Following on from bad dealers... what about the bad buyers?

oofadoofa

oofadoofa

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www.mearecourtequestrian.co.uk
I may get shot down for this post, but here goes anyway. I seem to hear more and more stories about bad buyers rather than bad dealers. These days more and more people are going to dealers with an inflated opinion of their own abilities. People seem to buy a young horse, scare themselves and/or the horse and then insist that the dealer takes it back because it wasn't suitable. There are several well known dealers in my area that have given up dealing now because it is just too risky to sell horses nowadays!

Sorry, rant over now.
 
I can't speak for the dealers because I am not a dealer but I have been on the receiving end of a bad dealer and she was told nothing but the truth about my OH's ability (or rather lack of ability). Despite telling her several times that he was a complete beginner she still sold us a dangerous horse. We paid to have him reschooled twice but neither of the professional yards could do anything with him either. It was definitely not our fault that we ended up with a horse which was unsuitable for a novice.
 
A good dealer will make sure the horse and rider are compatible, or as near as damned it, before taking money off of people.

Sadly with many dealers money talks louder than words...

We've bought from a great dealer who goes to great lengths to match horse to rider.

I do think there are a lot of buyers out there who over state their experience, so sympathise with sellers. But if dealing is your business, then if some get it right and others don't, what does it say about those who don't?
 
I must admit that is what i was thinking when i read the thread on bad dealers. Although their are bad dealers out there as well as good may i add there are a great many bad buyers.
We have a lot of people come to us for a horse/pony on loan and most are not accepted as they are looking for something they are not ready for. It is not fair on the horse/pony or rider.
Also a lot of people don't give the horse time to settle in. We have loaned a couple that have come out with characteristicks we had not witnessed ourselves. We have been lucky that the loanees have worked through it and come out the other side.
I think it is a minefield for sellers and buyers with dishonesty on both parts at times.
 
I have to say, the whole "returning horses" thing really made me raise my eyebrows when I moved. It's much more "buyer beware" where I'm from and only a seller actually lying would be grounds for any sort of legal action. Just buying an unsuitable horse would be considered the buyer's problem.

I think it's great to have protection under the law and there are obviously VERY dishonest people in horses (as in all things) but I do wonder if putting the onus so much on sellers to get it right means people don't take as much responsibility as they might for their own safety and success.

Just a query, on the other side of the representation coin, if a buyer wants a return and the seller can prove he/she lied about ability, circumstances etc. can that have bearing on the situation? A good reason to do as much as possible by email . . .
 
[ QUOTE ]
I may get shot down for this post, but here goes anyway. I seem to hear more and more stories about bad buyers rather than bad dealers. These days more and more people are going to dealers with an inflated opinion of their own abilities. People seem to buy a young horse, scare themselves and/or the horse and then insist that the dealer takes it back because it wasn't suitable. There are several well known dealers in my area that have given up dealing now because it is just too risky to sell horses nowadays!

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I work for someone that does a bit of buying and selling. From my experience, I do agree with this statement. We get a lot of phone calls from people claiming to be the big "I am" and half the time they can barely hold on in the canter. As soon as the horse shows a scrap of independant thought they are all over the place.

We always try to help if someone doesn't get on with their horse and will take them back without question. In the past, we've had perfectly nice horses returned to us with all sorts of new problems - napping/bucking etc. I often dread having to ride them when they come back even though I enjoyed riding them before. I'm not saying that this happens often and we do try to pair riders and horses up successfully but it has happened a time or two.

As usual, just my experience.
 
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