Bought unseen problems returning

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Hi sorry it hasn't worked out, I personally wouldn't buy unseen only because I'd like to meet and make sure me and the horse are a good fit.

I bought my boy from a dealer he'd come over from Ireland and hadn't been listed yet when I'd called to ask of they had anything suitable.

My boy does have impeccable stable manners and manners in general.

I know your dead set on returning but maybe he's the type of horse who needs to learn to trust. It sounds as though he's a little scared and trying to protect himself, he'll have gone through the ordeal of auction, dealer, travelling to you and then vet and other strangers all interrupting him.

I recently moved my boy to another yard (owned him 3 years) and we lasted a week because at the new yard he was so anxious and acting out. The very day we moved back he was back to his normally happy self.

Horses are sentient beings and he's going through a lot of change maybe you coukd give him some time to try and bond with him a little make him feel safe and see how he is xx
 
Hopefully that may make spending some time with him a little easier and less worrying for you. He may enjoy being groomed which is a lovely way to get to know a horse, if he is comfortable with that. Just do what you can, whilst you are processing everything.
The first time I went to groom him he pinned his ears back and pulled a face 😮.
Now he is out how are the yard staff finding him to handle.
Well the first day he went out which was yesterday they didn't seem to have any issues turning him out or bringing him in. Don't know what he's been like today as the YO is out competing today so not heard anything.
 
a little tip if he's not sure about being groomed. Firstly tie him up short so he can't turn at you to threaten to bite. Secondly stay in an area he finds comfortable while you get to know each other. You don't need to do a full groom til you're both more comfortable with it. I would suggest you at least go to see him as often as you can even if it's not handling him. Offer him a scratch or a treat and speak to the yard about what he likes or doesn't like in their experience of him. That should help you at least have something to work with should you not be able to find him anywhere else for now. I know you're worried about getting attached but you'll only get attached if you actually find he fits what you want and need and hopefully that will be the case once he's settled down.
Please feel free to share your videos of him trotting although if a vet has seen him move and passed him as sound chances are he is and it's just his fear and worries showing through as to why he's acting up with the vet etc
 
I am going to try to post the videos of him trotting that they sent me. Perhaps someone can see if he looks to have any serious lameness etc.

Videos can be tricky here. You may need to post on a public social media account like instagram, YouTube or Facebook set to public and then post the link.

Unless anyone else has a better way!
 
Thank you for your understanding. I know that people are worried about Ozzy but at the moment it's all very raw for me and of course I am concerned with how I am feeling at the moment. Depression does that to you it's awful and you can't think straight or logically. Ozzy is being cared for he is on full livery and turned out during the day now.
Go and just spend time around him, lean on the fence and watch him ( maybe don't if it's electric 😂)
He's a cob...it would be very unlikely he's actually nasty it's just not in their make up.
I suspect he's defensive. I would get some one to look at his teeth and age him, I'd not be surprised if he was younger than 8.

But honestly just go to the yard don't expect anything if I'm, if he comes over give him a polo then move away if he comes back to you give him a fuss and move away again. Show him it's safe to approach you and nothing bad will happen.

I've bought from a auction before of a dealer with a bad rep that couldn't shift this horse....he was a total arse but he actually turned out to be a decent horse.
 
I'm the person who had a wobble after buying our pony and posted on here. I fully appreciate that when you feel like it's going wrong it's all consuming. I got lots of advice telling me to let her settle etc and when you're in the midst of it, it's very hard.

We've figured out her little quirks now, such as she doesn't like you going straight into her stable with her head collar. She just turns away. Now we go in, no head collar, giver her a pat/scratch make a fuss. We then return again make a fuss and put head collar on no problem. I think she has been teased/mis treated round her feed as she is very protective so didn't appreciate being pulled away from her hay and she associated the head collar with that. We then give her a haynet when we tie her up so it's lots of positive reinforcement that the headcollat isn't scary. .
 
The first time I went to groom him he pinned his ears back and pulled a face 😮.

Well the first day he went out which was yesterday they didn't seem to have any issues turning him out or bringing him in. Don't know what he's been like today as the YO is out competing today so not heard anything.

He has no idea who you are, what you're going to do to him, what the expectations are or anything. He needs to get to know you and trust you. It sounds like you've written him off as a bad lot which, while I can understand it, is a shame because it means he's not being given a chance.

I totally understand that he's broken your trust (and believe me, I really *do* understand - I have vivid memories of sitting in the mud watching while my lad buggered off down the lane back to the field when he decided he'd rather not come in) but you need to work together to regain the trust if you want to salvage something from this.

Please do post the trotting vids, and if you can, vids of his behaviour in the stable. I'm a big fan of cross tying for ones that can be a bit funny!
 
Videos can be tricky here. You may need to post on a public social media account like instagram, YouTube or Facebook set to public and then post the link.

Unless anyone else has a better way!
Ah right thanks.
I'm the person who had a wobble after buying our pony and posted on here. I fully appreciate that when you feel like it's going wrong it's all consuming. I got lots of advice telling me to let her settle etc and when you're in the midst of it, it's very hard.

We've figured out her little quirks now, such as she doesn't like you going straight into her stable with her head collar. She just turns away. Now we go in, no head collar, giver her a pat/scratch make a fuss. We then return again make a fuss and put head collar on no problem. I think she has been teased/mis treated round her feed as she is very protective so didn't appreciate being pulled away from her hay and she associated the head collar with that. We then give her a haynet when we tie her up so it's lots of positive reinforcement that the headcollat isn't scary. .
Yes he was very narked when I went in the first day to see him and he was eating he pinned his ears back. The YO did think he was a little underweight so he may not have been fed enough and now protective over his food. Mind you anything I did got the pinned back ears, putting on a head collar, putting on tack, going near his net while eating, grooming just about everything sadly.

Go and just spend time around him, lean on the fence and watch him ( maybe don't if it's electric 😂)
It is electric lol. But the gate isn't lol.
 
I'd recommend not posting videos for the world to comment on and see, if you think there's a chance you might want to sell him in the future.

By all means show a vet or knowledgeable person what they think but once they are on here you can't really take it back. Or if you decide to go down the route of seeing if he has any physical issues maybe get someone to look at him once he becomes hopefully, easier to handle.
 
A friend of mine purchased a beautiful big mare. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe sports horse type breeding with a dash of welsh, I'm not sure.

Anyway, the mare had been stabled a lot before she got her. She was only a four year old but was seemingly very sour.

Every single thing she did with the mare caused the mare offence and was as you have described, pulling faces about pretty much everything.

Anyway, quiet and gentle handling brought her round. She's lovely now and is proving to be a really straight forward, cheerful creature.
 
I did, and didn't see anything that would stop him having a job as a hack
What did you see?

The back end conformation, the posture, the lack of muscle tone, and that was just in the first glance. I dont understand how anyone can look at that photo an think, yeah great, I'll recommend that one to my novice client.

£10k cheaper than he could have been? Come on, who the hell pays £15k for a hacking cob?

People who want safe and sound and up to some weight and looks like a barbie pony.

So find me a 15hand cob in a pretty colour, buckskin or palomino, possibly spotty, thats safe enough for RDA use. Presented immaculately at a good quality dealers with a good reputation and excellent customer service for 5k, you wont find one for anywhere near that. It isnt going to happen. And for him to be 5k he was bought for 1k tops.
 
Ah right thanks.

Yes he was very narked when I went in the first day to see him and he was eating he pinned his ears back. The YO did think he was a little underweight so he may not have been fed enough and now protective over his food. Mind you anything I did got the pinned back ears, putting on a head collar, putting on tack, going near his net while eating, grooming just about everything sadly.
that is absolutely normal and quite predictable. It doesn't mean he is bad nor difficult to handle. Put food in whilst he is out of the stable and then leave him to enjoy it. As he gets to know people better someone will be able to remind him of his manners and ask him to step back for feed. Call him over to the door, let him put his head over and stroke and talk to him. Then put the headcollar on. That way you have control of him until he knows you better.
I would see it as far too soon to put tack on until he is more settled.
The first time I went to groom him he pinned his ears back and pulled a face 😮.
He doesn't know you yet you expect him to allow you to brush him all over? Spend some time just talking to him, stroke his neck a little, scratch him. Take him over to a bit of grass and stand and let him eat.
You (one) has no real idea as to what has happened to a new horse. Why should he be nice to you? because it said in the advert?

It is the new owners job to impress the horse not the other way round. Once you have done that and he realises you are worth getting to know and to like he will be a different horse. You cannot make him like you straightaway anymore than you can make a person be your friend. You have to work at the bond. You chose him, he didn't choose you or anyone else. He had no say in the matter.

From what you are describing I don't see this as a dangerous horse. He is behaving in exactly the way a large number of new horses behave after a move. I think you would have been very lucky if you bought a horse and didn't have teething problems once it moved in.

I think many people not familiar with moving a new horse in underestimate the difficulty. It is a case of working through it. It can take many days, weeks and for some even months.
I hope you feel able to visit him and to try to get to know him a little.
 
She owes the horse a decent standard of care and to make sure his basic needs are met. She doesn't owe it to him to spend time with him if she doesn't want to nor does she owe him thousands in investigations

I'm not sure how many times she has to say she is scared of him & currently doesn't have the capacity to spend time with him or the finances to pay a pro before people stop suggesting it over and over 🙄

The horse is safe and secure and now has access to turnout. It reads like he is in full livery so all his needs are being met. She does not owe this horse anything else.
This is right, and it is not right to pile on the guilt when someone clearly cannot deal with any more stress, or even think straight at present. That’s not going to benefit anyone or anything. We can all be wise after the event, and there’ll be very few posters on here who haven’t made regrettable mistakes with horses!
The cob is being looked after, is turned out with opportunity to chill. It may be that OP can relax enough to start basic handling, and enjoy that as a starting point towards what she genuinely believed was bought - which would be lovely. I hope it works out.
And it may not, in which case, few have bottomless pockets for today’s endless range of ‘equine experts’.
The vet again, yes, it needs some vaccinations starting and generally checking over. If vet suggests a load of further investigation needed, unless fully insured and unless OP is feeling much more optimistic about the cob, probably stop right there.
Decent instructor, who understands the goals and will ride and handle the cob, for a realistic assessment.
If these visits are not both fairly positive, then sell with full disclosure, take the inevitable financial hit, and move on. And don’t stress about that, the cob might well find a more suitable place, and OP needs a more suitable partner.
100% certain that return and refund isn’t going to happen, Channel 4 notwithstanding, but OP absolutely should report to Trading Standards, to any ‘dodgy dealer’ sites etc. Sadly, I think pursuing your legal rights could prove even more stressful, but really hope OP can salvage some peaceful solution from all this.
Good luck.
 
I'd recommend not posting videos for the world to comment on and see, if you think there's a chance you might want to sell him in the future.

By all means show a vet or knowledgeable person what they think but once they are on here you can't really take it back. Or if you decide to go down the route of seeing if he has any physical issues maybe get someone to look at him once he becomes hopefully, easier to handle.
I couldn't get it to work anyway.
that is absolutely normal and quite predictable. It doesn't mean he is bad nor difficult to handle. Put food in whilst he is out of the stable and then leave him to enjoy it. As he gets to know people better someone will be able to remind him of his manners and ask him to step back for feed. Call him over to the door, let him put his head over and stroke and talk to him. Then put the headcollar on. That way you have control of him until he knows you better.
I would see it as far too soon to put tack on until he is more settled.

He doesn't know you yet you expect him to allow you to brush him all over? Spend some time just talking to him, stroke his neck a little, scratch him. Take him over to a bit of grass and stand and let him eat.
You (one) has no real idea as to what has happened to a new horse. Why should he be nice to you? because it said in the advert?

It is the new owners job to impress the horse not the other way round. Once you have done that and he realises you are worth getting to know and to like he will be a different horse. You cannot make him like you straightaway anymore than you can make a person be your friend. You have to work at the bond. You chose him, he didn't choose you or anyone else. He had no say in the matter.

From what you are describing I don't see this as a dangerous horse. He is behaving in exactly the way a large number of new horses behave after a move. I think you would have been very lucky if you bought a horse and didn't have teething problems once it moved in.

I think many people not familiar with moving a new horse in underestimate the difficulty. It is a case of working through it. It can take many days, weeks and for some even months.
I hope you feel able to visit him and to try to get to know him a little.
I didn't expect him to 'like me' just didn't expect him to be so rude and bargy after being told he wasn't. The video showing him being tacked up at the dealers he was an angel. That day the vet came was awful and I was so surprised to see a horse react like that. My last horse was never like that from the moment he arrived he was gentle and calm and loved by everyone at the yard where he was stabled.
 
I couldn't get it to work anyway.

I didn't expect him to 'like me' just didn't expect him to be so rude and bargy after being told he wasn't. The video showing him being tacked up at the dealers he was an angel. That day the vet came was awful and I was so surprised to see a horse react like that. My last horse was never like that from the moment he arrived he was gentle and calm and loved by everyone at the yard where he was stabled.

He's a different horse though, and by the looks of things has come from a pretty uncertain background unfortunately.
 
Honestly I felt the same one week in with our pony. We switched her to night turnout and she has completely changed and is now lovely.

She is protective over food and turned her bum on us a couple of times in the stable. I figured out she didn't like it if we went straight in with the head collar. I think she thought she'd be leaving her haynet.

We've built it up and initially just went in the stable and asked nothing of her then we would go in and pat her, brush her etc.

Now we can go in with the headcollar and put it on and she comes out to be groomed and we giver her hay net so it's a positive experience.

I also think when you have a new horse you examine and scrutinise every bit of their behaviour whereas you don't do that with a horse you've known for a while.
 
I couldn't get it to work anyway.

I didn't expect him to 'like me' just didn't expect him to be so rude and bargy after being told he wasn't. The video showing him being tacked up at the dealers he was an angel. That day the vet came was awful and I was so surprised to see a horse react like that. My last horse was never like that from the moment he arrived he was gentle and calm and loved by everyone at the yard where he was stabled.
Every horse is different. They’ve all got their own personalities and different emotional reactions to situations they find themselves in. Some take their time to give you their affection and trust….and it depends a lot, obviously, on previous experiences with humans. Speaking in emotional terms, they’re really not that different from human beings .
 
I feel for you Jasmine.
I purchased a mare during lockdown. Tried her out and all was fine, perfect.
So, loaded (took cash with me) her up and away she came.
As a side, note I consider myself fairly experienced and have had horses over 50 years.
Got her home, and OMG! It was like she had a total personality change. Her default was kicking. I have dealt with many horses over the years, including unsettled ones (one we had took 9 months to feel settled from her move to us). This one, though, was a real challenge, as obviously kicking is dangerous. No matter what I tried, she carried on kicking. Me, anyone, other horses,fences and even thin air.
I honestly almost gave up on her, as I had no idea what to do. She had, though,been through a lot of homes and dealers yards, so I did decide to work with her.
The best way forward, I discovered was to not react to the kicking. If I reacted, she carried on. As she did to other horses. And, even thin air must have retaliated some days!! She broke many fences too.
It took her 4 years to stop this behaviour. I honestly feel it was her fear of the constant change of homes, and passing through dealers.
Now, she is a different horse. And, more importantly, hasn’t kicked anyone or anything , or even thin air, for over a year.
I hope you can maybe work things out with yours, but I understand that you are concerned given the situation.
 
Sadly it is already making me ill. I feel so sick all the time and all I want to do is sleep. I can't go see him at the moment as I don't want to get attached when ultimately I don't know what to do with him. I can't believe I got conned like this when I am normally a savvy person but sadly my heart ruled my head when I saw him.
I think this is very sad. Obviously it's hugely disappointing to have been scammed like this. But he is your responsibility at the end of the day, and seeing the horse and handling him etc doesn't mean you'll automatically get attached. There's a time when we have to step up, and this is your time.

Having horses is hard, hard work. Even the perfect ones make it stressful.

Washing your hands of him is not the answer. I'd see this as a fabulous opportunity to learn, grow in confidence and except a challenge you weren't expecting.
 
I couldn't get it to work anyway.

I didn't expect him to 'like me' just didn't expect him to be so rude and bargy after being told he wasn't. The video showing him being tacked up at the dealers he was an angel. That day the vet came was awful and I was so surprised to see a horse react like that. My last horse was never like that from the moment he arrived he was gentle and calm and loved by everyone at the yard where he was stabled.
I don't think you appreciate every horse is different and just because he behaved one way at the dealers doesn't mean he will immediately be nice somewhere else.

It is very easy to get spoilt by an angel of a horse which your last one obviously was. They are not all like that. Even if you had visited this horse, ridden him, handled him and done everything else with him in his old yard there is absolutely no guarantee his behaviour would be any different to now in his new home. It would have told you that he was good to handle which the tacking up video showed you he was an angel.



Have you read racmun's thread about getting their pony? If not give it a go. Here it is https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/new-mare-has-gone-wild.846404/

you will see so many parallels
 
Sadly it is already making me ill. I feel so sick all the time and all I want to do is sleep. I can't go see him at the moment as I don't want to get attached when ultimately I don't know what to do with him. I can't believe I got conned like this when I am normally a savvy person but sadly my heart ruled my head when I saw him.

I think most new horse owners spend the first few weeks worried, stressed and anxious!
I actually think he will make a good horse, but he needs some imput - from the yard or you - at this stage I don't think it matters who!
So why don't you take a step back, breath and repeat 'nothing bad happened'
He's on full livery and being taken care of.
Maybe you coul pop down the yard in a week or so and just stand back and watch how he is at being handled etc.

It won't always be easy but you'll muddle through, whatever you decide to do.


There are lots of people who are saying the horse is in pain, it'll be broken etc but he is most probably just afraid.
He may have some health issues, he may not. Your vet will tell you - not people on the internet who have never met him.

You bought a horse!!! :)
So what's your favorite thing about him?
Are you keeping his name?
Also.... we need proper pictures!!!

EDITED TO ADD
This is him right?
So when I look at him I see a younger than 8 horse who has probably never been ridden in a 'correct ' way.
He looks like I do now, under muscled and unfit!!
He is on the leaner side, but that's an easy fix

If he wasn't looking back at the camera person I think he'd have a kind eye. He's got a great cob head on him.
He has a nice neck which leads to a nice shoulder.
It's a bit of a crappy picture they used, with an awful 'rider'!
His back is of the length I'd expect for a cob - so on the shorter side,
and he has a very under muscled bum, tail is well set.
A little imagination would see him with his summer coat in properly and muscled up, riding out nicely, maybe doing
a few in hand showing classes and perhaps some unaffiliated clear rounds.
I like him a lot!
I don't think you've bought a bad horse, just bought from crappy people who couldn't be bothered ( or don't have the talent, or both ) to put some work in to show off all his great bits.

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£10k cheaper than he could have been? Come on, who the hell pays £15k for a hacking cob?

As for those saying sell with full disclosure and you might get a grand or two back, he will simply be snapped up by yet another dealer and end up back on the merry go round again. My guess is he is either younger than advertised/his passport claims or he's done nothing, been dragged out of field and had some tack chucked on him for photos.
I wouldn't pay £15k for a hacking cob!
I agree with the above.
 
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The first time I went to groom him he pinned his ears back and pulled a face 😮.

Well the first day he went out which was yesterday they didn't seem to have any issues turning him out or bringing him in. Don't know what he's been like today as the YO is out competing today so not heard anything.


Well perhaps you forgot to say hello, properly, i do that even with my one horse I've had 24 years, I don't go straight in with the brush, I ask him how is is today and have a few words first

One of ours bit a chiro who went straight into poking about with his back, she said, he bit me! I said but you didn't say hello , introduce yourself.
 
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