Bit of a rant

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BobbyMondeo

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I have advertised my horse for share, he is not an easy horse and nor is the yard he on very young person friendly as mostly adults so i have specifically put no under 18s on the advert. I still have parents of 12 year olds and 14/15 year old girls ringing me about him. Its really frustrating having to explain i would not trust him with a younger child on there own. He is a 15.3hh Anglo Arab, very scatty and forward so deffinately not suitable for 12yo girl why these people think he would be.

How can i advertise him to stop this and stop people wasting my time and theres?
 
i advertised for a sharer last summer for a mare i have now sold, i specifically put in the Ad 'Strictly over 18's only for insurance purposes' and i only got calls from and am still getting the odd call/ emails from 14 / 15yr olds! I also said 'Young, inexperienced and lively, needs experienced rider to help bring on' and i got more than my fair share of adults ringing who hadn't sat on a horse for 20 yrs!
Its a nightmare!
 
When i was looking for a sharer i stated i wanted a mature, experienced rider/handler, and no kids. I managed to get the mature part of the advert across, but the experienced part was another issue!

I had a call of a lady who sounded wonderful, Had previously owned her own horse, had time off ownership due to having a baby. Was currently working at a horse sanctary and having lessons to get back into things. She had not had long off horses, and had been having lessons for a while. She sounded trustworthy and flexable. She got as far as getting on the horse, but didnt last long. It was obvious that she had been telling porkys.

Some people do "big them selfs up". You can get some very competant older teenage riders, but sometimes they lack the flexability and are not as trustworthy. Its a mine field. I gace up in the end and have a friend riding for me.
 
Sorry to say that you can advertise a one-legged, blind horse and you will still receive calls from people wondering if he's ready to compete BSJA this season. Some people are just 'challenged' in the intelligence department!
 
We once advertised for a sharer for our pony, the ad clearly said there were no facilities on the farm and that he was very sharp and wasn't a novice ride. We actually had a woman turn up out of the blue with 2 little girls in full riding kit and it turned out they had never even had a single lesson, not one single lesson and their riding experience was limited to pony rides whilst on holiday. The whole time they were there the lady whined about the mud, she didn't want the girls to get their new jods marked :D
 
Lol some people just really have no idea. Ive had people emailing me saying ive been riding for about 8 months im really experienced ect ect...im just like reeeaaallyy how stupid are you?!

Since posting this i have recieved an email that sounds promising so fingers crossed. He doesnt need someone super experienced just confident or he walks all over you.
 
Don't get me on my soapbox about this!

I advertised my 14.2hh Welsh D for loan (a few years ago now) and stated in the ad "not novice ride", "can be sharp and spooky", "needs experienced, sympathetic rider" and "lightweight adults or teenagers 16+ ONLY". I also said I wanted him to go to a fun home, not a competition home.

I got phone calls from all sorts. One woman wanted him to teach her 5yo grand daughter to ride (!!!!), another wanted him to hunt 3 days per week and SJ when he wasn't hunting, someone else wanted him to take her 10 yo son to Medium level BD (I'd said he'd done a couple of Nov tests and got reasonable marks). I lost count of the number of PC mums who called me to say their 9yo daughter was the next Pippa Funnell/ Lucinda Green/ Mary King and needed a 14.2hh event pony which was ready to go out jumping 3ft6 tracks immediately... Then there were the "I've had 6 lessons in a riding school and can walk, gallop and jump, can I have him" calls. And the "I'm 13, I get £15 pocket money a week and my parents aren't horsey but can I still have him" calls. And the "I'm just getting back into riding after a 35 year break and am very nervous" calls. Oh, and the woman who said on the phone that she was approx. 10st and 5ft1 tall...when she arrived, she must have been easily 16st and a good size 20. And 4ft10. Now I don't care how big / small/ round / whatever people are but when I'm advertising a LW 14.2hh cob that is used to being ridden by a 9st woman, it's a bit of an issue because he just wasn't suitable for that sort of rider.

Let's also not forget the people he initially went out on loan to who brought him back "in disgrace" after 2 weeks because he was apparently dangerous... and they stole all of my rugs and some of my tack.
 
I think I can top these for numpty phonecalls, I have my pony stallion as a breeding stallion, mentions he is not backed in adverts and I have had TWO phonecalls asking if he has been gelded yet and is he suitable for a first pony! Seriously some people just look at the pictures!
 
fallenangel123 said:
I think I can top these for numpty phonecalls, I have my pony stallion as a breeding stallion, mentions he is not backed in adverts and I have had TWO phonecalls asking if he has been gelded yet and is he suitable for a first pony! Seriously some people just look at the pictures!
Click to expand...

you've taken pictures of his testicles?!?! :D
 
Maybe I should! Although they are bright pink ! Lol!! I actually ment people look at a picture and think 'That's's nice, I'll have that one' without Reading the words!!
 
I had exactly the same problem a few months ago. Advertised my horse for share. He's a 14.2 ex competition pony that would make a fantastic kids pony but I dont want him being hammered around shows as he's getting on a bit now so i specifically put in the advert that he was NOT for competition, just for hacking, and that he was for an adult only. I had exactly the same response - teenagers wanting to come and see him, mums phoning for their young children. It got a bit annoying after a while. One mother was particularly rude when I said that I had put in the advert that he was not available as a childs competiton pony, she said "well, what do you expect a 14.2 pony to be used for?".... Nice huh? :rolleyes:
 
fallenangel123 said:
I think I can top these for numpty phonecalls, I have my pony stallion as a breeding stallion, mentions he is not backed in adverts and I have had TWO phonecalls asking if he has been gelded yet and is he suitable for a first pony! Seriously some people just look at the pictures!
Click to expand...

How about a phone call when mine was up for loan from a bloke asking if he could "borrow" him as his fiance really fancied riding to church in her dress? After I stopped looking round for the hidden cameras (I was sooooooooooo sure it was a wind up) I tried to explain a horse for loan really wasn't just for the day/special occasion - and he got really huffy with me, asking "Well, how am I going to get a horse for her, then?" and after quite a long chat with him - I was bored that day - trying to steer them towards a horse and carriage outfit as it turned that neither of them had ever been nearer than 2ft to a horse, none of their friends or family had even ridden as kids etc and, bless them ignorance is bliss isn't it? that my nutty sec d, advertised as only suitable for adult experienced quiet & confident riders was just the ticket because..........he was a nice colour!!!!! It would look nice in the photos...


Only in Essex :) :)
 
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