Do you let people trial youngsters?

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weebarney

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I have a horse for sale and every person who has enquired about him wants him on a trial first. He is only 4 and a half and whilst I dont want to turn away potential buyers I'm uncomfortable about him going to someone's yard. I have been telling people they can take him for a week or 2 as long as they put down the full asking price first and then I either don't hear from them again or they come up with a reason they arent interested anymore.
Whats the general consensus about letting people trial horses?
 
I have never sold a horse (still have my childhood pony) but I would never let anyone trial any horse whatever age. When my friend was selling his lovely schoolmaster he let him go out on trial with his tack - the idiots left him loose in the stable with his Pessoa jumping saddle on. Of course he rolled and broke the saddle tree and injured his back then my friend got the horse back (whadd'ya know, they didn't want him anymore) and had to spend the whole summer rehabbing the horse and sell in autumn. Can't remember if the saddle was fixed or not. It was really hard for him because he wanted to quit his job and move abroad and was putting off employers until the sale was in the bag.
 
No , i would never let them go until sold . Trial from mine is fine, even going to a pony club rally or otherwise controlled situation but not to a new yard. Its too unsettling and too risky.
 
I probably wouldn't these days but we trialled a horse many years back that was for my sister. However they were dealers and we gave them my 14.2hh to sell/in exchange whilst we trialled their horse. He was only 4 and we had him vetted whilst on trial. We did buy him although they didn't sell my pony - still have the pony now!! I don't think I'd allow a horse on trial as a private seller. I may let them come ride the horse regularly at the yard he was on though but would ask for a % of the asking price upfront maybe and this would be non-refundable
 
You see the thing is I also have him advertised for loan so people seem to think a trial is to be expected. But if i was loaning him I would have them taking out insurance for vets fees etc and a contract.
 
No,

Having let ponies go on trial, I don't think it's a good thing being quite unfair on horses and encouraging people who arn't sure to have a bash. I'm quite happy for buyers to visit as many times as they like bring instructors, take pony to shows/rallys and do anything like that but not trials.

I would on the other hand be happy to loan out a pony to a committed loaner (fully insured etc) and if they then wished to buy 6mnth - 6years down the line that's fine but a trial suggests your not sure and I don't think it's fair to send any horse off for a week to someone who's not sure they like him.

The only trial I've arranged and being happy with owners had already visited several times, had pony vetted and paid for and we had a verbal agreement that in the very unlikely circumstances they didn't get on I'd have him back sans costs. Owners were fully committed and so got on very well with him so never an issue.
 
I would never let anyone trial mine, they could take them, break them then give them back at absolutely no loss to themselves. Whereas I have everything into them to get them to this stage. I would of course let someone come and get to know them, but only at my place and only with someone present.
 
We had Dublin on trial for week cos he had failed a vetting days before for another buyer, minor point but the buyer pulled out, so we had him to try for a week and had him vetted during that week , he passed anyway and was a good boy so we paid up and he has been such a good boy these last 4 yrs.
I think a lot depends, locality, cost of horse, desperate to sell ect!!
 
I had my youngster on a months trial before I bought her and it is what swung the sale. However I would be cautious about doing it myself.

In our case, we had been planning to buy outright and arranged a vetting. Then the vet advised against purchase and stopped the vetting after two stages. It wasn't a fail the horse was just titting about.

The seller was shocked and sure that she'd found the right person for her horse so she said we could have a trial to see whether we could cope with her.

It helped that she wasn't an expensive horse, that we had a riding instructor friend in common with the seller and were moving her to livery at a riding school. Also we had demonstrated good faith by having a vetting.

We had a contract which was basically a loan agreement with an agreed price for the sale. We took out public liability insurance and the seller kept up her insurance but informed them of the loan. We paid a deposit for the horse and her gear.

I am glad we were able to do it as we came very close to walking away from our perfect horse. But despite us being incredibly careful she still managed to injure herself, luckily only a superficial wound and we were already in love with her but it goes to show how wrong it could go.
 
I had my youngster (well 5y/o) on trial but only because he was at the yard where I'd been with my last horse so he remained on site. I don't think they would have let him go anywhere on trial, as I think one of the ideas of a trial is that the owners are always there to give you advice or whatever. I think if I was selling a horse I would allow a trial of sorts - the prospective owner would be allowed to come to the yard and ride the horse as many times as they wanted over a two week period, for example. They'd have to pay a deposit first though. Would this be a possibility for you or are the prospective buyers too far away?
 
Tash88 said:
I had my youngster (well 5y/o) on trial but only because he was at the yard where I'd been with my last horse so he remained on site. I don't think they would have let him go anywhere on trial, as I think one of the ideas of a trial is that the owners are always there to give you advice or whatever. I think if I was selling a horse I would allow a trial of sorts - the prospective owner would be allowed to come to the yard and ride the horse as many times as they wanted over a two week period, for example. They'd have to pay a deposit first though. Would this be a possibility for you or are the prospective buyers too far away?
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I think they are about 30 mile away and I dont have an arena or jumps or anything. The thing that i'm a little woried about is that they are looking for a BYEH horse. My horse turned 4 last year so am I right in thinking he would have to do the 5yo class which is 1.05m course. I've done nothing like that with him, he's popped a few 2' xc fences but thats it.
 
If they are looking for a BYEH you would think they would have the experience to make a decision after a few viewings. I normally associate trials with first time buyers, novices, children's ponies etc rather than experienced young horse producers.
 
Not with a youngster UNLESS they were known really good riders, and came with plenty of recommendations from mutually known friends.
Too much they can screw up with youngsters in a couple of rides.
An older happy hacker......with the right agreement put in place, i would.
You cant really proove with schooling, but with an injury, that the other party took on full costs of keep and rehab would be a must, and able to visit without notice (unless at their home, which could be embarassing all round.....)
 
weebarney said:
I think they are about 30 mile away and I dont have an arena or jumps or anything. The thing that i'm a little woried about is that they are looking for a BYEH horse. My horse turned 4 last year so am I right in thinking he would have to do the 5yo class which is 1.05m course. I've done nothing like that with him, he's popped a few 2' xc fences but thats it.
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So they might really push the horse during the trial and possibly return him to you overfaced?

I'm against trials anyway (so possibly biased) and I would never ask for one if I was buying or loaning. Too much can go wrong, especially with a youngster. The horse should not leave the yard unless it's fully paid for, or a proper loan contract has been signed. The viewer would be able to try the horse from 'my' yard a few times though.

If you do loan, check out the missing horses on loan website as they have some very good advice on there.
 
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