disapointed..

Honey Bee♥

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I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SPELLING SO DONT SHOOT ME! but im disapointed in you guys. Over the past few days some of the rants on here have been about riders who 'cant ride' and who 'ask too many questions' when trying horses. Isnt it better to ask too many than not enough? okay, fair enough, some people think they can buy horses when they have only had one or 2 riding lessons, and cannot ride that well. I have a problem with confidence when im riding infront of other people. You guys arent exactally helping. I constantly worry about how people see me when I ride. Ive recently lost my horse and now im not sure if I ever want another one. She was my best friend. but now im worrying about how people will see me when I look for another one and if im asking too many questions and annoying the owner!! any owner who truly cares about what home their horse is going to should be happy about the amount of questions because it shows the people are still willing to learn and actually care!? after all you learn something new every day, right? some owners are being too fussy, surely?


milk and biscuits for people who have gotten this far without killing me! :)
 
Agreed they shouldnt kill u! Its better to ask to many than not enough as u could end up with a horse that isnt for u! sorry about your loss it must be hard xx
 
I agree on the whole... I also am not a fan of riding in front of strangers or a crowd of people...

But it does depend, if I advertised a horse as suitable for novice's then I would expect loads of questions that would be typical of a novice and I would be happy to answer all of them without being judgemental - and equally, I would not judge this persons riding when they came to try the horse. But if I advertised a horse as not suitable for novice or experienced riders only, then I would still expect loads of questions, but those that show the person is knowledgeable of horses and knew what they were talking about, and somebody who could obviously ride well (and not just had 1 or 2 lessons).

I agree the more questions the better, but I would get annoyed if my horse was advertised for experienced people only and I was getting a lot of "novice" questions.
 
Firstly , never worry about your spelling on the forum , secondly if you're out to get the next love of your life don't worry about asking questions , most people are only too happy to answer questions about their horses , most sellers want their horses to go to genuine , loving homes so the more questions you ask at this point the more likely you are to find your perfect partner. I always ask about things like sweet itch and laminitis even if the said animal is sound with full maine and tail , they may be managing these sorts of problems really well but it doesn't mean to say you'll be able to, i.e you may live in a high midge area which can then lead to problems for you. Better to ask all the questions no matter how stupid you think they are so that you're completely sure of what you're getting.. Good luck.
 
i too am not a fan of riding in front of people at my yard....there are a minority there who do bitch behind everyones backs...yet they are not proffesionals themselves.
i ask as many questions as i can in life, be it about horses or other things, we can only learn if we ask questions, and no matter what people think you NEVER know everything!
top riders have lessons....so why shouldnt we be having lessons or asking questions? it doesnt make us uncapable of owning or riding a horse, it shows we want the best for our horses.
I do hope you find another horse, and by the sounds of things your love for horses is incredible and good on you for asking questions. good luck with things x
 
I was only complaining about the people that *really* couldn't ride and fell off - didn't mention the fat people bumping up and down as I think its because they hadn't ridden recently and had no muscle to be in 2 point

For what its worth I wouldn't mind people hassling me if they bought mine, providing they were calling me and it wasn't racking up my phone bill. I would also like to stalk at a distance my pony on youtube / facebook to check they were getting on ok and loving her!
 
totaly agree with you hun, when you are investing in something like an animal and spending the types of money a horse will cost you have every right to ask as many questions as you feel nessecary (sp?). you also need to make sure the horse suits YOUR riding ability so you should never feel silly when trying a horse out (i know its hard, i also hate riding in front of people).
im truely sorry for your loss.
good luck if you do decide to look for another xxxx
 
Sorry for your loss :(

I totally understand where you're coming from and it was something that worried me when I started looking recently. But what actually happened was that with the three horses I tried, each of the owners were actually lovely people who were happy to spend a while on the phone telling me about the horses before I decided whether to go and see them and actually answered most of my questions without being prompted and I got a good feel for whether the horse was potentially suitable before I went. If the ad is brief and the owner cagey on the phone then don't go.

Similarly, be honest about yourself and your own abilities!

Am no expert on buying horses having only ever done it once (loaned before) but one word of advice, based on my experiences and those of a friend, would be to read between the lines of the advert and any communication you have with the owner beforehand. Nice, genuine owners who want to the best for their horses really do come across that way in their adverts and are open and honest. I always asked about a horses bad points and all three owners gave what I believed to be honest answers.

ETA I think a lot of the posts that you refer to on the forum are because there wasn't enough communication between seller and potential buyer before the viewing.
 
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ETA I think a lot of the posts that you refer to on the forum are because there wasn't enough communication between seller and potential buyer before the viewing.[/QUOTE said:
Think you're right there. It's the frustration of being asked 'dumb' questions. I was asked if my yearling for sale was a safe hack on roads & a good jumper. Sorry, but I do deem this a dumb question.

As for riding standards, again the frustration is people not being realistic about their abilities. It doesn't matter what level you are, just don't be embarressed to say if you're not ready for Totilas. If the owner warns you they aren't a novice ride, have the gumption to say then they aren't what you're looking for.

Never worry about riding in front of people, if you're trying a horse they are your focus, you have too much to do, trying to get a feel as to whether you will match together in a short ride to worry about what someone watching thinks.

Questions are good. I would advise asking open questions to start with, so the seller can't fit the pony profile to your wants, but tells you what they are with little background info. Think about any specific concerns you have (such as napping, vices) & ask specific questions on these, try to get clear answers.

Don't be scared what they think, you need to be sure in your own mind.
 
In all fairness, 'not a novice ride' can be a minefield in itself though, it seems to cover anything from 'horse is a raging, maneating psycho that wants anything on two legs dead, all potential buyers must provide own armour and full life insurance' to 'horse might flick ears in a mildly interested manner if a UFO lands in its field, so novices might become alarmed':p:D My own preference would be to ask why the horse is not a novice ride, but some people don't (possibly for fear of being branded as numpties, or possibly out of their own daftness).

It's a jungle out there:eek:
 
Agree.

If you go view a horse and are worried about being watched riding it can be easy to try and push yourself too far too soon. I always spend a good few minutes just in walk getting a feel for the horse. I don't trot until I'm happy to do so be that within a couple of minutes or ten or more minutes if the horse is a bit sharp. It gives you both time to understand each other a little and if there are people watchng they get bored and start chatting or texting thereby taking the focus off you :)

The "not a novice ride" is a funny one. I have a friend who classes a horse as "not a novice ride" if it now and again slightly spooks or jogs a little. To me, a confident novice could deal with that. I always ask what exactly they mean by "not a novice ride" - for me; I can tolerate spookiness, nappiness to an extent and exuberant little bucks but rearing and flat out bolting are a no (I've ridden such horses and lived to tell the tale but I wouldn't go out and buy one that did that!).

But really what you need is thick skin. It's your money and your future with the horse that count so don't let anybody pressure you into a decision or make you feel uncomfortable about asking questions. If they then come on here and rant about timewasters, ignore it, you can see that most people on here are very understanding about peoples different needs when it comes to making a decision about a horse.
 
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