after hours of driving and find that it was lame behind or had bad feet or had an old injury or was just not straight in the limb and the list goes on. In fact one place i went to the owner didnt even turn up and when i called her upon arrival at the time agreed (having confirmed the appointment the evening before as any polite person would) she sent out her groom to tell me that she had gone out and that the horse had been sold that morning. DO you not think she would have the courtessy to call me and let me know that morning!
Any way, i found two lovely animals at a stud and bought them both from the field. Not exactly what i had first been looking for but I am fortunate enough to have the relevant support to enable me to do this.
Sadly after carefully producing them both and professionally broken the younger of the two (3yr old) was not as big as i had hoped and now stands a 15.2.
So thus i decided to advertise, as he would be very useful for a jnr or and eventing home as he is super sweet to deal with and a real mover.
I advertised for a very reasonable price as his home is very important, and made my advert exactly as described. and made it very clear that he is 3.
I was inundated with phone calls (and txts - rather rude i think) from any number of dreamers and pleasure riders, who clearly had not grasped that he is 3. not 8. I spent most of my time discouraging most as they were dead giveaways that a 3yo would be a bad move when they asked 'how is it to clip?' and 'has he been hunted?'. RANT - the horse has had its 3rd birthday this year, which means he was 2 last clipping / hunting season. BRAINS ENGAGE?
I allowed 5 different people to view him, rushing home from work on evenings etc. One lot of people arrived and said 'he is too small' (advertised at hight he stands) another lot came and both daughers rode him very nicely, and he went very beautifully for them both. On off on off on off inc the trainer, needless to say i think its a reall tribute to a 3 yr old who has only been ridden by me and the rider who has broken & produced him. He stood whilst they got on off etc in the open field. well i could go on as i was very pleased.
people number 2 made an offer so far from the advertised price (thanks H&H for your article dated 19th Aug on making offers). The price offered was for a totally differnt type of animal.
then another lady came to see him. Loved him as again he went beautifully for her. so she asked if she could come back the next day and ride him first (without me riding him first). I agreed foolishly - this is something in hind sight i would never do agin if i was to ever sell another young horse. It proved that she was infact no rider and he had gone beautifully on my merits the first time.
then people number 3 came the following day - sadly I was devistaed as the poor boy didnt go as half the horse he is following the weekend being ridden by somone else. after 20mins he returned to normal and they were delighted with him.
People number 2 phoned and said thank you but he lacked the sparkle they were looking for (did it take two goes to decide that? but fair enough)
People number 3 came back on the weekend and loved him again. then phoned and said they wanted to wait a month to buy and that he is 3 and that concerns them. (hasnt changed aged since advert)
Although all who have viewed have commented - thank you he is exactly as described.
I have since removed him from sale as he is at a fragile time in his life and there are so many wasters and dreamers out there!!!!
The moral of this story is that i have been on both sides of the fence as a purchaser and more recently a seller. It is very stressfull both ways and the only people that seem to do well out of all this business are the petrol stations dotted around the country.....
If only everyone was more honest with them selves and in turn the buyer / seller.
honesty is the best policy.
 
Absolutely! I always tended to stay away from private buyers and went to dealers. There are alwaysa few rogues out there but most of them are honest and they know that if they find you the right horse then they have a happy customer who will recommend them to others.
 
There are also so many riders who are genuinely blind to their own abilities and think their riding prowess is greater than what it actually is!
 
I don't trust dealers. How someone can know the in's and out's of a horse they picked up a few weeks ago from a sale of a breeders field in Ireland lord knows.

Private sellers can wear Rose tinted glasses but usually they just lie because they are fed up with the thing and want it gone.

which is why my horses all came
via word of mouth or they weren't advertised and the only truely duff one I had was from a dealer posing as a private seller.

I'd rather buy from a private person now but unless it's through word of mouth I'd want to see videos and references or an affilliated record :).

I'd rather buy private than from a dealer anyday.
 
I am sorry to hear about your problems Corton and I agree, people do need to be honest with themselves and if your riding instructor advises against an animal, LISTEN TO THEM! I have always been super cautious because I would find it heartbreaking to sell an animal.
 
Can I just say that last time I bought a horse all sellers but one were as honest as they could be before I saw the horse... One was so honest I didn't believe her horse could be THAT much of a plod (but he was) and the pony I bought in the end has turned out to be exactly as described.... down to turning into a fire breathing dragon if he even gets a sniff of any oil on his feed!!!

Not everyone is big fat liars (and the one that was I could see coming a mile off... when he told me that the horse as safe for a novice and then told me that I was using my leg wrong -- too far back) which is why he galloped off -- I've competed at grand prix and my instructor is always telling me to stop sticking my legs under his chin)... But he was just your stereotypical dealer tbh... (and the horse was actually lovely but a bit greener than I was looking for - ie not really broken in!)

BnBX
 
Dancing Queen said:
There are also so many riders who are genuinely blind to their own abilities and think their riding prowess is greater than what it actually is!
Click to expand...

I feel like this most days lol



HOWEVER we have far too many horses here in the UK and not enough "horsemen and women" for them. Why get an animal you know nothing about. I have bitten much more off than I can chew with Samba but I'm loving learning. And have learnt a lot about things I wouldnt really consider too much aka groundwork, I mean doing half pass, leg yielding (those that have trouble mounting this is your friend trust me) in hand instead of on board. She shows true lightness and flexion in long reins and I need to learn how to acheive that undersaddle now. But I see some people with their horse and I just can't see why?? I actually said to a friend a while back, why do you bother, the horse doesnt perform, you sell it on, isn't that saying something about you?? You buy this "amazing horse" however you then find quirks and then eventually they are the worst imaginable and then sell on......


Rant over.
 
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