had a reply from my ad

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LadyRascasse

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for loaning my mare,

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hi i am interested in your 15.3 tb nd i was wondering what u mean by sharp ???

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is it me or if you have to ask that sort of question the horse probably isn't right. what should i reply?
 
Not necessarily a dodgy response. I would probably ask the same question tbh. I would describe my mare as fairly sharp (ETA as she is quick witted and would un-nerve a novice) - but other people might describe their napping, rearing nutcase sharp too. Always helps to know what end of the sharpness scale you are looking at!
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I would be honest and tell them what you mean. If they come to look at your mare then you will be able to make a better judgement about whether they are suitable.
 
Personally if someone replied to an ad of mine using text speak with zero punctuation I wouldn't give them the time of day.

It shows a lack of care that they haven't bothered to make the effort to write properly to enquire after your valuable horse - between friends is up to them, but this is a formal situation so its entirely inappropriate. I wouldn't want someone like that in charge of one of my animals.
 
Oh dear!
Agree with you. You could say she isn't a novice ride, so will not be suited to your needs
? I don't know, iam not good at these sort of things - sorry
(ps, I am not a fan of ''text speak'' when refering to ads. so that has put me off too,)
 
I agree with milliepops. I can deal with certain types of sharp, such as very quick off leg, or uptight etc but couldn't deal with a very nappy sharp horse so I would ask a similar question!

however are you reading it as she doesn't know what sharp means? I took that to mean she wants to know how the horse is sharp in its behaviour, rather than the person not knowing what a sharp horse means if that makes sense?

ETS forgot to actually answer the question....I would probably reply saying to give you a ring and have a chat about the horse and how she is sharp!
 
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Personally if someone replied to an ad of mine using text speak with zero punctuation I wouldn't give them the time of day.

It shows a lack of care that they haven't bothered to make the effort to write properly to enquire after your valuable horse - between friends is up to them, but this is a formal situation so its entirely inappropriate. I wouldn't want someone like that in charge of one of my animals.

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What if they just havn't had a wonderful education? I know people who are useless with punctuation but are terrific owners of animals! Your comment sounds very snobby indeed!
 
I agree with spiral, if someone can't be bothered to use proper words and some punctuation or even a "Hello" i wouldn't give them the time of day. Its a formal arangement afterall.

Though if someone had me that in a more formal way with proper words ect rather than text speak i would ask them to ring me for a chat about the horse.
 
I have sent her a polite reply, explaining what i mean by sharp and asked her to tell me more about her riding experiences etc. and I shall take it from there. Thank you for your advice.

The text speak did annoy me more than the grammar and punctuation.
 
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What if they just havn't had a wonderful education? I know people who are useless with punctuation but are terrific owners of animals! Your comment sounds very snobby indeed!

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You don't need a wonderful education to be able to spell 'you' 'and' and capitalize an I. Nor does it take a wonderful education to pick up the phone and ask. Has nothing to do with snobbery.
 
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What if they just havn't had a wonderful education? I know people who are useless with punctuation but are terrific owners of animals! Your comment sounds very snobby indeed!

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You don't need a wonderful education to be able to spell 'you' 'and' and capitalize an I. Nor does it take a wonderful education to pick up the phone and ask. Has nothing to do with snobbery.

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Well IMO it has a lot to do with snobbery, if the first thing you think of is punctuation!! She may be shy and not want to call yet, there is always more to a situation than first meets the eye. Spelling and text talk should not be the defining of somebody. She could be a wonderful horse owner! Anyway, i'm too tired to defend myself on here.
 
I think it is a fair question (not well put but text speak is a whole different can of worms.....)

If I saw that I'd want to know what they meant by sharp, it is like saying not a novice ride - a bit meaningless in itself as it can be widely and differently interpreted.

Sharp can mean:
needs working every day or gets a bit fresh and becomes a handful
Quick off the aids and you need to be gentle/careful
Can be spooky/whizzy at times
Spends the first half of any schooling session whizzing round before settling

I'd be happy with any of those in a horse that isn't intended for a horse that isn't for a novice as long as they weren't too extreme.

But it could also be advert talk for a whole host of nastys that you wouldn't wish to take on.

Someone may have a particular fear or need that they want to take into account too, for example a nutter under saddle might be fine if it is easy on the ground because they need help from a friend or relative who is inexperience or they might be fine with spooky but terrified of bolters or whatever.

Think it is entirely reasonable to ask for clarification and avoid wasting time.
 
Fine, think what you like but first impressions are VERY important and if someone for whatever reason can't muster up the courage to phone, then they can at least write full words.
It may not matter to you in particular, but it does matter to a lot of people. You wouldn't apply to a job in text speak, so why is OK to apply for loan of a horse?
I actually didn't say anything about punctuation, but IMO there is no excuse for text speak in this particular situation.
 
I don't think it is right to reply to an advert by text at al I find that very
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l, if you are interested ring. (unless you have hearing difficulties of course)
 
Fair enough, but i was responding to the comment of "I wouldn't want somebody like that in charge of my animals" I personally think this sounds terribly snobby. But each to their own, I am terribly tired and possibly a tad argumentitive and i apologise for my harshness. Off to bed early for me.
 
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What if they just havn't had a wonderful education? I know people who are useless with punctuation but are terrific owners of animals! Your comment sounds very snobby indeed!

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You don't need a wonderful education to be able to spell 'you' 'and' and capitalize an I. Nor does it take a wonderful education to pick up the phone and ask. Has nothing to do with snobbery.

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Precisely. I knew my response would generate "oh you're such a snob" comments but its not about looking down on someone who has trouble spelling, its about a lack of effort.

As PF says, even someone who has difficulty with writing should be able to spell "you" and put a capital at the start of the sentence and a full stop at the end and if they can't, then they could ask for help or just phone and ask.

Having someone's horse on loan is a big thing, they are valuable animals, and I personally wouldn't want to loan one to someone who didn't care enough to write a proper enquiry.
 
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What if they just havn't had a wonderful education? I know people who are useless with punctuation but are terrific owners of animals! Your comment sounds very snobby indeed!

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You don't need a wonderful education to be able to spell 'you' 'and' and capitalize an I. Nor does it take a wonderful education to pick up the phone and ask. Has nothing to do with snobbery.

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Off topic, but I'll send you some of the philosophy essays my university students hand in! You won't believe the mistakes they make! Some sentences are downright incomprehensible (but we are not allowed to mark down for spelling and grammar!).
 
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Off topic, but I'll send you some of the philosophy essays my university students hand in! You won't believe the mistakes they make! Some sentences are downright incomprehensible (but we are not allowed to mark down for spelling and grammar!).

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Are you not? My tutors used to be VERY strict on correct grammar and spelling! My history teacher's pet hate was the split infinitive!
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This was way back in the dark ages though, so perhaps things have changed.
 
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Personally if someone replied to an ad of mine using text speak with zero punctuation I wouldn't give them the time of day.

It shows a lack of care that they haven't bothered to make the effort to write properly to enquire after your valuable horse - between friends is up to them, but this is a formal situation so its entirely inappropriate. I wouldn't want someone like that in charge of one of my animals.

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I completely agree!
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I think alot of it now is a generation thing - not my generation I hasten to add
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but I find alot of younger friends text and email like that all the time. They probably think it is equally strange to write words out in full and spell correctly!
 
I would probably text back saying the worst she does is XX give me a call if you still think you are suitable.

That way you don't waste your time if they can't handle what ever the worst is
 
It's a fair question to ask, but text speak makes me shudder and tends to make you think they are just idly enquiring and have no real interest in the horse, ie timewaster.
Emailing about a horse is fine but as others have said, it does not cost anything to be a little more formal and polite, gives a much better impression. Text speak makes me think the author is a dreaming schoolkid
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I agree with you darkhorseb it's a sign of the times especially with the younger generation - gosh that sounds old
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However any person worth their salt to me would ring up and not send a text.
 
Actually I agree too. It shows that someone has not really bothered with their response and that would make me think very hard about responding to them. Its quite disrespectful! Nothing to do with snobbery or anything else...
 
I do know exactly what you are saying but I DO think it is a generation thing. I don't think anyone under the age of 20 or so would think such a response disrespectful and I suppose with a mobile number you don't know you have no way of knowing whether you are texting a contemporary or not...
 
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