Daft things told when viewing a horse..................

I think the best one I ever heard was when we bought my first pony, mum had read PONY magazine and although the first one we saw I wanted, no we had to try at least one other.
So went and tried a chestnut mare 14hh, in the biggest Pelham ever with no curb chain. As I was riding it round I just kept saying "I want the other one", mum made me ride it though. Jumping it was out of control, point and hope for the best-at 13 I wasn't scared but still wanted the other one!

As we walk back to the yard Owner says to my mum "she is a cracking lil rider", mum says thanks! Owner "of the 12 children that has come to try her she is the first one that has stayed on!"

Needless to say I got the one I wanted all along :)
 
Trying an ex racer, she dishes but it won't affect her in the show ring... Ok... Windsucks but we've stopped it in the stable by putting electric tape around the walls... Ok... Then when I offered her 400 quid, no I'll take her to the local horse sales and get more than that, ok help yourself then!
As well as the multiple "he's never done that before!" When trying horses before lol.
 
'He's usually easy to catch' - said as we watched the horse disappear having shot out of the stable and was heading across the yard at speed.... Upon catching the horse I noticed that it had some rather dubious stitching on it's hock so I asked how it had happened. The reply was 'oh yes, he cut himself this morning so I stitched it up with some plaiting thread - did you want to ride him now? Only you'll have to go on the grass verge next to the dual carriageway, we don't have a school or field to ride him in!'
 
In defence of the 'he/she has never done that before'

My TB is a total honest jump, never refuse or knocked a jump in her life, someone came to look at her to loan, and first thing she did was refuse a jump *palm face*

Second occasion, same mare, is generally a big on her toes due to being a TB but never nasty in any way shape or form, I was walking her around the school to lunge (had baby 2 weeks before so couldn't ride her, last minute viewing so no rider available) talking about her to the young girl her, being totally honest, she can be a handful, she's speedy, but never reared, occasionally throws a buck or small bronc after jumping, teen was not phased in the slightest, so what does my mare do? Rears up puts her legs over my shoulders, knocks me to the floor and treads on my arm, all by standers where stood with chins on the floor, she can be a cow but never done anything like that, needless to say she got a bloody good telling off for this, I had a good few bruises, and still have a dent in my arm 5 years later, she is 16.2 so quite a lump, lol, I asked girl if she wanted to carry on, she did and turned out to be one of the best loans I ever had, and my girl made a bleedin' good rider of her (she was good anyway but the quirks helped lol)

So the 'never done that before' can sometimes be genuine'

Also half loans come to see her, I let her get her in from the field, said tie her up we will groom her, she picked up a stirrup tread and said can I use this, I was very polite and explained what it was, she tacked her up, rode her for a few minute, and I made my excuses after she had gone why she couldn't loan her!!
 
Spit That Out said:
Went to see a horse that was at the bottom of the field, the owner said " it's ok he comes to call"" and then proceeded to shout "oi, **** head"

In fairness the horse did come cantering up the field but it didn't fill me with confidence!!
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Love it! :D I need to show my oh this ....see darling its a good thing when i call you this:D:D:D
 
"Everyone has to look down at the ground, he's too intimidated if we all look at him!"

Said after the horse slipped its bridle while the owner was very badly attempting to tack it up, then went on a rampage. He somehow managed to buck off his saddle while the owner ran about after him with her eyes pinned to the floor insisting we all do the same. Eventually we cornered him in a paddock and I ended up putting him back in his stable when it was obvious the owner was too scared to go near him!
 
Hereshoping said:
A supposedly reputable 'dealer' said to me, when the horse I'd viewed failed the vet...twice...having given it the benefit of the doubt the first time, "Just buy it anyway, it's a bargain at £2k. No horse for £2k is ever going to be sound."
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That sounds familiar, when I told a dealer that my budget was 2k they said only factory horses go for 2k. Um what factory do you go to?
 
I remember going to see a horse years ago, was told it was green and at 5, that was fine. When I arrived (having driven 3 hours), the lady said "my grooms not in today and I don't ride anymore so you'll just have to get straight on", never what you want to hear especially when greeted by a nervous looking horse on a very cold January day... The owner then lunged it for god knows how long (alarm bells did ring) but hey ho I'd driven 3 hours so I got on anyway. It was cold backed, but having at that point never sat on a cold backed horse I didn't know that's what it was, owner said it was "just because its a cold day and horse hasn't been ridden for a few days"! Had a pretty awkward, not very nice ride but it didn't chuck me off so I bought him as he seemed to sweet. Horse proved to DEFINATELY be cold backed when I got him home (which owner confirmed to me when I spoke to her years later!) and he did explode and bronc me off on several occassions. But after about 2 years he stopped doing it thankfully and is the best horse I've ever had!

I also went to see a pure Andalusian a few years back - it was kept in someones back garden (great start!) and the mother and 18yr old daughter proceeded to be extremely honest about the horse - that it was "keen" out hacking which meant it "bolted down the road the other day" and it needed a big fence to keep it in as they pointed to a destroyed deer fenced paddock! Honestly, the list went on and it was really very horrifying that they were totally serious and that they didn't think any of what they were saying was out of the norm, they just thought that's what horses did! She couldn't ride it, the horse had no idea how to go forward or even how to turn - it was so sad. I offered them £500 for it purely out of pity but they refused saying they wanted £4,500... uh huh...
 
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minimilton said:
That sounds familiar, when I told a dealer that my budget was 2k they said only factory horses go for 2k. Um what factory do you go to?
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My budget wasn't £2k, though, it was £3.5k. It was just that this little horse had done nothing but had good breeding and was advertised at £2k. I wasn't sure I was more furious with the dealer for assuming my budget was £2k and therefore I should just accept a lame horse because I wasn't going to find a sound one, or the fact that I'd just spent the best part of £500 getting the horse vetted twice and she was having a go at me because the horse had failed.
 
hnmisty said:
To me: "he's got a very soft mouth, snaffle mouthed, you barely need to touch the reins, you can control him through your seat"

To her son, as someone puts up a jump for me: "Charlie, go fetch the kimblewick"
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Haha, that reminds me of an ad I saw the other day for a horse that was never strong, snaffle mouth... yet its main pic was a head shot, another photo was of it being ridden at high speed around an arena, and in both photos it's wearing a dutch gag on the second ring :rolleyes:
 
MrsD123 said:
Went to see a 5 year old arab described as "will give her all", when I turned up [oap] they were very reluctant to let me ride, the daughter rode her first and then I got on, the mare was totally green, must have been backed about three weeks!
Another vendor told me the only conformation fault was her gaskins.......... her what!
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Gaskins, the old word for what we call the second thigh.
Weak underdeveloped gaskins indicate a horse who does not push from behind .
We where taught to look for this when assessing horse.
 
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One of the best I heard - and the reply too!

Person selling a run of the mill pony with tack; the viewer asked what was their best price which was told with the emphasiss on the tack was included too.

Reply - sure, you must rate your tack very highly then
 
Horse is lame in trot, won't take a contact AT ALL and seems sore in the back... the reply? "Yes, he's never worked in an outline, he just can't, I'll get the back man again, he comes every 6 months, he's very good. It's a very good saddle you know, you could have that with him for an extra £500."

Erm....
 
Goldenstar said:
The oldest and probally the best ........ It's never done THAT before .
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lol i had a horse for sale she was fab horse, a good freind came to view, rider got on and she reared vertical! had NEVER done it before haha, fortunately friend believed me, brought the horses and she has never done it since, very bizarre haha
 
^ worst thing was I was selling my lovely little tb filly, quiet as they come and excellent to do, even had novices hacking her out easily. Had someone come try her and sent them out down the lane- only to have them come back on foot saying they couldn't get her past a car?! This was a filly who lead everything past the 'scary stuff' and would happily pass several combine harvesters without batting an eyelid! The phase 'she's never done that before' summed it up! How I felt such a fool saying it though!!
 
My friend was selling a cracking school master dressage pony that made even me look good :-D
A girl came to try him she claimed to ride for the junior British dressage team.
She couldn't get him out of a walk
 
Someone came to see our little loan section A,and my daughter got on,cantered and jumped him,no problem.The viewer got on and I could tell by the look on the pony's face that he was going to do something.The little monkey went over a jump,promptly stopped and dropped a shoulder and dumped the poor kid.He then did it again.We had had him 7 months and ridden him almost every day and he had never done that before.I felt awful for the poor kid and I bet his mum thought I was lying.

We went to see a first pony,owners daughter got on,walked and trotted him,the dad was shouting instructions,yelled at her to canter him,girl asked for canter,pony bucked her off.The dad started yelling at her saying he'd only bucked because she hadn't asked for canter correctly! I'd have thought a first pony would be more forgiving of mistakes.My girls rode him and we couldn't get him out of walk,even with me running alongside.I heard that they eventually gave the pony away as no one would buy it.
 
I was looking for a sane allrounder/RC type and the dealer said they were a dressage yard so didn't do much jumping, but the horse would jump a cross-pole, was very calm, safe, non-spooky etc. As I drove into the yard the horse was spooking at something in the next field, spooked at the watertrough as they took him into the arena, spooked at just about everything around the arena. The dealer asked the rider if she could take the horse up into canter and the rider said "weeellll, I can try....." He lurched into the most unbalanced canter I've ever seen and promptly fell into trot again. They put some poles on the ground as a preparation for jumping and it was clear he'd never seen a pole in his life. He spooked at the wings as he went between them and the dealer said "I won't ask him to jump if you don't mind, but you can see how fast he's learning"! I declined to ride that one.
Another time a seller of a "diamond", safe horse rode the horse down the field and he reared - twice! She assured me the horse had never done that before and all the horses were unsettled because a foal had been born in the field the night before. The horse then did a very dirty stop at a jump which the owner assured me they used to jump regularly. Didn't ride that one either.
 
When I bought my lad (then a yearling) the seller (who is actually a friend of mine!) said "he should make full-up 15.2" he did........ about two months later - he currently hovers round15.3/16hands and is still only 2 and a half!!! oh well, I've got another year to save up for a decent mounting block!
 
3 hour drive to view a cracking schoolmistress ISH, had spoke to them over the phone the day before we set off to confirm details and off we went

arrived at dealers , presented with a 16yr old TB gelding, told him there must be a mistake and got told
" Oh we sold her last week, this ones cheaper though " ... erm no thank you ! disgruntled OH drove us both the 3 hour trip home again. I could have murdered the dealer.
 
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