Dodgy Dealer - WWYD?

PolarSkye

PolarSkye

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A friend of mine has just purchased a new competition horse . . . he's lovely - beautiful temperament, good looking and well put together. He is, though, very young (just five), very underweight/unfit and dishes quite badly.

Thing is, I've just discovered where she bought him . . . a very well-known, dodgy dealer who was recently in the news for being arrested for "interesting" practices. I don't think she knows what this dealer has been up to . . . she is madly in love with her new boy . . . should I keep shtum or tell her? I don't want to rain on her parade, but I also want her to have her eyes wide open. She has only sat on him once since she brought him home (just over a week ago) - saddle doesn't fit and when she touched his withers while on board he shot forward/took off. She is a very able rider - competes BE - but her other horse is a very different kettle of fish and they know each other inside out. She knows that bringing on this very big (he's 17.1) baby is going to be a challenge (but fun) and is a long-term project . . . but now that I know where she got him, alarm bells are ringing faintly in my head. She tried him (flat and jump in their school) and had him five-stage vetted, but I'm still feeling a little uneasy.

What would you do?

P
 
I would quietly give her the information away from everyone else, then let her decide what she does about it. In the just thought you should be aware in case anything happens with you lad. Rather than you brought your horse from X which means he is a psycho
 
There is nothing you can do, not everything that dealers sell is going to be dodgy, she may just end up with a superstar.
 
jrp204 said:
There is nothing you can do, not everything that dealers sell is going to be dodgy, she may just end up with a superstar.
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I certainly hope so - and he seems very lovely . . . I just don't want her to be caught unawares.

Oh, and I certainly understand that not everything that dealers sell is not as advertised - but this dealer is particularly bad, which is why I am a tad concerned.

P
 
I would tell her just so she is aware and can get him vetted if she hasn't already. If she knows there have been problems with the dealer then she can at least be prepared.
 
I would tell her. Gently and calmly. The horse may be perfectly fine but at least she will be fore-warned and can take some extra precautions. Hope it all works out ok.
 
I wouldn't make a big song and dance about it - perhaps mention what/ where you read about the dealer so she's informed. If I was her it might make me do a little more with the horse within the couple of week waranty period just incase I found something odd, so maybe suggest she speeds up the saddle fitting to make sure it's just the badly fitting saddle that caused his ridden reaction.
 
I wouldn't call 5 'very young' for a young competition horse bought as a project, it is and age that most horses would start their competition careers.
You yourself said he is 'lovely', so I don't think it matters where she bbought him from- she might know all about his former owner, the dealer, anyway.
Just mention to her you read an article about him if you want, but dealers do get good horses in as well as the dodgy ones!
 
If he is still under warrenty then yes i would.
if not, can you show her the article if it appeared either in newsprint or online about the dealer?

just print it off and say 'oh, i found this, co incidence huh? looks like the same person you bought xxx off..'

let her make her own mind up but id show her the facts as if something should happen in the future and the horse turns out to have a problem and she got hurt because of it you wouldnt forgive yourself for not giving her any info you'd found about the dealer.

Now this is an unlikely scenario, but an uncomfortable one for you to have to live with if it occurred.
 
Her vet or the dealer's vet?

Even dodgy dealers can sometimes have nice horses - but usually they get whatever than can get cheap.
 
s4sugar said:
Her vet or the dealer's vet?

Even dodgy dealers can sometimes have nice horses - but usually they get whatever than can get cheap.
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^^^ this I hope bloods were taken and that she used her own vet. Also I would tel her in a calm way what you have heard, then she can be aware..
 
Difficult one.

I'd try and find out how much she knew about the dealer, did she even know he was a dealer, does she know how long they had him for, why did he end up at the dealers so young if he's a good looking horse, that kind of thing.

If she really doesn't know much about the background, then I think you have to tell her.
 
No, you will not be thanked for telling her, its too late, has has bought it now. Ask if she had it vetted by her own vet and if it has a warranty. But don't just tell her IMO.
 
Thing is, I've just discovered where she bought him . . . a very well-known, dodgy dealer who was recently in the news for being arrested for "interesting practises"
P[/QUOTE]

What exactly are 'interesting practises'?
 
The horse may be fine! I (unwittingly) bought the late Catembi from a spectacularly dodgy dealer who I later found out advertises to buy other people's naughty horses.

Cat & I really clicked & he was my horse of a lifetime. He might have been someone else's naughty horse, but he was my superstar, & we competed at a level I never thought I'd reach.

T x
 
I wouldnt say anything tbh, dont put negatives in that arent there.
If she vetted him and he passed, then leave it at that, if shes reasonibly experienced she'll know the score. If she didnt vet then its buyer beware right enough, and she paid her money and took her chance
 
I would stay out of it ,the horse was vetted .
I might just try to find out who vetted it and as long as it was the dealer vets i would say nothing .
 
I would tell her. If she loves the horse she won't care but might be interested in knowing the dealer's practices in case her horse has been exposed to it.
 
ok, lets turn it round.

Would you want to be told if the situation was reversed and this was your horse?
 
I don't think I'd want to know tbh. It could maybe make the difference of her being slightly nervy or worried about things rather than totally cool calm and collected which in turn the horse could pick up on?
If there is no problem so far and its passed a 5* then I'd be inclined to keep quiet unless a problem occurred maybe.
 
Buying any horse is a risk and there will very often be small settling/teething issues, especially with a younger horse. If she was a novice and this was her first horse it may be sensible to say something. But your friend is obviously pretty experienced if she events, and would hopefully know enough to deal with a situation or get help in if necessary.

Hope she doesn't come on the forum or she might have seen this thread and now know. :)
 
ester said:
I'd check if he was vetted by her vet.. and whether bloods were taken.
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I think this is what I will do . . . just in a conversational way.

He is a lovely boy - wonderful temperament and very sweet . . . I so hope he fulfills all her dreams and ambitions :).

P

P.S. When I say "dodgy" . . . think Mrs. B and Kent . . .
 
I would rather be told, and would hope that a good friend would feel able to share the news with me. Knowing the dealer has a bad reputation doesn't mean every horse he/she sells has problems, and as she bought the horse as a long term project, then unless the horse has any hidden problems, nothing should change.
I would be extremely concerned however, if the vetting was carried out by the dealers vet rather than her own. If this were the case, I would recoomend her own vet doing blood tests and vetting. I know it's adding to the cost, but better to find out sooner if there are any underlying problems. Does the passport seem to be genuine???
 
Personally, I would like to know (having spent years digging for Ned's past and info on his breeders, only to be told what I feared! But at least I knew)

I think it would be in her best interests to know, just in case the horse does anything as a result of the things the dealer was doing. For instance, I now know why Ned is a pain for the farrier and with that knowledge, I can work on it more effectively.
 
I know the dealers you are talking about and tbh if he doesn't work out she'll never get the money back anyway. All you will do is put negative seeds in her mind and little issues might then be blown out of proportion.
Don't say anything, I wouldn't and if I had bought a horse I wouldn't want to know.
My horse was sold as being a bit spooky but fine. He was/is fine but months later I heard that he used to spin and run off bronching and that he had made people fall off that way.
I thought it was funny as I knew him by this point and he was nothing to worry about!
However if I had heard that at the beginning it would have worried me and perhaps affected the way I rode him.
Your friend may never have a problem so there's no point creating one?!
 
Firewell said:
I know the dealers you are talking about and tbh if he doesn't work out she'll never get the money back anyway. All you will do is put negative seeds in her mind and little issues might then be blown out of proportion.
Don't say anything, I wouldn't and if I had bought a horse I wouldn't want to know.
My horse was sold as being a bit spooky but fine. He was/is fine but months later I heard that he used to spin and run off bronching and that he had made people fall off that way.
I thought it was funny as I knew him by this point and he was nothing to worry about!
However if I had heard that at the beginning it would have worried me and perhaps affected the way I rode him.
Your friend may never have a problem so there's no point creating one?!
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This is pretty much the conclusion I've come to . . . no point planting seeds of doubt in her head, especially as she likes him so much (and he is very sweet). She is being very sensible and taking things very slow with him . . . and is getting lots of help to get him going (she hasn't brought on a youngster before) and I would hate to say anything to put her off in these very early stages. So far he is a delight . . . I was just a bit :eek::eek::eek::eek: when I found out who the dealer was.

P
 
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