Bit of a dilema... horse must go before work trip! Help!

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zoeshiloh

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OK, please help with options!

I have been promoted at work, meaning I will be travelling a lot more. I decided to sell two of my youngsters, and loan out the broodmares to leave a minimal number of horses at home for OH/groom to look after. I have found homes for the broodies, so now I just have the two to sell!

The only one I am really needing to sell is my stallion (in my sig) as my OH doesn't have the experience to look after him, and I don't trust my groom to ride him every day without me there, as he is young and although she is very experienced, I am just worried in case something goes wrong(does this make sense). I have advertised him in H&H and a few other places, with no sensible calls/offers. He is a nice stamp of horse, has a good temperament etc. I can't get any shots of him at the moment as he is covered in mud (living out as turned away at present) and I don't have the time to spruce him up, get him in the school and get some pictures (lack of time hence needing to sell!). It is absolutely heartbreaking, I never intended to sell him, but now it seems it would be in his best interest if I do. I am off on a long trip abroad at the end of the month, and he really needs to be gone by then. I had so much interest from people wanting to use him this year (would have easily made close to the price I am asking for him in stud fee's alone) so he would be a good investment for someone. I have already spent £200 advertising him, and am loathed to do more adverts. I was considering sending him away to be sold, but I can't pay for sales livery, especially as there is no promise he will be sold, and I wont have a clue how long I will be paying livery! I obviously don't want to under-sell him and put him in the wrong home. It's so hard, where do I turn now! What are my options?!
 
To be honest (and I know this sounds harsh) I would rather he is sold - I don't want to be (and in fact would be unable to be) in the position of getting a phonecall asking to have him back home. I have wrestled with this decision for the last three months, and finally made the decision he has to go, and now need to see it through.

I wont have any time for him in the next few years, and he needs someone that is able to ride him every day, educate him etc - he is a young horse afterall. I just don't have the time, and therefore feel he needs someone that does.
 
Sorry to hear this, have you got any ridden pics at all or more recent ones? I'm on off looking for a coloured stallion myself and I saw him on horsequest but was a bit iffy about his conformation, he looked a little back at the knee from the pic you put up. I may know of someone in sussex who would take him as a stallion on lease or lease with view to purchase, she runs a small coloured stud. PM me if you rather.
 
First thing that springs to mind is are you being realistic with the price???? He looks beautiful, but is only worth what someone is willing to pay for him, which atm isnt as much as it might of been......

Second if you dont have time to be there atm, and he is turned away does it matter that the groom will be dealing with him for a bit longer???
 
If you need to sell him that badly then either your or your groom need to make the time to spruce him up a bit and get some fresh photos.
 
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If you need to sell him that badly then either your or your groom need to make the time to spruce him up a bit and get some fresh photos.

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Yes, this is probably what needs to be done to be honest, it's just having the time to do it! Saying 'make the time' is all well and good, but I wish I could make time - things would be much simpler!

The reason I have decided to sell him rather than turn him away to a field, is that for the next couple of years I will not have any spare time - is it fair to leave a young horse in the field for two years with no proper education, and little handling? IMO the answer is no - hence he would be better off with someone else.

With regards to price, I was offered more than double this for him at one stage. I have seen horses with far less breeding/presence etc for far more money. Price is very negotiable to the right home - I just don't want some numpty that thinks they can make a fortune by owning a stallion to buy him for a stupidly low price.
 
Ok (you seem to have answers to all questions!!!
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)... could you not find a rider for him? Maybe to take him on whilst you cant??? More expense yes, but you dont seem to be having much luck selling him
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Your groom must be able to take a hour off doing something else and give him a spring cleaning???? I would def consider sending him away to be sold..... yes more expense but at least then you know he will be gone, and not land back on your doorstep (as he might with loaning!)

For what its worth (having google his name) I dont think you have overpriced him..... maybe people just dont have the facilities to deal with stallions anymore.....
 
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you need to get him in work if you want to sell him tbh.

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The only way I can do this is to send him to someone on sales livery as I simply do not have the time. The thing that worries me about sales livery is the amount of time you are forking out livery - it could be months and then, you might as well of given the horse away in the first place. I would drop the price considerably if I knew it was 100% the right home for him. It's a hard decision made harder by the current climate
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get your groom to bring him into work surely?

if she is an experienced rider and he isn't nuts it should be fine.

i am also very short of time (fulltime job and 3 horses on DIY) but i still don't really see why you can't set aside an hour a day at the weekend to get him clipped and pulled.

my rising 4yro is only working at weekends due to no time/facilities but at least if i was to sell him people could try him.
 
Why not lease him? If he came back, it wouldn't hurt him to have a few months in the field turned away why you find a new home. I know it isn't what you want ideally but wouldn't it be a good second best?

You could also market him more aggressively, contact some studs and breeders and send them his details, you could say you would consider offers rather than putting a definite price on him to encourage them to think about it.

One way or another though you really need to get some super pictures of him looking amazing and do a real hard sell ad. If you don't have time to spruce him up why not pay your groom a bit of overtime - I remember you saying the promotion involved a big payrise!
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Well, I saw his advert and I like him. Would make a nice daddy to my mare!! Sadly I don't have facilities for a stallion, or the money come to think, but Iam sure he will get snapped up, in work or not.
 
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Ok (you seem to have answers to all questions!!!
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)... could you not find a rider for him? Maybe to take him on whilst you cant??? More expense yes, but you dont seem to be having much luck selling him
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Lol, trust me, I have thought through every possible avenue I can - I was hoping people on here might come up with something I haven't thought of! To be fair to him, he hasn't been advertised that long (two weeks) and I have had calls, just not from the right sort of people and time wasters. I've had loads of people say "if the financial climate was different we would snap him up".

In terms of an hour - hmmmm, more like half a day - needs bathing, mane and tail pulled etc. Then there is setting up a jumping lane, finding extra people to help loose school him whilst I stand there with a camera... Very frustrating!
 
Needs bathing - cant you clip him out, keep him rugged up, thus keeping him clean, maybe not ideal but its less hassle than bathing and worrying how clean he's going to be everytime someone turns up.

Mane and tail pulled - doesnt have to be done in one go, can you not do it in in a few sessions, on an evening perhaps?

Surely you can find a bit of time just to do the above, if your selling him you need to make time, your giving off the impression that you don't even have time to sell him (don't mean that in a bad way) he needs to presentable be it for stud or riding purposes, either way he needs bringing back into work and if you have a capable rider already under your nose and you don't want to spend more money sending him away to be produced/sold etc then you don't really have much choice if you only have a less than a month to sell him.
 
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your giving off the impression that you don't even have time to sell him

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LMAO - this is the problem I think! I have a 3hr commute every day to the office (1.5hr each way). I leave my house at 5am in the morning to get all the horses done before work, finish work and do the horses, getting back to the house around 8pm - I then have to make some dinner, return phonecalls (phone has been red hot this week with people calling about my broodmares) and chill out before bed. Most weekends I am still working (meetings, reports, travelling to places ready for Monday meetings, or returning home from a late meeting on Friday) I have started to pull mane/tail in the evenings (a small section each night) but then I got inundated with other things, and it took a back seat.

I will definately get him washed off and mane/tail pulled this wkend (looking in diary trying to reorganise meetings!)
 
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your giving off the impression that you don't even have time to sell him

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LMAO - this is the problem I think! I have a 3hr commute every day to the office (1.5hr each way). I leave my house at 5am in the morning to get all the horses done before work, finish work and do the horses, getting back to the house around 8pm - I then have to make some dinner, return phonecalls (phone has been red hot this week with people calling about my broodmares) and chill out before bed. Most weekends I am still working (meetings, reports, travelling to places ready for Monday meetings, or returning home from a late meeting on Friday) I have started to pull mane/tail in the evenings (a small section each night) but then I got inundated with other things, and it took a back seat.

I will definately get him washed off and mane/tail pulled this wkend (looking in diary trying to reorganise meetings!)

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hey...I found some time in there, it came after phone calls but before bed
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I agree you are a busy bee, just give him to me
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How come you have to do all your horses B4 and after work if you have a groom???????????????

Oh and I have a bit of spare time this weekend, just send him to me and I'll tidy him up for you..............



Catagorically not promising to send him back tho!!!!!
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How come you have to do all your horses B4 and after work if you have a groom???????????????


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Because I am untrusting and can't let go, lmao! Groom was OH's idea - we used to have a wkend groom only, but now she does a few days a week too, and she does FT when I am away. I still get up, feed, exercise etc AM and exercise/brush/feed PM - I just don't do mucking out, haynets, TO etc (not that the majority are going out at the moment)!
 
I would ask yourself a very serious question, and this is not meant to offend

Is this horse good enough to be a stallion?

I am pretty sure I have seen his adverts about (4K, correct?) and to be honest from the little I have seen of him he does not appear to have that WOW stallion factor. If he did surely you would have studs beating down your back door at that price.

As it is, you are massively limiting your market by offering what would be a very smart young gelding, as an entire.

In your shoes I'd be booking him in for the snip asap (or at least offering that in your advert)
 
Could you send him away for a few weeks schooling and pay them a bit extra to spruce him up a bit and get a few nice action shots, then have him back home to sell?
Sort of a compromise between sending him away to be sold and your current situation- then you can make sure the livery bills don't go above what you want to pay, plus you get him in a bit better condition to be sold, and can vet the buyer yourself.

Just an idea- good luck with whichever route you decide to take!
 
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I would ask yourself a very serious question, and this is not meant to offend

Is this horse good enough to be a stallion?


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TBH I don't know - I have professional opinions from members of grading panels, vets etc, and all keep telling me to wait, that he is good enough - I have basically been told if presented in 2010 for grading he will pass.

He is very laid back at home, and I agree, lacks presence at times, but he is also very young still and I think if you saw him in the flesh tomorrow you would have no qualms about his presence - he has definately grown into himself in the last couple of months!

As for gelding, I wont do it. If someone sees him, loves him, but wants a gelding, that is up to them.
 
i total disagree with Ben_and_Jerrys ive only seen little posts of him and do not you or him but when i first see him i thought wow and i do think he has the potional to be a very good stallion !
how much are you asking age and height pm if you prefer
 
I completely agree with Ben and Jerrys.

I offer no comment on his potential as a stallion, but from photos I have seen he doesn't shout "wow" to me, and you are vastly limiting your potential market.

It shouldn't be too hard to sell a quality well bred gelding for around £4500, but there are far fewer people who want or have any need for their own breeding stallion, and I doubt that most people who'd want a gelding would be faffed with buying a stallion and having him cut, when they could just go out and buy a gelding for the same price.

I agree with everyone who has said that if you need to sell him that badly then you need to get him smartened up and back into work - that is what your groom is for! The photo you have on horsequest really doesn't do him any justice, I wouldnt look twice even if I was looking for a gelding, let alone a stallion.

If you could get your groom to clip him and pull his mane, and bring him back into work, and get photos showing his "amazing jump", a good confo shot and a nice ridden picture then I would say you have a far better chance of selling him.

As for sales livery being expensive - yes it may be, but if he really has stallion potential then a few weeks being schooled by professionals and shown off to his best could make a big difference to his value anyway.
 
I know some people hate him - there are also a lot of people that love him. In my opinion gelding is not an option - time factor again (would be a while before he could be presented for sale/re-backed etc), but also the professional advise I have been given by those that have actually seen him in the flesh... The pictures do him no justice, I know, I was holding off the horsequest ad until I got a nice jumping picture, but I just haven't had the time to do it! My resolution for this weekend is to get him smartened up and get a good jumping picture done, and perhaps phone around some local riders and see if I can get him rebacked and a bit more education.
 
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