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seabiscuit

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Just got home, and the HOYS showing couple that came to look at Owen the other day have left a message saying that it was a very close call but theyv'e decided not to buy him.
They spent over an hour with him and absolutely loved him, said his confo was textbook and that he was superb in every way,gave a lovely ride, had super presence etc but sadly his movement trotting up in hand was just not quite good enough to be a really top class show horse, ( as he dishes when not under saddle)

So Owens HOYS dream is over
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Still very honoured though, that they came to look at him and were seriously considering him, I think that being judges they have to have something extra specially perfect. Anyway now that Ive got their opinion it means I will now market him as a show horse as well,ok he might not become champion of all champions at HOYS but he would still might well be in with a good chance of qualifying for HOYS I think!
 
Mmm let me think- must be about 6 weeks now? He is seriously cheap as well! Prob is that we've had all these muppets trying him out and they couldnt ride one side of him- he was so good and didnt do anything wrong,- just went round like a giraffe, and people dont like a horse that shows up their riding like that!
 
Oh then I wouldn't worry about it - 6 weeks isn't a particularly long time at this time of year. When I was new to this selling malarky, I used to think that if they didn't sell really quickly then the right person was never going to come along....but honestly, they always do! It's always better waiting a little longer to find the best person, than selling to the first one to view.

I know what you mean about muppety riders though - that used to bug me in England. Over here it doesn't really bother me, as mine are well overpriced for muppets to be remotely interested in them LOL!!

Have you considered keeping him till next year and then taking him to some shows and upping his price when he comes home with winnings? Pricing is a funny old thing - too cheap and people think there is something wrong with them - too expensive and you alienate too many people. I always price mine at the higher end of the market, but never at the top (although a number of mine should be at the top end, if you ask me).

Don't worry though! It'll all come right in the end.
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Thanks mh- one thing that they this couple did say was that they would keep their ears open to see if there was anyone else looking for a horse...
 
Thanks Tia, I guess your right, 6 weeks is not all that long at all ! There must be the right person out there for a horse like him!

I did consider keeping him until next spring, but the thing is because of his back operation nearly two years ago ( which he has fully recovered from, and is 200% fit and well, does not hinder his performance at all) I just feel that no matter how many winnings I put on him, he is simply never going to be worth all that much anyway?? so its just not worth it?? On the other hand I suppose that it would give the better riders increased confidence that he really is able to perform well after his surgery? Also he is 9 next year, which is a less sellable age?
I dont know, what do you think?
 
I am perfectly happy paying the right price for a horse up to 11 years old. After that I waver a bit, because when it comes time to sell them, they will either be 12 or 13 and that doesn't bring in the best profit unfortunately. The market here is a funny one though - anything between 13 and 20 seems to be a total wonderment to me; low prices for the experience. But if you have one who is 22 then they will be worth more - makes absolutely no sense to me and may not be across the board, but it is something which I have noticed.

Hence my point is that at 9 years old I don't think most people would have an issue with this, except if they were looking to seriously compete but then they would likely be looking at a horse of around 6 or 7. However at the right price I guess some of them would consider a 9 year old.

I wonder if the back surgery might be putting people off? If this is the case then another "year" of soundness and recovery, might help alleviate their misgivings?
 
I guess that another year would help people's misgivings about the back. Just imagine if I could say he had back surgery 5 years ago, then it would hardly be an issue I suppose! People ( and their vets especially ) are also so uneduactaed about the particular kind of back surgery that he had when in fact its a really simple and successfull procedure, I keep asking the surgeon who operated on him to get an article out in H&H to knock some sense into these people!

Interesting points about selling horses with differing ages! will not worry about him being a year older next year
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yep someone will def come along....
its only a matter of time...he looks gorg so Im sure someone will def want to come along and snap him up....
When I went to see my palomino I had been offered two free horses who were lovely but just didnt have that magic..I dont know what it was but I just didnt feel right taking them....weird as I had wanted a horse for years....even when I went to see charly there was another quarter horse, less money had done more and was slightly better looking but I still wanted charly as he had something about him...
In the end, out of pocket and with a much younger horse then I imaged we got charly....he is in the below pic...
I know someone will come along and get him...
 
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