Hate being mucked around by sellers!!!!

[missmischief]

Looking through internet, papers etc for a new horse for my daughter! All sellers seem to say the same kind of thing, ie: no timewasters, no tyre kickers, no novices, no swaps or loans!! One even goes as far as too say: No wobblies or swaps for something nasty in the back of your garage..... What about "US" the "Buyers". We have gone to try a horse who seemed perfect asked all the right questions, mainly does it ride out alone and in company. Oh Yes was the reply, only to find when taken out with other horses "he did tend to rear sometimes" TIMEWASTERS I would say. Never mind, tried a lovely horse 2 weeks ago. 2 1/2 hr drive there, done evrything we asked of him, had a long chat with the owner, decided to buy him. Discussed with owner re: Vetting, time and date etc that suited her, booked my vet for last Thursday. Wednesday texted her to check everything ok. "Oh Sorry, she said" I've decided not to sell him now. "Timewaster" Please don't forget when you are selling horses, not every horse is suitable for everyone. And not every seller is telling the truth. My moan for this week...

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Quite! When I broke my ankle and then had to have my mare pts (unrelated incidents) I rang about a lovely Appaloosa. I explained that I need a horse which would stand rock solid to be mounted. 'No problem' said the vendor. So sis and I went to look. The vendor was rather surprised when I asked to see the horse ridden before trying her myself. She took the mare round a building into a field. Sis and I followed to find the vendor still hopping around with one foot in the stirrup! 5 minutes later she managed to scramble on board and was rather miffed when I said 'Thanks but no thanks'. Fortunately I have learned over the years to trust no-one when they are describing their for sale horses, so we were only 30 minutes from home.
Many years previously we were looking for a weight carrier for a 6' 2" rugby player and arrived to find a pony who apparently the vendor had 'had the farrier on'. Must have been a small farrier! That one was rather further away.

 

[Batgirl]

I can totally sympathise, although I haven't had too many troubles this time around I saw a lot of 'novice rides' about 7 years ago when I bought my first, was SO lucky to have an experienced friend with me who got bucked, reared, bolted and generally beaten up on my behalf! I only sat on 2!

god bless her, she refused to let me get on unless she had tried it first!

Bloomin awful, was brutally honest when selling him on and am being honest now trying to find my old loan horse a new home.

Luckily the big ginge I am getting vetted on Fri was a recommendation by my instructor and is well known, inlcuding by my horses physio!

 

[mandwhy]

Eek I just can't bring myself to trek around the country for such experiences now so I think I'm just holding out for something local or trying to coordinate with other trips. I don't like all this 'NO TIMEWASTERS' rubbish at the end of ads, as if its going to make a flamin' difference anyway!

 

[Littlelegs]

Funniest I have had is pony shopping for relatively inexperienced parents for teens first or second ponies. A 13.2 that your child is not present to ride, that the entire yard appears to watch me mount is a bit of a giveaway to start. Then performs rodeo worthy movements, which I find excellent fun is unlikely to be the ideal first horse for a beginner. And bit of a giveaway it isn't my riding when an out of breath livery races to join her group of spectating friends shouting 'have I missed anything'.
Also went to view a lame & not as described pony that we politely declined, got screamed insults at by the owner. Then owner and fellow livery had a fight which yo had to come & break up. Very fun.
And was also asked by one vendor if I wanted to ride a lr pony first. Sounds fine but pony was a small shetland, I am 5'10. We said we would watch her kids ride, but this wasn't possible as it wasn't backed yet, hence her asking me if I wanted to ride first.

 

[missmischief]

OMG!! So it's not just me then.. Ha! Why can't they just be honest? We know all horses have little quirks and ways and this doesn't always put you off buying them, As long as they tell you before. I now don't believe anything anyone tells me about their horse, UNLESS!! as did the previous owner of my beautiful mare who I bought 4 years ago, (who will stay with me forever) and they wanted to make sure not only that she was right for me, but that I was right for Her! After 2 trials and hours of talking things through, they offered to let me have her on trial for a couple of weeks first. They wanted my vets tel no so they could make checks on me with them first. I thought that showed they were genuine and really loved her. I also knew then that she was probably the horse for me. 4 years on she is all I could ever want and is exactly how they described her. Now wish I could find another one as good for my daughter without all the crap that buying entails.

 

[Suziq77]

And was also asked by one vendor if I wanted to ride a lr pony first. Sounds fine but pony was a small shetland, I am 5'10. We said we would watch her kids ride, but this wasn't possible as it wasn't backed yet, hence her asking me if I wanted to ride first.

When I was younger I used to ride show ponies, going to look for people was always an adventure - one of the most memorable being a 'full up to height 15hh SHP, ready to show, sure to do well at County level'.... We arrived to find a 14.1 if it was lucky (couldn't get the stick that close) very poor, covered in rainscald with a thick green snotty nose, little mare with not exactly brilliant conformation. I declined to try her as she wasn't what we were looking for. We were told "well if you're going to be fussy I don't know why you bothered coming" .

It was as if the telephone conversation beforehand had never happened.... and this was in the days before email so we hadn't been able to see photos beforehand!

 

[Littlelegs]

Yes suziq77, the good old days when you could ask for a video to be posted from anything very far away! But otherwise it was a phone call & wait & see!

 

[Nettle123]

I was looking for another horse for my Husband after he lost his mare.There was a nice sounding type on preloved so I emailed to ask for a picture as there wasn't one on the ad. I had a snooty email back telling me that they were not interested is selling to photo collectors!!

 

[ChrisHerridge1]

Its just as hard being a seller, believe me. I was once asked if a horse had ever kicked. Once, I replied when he was injured and I tried to pick his hoof up too quickly. No sale! The horse has never kicked before or after. .. You have two horses for sale. One is very quiet, love fuss and suitable for a novice, other more for performance and experienced rider. The novice wants the performance horse...no sale. I have been left waiting for more than two hours for people to turn up and when phoning to see how long they would be they had decided to go clothes shopping instead, SORRY!.. I have had horse plaited and ready to go to a dressage competition for someone who had been twice to ride horse, they just didn't tun up. Should I go on?

 

[pookie]

I agree with all of the above Had a bit of trouble when I arranged for Millie to be vetted (almost got gazumped by the seller), and I've ended up with a horse considerably greener than suggested. With other sellers I've had emails ignored (even when they've included their actual email address to contact them on, not just through a site), I've had replies and then nothing. I've been lucky in actual viewings but the whole "no timewasters" thing seems quite stupid to me.

Not as amusing as the 'full loan' I found advertised on Preloved earlier...horse must stay at the owners yard and the loaner gets to pay for the shoes...and this incredible deal will only set the loaner back a cool £320 pcm

 

[Aoibhin]

im finding the same thing whilst looking for a loan pony/horse, happily looking for a semi retired plod for the odd days im well enough to have a potter & keep getting timewasters offering unsuitable animals.

dont you just love the rubberneckers that give the game away sat with the popcorn waiting for you to get ejected/trounced/p!$$£d off with (delete as applicable)

 

[diluteherd]

im finding the same thing whilst looking for a loan pony/horse, happily looking for a semi retired plod for the odd days im well enough to have a potter & keep getting timewasters offering unsuitable animals.

dont you just love the rubberneckers that give the game away sat with the popcorn waiting for you to get ejected/trounced/p!$$£d off with (delete as applicable)

I have just messaged you now preying I dont fall into above said category.


Aoibhin will perhaps have read this from my message so will be repeating myself to her... but for the benefit of others...

Im trying to loan my mare out at the minute. A sane/safe/sensible and almost too intelligent mare.
She had her early years of madamness but since she was 6 she has been lovely - ok she is a mare, odd face but nothing that would send me flying home to look for the number for the glue factory in the yellow pages (wow time warp to the 90's!) Anyway I had a lovely girl come and ride her - she was perfect and her usual self. (said girl was just a little bit too big for her!) I then had a very nervous girl who could barely bring herself to put her leg on and I will give my mare the slight benefit of my limited wisdom - very confusing messages through her riding and she was a total cow bag. It wasnt a nasty naughtyness just a 'not walk forward and when I do I will turn for home' even the turn for home was done as 'nicely' as it could be done!

I guess my ramblings conclude that I like to think of myself as honest as I can be - Im loaning for goodness sakes, Im not in it for the money and if my horse isnt what I say it is then she will only be coming home again!

So I guess in some sellers/loaners/potential share horse defences, sometimes our horses do behave in a manner completely out of the blue - perhaps on those occasions it is the horse choosing us -digressing and going a little way into my lala land now..*rabbit tail out, dances naked around the fire chanting some random garbage*