Disheartened after such a good start! :(

Sounds like the horse just needs a couple of sessions with an experienced trainer, that's all. No matter how kind or sensible, it is asking a lot for a 6 year old that may not have done very much to nursemaid an inexperienced, nervous novice. In any horse/rider combination one of the pair must know more than the other one.
 
But that's the thing...age aside, this horse was sold to me as one that had done pretty much only hacking, knew how to hack inside out, and was safe and suitable for someone nervous. I have ridden six year olds that fit this category totally, so I don't personally think his age can be totally responsible if he's supposed to have been a seasoned hack. I think it's a case of not being as advertised.

Hypothetically - where do I stand re: a refund? I've been offered an older more experienced replacement (once sourced!!) but my faith in myself as a buyer/rider, and the seller has been really shaken by this and I'm wary of just going out of the frying pan into the fire with another horse. He's definitely not as described in the written advert...but what if the seller refuses to refund on the grounds of him needing to settle in? I can't give him forever - I'm already starting to dread riding him and I feel bad for him, he must pick up my unhappy vibes and be even more confused.

Advice would be great, I'm so upset.
 
They say I can request my money back under the Sale of Goods Act by sending a recorded letter to the seller. I just don't know whether its worth appealing to her before I do that though - I can't imagine she'd be willing to hand the cash back but I really did think that she seemed a good honest person.
 
Oh yes, have a conversation with the seller first.

Write everything you want to say down on paper - then give her a buzz.

Tell her that in your view the pony is not as described, and is entirely unsuitable for you. Keep it business like etc. Tell her that you would like to return the pony this weekend and are requesting a full refund. You do not want a swap.

If they refuse, then you right the letter and go from there.
 
The other option you have is to have your instructor walk with you on the hack and talk you through things as they arise. I'm a pretty confident rider but I had an OTTB who had never hacked alone, a combination of my instructor walking with me and a confident rider (who was an ex jockey so perfect!) got her hacking out happily within a couple of months but I rode her out once a week and the other rider rode her 2/3 times a week.

ETA: Amymay - right?! lol :p
 
Yes I've thought about getting more instruction - trouble is, I'd be paying out yet more money to get a horse to do the things I was led to believe he could do happily! If the advert said "nice horse in all ways except not happy to hack alone" there's no way I'd even have read to the end of the ad, let alone gone to see him! :-(
 
It really depends on you - if the horse is good to do in all other ways it might be better to work through this as a new horse may have different quirks. I'm not trying to influence you in any way, just looking at it from all angles. Also if the seller is quite shocked by this it may just be a 'blip' rather than the norm?
 
JulesRules said:
I can't believe how many people start shouting "not as described", "send him back" etc.

This is a horse not a machine. The same horse with a different rider or in a new environment can be a totally different animal. Lets not forget that horses are herd animals and also prey animals. They see horse eating dragons everywhere, especially with no other horses around to help keep them calm.

You have only had this horse a couple of weeks. He needs time to settle and get to know and trust you. Starting with very short hacks, leading out and riding back and getting someone to walk on the ground will all help. Build it up gradually and slowly.

I bought a very green 7 year old two years ago. To start with I couldn't do anything alone and was a big scardey pants too. Now she will happily hack alone over our private off road hacking and we are working on new road routes and made it to the local church and back today. It was very windy, there were men with vans and trailers building a big bonfire, we saw footballers, and horses being unloaded to move in down the road. She stopped a lot, jogged a bit, looked at everything and at one point I got on and off again but we made it.

Persevere, take it slowly and you will soon learn to trust each other I'm sure.
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This - he is a living being who has just been uprooted from his known comfortable environment. You just need to take it back a step ride out only with others going at front and back and build up from there, maybe getting an experienced confident rider to take him out alone. Take it slowly, it takes time to build a partnership. My 18 year old hacks alone all the time usually he is as good as gold these days (although we had a scary bin bag moment this morning :D) people often say how good he is but he wasn't always and I know if I moved yards I would probably have to help him gain confidence again.
 
Broke_But_Happy said:
It really depends on you - if the horse is good to do in all other ways it might be better to work through this as a new horse may have different quirks. I'm not trying to influence you in any way, just looking at it from all angles.
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Thanks, yes I definitely see where you're coming from. It's just so sad that this is the one thing I can't budge from - green in the school, I can cope with by having lessons. Even would rather have a slightly grumpy horse to handle than one that wasn't happy to hack alone!
 
Sologirl said:
Yes I've thought about getting more instruction - trouble is, I'd be paying out yet more money to get a horse to do the things I was led to believe he could do happily! If the advert said "nice horse in all ways except not happy to hack alone" there's no way I'd even have read to the end of the ad, let alone gone to see him! :-(
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This comment worries me.
Anyone that is nervous and goes into horse ownership surely needs to accept that ongoing help/instruction will be essential to keep a partnership on the right track?

I think first up you need to get your instructor on board and ascertain if the horse is genuinely uncertain about hacking alone or if the horse is picking up on your nervous vibes and acting accordingly. With the best will in the world, some horses can turn from brain dead plods to spooky so-and-so's if the jockey on top is a nervous wreck.

I don't know where you stand in terms of returning for a full refund, I imagine you will need to be prepared for a battle with the seller, especially if they are offering to source you an older replacement.
 
Sologirl said:
Thanks, yes I definitely see where you're coming from. It's just so sad that this is the one thing I can't budge from - green in the school, I can cope with by having lessons. Even would rather have a slightly grumpy horse to handle than one that wasn't happy to hack alone!
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Thing is you can get him to focus on you in the school and push him a bit to see what he's made of. Then you can transfer that focus out onto your hacking. They can all school, infact I think it's essential.
However, I think Amymay's on the money with this one and you have already made up your mind.
 
But I'm not a nervous wreck :( just not the most confident rider in the world, I wanted a horse that was a safe hack both alone and in company - I was more than happy to get instruction for schooling or any little niggles the new horse might have, I know there are bound to be teething troubles etc and can cope with spooks etc, but when a horse is simply nothing like how it was expected and advertised, surely that's different to settling-in nerves?
 
Sologirl said:
But I'm not a nervous wreck :( just not the most confident rider in the world, I wanted a horse that was a safe hack both alone and in company - I was more than happy to get instruction for schooling or any little niggles the new horse might have, I know there are bound to be teething troubles etc and can cope with spooks etc, but when a horse is simply nothing like how it was expected and advertised, surely that's different to settling-in nerves?
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Whilst I feel that the seller should never have described him the way they did, I do feel his behaviour is pretty standard for a green 6yo and that 2 weeks really isn't long enough for him to have settled and got to know you. I know you mention that you've hacked out other 6yos and they've been absolutely fine but I'm guessing you didn't move them to a new yard with new people first. I'm sure once he has a little confidence in you things will improve.

If you really are set on handing him back I would speak to the seller and explain you would rather have a refund than another horse. You may be surprised and find they agree to it, and if not at least you've asked before taking the legal route.
 
GG2B said:
Whilst I feel that the seller should never have described him the way they did, I do feel his behaviour is pretty standard for a green 6yo and that 2 weeks really isn't long enough for him to have settled and got to know you. I know you mention that you've hacked out other 6yos and they've been absolutely fine but I'm guessing you didn't move them to a new yard with new people first. I'm sure once he has a little confidence in you things will improve.
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It was not described as green. It was described as quite the contrary.

Quite simply the horse is not as described.
 
amymay said:
It was not described as green. It was described as quite the contrary.

Quite simply the horse is not as described.
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It's a 6yo, surely some amount of greenness is expected at that age?

ETA - That's a genuine question as I would always assume at that age that they are still somewhat green no matter what the ad says.
 
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GG2B said:
It's a 6yo surely some amount of greenness is expected at that age?
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By someone with experience - perhaps.

But at the end of the day it's the wording on the advert that's important here. And green is very much not a term that was used.

Regardless of others opinions. The pony is not as described, and there is no reason for the OP to be expected to keep it.
 
I think OP you need to think about what you need to learn to do .
Money spent training yourself is not wasted or you will be a novice for ever .
A six year old however well behaved is still a young horse when I said in your previous thread that I do not expect horses to misbehave when I buy them they are being ridden by me.
I would not consider it in any way unusual for a six year old to be a little unsure about hacking alone in a strange place with a weak and nervous rider.
Hack in company do easy rides your self build up gradually cut the horse some slack if you are nervous why should this young horse not be unsure to.
The rider is the leader the horse particularly a young one will take its cues from you.
I think you will get through this with help.
If the seller was a dealer I think should be able to return the horse with very little trouble if that what you chose to do.
If you don't what to take lessons and to seek to improve don't look at horses under ten years old next time.
 
amymay said:
By someone with experience - perhaps.

But at the end of the day it's the wording on the advert that's important here. And green is very much not a term that was used.

Regardless of others opinions. The pony is not as described, and there is no reason for the OP to be expected to keep it.
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I haven't seen the ad so can't comment to that point, but based on what the OP has said I agree it does sound like the horse wasn't as described and I don't think anyone is expecting them to keep it. I do think it is important to tell the seller they want a refund rather than a swap though rather than assuming they'll say no without asking.
 
OP picking up on a couple of things that have been said it seems like he's come from a private home to a dealer to you?

If that is the case then he is going to be unsettled and he is doing his best to tell you that he isn't comfortable - by asking him to go out in a strange environment, on his own, with nobody there that he can trust and look to for reasurrance it's just been a tad too much. He needs to trust you and that does not happen overnight with any horse age regardless.

I also think that the dealer you got him off may be trying to pull a bit of a fast one - you mention that they are saying that older more experienced horses are more expensive - have a look through the private ads online and you'll see plenty that if anything are cheaper because they are older.

I'd speak to the seller and agree a time limit - say another 4 weeks, if you don't see an improvement you'll be returning him for a full refund. During that time I'd walk him out in hand with tack on and pop on board only when he has started to recognise where he is.
 
A horse with a new home and a new rider will take time to settle down.
I find it takes a good 2 -3 years of regular daily hacking to make any horse completely happy to hack about by itself in any situation in a new home.
I am not saying that every horse has the mentality to do this either as one realy needs a nice laid back/bombproof/spookproof horse to do this.
(My horses have been trained to be ridden by themselves through central London - so I have had some experience of getting them used to being riddn by themselves)
 
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