Big decision time

C

Cate21

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 January 2007
Messages
145
Visit site
Need help!!
I bought a horse from someone who I thought was reliable last july. I had known them in PC and thought they were trustworthy! Oh dear! Well it turns out not only is he spooky on the road ( we have started to overcome this as my confidence has grown) but he totally freaked out when i went to clip him. I bought him to start riding again after a long break and hoped to event as he has done up to nov BE, but has poor record.
To cut a long story short... the previous owners have lied and lied about this horse. "We never had a problem clipping etc etc" They have made me promise to sell him back to them as they know he will get passed about if i sell him on. Im sure they willl offer me a lot less than i paid, but i would prob struggle to sell him myself as i would have to be honest about his quirks!
So what do i do now??
confused.gif
As he is a hairy little yak at the moment there is no way i can start preperations for the start of the season, i will have to wait until spring for his coat to drop out and start then. OR do i cut my losses and sell him back and look for a horse who is more suitable??
 
If you bought him last July already and it's not working then I would say sell him back and look for something more suitable for yourself.
 
The fact that the previous owners have asked to have first refusal on him makes them sound pretty genuine to me.

A lot of horses take their confidence from their handler and rider - so if you're not a confident rider then that could be the route of your problems - rather than being misled by previous owners. Same with clipping.

What are his quircks??

Either way, if they want to buy him back ask for the same as you bought him for.
 
This is a horse that may have been easy to clip with his previous owners, perhaps he is just the type that needs to trust the person doing it and as you haven't had him that long he may just need more time with you.
I would suggest if his old owners are local seeing if they would come over and help you try and clip him, failing that ask the vet to sedate him for clipping.
If he is doing what you want in terms of riding then I personally wouldn't send him back over the clipping issue, its a minor point in relation to some things!
 
I would phone them and ask them to have him back, you are only guessing that they won't give you same money back. It is worth a phone call and a least you would know all your options then.
 
My mare is, well a mare to clip! i have her sedated and there is no trouble. if you are happy with him in every other way then just dope him to strip him! Good Luck
 
That is an option, the yard owner did come and look at him but said he would need fully sedating by the vet, any idea how much this would cost?
The only thing that puts me off this is I would also have to pay someone to clip him as i couldnt face the pressure of a speedy clip with the vet watching!! I havent clipped for 10 years!
 
have him sedated, i have to have my mare fully sedated, it costs me around £60 a time to clip her tho. luckily i have my own clippers, so i dont have to pay out for someone to do it on top of that.

Shes got away with only have two clips this time round which is great.
 
My yard owner is very experienced so thats why i asked her to come and look at him, she said id done everything right, i showed him the clippers, turned them on away from him etc etc but he was genuinely frightened. I did ask if they would come and clip him, but suprise suprise they couldnt possibly do that as they are too busy at the moment and they said he will be fine to hack out with a hairy coat and chuck a sweat rug on him. I just dont think its fair to work him and leave him in his stable with a wet hairy coat.
 
Sedating costs depend upon how far the vet has to come out and how long they are there for.

I would allow £30-70 for the vet and up to £40 for the clipping person.

Hope that helps.

Also try a trainer to help you to despook the horse. Sounds strange that he horse now spooks as was sold to you go to clip and non spooky. Ask Lewis to help you

http://www.blackburnnaturalhorsetraining.com/
 
I dont think he has suddenly changed, i believe he has always been like this. When i had problems to begin with old rider rode him, she said he was fine on roads, but i witnessed him leap into the air with her, although she didnt realise id seen her! She said it was all my fault as i was making him behave this way. I have also found out they have lied about other things aswell so i dont feel it is all my fault. I do feel confident around him and this has reflected in our hacking out as it has improved due to a better trust, I can predict any problems and sit through it now!
crazy.gif

I have had a break from horses and come back into it so my riding was rusty to begin with but my knowledge isn't too bad! Have Stage 2 BHS!
Thank you for your comments everyone! It has helped a bit!! Still a hard decision though!
confused.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you saw him misbehave when previous owners rode him, were you not prepared for it.....?

[/ QUOTE ]


When i tried him he did not misbehave, i then bought him, kept him on her yard, started having problems out hacking so she volunteered to ride him for me. She took him out and said he was fine, although i was driving past on one occassion, looked in mirror and saw him leaping in the air. This was on a main road, nothing in particular to spook at, no lorries etc . He is now hacking in beautiful countryside, but still leaps and can spin around wanting to bolt in opp direction! I am prepared for that now, but he gets rather sweaty while he is out hence the reason i decided to clip him, so i could proceed with his exercise programme!
 
If the only real issue is the clipping then I wouldn't let it bother me - I certainly wouldn't send the horse back. I've had horses which other people said were terrible to clip/needed twitching/sedating etc. I've managed to just get on and clip them. Likewise I have had one or two which I saw clipped/or pics of them clipped and yet which I have found difficult to clip.
I think it's a really grey area.
I wouldn't be bothered about clipping for the time being and would simply let him sweat and start the fittening work, I've seen plenty of animals who hunt with full coats in and so long as you watch his condition it won't kill him.
Apart from that - if he's been with you for 6 months I can't see you have any comeback on the previous owners, they can justfiably say that you've caused the problems.
If he's a competition horse then a few leaps and some silliness on hacks is not unusual and they may have simply thought nothing of it. Probably the best thing is to get out to some competitions and see how you get on. You may find he's fantastic and that you can forgive him some minor faults...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top