Heartbroken...what should i do?

T

Trixie88

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 June 2011
Messages
83
Visit site
Hi Everyone

Ok, so i'm going to start from the beginning. I have a horse on loan, and have had her since the end of June. She is a 16hh2, 12 yr old Hanovarian X, was left in a field for most of her life, ridden once or twice a week.Mainly hacking, some schooling.

When she arrived she was a nightmare, spooking, unsettled and suffers with sweet itch. Finally, i am getting somewhere and we are doing really well, we have bonded and she has progressed on the flat and jumping, although her canter is unbalanced for her age. So i have decided i would like to save up to buy her next year and wanted to agree on the price with the owner.

Bearing in mind, her tack is at least 6 years old, she came with one rug and that's it. She now has a full wardrobe etc, her tack is cleaner than when it arrived! Her owner has said he would like £2900 for her:eek:. He lives abroad, and has no time for her, hence why he put her out on loan. She was advertised for sale when i got her for £2400!

My budget is £1500, so i have gone back to him and explained this, have spoken to several, experienced people who say she is worth no more than that! I have gone back to explain this, haven't had a response yet but i am worried he isn't going to drop to that...yes i understand it is a big drop but have no idea where he got that price from!

So i don't know what to do, i love her to bits and have worked so hard to get where we are, and still a long way to go. I would love to buy her, but if he isn't going to drop i would rather give her back and buy something i can afford that is younger and has done more, than spend more time and money for someone else to get the benefit! Any suggestions?
 
Ohh no that is sooo sad, but I have heard this before when people have loaned!! The best thing to do in my opionion is to stick by your guns at your price and if he wont drop then give her back. If he is living away and does not want the hastle he may well accept the price (fingers crossed!!)
he is just hoping that because you have fallen in love with her you will pay extra!! Good luck let me know how you get on
xx
 
Yes, that's what i thought! I'm hoping he will drop, as i really don't want to see her go. I have been looking around, and for the price he is asking i can get a younger horse, who has done a lot more! It is also annoying, as i know for a fact he doesn't need the money. Fingers crossed, i am hoping he comes back to me soon so i know either way, if he doesn't drop, i think i will have to send her back :(
 
Well here in lies your problem my dear - you have made this more complicated than it needs to be ! What do you suppose he would have said if you had turned around after a year of looking after his horse well and him not having to do anything and offered him £1500 ?? my guess is yes please, It doesn't suit his lifestyle to just take her back off you for selling

Unfortunately you can't take a loan on with the mind set of I'm doing all this work someone else is getting the benifit, that is part of the process that you just have to accept.

The problem that you have now is that if you tell him to take her back now you'll have no horse at all. Although he may turn around and say OK then £1500 but you don't have the money now do you !

I'd like £2900 for my horse too but I wouldn't get it ..... well not unless she had been on loan for a year and some sweet girl had put lots of effort into her and fallen in love !

Do you see what I am saying ??
 
Well he's not going to get that for her, is he? The extended wardrobe belongs to you, not with the horse. It is always best to agree in value for the horse when it is first loaned if it is likely to be for sale later but now is as good a time as any.
Stick to your guns and if he refuses to drop the price give him notice to return her, according to you contract. If you call his bluff, he will very likely accept your offer then. the only problem is that he may well want his money right away.
Good luck!
 
I recently purchased a 16hh Warmblood X gelding, 13 years old, had also been left in field for much of his life and was quite green. I paid £1100 for him including some tack (saddle, bridle and rug). I really dont think your horse would be worth any more than what I paid for mine.

I hope you can work something out with his owner.
 
Thanks, that is what i thought! I already explained to him i was on a budget, and would be looking to give him the money next year...so he is aware of both of those aspects! For some people, home is more important than price. I think he just expected to me say, yes and play on my affections for her. She was sold before, and the person who bought her sent her back as she couldn't handle her! Fingers crossed he agrees, he has seen where she lives, and has met me and she is in a much nicer place than she was orginally!Fingers crossed he agrees and i can buy her, don't think she will like be thrown out in a field again!
 
Devil's advocate here: Sorry, can really offer any major help. Except to hope that the fact that the owner is overseas might sway him a bit. Does he need to sell her, though? Maybe he'll be happy to carry on loaning to you until you've saved more?

It does seem unfair that if he was asking £2400 for her before you worked on her, that he's now asking you to pay £2900 a mere few months later; and after you've paid her keep and put in the hard work to get her where she is now.

However, to be fair, a more reasonable offer from you would be IRO £2000 - £2200. £1500 is quite a considerable drop for him to consider when he was asking £2400 a few months ago.

If I were loaning a horse with view to buy, I'd always be conscious of the owner's asking price. If you've only ever had a budget of £1500 to spend then you've never really been in a position to make a reasonable offer for her. (Reasonable to the owner I mean!) Not when you knew he was looking for IRO £2400'ish for her - which isn't an excessive amount. Sure, there will be cheaper horses out there - but not many. Just trawl the for sale ads on H&H to see. Stick to you budget, but face it, if he wont budge you're better off giving the mare up now before winter sets in, and finding yourself a permanent loan or a horse advertised within your budget. Good luck. :) X
 
Last edited:
As you haven't got the money now, what's the point in negotiating to buy her? Waste of both yours and his time.

Enjoy her as a loan. Meanwhile save up some money.

When you've got some money, contact him and say you'd like to buy her and you've got this much. If he says no, then return her according to the conditions of your loan for return-of-horse once you've found a new horse to spend your savings on.
 
If I were loaning a horse with view to buy, I'd always be conscious of the owner's asking price. If you've only ever had a budget of £1500 to spend then you've never really been in a position to make a reasonable offer for her. Not when you knew the owner was looking for IRO £2400'ish for her - which isn't an excessive amount.[/QUOTE]

I do agree, however, i did not actually realise this until after she arrived at the yard. But it also says something, if the person who bought her decided she couldn't handle her and sent her back!

It wasn't actually a loan with a view to buy to begin with either. The reason I am thinking about price now, as a friend of mine said it would be a good idea as he will probably want even more for her when i do more work with her next year!
 
Cor, my Hanoverian was estimated at £1700 for insurance, 13, all singing all dancing dressage trained, fallen on hard times then I loaned/co-owned.

Trouble is, emotion has no price and if you lve her and she's your horse of a lifetime, you have to either risk him saying no or letting you have her for half what he wants. Or of course, you can pay over the odds. Dilemma, really.
 
I'd call his bluff. If he doesn't accept your £1500 then keep the mare, let the owner advertise her for sale and wait and see what happens. Presumably as he's abroad you'd be expected to show her off? If that's the case - don't put too much effort into it (in fact you should charge him for your time!)

The market's dead at the moment, particularly the cheaper end and we're about to go into winter. I doubt you'd even get anyone to come and view her and no-one is offering the full asking price for 'ordinary' horses at the moment.

Just sit tight...
 
boxcarhorse said:
I'd call his bluff. If he doesn't accept your £1500 then keep the mare, let the owner advertise her for sale and wait and see what happens. Presumably as he's abroad you'd be expected to show her off? If that's the case - don't put too much effort into it (in fact you should charge him for your time!)

The market's dead at the moment, particularly the cheaper end and we're about to go into winter. I doubt you'd even get anyone to come and view her and no-one is offering the full asking price for 'ordinary' horses at the moment.

Just sit tight...
Click to expand...

If you are expected to show the horse to potential buyer I would be charging for each viewing (similar to an estate agent does, they show your house and you are charged for each viewing the do, or you can show yourself which is a pain!!!)
 
I've been in a simillar situation. I shared my horse for 2 days a week, with that being my only intention. I was then offered her on full loan, then ended up buying her 6 months later after her owner saying initally she would never sell her. She had been hacked out but not schooled for a few years and I put a lot of work into her. Her owner offered her for sale at £1800 incl some tack and rugs. I was going to try and barter it down, but I ended up paying it. I still have her 6 years later and although she can be very stubborn, she's the right horse for me and suits me. However her owner thought she was worth about £2000 and offered me her a a bit less (but she was probably worth fractionally less than I paid). If the owner comes back and says no at that price could you perhaps reach a bit of a compromise like £1800? At the end of the day you have to decide how much you want the horse I guess. If I hadn't bought my horse I too would of gone for something younger (she was 10 when I bought her). The work you've put into the horse at the end of the day could make it easier to sell on to someone else, which is harsh but true.
 
Naryafluffy said:
If you are expected to show the horse to potential buyer I would be charging for each viewing (similar to an estate agent does, they show your house and you are charged for each viewing the do, or you can show yourself which is a pain!!!)
Click to expand...

Yes i think i will charge, if it comes to that...although judging by everyone i know, who has horses, they also say he is asking way too much! I think it would be more hassle for him to try and sell her...i hope but will see how it goes!

Thanks for the helpful comments, except one which i will ignore!
 
Offer him £2000 if you can pay him in installments perhaps? bit of extra money for him every month but also gives you time to save.....otherwise call his bluff and tell him to collect her x (bet he wont :D)
 
lcharles said:
Offer him £2000 if you can pay him in installments perhaps? bit of extra money for him every month but also gives you time to save.....otherwise call his bluff and tell him to collect her x (bet he wont :D)
Click to expand...

Yes maybe, i will see what he comes back with, hopefully a more sensible offer! I wouldn't have minded, if he gave a reason as to why he thinks she is worth that much. If he had a look around, surely he would realise that is too much for a 12 year old horse who can barely canter! or could when she came to me...we are improving on that front! Plus she also has an old injury which has flared up, although it doesn't affect her in any way yet (and looks like it will stay that way, it was a kick i think) and plus the sweet itch!
 
The fact that she has sweet-itch will put most people off buying her anyway. Given the current market anything other than hassle free (unless it has a fantastic competition record) just isn't selling at any half decent price if at all.

If he is not interested in your offer at all, then I would return the horse or offer to keep it for him at full livery cost until it is sold.
 
I would get in contact with him and tell him you can give him a deposit now and pat the rest in installments or he can either take her back or to pay you to keep her and sell her for him. Winter is coming and with sweetitch, an old injury and the possibility of someone else finding her difficult to handle he is not going to find it easy to sell her quickly.

As someone else has said the tack that you bought is yours, all he has is what she had when she arrived with you.
 
This is difficult, I have been in a similar position myself. Friends bought a welsh cob for £350, unbroken and 'fiesty'. She had blemishes around hind legs from being tangled in a tether chain. She was 3 1/2.

I worked with her, over the course of 18months, backed, rode away, schooled, hacked out, started jumping, took to a few small shows. They decided they wanted to sell her (please bear in mind I was a teenager, and this was about 15 yrs ago) I wanted to buy her. They wanted £1500. I could scrape £800. They wouldn't accept it. We fell out. They took her to a horse sale, which I was at, and sold her for £650.

Gutted to say the least.

I think you should maybe leave it as a loan, get your money together, and make him an offer when you have the cash. Be aware that he could decide that it isn;t enough and could tryt to sell her for more.
 
if he wont sell to you presumably he is terminating the loan? if you are expected to keep the horse till he sells then surely you could charge him for full livery, or he would have to put the horse on full livery elsewhere? I suspect if you did so and the difference in keep was equal to the difference is sales price he might be willing to negotiate?
 
hackedoff said:
if he wont sell to you presumably he is terminating the loan? if you are expected to keep the horse till he sells then surely you could charge him for full livery, or he would have to put the horse on full livery elsewhere? I suspect if you did so and the difference in keep was equal to the difference is sales price he might be willing to negotiate?
Click to expand...

I dont think the owner is terminating the loan, or at least I didn't read it that way. More, the OP is loaning a horse that was previously offered for sale and has, since loaning the mare, decided that she (the OP) would like to do more than just loan her (the mare). OP has approached the owner in advance of the loan period being up (I assume?) to make known her interest in buying the mare herself. OP only has £1500 ATM but the mare's owner is asking for a lot more. Not sure if owner will now decide to terminate the loan of OP can't buy the mare; for all the reasons others have mentioned.
 
The man's a fool. Tell him to take her back now and pay the full livery fees himself, as you won't be doing any of it. Give him whatever notice your contract says and tell him the market's so flat he'll be lucky to see £500, and nothing at all after 5 weeks' full livery. What an arse.
 
He thinks he'll get £2900 or even £2400 for a teenage WB with sweet itch that's not really done anything? Hmm, wish him luck with that. The problem is, as others have said, if you have her on loan for a year, put the work in and have an improved horse at the end of it, THEN she may be worth more than £1500!!

To be honest, I would either get something agreed now re you buying her at the end of the loan for 'x' price, BASED on the state the horse was when you took her own or continue the loan as agreed, give her back at the end and walk away. The latter is the tricky one but sometimes these people who put their horses on loan are almost looking for free schooling so, at the end of it they can sell the horse at a better price but the person who's done all the hard work gets nothing really other than having had the pleasure of having said horse.
 
brighteyes said:
The man's a fool. Tell him to take her back now and pay the full livery fees himself, as you won't be doing any of it. Give him whatever notice your contract says and tell him the market's so flat he'll be lucky to see £500, and nothing at all after 5 weeks' full livery. What an arse.
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly... let him have her back then save the money you would be spending on her livery to buy your own horse. She'll probably end up in a sale anyway, then you will be able to get her for a few hundred.
Greedy spiteful git.
 
He thinks I'm just going to give him what he is asking,I have offered him 1500 so we shall see. I see her potential but will not waste time and money for him to sell her for more later on. We shall see but he will keep me hanging on!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top