Have you ever been totally ripped off when buying a horse

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Happytohack

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And what did you do about it?
Just interested, as a couple of months ago we bought a ride & drive pony from a dealer. Pony was described as suitable for a novice to drive and excellent as a lead rein pony and very, very good with children. We bought pony primarily for our granddaughters and also for me to drive now and then. Pony came with cart, harness etc. He was rather poor when we picked him up - in hindsight I should have heard warning bells
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. After a couple of months of being well-looked after, wormed, feet trimmed etc., pony looked stunning. Our other little pony hated him and was basically terrified of him. I did have offers of loan homes for new pony, but thank goodness I went with my instinct and didn't loan him out, as it turned out he was far, far too sharp to be handled by children and was actually very riggy. My old farrier who is very experienced with driving horses and breeds the most stunning coloured cobs, saved the day and sold him for me on the understanding that he was not suitable for a child. We were totally ripped off - but at least he has been sold as a driving pony, so I know that no child could potentially be hurt.
Just wondered who else has been ripped off (surely I can't be the only one
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) and what you did about it.
BTW I tried to contact the dealer on loads of occasions, in the end (after the month's trial/part-exchange period was up) they said they would perhaps have the pony back to sell for me, but they charged £100+ a week plus a percentage of the selling price, so the chances were I would end up owing them money
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Its just happened to some new people on our yard.They went to a dealer asking for a 10yr old cob suitable for 12 year old girl to do pc.the dealer didnt have passport at that stage I said I wouldnt consider paying £3000 for horse with no passport.They bought the horse he is a nice lad but after full vetting they aged him a few years older than 10 which wasnt a problem.1month later after paying out for saddle checks vet treatment for mites and dentist ,the dentist told them he was nearly 20.The passport that they supplied must have been another horses or it was made up.Its now with trading standards as the dealer wont honour the month trial trouble is they love the horse but he wont be able to do the job they bought him for.
 
I was. My horse has a massive behavioural problem that had it been disclosed, the sellers would have been lucky to sell her for £2K. I paid £5.5. If she were straightforward she'd be worth £10K+. She's also now turning out to have foot problems so fingers crossed the vets can fix them, she'll be comfy and the behavioural problem will be all down to this and will disappear. However the cynic in me says she's bonkers anyway and the lameness is just an added problem that the vets won't be able to fix, taking her value to £0K!
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I was. My horse has a massive behavioural problem that had it been disclosed, the sellers would have been lucky to sell her for £2K. I paid £5.5. If she were straightforward she'd be worth £10K+. She's also now turning out to have foot problems so fingers crossed the vets can fix them, she'll be comfy and the behavioural problem will be all down to this and will disappear. However the cynic in me says she's bonkers anyway and the lameness is just an added problem that the vets won't be able to fix, taking her value to £0K!
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What's her behavioural problem???
 
Yep. Bought a beautiful pony for my daughter to PC with loads of guarantees. Turned out to be a complete disaster... Guarantees all totally useless. Dealer still advertises regularly selling 'stunning 14.2 ponies' all 'will take any jockey to the top'.
We worked really hard on our pony for 3 years and it was at last rideable by the end of it. Our instructor told us many times that we had probably saved its life as it had such behavioural issues, rearing,bolting,napping,refusing etc, etc, etc.
We heard through internet websites that our experience of the dealer was not at all isolated. Know of at least 3 court actions against the dealer, all of which were successful. A website dedicated to problem ponies sold by the dealer was set up. But subsequently taken down when the dealer took legal action.
The outcome.... Our pony has successfully been sold on to new home. We advertised it exactly as it was. Actually a vet bought it, and we have heard a couple of times that all is well. Phew!
The dealer..... still trading, still advertising in the same manner.... and we have no reason to believe otherwise ... still selling unsuitable ponies.....
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She pi**es of, either while being mounted or during the first ten minutes of being ridden - not every time, but often. She also does some apparently spectacular airs above the ground if you strongly attempt to stop or steer her before she's got the bolt out of her system. Provided you stay on it normally lasts about two - three laps of 60m by 30m arena. Otherwise she's a nervy horse but a lazy feeling ride. They must have ridden her just before I went to view her, and they were lucky she didn't do it that day!
 
oh yes !! bought lovely tb gelding off horsemart stupidly didnt ride it at the viewing
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but he was cheap ,which should av rung alarm bells !!! absolute gentleman on the ground but get on his back and turned into rodeo horse.
I found out the ppl i bought him off were dealers of the worst sort got back onto them and got loads of abuse and i mean loads as they had sold him as a riding horse anyway cut a long story short i advertised him on project horse and horsemart and told everything about him i lost a few hundred on him but didnt care as hes gone to a good home and i stopped the whole circle of dealers and auctions that he had been going through did learn me a serious lesson tho
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We had a horse on loan last year. Owners had bought it from a dealer about 2 years before & were putting it on loan while daughters were doing GCSEs. According to the passport the horse was 15 when we had it. We had issues at the yard as it didn't get on with a field mate & in the end we had to arrange for it to go back. A few days before it was going back it fell ill with possible respiratory infection & when the vet came out he aged it at mid 20s. The blood tests suggested it probably had a liver tumour so owners took the desicsion to PTS. Totally heartbreaking all round.
 
A friend of mine bought a Welsh sec D as a safe riding horse. She must have been doped up to the eyeballs the day my friend rode her, as she plodded about just as required.

After a few days at home she started to get a bit spooky and ended up being a very friendly but extremely forward going ride as all she really wants to do is run and jump, unfortunately my friend was after a safe horse for hacking and in the school.

We tried to get her to take action against the school / dealer, but she wouldn't. She also will not sell the horse because she is so attached to her, which is a bit of a shame, as both are really a bit mismatched.

I still think the dealer saw my friend coming!
 
I bought a 16hh warmblood mare from a reputable dealer that my instructor worked for... so you wouldn't think it was a problem! Not so! Got it home and it tried to kill me in the stable - double barelling, biting, very very evil. I think it was very scared as well so obviously had been mistreated at some point (not by the dealer I don't think), but I just couldn't deal with it, it was not what I wanted! I never got on it at home and rang the dealer 24 hours after it arrived demanding they picked it up and gave me my money back. It took a long week to get this sorted and at first they said they would only exchange it for another horse but my Dad got on the case and we got our money back. We were very very lucky and then I bought my current horse who is everything I dreamed of, thank god. Funnily enough I have a different instructor now and her excuse was 'I just forgot how it is to only have one horse (she has six) so I didnt realise how difficult it is to have one horse that's really nasty in the stable. I don't mind if one or two of mine are like that' - what she also forgets is she is a much more established horsewoman than me and I had just sold a horse that wasn't suitable for me, that she found for me in the first place!!!!
 
Yes, I bought what was described as a safe, sensible weight carrier for my OH. I hacked it out and tried it in the school before buying it but once we got it home it quickly changed character. It threw me onto the road the first time I hacked it out. It was scared of its own shadow and broke umpteen headcollars and lead ropes when tied up, even though I was standing with it.

I paid for it to be professionally reschooled twice and neither yard could do anything with it. I finally sold it to a woman on the second re-schooling yard for a pittance.

The dealer (West Midlands PM me for details if anyone is thinking of buying from a certain riding school) was very nasty when I complained so I had to cut my losses.
 
My alarm bells didn't start ringing. I wish they had. It is all very well to say caveat emptor but you don't always know what it is that you should be wary about. If you are too wary you would never, ever buy a horse under any circumstances.
 
Yes totally, which is why I have a cripple sat in my field. He did offer to PX her after I threatend him with legal action, but the PX was just a much a cripple as her. So I decided I couldn't give any more money to scum like him.

I have now made it my life mission to spread the word as to how awful he is, and so far I think I'm doing pretty well at it.
 
From reading the replies, it seems most people who are ripped off are the ones buying from dealers (no offence to any reputable dealers out there) - what a shame we can't have a "blacklist" of dealers to avoid.
As for Caveat Emptor - even when taking every care when buying a horse, at the end of the day you have to take the seller's word and it seems that not everyone is as honest as they should be.
 
The problem is also that a lot of these so called dealers are not proper businesses does any one check them, out are they vat registered do they live/own the premises etc mostly they are not worth pursuing but the true dealers like Vere Phillips etc are considered too expensive, so just turning up and saying will the horse do its job is not safegard enough as these horses need selling good bad or indifferent and not many will list their faults as they would never sell them
 
QR- don't know if you would class it as ripped off as I only paid 2k for him and I think (read " hope and pray") he will come good, plus he was extremely underweight when I got him. But I got a whole lot of "extras" with him such as biting, kicking, rearing, striking out, barging, napping, bucking, chronic cribbing etc etc...

I've had horses for 20yrs and encountered most types and I KNOW this isn't just him testing the boundaries (only got him the end of March) and that it's not new behaviour he learnt the minute he strolled out the trailer.

<sigh> Thing is, if I'd been made aware I would have probably still bought him because I did like him but now the whole experience with him is blackened and jaded.

He's got a referal to get scoped as I *think* he has an ulcer and that might explain a lot of his behaviours then hopefully we can get on with schooling and getting him out and about then find him a home with a new owner (who I will tell the total truth to, warts and all) who can enjoy him and make the most of his potential.

So yeah, I feel a bit ripped off I guess
 
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The problem is also that a lot of these so called dealers are not proper businesses does any one check them, out are they vat registered do they live/own the premises etc mostly they are not worth pursuing but the true dealers like Vere Phillips etc are considered too expensive, so just turning up and saying will the horse do its job is not safegard enough as these horses need selling good bad or indifferent and not many will list their faults as they would never sell them

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I did check out the dealer from whom I bought my "rip off" horse. Yes, they are VAT registered, yes they live on and own the premises. Didn't stop them ripping me off did it?!

I don't understand the last bit of your paragraph, sorry.
 
I've never been ripped off thankfully *touches wood*

I bought the horse is my siggy from Alderroot in Cheshire. He was 100% as described - but I often wonder when people feel they've been ripped off, is it always that cut and dry?

I have always been taught that even though Bob can ride a horse like XYZ it doesn't mean that you can. And also just because a horse is quiet for one rider doesnt mean it'll be quiet for everyone - so one persons quie hack could be another person's forward going horse. And lastly, a horse tried at home will inevitably be more calm and quiet then when you get it home into new surroundings and circumstances.
 
Then you can claim from them through the small claims court and get trading standards involved with a good chance of success, any claim can include expenses vets fees etc.
 
WelshRareBit - I am not a good rider but two professional riders got bucked off my "rip off" horse repeatedly so it wasn't just my lack of skill I'm afraid. My instructor, who has ridden to PSG level, wouldn't even get on him. I was told by one of the professional trainers to whom I sent him that she had never had a horse on the yard with such a complex set of behavioural issues. I honestly don't think that he was suitable for a my novice OH to learn to ride on and that is exactly what I told the dealer that I wanted when I bought him.

forestgunner - I contacted a solicitor about bringing a case against the dealer but when a letter was sent to her she claimed that she had actually sold me the horse on behalf of a private client. This was not what was stated in the ad, nor was it mentionned at the time of the sale. I know that it was a lie but the solicitor said that it would come down to my word against the dealers in court and that I could well lose the case. I was also told that it could take up to 2 years to be resolved and two years of full livery for a horse which no-one was even willing to get on was going to cost me a lot more than I paid for him so I decided to cut my losses.
 
Sadly it is these kinds of tactics some people selling horses use to try and cover their backs a reciept for horse stating all facts ownership etc would help but we have to live and learn but a call to trading standards is worth it as several complaints could help them look at their business its a shame every angle has to be covered and you lost your money!
 
Of the 4 horses I have actually owned (rather than the numerous others I have loaned/ridden for people) 2 have been exactly as described, 1 exactly as described but has had a lot of lameness issues, but I am confident old owner was not aware, and 1 was completely the wrong horse for me but bought naievely and the warning signs were there - I wouldn't say I was ripped off with that one though.
 
Why do so many people buy from dealers and how many times did they try the horse out before buying? I will always, if i am interested, try a horse out several times before deciding whether it's right for me. To be honest most times I get a 'feeling' anyway whether I want it or not. Since the age of 12 when I was bought my first pony i have always tried out horses in a school, over jumps, on the road and in an open field if possible. I have been chucked off spectacularly, one nearly reared on a car when i wanted it to halt and one made me feel so unsafe I rode it about 100 yards up the road and said thanks but no thanks!

I feel there seem (could be wrong) to be a fair few people who go to buy a horse from a dealer when they don't really know an awful lot and don't take a knowledgeable person with them. We always used to take an instructor with us and many times had it not been for them we'd have come home with some right wrecks as we hadn't a clue back then!

I trust my own judgement now and I think we've done pretty well in our purchases but I wouldn't generally ever buy from a dealer as I am always suspicious as to why a horse has ended up with them in the first place!

I know of a reputable dealer who we've had 2 off and would trust them and know she'll take something back if it wasn't suitable. Otherwise I would generally buy from a private seller to be honest.
 
Have been ripped off more than once!!

Twice paying double what the horses were worth. Bailey we knew was'nt worth what we were paying but he has turned out to be my dream horse so worth every penny. I have no regrets with Chess either but it was a steep learning curve.

We got well and truely done over with Lillie, I am convinced the seller knew she had physical problems leading to mental issues but I would never be able to prove it. Looking back now thats why she was the price she was. She was put down 3 years ago today
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