Buying unseen

[Coblover18]

Hi everyone, I have found a really lovely pony and the lady selling him sounds really genuine and she has sent me tons of videos of him. But I’m autistic and I really struggle with travelling and he is 4 hours away what do I do. Nothing ever comes up in my area as it is such an expensive area to live and of course what I’m looking for (a cob) is what everyone seems of be looking for. Any advice would be much appreciated thank you

 

[mini_b]

Would it be possible to find an agent to act on your behalf?

 

[Coblover18]

Would it be possible to find an agent to act on your behalf?

There is a lady that would view him for me but she charges £250 is that too much money?

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Have you explained to the lady, she might have a solution.
You might find a local vet practice to vet the pony, they should be able to describe the temperament as well as the soundness.
Not sure how much they charge, but it may not be much more.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

There is a lady that would view him for me but she charges £250 is that too much money?

Yes

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

By hook or by crook you must view him yourself…have you got family or friend you can bribe (lunch or dinner out for instance) just so you can go?

 

[Coblover18]

Have you explained to the lady, she might have a solution.
You might find a local vet practice to vet the pony, they should be able to describe the temperament as well as the soundness.

Yes we have and she said she would let us buy him unseen and we spoke on the phone to her and she was really nice. The vet told me it was a bad idea to buy unseen

 

[[153312]]

the vet is right.
Please view before you buy.

 

[ycbm]

Do not buy unseen unless you are prepared to lose your money if the horse is not right.

I buy unseen, it is not for the inexperienced.
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[Mrs. Jingle]

I appreciate that you have a problem with traveling that distance because of your autism. But it really is important you go yourself to see and ride the pony. Do you have anyone close enough to you, that understands the problems that might arise on the journey and any ways you could help to ease the pressure you might feel under on the journey?

Maybe break it up into two or three parts? Drive say for an hour and a half and then take a break to have a bit of a picnic style break. Also look for any places of interest on the map before you set out, for another break to perhaps have a quiet stroll around some nice walking area like the gardens of a stately home or something.

It would make it a longer trip but perhaps less stressful if you could set off knowing you only have to make it to the first planned stop, maybe have some ear plugs in with favourite music or a good audio book to distract you from the actual in car time? And then repeat for next stage of the journey etc.

Sorry if that doesn't work for you at all but my autistic son has to have his longer journeys planned out in great detail well in advance so he knows exactly what he will be doing and where he will be at any point of the car trip.

And it would be a bonus if the person traveling with you is a horse enthusiast too. Good luck and I hope you can work something out, but please don't buy unseen and ridden.

 

[Lady Jane]

Please see him first, have a friend who could travel with you?

 

[Coblover18]

Thank you everyone for all your responses I sadly don’t think I will be able to go ahead with him I’m hoping I will find something similar a bit closer to where I live

 

[I'm Dun]

Thank you everyone for all your responses I sadly don’t think I will be able to go ahead with him I’m hoping I will find something similar a bit closer to where I live

Could you send someone you know? I honestly dont think £250 is too much for a very experienced person to view on your behalf. The difficulty is knowing if that person is as described or not.

 

[Coblover18]

Could you send someone you know? I honestly dont think £250 is too much for a very experienced person to view on your behalf. The difficulty is knowing if that person is as described or not.[/QUOTE

the lady who would view him can't come till the 20th and he might be gone by then

 

[TheresaW]

Where do you live (roughly) and where is he? Maybe someone on here could help?

 

[Coblover18]

Where do you live (roughly) and where is he? Maybe someone on here could help?

im in Kent but the pony is in Cheshire that would be so lovely if someone could help as we are not a horsey family so we don't know any horsey people really

 

[TheresaW]

I hope someone can help. I’m in Notts so roughly in the middle. I’ve never been horse shopping, so wouldn’t really know what to look for. Otherwise I’d have no problem going to see him for you.

If I still lived in Essex, would have been happy to take you.

 

[Gloi]

There is a lady that would view him for me but she charges £250 is that too much money?

It's a lot less money than it will cost you if you get an unsuitable pony.

 

[Gloi]

I hope you can find someone to help you view the cob.

 

[Coblover18]

I hope someone can help. I’m in Notts so roughly in the middle. I’ve never been horse shopping, so wouldn’t really know what to look for. Otherwise I’d have no problem going to see him for you.

If I still lived in Essex, would have been happy to take you.

that is so lovely of you to offer hopefully someone on here might offer x

 

[nutjob]

Having done a 6 hour round trip to be ditched off in less than 3 seconds by a horse which seemed fine on videos I would strongly advise you to see the horse and ride it yourself. You also need to be sure you are confident to be able to handle the horse on the ground. A stranger doesn't know how well you ride and a horse which goes well for a pro may not be right for you. Horse buying is a nightmare atm and I really sympathise. Take your time and wait for something that is right and close enough to view in person, the right horse will come along but you need to be patient in the current market. I do think that £250 is a lot for someone who is local to view a horse for you.

 

[Mary3050]

Hi you could ask the lady to bring the horse closer to you maybe an hour away you would have to pay thought . I have done that before as gave me the chance to see how horse behaved in new environment

 

[Coblover18]

Hi you could ask the lady to bring the horse closer to you maybe an hour away you would have to pay thought . I have done that before as gave me the chance to see how horse behaved in new environment

Hi we asked her to do that so we could meet halfway at an arena hire but she said she wouldn’t as she has had to many timewasters

 

[Nari]

You need to see him yourself, getting someone else to view is no substitute particularly if you don't know each other. What I might call a safe fun ride might bore one person to tears and terrify another.

I was also going to say break the journey up, if needs be staying overnight somewhere halfway. If you can't cope with that then I can only suggest you limit your horse hunt to ones within a distance you can travel.

 

[Roxylola]

Is it a dealer or private seller?
Depending where in Cheshire I could potentially look but without knowing you I can't help with suitability, and you really would still be best vetting

 

[Tiddlypom]

Depending where in Cheshire I could potentially look but without knowing you I can't help with suitability, and you really would still be best vetting

Agree, that would be a heck of a responsibilty for a well meaning amateur HHOer to do on behalf of a stranger.

OP, you do need to see and try any potential purchase for yourself, but taking a knowledgeable pro with you would be money well spent.

 

[TheresaW]

Would you be happy travelling to me. I know you don’t know me, and fully understand all that goes with it. I’d guess we are about 3/3.5 hours from you. You could stay over, either here or a B&B or something. Cheshire is about 2hrs from here.

 

[Roxylola]

Agree, that would be a heck of a responsibilty for a well meaning amateur HHOer to do on behalf of a stranger.

OP, you do need to see and try any potential purchase for yourself, but taking a knowledgeable pro with you would be money well spent.

Yeah, would be very much limited to - it is or isn't about the advertised height, does or does not have 4 legs in roughly the right place and did or did not attempt to kill me on being handled/tacked up/ ridden

 

[Winters100]

It must be very difficult, but if this is to be your first pony then you are going to have lots of new things to deal with - could you view this as the first one and try to go and see him? Enlist the help of a friend or family member and view it as a challenge. You could explain the difficulty in advance to the seller, and if it is too much you could then cancel and turn around, but you might surprise yourself and find that the excitement of going to see the pony gets you through it.

4 hours is not so very far when you think about it, and it could be ages before something comes up in your area.

What do you think? Worth at least trying?

 

[ycbm]

im in Kent but the pony is in Cheshire that would be so lovely if someone could help as we are not a horsey family so we don't know any horsey people really

I'll go if you want but you will need to be very clear what your criteria are.

ETA I will go on the basis that I tell you whether you need to make a visit, not on the basis that you should buy unseen.
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