If you were looking for an allrounder would you go to a sale of Riding School horses?

charlie76

charlie76

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Just wondering or whether the fact that they were in a riding school would put you off? We are wanting to cut down before winter and was wondering whether a 'for sale' open day might be a good idea or whether it would be a lost cause?
 
Not me, but then I'm a RS student so would feel like I knew where I stood. Perhaps you might attract people looking to buy their first horse and wanting something safe? Unless of course that isn't what you're selling!
 
I wouldn't be put off, my first horse was from a ridding school & he was fab. In fact Im looking for something now & cant find anything suitable. Imlooking for a gelding between 16hh & 16.3hh. Want something that doesn't get fizzy if left for a few days (i have small child & cant ride everyday) & must be good to hack alone or in company. If you have anything PM me.
 
I have known a few horses who are really good riding school horses but change temperament when privately owned probably due to the reduced workload, so would have some doubts. Have you considered a lease scheme for your existing clients as a first step to horse ownership with the horses staying at your yard.
 
tiggs said:
I have known a few horses who are really good riding school horses but change temperament when privately owned probably due to the reduced workload
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Agree with this. I used to work at a riding school and we did the same thing. Many of them came back after their temperament changing due to reduce workload and the novice owners not knowing how to handle them so do be careful with who they go to. We did make sure the horses and owners were matched for what they were doing etc, but some horses got a bit too much to handle when cutting down from being ridden twice a day 5/6 days a week to then only being ridden a handful of times a week.

As someone said, you will save on advertising costs! We put up posters in the tack room and office a few weeks before so people would know who was for sale and have some time to think about it beforehand etc.
 
IMHO riding schools, unless they are closing down, do not sell their good horses as these are the ones that earn them the money. A riding school will only sell ponies/horses who aren't earning their keep. Either they aren't popular or have vices.
 
Sounds like a good idea but I would not sell to novices unless the horse/ pony is a complete suitable. I have heard of so many people buy a riding school pony and because of reduce work load and being on their own every now and again they turned horrible.

However, you do here of lovely ex RS horses or ponies but they need to be in capable hands.

Perhaps reduce the work load gradually and make them do things on their own of the horses you plan on selling so they are less likely to change once sold.
 
I would be open to it, and am open to buying some of the horses I'm riding at the moment at my RS. Some horses at a riding school are very good and have been bought to bring on or attract potential customers.. that's the way it seems at my RS anyway, I'm riding a very good horse at the moment, and was riding one before he got sold. True, he was utterly bonkers, but had a huge amount of potential. xx
 
None of them are nutters or have vices. We are just reducing for the winter due to increase costs and decreased clients.
We also make sure that all of them hack, school, ride alone and in company on a regular basis to stop them becoming a 'typical riding school horse'.
 
I bought my first horse 8 months ago and did consider making my Riding School an offer for one of their horses. However, I realised that I needed the constant support of my instructor to ride him, because he was quite green and I am a novice.

I ended up with a lovely school mistress, but certainly would have been open to the idea of an ex-RS horse.
 
We bought a lovely Clydesdale mare from a RS. She was absolutely perfect for what we wanted - a share between an experienced rider, who had become very worried about hacking on roads & a novice OH. She was being sold because there is nowhere near as much demand for big horses in a RS in the winter. She did need the experienced rider to stop her taking advantage of the novice, she had learned how to not use more energy than she wanted to and she need to be reminded of her manners at feeding time for the first few months. I believe that many RSs only keep the majority of their horses for a couple of years or so, to avoid them getting stale. I certainly would have no objection to buying another RS horse.
 
charlie76 said:
None of them are nutters or have vices. We are just reducing for the winter due to increase costs and decreased clients.
We also make sure that all of them hack, school, ride alone and in company on a regular basis to stop them becoming a 'typical riding school horse'.
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Similar to closing down then - that's fair enough. It's just that I would be suspicious if they were selling just one horse/pony.

If it's to reduce stock then yes, I would
 
My gelding originally started out at a local riding school and he's a fantastic little chap. I also know several other people who bought horses from the same place, all safe, all sensible and all of them with plenty of miles left on the clock.

So to answer your question; yes, I would buy from a RS.
 
what do you have for sale and prices? please?
pm me if you want...I am looking to buy a 116hh plus stocky preferably happy hacker - must be 100% on roads and hacking alone..I have 1300 pound to spend...x
 
Would depend on the horse. My first one came from a riding school and even though he was 19 he was a bit of a handful. He taught me so much as he had been moved arounnd so much in his life he knew every trick in the book. I don't think he particularly enjoyed the riding school as he had been a jumping pony in his younger days and settled down a lot with me, we started jumping again and aged 23 he was hunting and going xc still.
The down side of him coming from a RS was that as he had had a lot of novice riders on him his mouth was absolutely dead and he was completely ewe necked as had not been ridden in an outline. He was also quite lazy until you cantered when he became a nutter!! He is now 26 enjoing his retirement as a companion for my youngster.
I would think very carefully before buying from a riding school but it depend on the individual horse/ establishment and what it has done beforehand. :)
 
All of the horses I've had, have been through a riding school or similar set-up at some point; so yes, I'd be interested, but would come along with my eyes open, as my inkling would be that the establishment would (obviously!!) keep anything half decent and get rid of stuff that maybe had issues or was a bit sharp or whatever, also you'd have to get a vet check as there may be some issues there .....

But, yes, I'd be confident to buy an ex-riding school horse. My first pony had been in a riding school and he was a little cracker (gawd knows why they got rid of him, he was the pony in a million, a real darling); my second had been in a big livery yard/riding school and had never ridden solo; ditto my third and current horse who'd been in a trekking centre and hadn't been ridden alone either, so with him there was a lot to work on coz he could be quite nappy and knew all the tricks like stopping & spinning.

However, after some schooling & groundwork, he's turned out into a really nice chappie.

So yes, I'd certainly be interested if I was looking, which I'm not at the mo. A local riding school around here had a reduction sale recently; they've got a good reputation and I'm sure there were some good horses there.
 
charlie76 said:
None of them are nutters or have vices. We are just reducing for the winter due to increase costs and decreased clients.
We also make sure that all of them hack, school, ride alone and in company on a regular basis to stop them becoming a 'typical riding school horse'.
Click to expand...

Yes, reading this I would definitely consider it, if I was looking. Some RS horses have huge potential which only shows when they get out of the monotony of the RS.
 
Hi, what type of horses do you have for sale and where are you based? Any 15hh plus mw/hw cob types? Do you only want them to go to private homes?
 
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