How honest would you be when advertising?

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fine_and_dandy

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As the title says really.

I'm going to be advertising shortly and my pony is slightly "quirky" (no bucking or anything - mainly his personality - he is welsh!!
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When I have thought of how to word the advert I have had numerous people who have said I shouldn't be so honest in the ad, I should wait until I get a call and then explain, others have said to lay everything bare...I'm very confused now!

It's even come down to the words I use - apparently if I said "confident/competent jockey" apparently that will equate to "pony is a nutter". I haven't sold before and would like your take on it.

Pony is part bred Welsh (was ferrel for approx 5 years) Vet aged him at about 8/9, black gelding, 2 bright blue eyes, white blaze, 12.2, can be a bit nervy and does seek reassurance, beautiful paces, good to hack in company although still a bit green.

If you want to have a go at writing an ad, be my guest!

Anyone got any suggestions?
 
Very handsome 12.2hh 9 year old (low mileage) part bred welsh. Black gelding, two blue eyes, beautiful markings. Green, hacks in company, schooling well, flashy paces (?) Not a first pony, looking for knowledgable home to bring on and have some fun!


^^ just had a quick go
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It's a difficult one, as you say - if you put "confident rider" everyone thinks you are selling a lunatic that rears, bucks and bolts. If I think there is something that might put people off of even calling, I tend to omit it from the advert, but on the phone I give a complete description of the horse in question. I had one horse that was fantastic, but had a scar - I knew if I put that in the advert people would be worried about calling, so I didn't mention it in the text, but it was the first thing that I told them when they called. I could then also mention that he had passed a full five stage vetting, I had all the vet notes relating to the injury, and that he had won several major classes, even with the scar - something I could not add in a tiny advert.

I think your best bet would be to describe your pony in the advert as green, and then elaborate on that when people call you.
 
I think what you have just said above is fine - I would not equate nervey and green to being a nutter, but the confident/competent jocky bit would say to me only very good riders who can cope with a difficult horse need call!

If you are happy to take calls from numerous unsuitable people to weed out the suitable ones, then just put the basics down. If you only want to hear from people who would be happy and able to deal with a green and nervey horse, then say that on the ad.

Presume he will be a bit cheeper than a perfect schoolmaster of his type, so at least if you say why, then people won't be thinking he has anything physically wrong or is a loon.
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I can't see a problem with suit confident/competent jockey. You can then explain in more detail when people call.
When I was looking for a sharer I advertised mine as suiting confident/competent rider as I didn't want to say not novice ride incase people thought he was a nutter. (mind you I didn't find anyone so maybe I'm not the best person to advise!)
 
Yes, advertise as green I think. Best not to give them all his quirks in the advert, thats for them to find out when they buy isn't it?!
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I don't mean nasty quirks, but if I was ever to sell my horse I would not mention in the ad that he wants to have a chew on everything, loves to pick his buckets up and throw them around = lots of money spent on buckets!!
 
I think I will put something in about him being green and needing a knowledgable home as he does and it would help with him being brough on further.

I think I will leave out of the ad that he has a routine down to exact minutes and if he doesn't get taken to the field when it's 8 am then he jumps over his stable door (sometimes rugs and all) and takes himself off - sometimes waiting for someone tp get the gate although he ahs jumped it or crawled under the fencing before now!

I love him, cheeky boy
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I'll go against the grain and advise you put as much as you can into the advert, it's been known for people to claim against a seller at a later date using the advert and saying as they didn't include things about the horse/pony...they've been diddled and was mis-sold...and yes, they've won too!
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err on caution side these days and make sure while you don't make your pony sound like breath's fire and has horns in place of ears...;) that you say as much as you can to describe, 'competition pony' is a phrase lots use now to strike out lead rein/1st/2nd ponies seekers, for example
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M_J - trouble is if you put everything in, and new owner has even the tiniest problem, they can then make your life hell. If you put, for example, 100% in traffic, and then the horse sppoks at something in the hedge and causes an accident, the come back will still be on you.

Horses can change completely when they go to a new home. Not only is it unsettling for them to be in a new place, but a new rider and routine also means that they can go from "suitable for a novice" to "tries it on at every opportunity". If you advertise a horse as suitable for a novice, then they put a badly fitting saddle on it, and it bucks, they can still make your life (the seller) hell.

If the buyer tries to claim for something that was not in the advert, you can always claim that the reason that was not in the advert was because you did not know.
 
Ok:-

He is green, needs bringing on, is forward going - you do have to be confident and competent to ride him - I've not done a huge amount in way of competing etc - but he has potential to be a fab pony for someone - he is nervous at time as well but has grow into being a loving cheeky boy during the time I've had him.
 
I buy and sell lots of horses and rarely do I view a horse which has been advertised truthfully; however these days I don't believe a word anyone tells me anyway so no big deal; I take every horse on it's own merits and how it performs at the viewing.

When I sell horses, I describe them exactly as they are. When people telephone about horses I tell them all the good points and any bad points about the horses - I'm very honest about my seller ons, and it seems to work well as I generally end up with the perfect person buying the horse and going on to enjoy the horse for many years. The last thing I want is for any of my horses to end up in unsuitable homes.

So I'd say, honesty really is the best policy, however in an advert sometimes you need to be economical with words, so in your pony's case, I would have no hesitation about describing him as "quirky", because that is the best word to describe him. People can, and will, put their own interpretations on that however for some it won't be a problem, for others it may be, which is why you want to weedle out the ones who will not be suitable for the pony.

Just my opinion
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, and it works for me.
 
Sometimes these threads are so close to home!!

My sister is selling her horse at the moment and has absolutely lied through her back teeth (height, breeding) missed out several issues. And to top it off the price tag is horrendous. The worst thing is she has viewings this weekend!!!

I believe so long as you don't lie on the advert or imply incorrect details then much can be said on the phone. TBH he sounds like a typical Welsh that has low milage - not a first pony but not the pony of satan.

Good luck with the sale, its a funny old business
 
Oh lord.

I hate the sue culture we have now - and I work in litigation!

Thank you for all your comments...I think I will be as honest as possible and if anyone is interested and rings up I can expand on all good/bad points.

I think I'd rather have everything out there than be accused of miss-selling by description etc.
 
I would put that he was green but not quirky, as I think that would put people off.

I think it is best to be honest, but you don't want to mention every fault in the advert, that is there to attract people, the phone call is to get down to specifics. I think so long as you are truthful in the ad, you don't have to list everything he's ever done wrong, just don't lie about anything.

I am a very honest seller, to the point of being too honest sometimes, because I want my horse to have the right home. However I wouldn't go out of my way to list every fault in my horse unless they either specifically ask, or if its something important that would affect whether they were a suitable home or not.
 
Ive been looking for a share/loan horse recently & have phoned/emailed people numourous times only to find the horse is actually nothing like that advert says, its annoying and disappointing, if the owner lies in the advert then theres no way I could trust them with anything else. I had one which said they had a TB cross mare, confidence giver and safe for a lightweight teenager. I phoned up at the owner was looking for an adult that could handle a fiery and strong horse that needed a lot of work in all areas. I was furious when i put the phone down because i had seen the advert and had such high hopes for it.
 
sorry but tis ONLY policy, as if you where trying to buy and seller hadn't be honest wouldn't you be grumpy and annoyed esp if had character you really didn't want?

What a waste of time for seller and buyer............... and of course what about equine?
 
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Ive been looking for a share/loan horse recently & have phoned/emailed people numourous times only to find the horse is actually nothing like that advert says, its annoying and disappointing, if the owner lies in the advert then theres no way I could trust them with anything else. I had one which said they had a TB cross mare, confidence giver and safe for a lightweight teenager. I phoned up at the owner was looking for an adult that could handle a fiery and strong horse that needed a lot of work in all areas. I was furious when i put the phone down because i had seen the advert and had such high hopes for it.

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I'm not intending to lie in the advert at all. My query was how honest would you be and how it may help me when writing my advert.

You saw in my initial post as to what my basic starting block is and I need to know from there what people's suggestions were. Further on in the post I made the decision that I would be putting in what he is like and then as people have said, those who are still intrested are the ones who will pick up the phone and we can then discuss his quirks. I don't know where you got the implication that I was intending to lie in the advert from what I have said or others have said on here and I think you need to be careful saying things like that on a forum which is widely used, particularly when people post descriptions and pictures of their horses/ponies as it can have a detrimental effect.
 
[ QUOTE ]
sorry but tis ONLY policy, as if you where trying to buy and seller hadn't be honest wouldn't you be grumpy and annoyed esp if had character you really didn't want?

What a waste of time for seller and buyer............... and of course what about equine?

[/ QUOTE ]

Those were my thoughts when people who were trying to help me before I posted on here said about not saying too much - hence my confusion about what wording to use etc.

This selling lark is stressful
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I dont think niaismyname was actually implying that you were intending to lie...I may be completely wrong obviously, however it seems to me to be just someone explaining their viewpoint on adverts!
 
Pretty much agree with what's been said. Personally the phrase 'not a novice ride' doesn't put me off when buying provided it is followed by 'as......' and an explanation follows. We bought my daughter's current pony despite it being advertised as 'not a novice ride as very forward going'. If the ad had just said 'not a novice ride' with no further comment it may have put me off.
 
I recently advertised my Welsh Sec D for sale. He IS quirky and is a great character. I advertised him listing all his good points, of which there are many, and all his quirky little ways. I had not one phone call or email. My OH said I was too honest in the advert but, I believe it's better to be up front from the start then you avoid all those awkward questions and in the end it's best for all concerned.
 
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