how to sell a difficult horse

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alisa

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hi all,

i hope someone can help as i am feeling really down about my situation.

i have a 5yo 14.2 pony, will be 6 in spring, who has not been ridden for 6 months... he used to be a lovely placid pony but then started to become spooky, and then freaked with me one day and threw me off. vet diagnosed gastric ulcers and he was on treatment for them for a while, this went on until my insurance money ran out but he seemed much improved in temperament and gained weight again, looks shiny and healthy etc. finished treatment about a month ago now.

however, i have totally lost my confidence with him. i can't ever see myself getting back on him and he has had nothing done with him for ages. i thought i would bring him back into work myself but he has to be pretty much restarted. went to yard today to just lead him round the indoor and he got all stressed, and even reared up right in front of me which he has never done. i just gave up and put him back in the stable, i am too nervous around him to do anything productive and just want to sell him. he is on full livery and i only see him a couple of times a week, got into a bad habit of trying to avoid the situation but it needs sorting and soon.

the problem is, who is going to buy a horse with a history of ulcers that aren't even guaranteed to be gone and that they can't try out when they come to see him? i am worried about him getting passed from pillar to post and also any legal comebacks for me if things go wrong with the new owner. he is my first horse in years and i made a huge mistake taking on a youngster, but was talked into it by my ex partner who obviously had more faith in my ability than they should have!!

i don't feel that i can work with him now as will just make him worse, i have just had enough and have actually become frightened of him especially after today. he needs someone confident but even then there are no guarantees. i am considering taking him back to the vets to scope yet again for ulcers and if he still has them to have him pts as i can't sell him with ulcers and i can't afford the vets bills anymore. it is such a shame, he is a beautiful boy and was so sweet. another option may be getting a teacher to come and work with him until he can be sold i just don't know... taking him to schooling livery is not an option as i have no transport and i am worried the change/stress of moving will flare the ulcers up again.

i am really down about this and need some advice. please can someone give me some ideas, as i don't know where to turn :(

thank you.
 
Rather than pay for expensive ulcer treatment, I'd make sure that he has a fibre rich diet and give him aloe vera in a handful of chaff. This has made a huge difference to my mare who had colic twice in 4 months and could be very grumpy about girthing etc. If I run out of AV she soon reverts to grumpiness.
Then you could get someone is to bring him back into work.
 
If you can afford full livery, how about putting him on 'sales livery' - either at his current yard if they offer this service, or moving him to somewhere else that does?

I did this with a cob that totally destroyed my confidence, and although it was expensive in the short term, the yard sold him for a good price and found him a more experienced home.

Do you know if the ulcers are healed now? If so there are lots of ways of managing/preventing ulcers, so although would need to be mentioned to prospective buyers, may not be a deal breaker.

Another option is too advertise him through 'Project Horses' on the internet, as designed for sellers in such situations. Just be totally honest and price accordingly.

I feel for you as having a horse that you are not getting any enjoyment out of, but still having to pay the bills, is really tough.

Good luck and hugs x
 
I can't help with the ulcers but I achieved a huge improvement with a pony I had here that was part broken. She had problems breaking into a canter, other than that she had no major issues. Due to my age, I could only handle her from the ground, so I concentrated on de-sensitising her. Lots of grooming, ground work, and stroking with a long padded stick. From being a spooky mare off the hill, she got to be so good I could stroke her all over with the stick in the field without even tying her.

Only two interested parties came to view her. The first was shown the pony and given the tack and (with a grin!:)) told to get on with it! The pony was easily caught (as I knew she would be), tacked up without problems, then ridden by mum, finally by kids aged 8 and 9. And, yes, I did fully explain her faults to mum who had no reservations about letting her quite experienced kids ride a green horse after she'd tried her. They did not buy because they were looking for something a bit more advanced that would canter and pop a small jump.

Second viewer was treated in the same way. She fell in love wih the pony and, after trying her extensively here, bought her. I got a lovely Christmas card from the new owner saying how well they were both getting on.

So, if you don't have the confidence to ride, there is still a lot you can do. I would be completely open and honest as it is the only way. To others reading this, it just shows it pays to view as in this case I think someone got a real bargain.
 
You sound like you are panicking a bit, take a deep breath, things are not that bad.

1. Look for schooling livery with a decent professional. The pony will not be that upset by being moved and he can be brought back into work and then sold on to a suitable home.

2. Can you have him out 24/7 and on a lot of fibre? This will help with avoiding ulcers.

3. Talk to your vet to see if there is a need to re-scope.
 
i have heard about aloe vera before so might try this, he is on ad lib hay and just a plain alfalfa feed, his ulcers were grade 2 at last scope and he was put on more gastrogard, antibiotics and sulfacrate (spelling?) tablets ... unfortunately i can't afford to have him scoped again unless as a last resort. i just worry about selling him if i can't tell the prospective buyer he is all clear, i would have to be totally honest about everything and i'm sure it would put people off, i know it would me!

perhaps getting someone to bring him back into work for me and then try to sell would work, as i just don't want to do anything with him myself even leading him round the school was a disaster!

is it possible to sell a horse "as seen"? i don't care about the money i just want him to be looked after.
 
booboos, yes i am totally panicking haha. unfortunately, turnout not available until spring and 24/7 is not an option even then. it would be much better for him but there are no yards near me who have any kind of winter turnout really. i think i will ring the vet on monday also...
 
Ditto amymay: stuck in a box 24/7 and rarely worked?! :eek:

Im not surprised he has ulcers nor that he's a spooky stress mess.

I would be very surprised if you could sort his issues whilst he's on the current regimen. Nor show him off well to any potential buyer.

Options id consider are :

Sent him off to 'full' grass livery for the rest of the winter than re-asess in the spring. He will be a much happier calmer pony with loads of turn out and friends. It doesn't need to be nearby if he's on full livery.

Send him away to sales livery to be sold. Expensive but you'll sell him for a decent price.

Sell him 'as seen' for pennies from current yard.
 
It will also be the reason he's tricky in hand.

A poster in Competition was looking for a nice project. This could be right up their street.
 
he actually got ulcers while he was on 24/7 turnout so its not this regimen that caused it, but i know it can't be helping.

i think you are right. moving him to grass livery might be the best option and getting someone to restart him.
 
Change diet and turn him out 24/7
Stableing is not good for a stressy horse.
Be honest about what he's worth. Someone may be able to give him a great home.
But regularly he will need to be checked again for the ulcers so they know how to continue .
 
My mare gets ulcers at the drop of a hat, so I can see your problem. Is it possible to have the yard work the horse a few times a week for you, or get someone in to do so? It sounds like he is just young and struggling with lack of T/O so I wouldn't take it too personally. At 5 my 14.2 was turned out min 8 hours a day, and ridden by me 6 days a week, and pro schooled a couple of times as well, he was my first pony, and tbh I couldn't have coped without the help.
The other thing that might help, is if you are able to ride/handle someone else's better behaved horse. Think I would have struggled even more with our looney anglo if she was the only horse I had to ride.
 
That was realistically not regularly!

If you are paying for full livery it wont matter if you have to move him further away to find him somewhere with turnout.

Get the scope done so you know and find someone who can bring him back into ridden work, either sell for you or so you can enjoy him again.
 
The last thing I would do is put him on grass livery.

If you want to sell him put him with a well recomended dealer for sales livery.
 
That was if she couldn't afford sales livery.....at least finding grass livery, with a school, and getting someone to help ride/restart him will maybe save penny's and be good for him to be out.

That's just me and my advice.
 
yes grass would have to be with a school and help not just a field lol, i dont think i can afford sales livery it will be very expensive and could go on for ages if he doesn't sell
 
Sales livery isn't usually much more expensive than full livery. Still not cheap though and I certainly couldn't afford it!

Depends what you class as 'grass livery'. Id want somewhere where he's out 24/7 with a settled herd and just let him relax for a couple of months. Basically turn him away. There will be retirement/stud type places that can offer than as 'full' livery so you only need to visit. Then you can decide what to do with him in the spring. You could move him somewhere with loads if turnout but good school and good help and give him another go. Or sell him directly from where he is, once he's relaxed and happier, and potential pay someone to restart him there before he's sold.
 
If sales livery isn't realistic I'd suggest just letting him go 'sold as seen' asap. Spring will be here in 6 weeks or so, you might find someone looking for a summer project.

Grass livery won't fix your confidence issues with each other and once he's started learning how to get away with stuff with you - he will keep doing it, there's a real risk you just carry on in a downward spiral if you really don't feel happy to deal with him.
 
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