Arrgghh! I hate selling horses!

[Curragh]

Hey guys,

Well I'm selling my 4 year old ex racer, he's been on the market since Sunday and had a call yesterday from a lady. She said the horse is for her daughter who has been having lessons for ages and is ready to have her own horse. I told her I thought she should speak to her daughters instructor before viewing my horse as I thought he wouldn't be suitable. But she called me back and said her daughters instructor thought she should try the horse out, so she came out to view him today.

What a complete waste of my time!....I asked the daughter how long she has been having lessons, she says 4 months! I was thinking oh dear this is not good but will give her the benefit of the doubt.

I tacked him up and schooled him in walk, trot and canter. He behaved well and then said would you like to have a ride? She said she would like to, "ok" I said "sort the stirrups out" and she told me she didn't know how to!? I said "why haven't they taught you?" "I dunno" is all I get? Ok so I show her what to do and then I say "right mount when your ready", she says "I don't know how to get on"?! I turned to her mother and say "why doesn't she know how to get on?" "Oh they use mounting blocks" she replied, I was completly gob smacked! So I legged her up, she walked around me once flapping her legs like mad and I said right off you get please.

Told her mother she is not ready to own a horse as she can hardly ride, doesn't know the basics and knows no stable management. Mother was very shocked with my honesty, I told her not to look at any more horses as she's seriously putting her daughter at risk!

I can't believe her instructor said she should try a 4 year old ex racer!!

I hate selling horses...........x

 

[jhoward]

thatskind of comical.. I do it for a business .. i think i may start keeping a book of all the funny things im asked and things that get said and done!

 

[illy89]

me too!! I advertised my 15.2 a few years ago as not a novice ride and got some complete novices coming who just thought they could ride!

The worst was a lady who got on and flapped around so much that she totally spooked my horse who took off with her - she couldn't stop and i was trying to tell her to keep her legs still as my mare just thought she was wanting her to go faster and faster - when she thought she would turn my horse into the menage fencing to stop her - she only went and jumped it Lady dismounted mid air and landed on the concrete next to my horse who was very worried. dread to think what could have happened!

Hope you have some better riders coming in the future!

 

[Curragh]

illi89 that is shocking!!!

 

[Sparkles]

Shocking isn't it

Worst one we had was a rather large 6ft4ish man trying see 'if the horse could take his weight' [bear in mind, horse in Q was a 17.3hh HW ISH hunter!]...which he went to test by standing up and bouncing/slamming down on his back on the spot! This was after he'd grabbed the horse off of me when I turned around for a second to see where K had gone, and hoisted himself on his back [no hat, nor even asked to get on him!] and then after he 'tested his weight capacity' then booted him on the buckle round the field doing mach 9 extended trot with no steering round the field. Grabbed the reins and told him to get off when our ability of speech came back to us!

Turned out he just wanted 'a big horse to go fast on'

 

[NeilM]

I am no longer amazed at stories like this, amused, sympathetic but not amazed.

My feeling is that these idiots are encouraged by suspect instructors (I use that term in the loosest possible sense), who just see the possibility of endless twice weekly lessons and the income that they will generate.

Too many people expect instant results with zero effort these days, and unfortunately there are instructors out there only too willing to flatter their clients ego's.