Keeping in contact with new owners? Yay or Nay?!

FabioandFreddy

FabioandFreddy

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I yesterday got a text from the owner of our old horse to tell me she was selling him. I thought i'd made a good judgment call on him being with her for the foreseeable future and she's had him for less than a year. :( I know that with selling a horse you kiss goodbye to any assurance of what will happen to them in the future no matter how much the new people say he's got a 'forever' home. Still has really upset me though and feel like i've let him down.

So, do you think its a good idea to keep in contact with new/old owners? Or is it just a recipe for disaster at some point down the line? I liked having the updates on how he was getting on but the flip side is now knowing he's being sold on.
 
I still keep in touch with the big ponys previous owner, she has given me great advice regarding driving my little pony. I haven't kept in touch with the little ponys previous owner as she lied and was basically a nasty piece of work!

I think it's good to know they're doing well but would hate to hear the bad things so guess its a catch 22. Least it has given you the chance/choice if you wanted to have him back. x
 
I'd love to have him back FS but we haven't the space. We initially made the decision to sell as he's a dressage horse and OH wanted to get back into jumping/XC and we've only enough grazing realistically for 2 so we sold to get OH more of an allrounder as he had essentially become my 2nd horse which i loved, not so great for OH. :( Just hope he goes on to a nice home.
 
Totally understand how upsetting it is.

I always keep in contact and everyone has been more than happy to give me updates and if any problems crop up, I'm able to advise from past experience with the horse.
I do ask if they would be prepared to give me first refusal if ever they sell and the only time it happened (due to new owners redundancy) I went straight over and brought him back.
My philosophy is that in this uncertain world, any horse that passes through my stable is a friend for life and horses need all the friends they can get.

On the flip side, a friend had a problem horse and after trying everything under the sun to help him, she gave him away to a very knowledgeable home, losing a considerable amount of money. She'd be completely honest about his quirks but by the time he went, she was on her knees with the stress of it all. She didn't want any updates, not because she didn't care, she just couldn't face the possibility of having him back.
 
I have very regular contact via facebook with the old owners of our boy , they love seeing how he's doing!

When I sold a pony a few yrs ago I wanted to stay in touch as the pony had been a rescue & a real project for us. We have very little contact with them but I know they are selling her now & I have asked if they would pass my number onto new owners as I would still like to know how she gets on. Dont know if they will or not though :(
 
F&F
Least she has told you and not ignored you. Maybe you could ask her depending on who buys him you could all keep in touch, this is something my friend has done and now she knows the horse is in great condition and has been offered first refusal should the newest owner wish to sell x
 
We keep in touch with all our horses old owners, except Tank. They say they love hearing what the horses have been up to and hearing all the good stories, but we don't tell them the bad stories. Little pony's owner is coming down to see him next week, although he's a loan pony, so not sure if that counts?

I know when i sell my old pony, I'd want to keep in touch, just to make selling her slightly easier on me if i got an e-mail or phone call every once in a while to know she's ok and that pony and new owner are enjoying and getting on well.
 
Thats the thing HR - we were completely honest in our ad for him and any enquiries as though he's not a nasty horse, he's very timid and lacks confidence so needs a confident rider to feed from - especially hacking. I just hope that the new owner does the same otherwise he'll likely be passed on. I'm still in contact with her anyway, we could take him back very short term but then if we done that and sold again there's no guarantee of a better outcome i guess. Wish i wasn't such a softie with animals, they break my heart!
 
My mare went to my sister.... So it's really easy for me to keep up to date with everything, though now my sister is selling her due to lack of funds, and I'm at uni 215 miles away from home so I can't have her back, which is all I want!

Another pony I sold, I kept in touch with his owners, until the little girl I sold him to got kicked in the head by another horse and sadly died, and now I want to know what he's doing, but I don't want to bring everything up again :(.

So I go for keeping in contact with new owners, because at least you know what's happening to the horse, now I have no contact with the owners, I haven't a clue, which, to me, is worse than knowing the horse is being sold :)
 
I keep in touch with new owner of my yearling [rising four], he is happy he bought her, but I suspect she is a pet, lol
Her dam, a beautiful little Section D mare was sold, to a good [novice] home, but they were beginners and soon fell out with me, so I lost touch, their choice not mine, I did my best for her, but I do miss her. I am sure she will be OK.
 
It's a difficult one. we had a really nice pony and although we had him for slightly less than a year, we sold him to a lovely young girl/mother share. she said her divorce had just come through and so she had the money to buy him. 6 weeks later I happened to see him for sale online citing going thro divorce as the reason for selling. I rang her to see if he had done something wrong or find out what was going on, but she just said she couldn't keep him. Anyway we saw him a few months later at an HT and he was with a lovely family who still have him 4 years on, so that was good news.

My daughter's latest pony we sold 2 years ago and the new girl is a prolific facebooker and youtuber so we know exactly what he is up to almost on a daily basis!
 
I have kept in touch with my mares breeder. EVERY year without fail i send him a xmas card and pictures on her birthday.


So I am one of the few who does . I will never sell her so he will collect allot of pictures lol.

from 15 months to her dying year she is now nearly 24
 
I'm intouch with my old horse's new owners and love being kept up todate with how their getting on and seeing pics (not sure how I would feel if I knew she was selling him though :(). I bought my current lad directly off his breeders and I'm friends with them on facebook, they often "like" pics that I put up and enjoy seeing how he's doing. I think there's pros and cons to be tbh....
 
i keep in touch with the previous owner and the origional breeder of my daughters pony.

last year i bought a mare for myself, it rapidly proved she was too much for me and had a few issues so we sold her on, were really picky about her home, and thought we had found her a long term home who promised to keep in touch- within 6 months i saw her advertised for sale, for more than they bought her for and no mention of her issues- i really wish i had never seen the ad as i know the truth about her and fear her to be sold on again and again. I really wish they had kept in touch as i would of known what was going on with her and if her issues were resolved- now i just worry about her
 
I'm in touch with the buyers of my last horse. It's great to see pictures of him doing so well.
i get regular pictures on FB, texts and i have even gone to see him a couple of times.
I'm really grateful for her keeping in touch as he was 3 when i sold him so to see him as a rising 4 year old backed and even entering his first dressage comp is amazing and makes me feel better about making the original hard decision to sell him in the first place knowing he's gone to a fab home.

I made sure i sold him to what i thought at the time was the best person to own him and although she promised him a "forever home" i did the same thing to the breeder i bought him off but things change and i sold due to health and financial reasons.
She could do the same thing at anytime as things change but i just hope that if she does sell him that she sells him to someone who can take him further.

I'm sure your horse will be fine and who knows his next home could be wonderful?
 
When I sold my last horse, I too was completely honest in my advert and really held out to get him the best possible rider and home. He was bought by a lovely lady with her own land at home and she came to try him 2 times before she committed to buying him. I heard from her a couple of times after she bought him and she was thrilled with him, but I haven't heard anything since and I have made the decision not to contact her. I did my utmost to find him a wonderful home and I am not in a position to be able to take him back. It is hard but equally I think I might find it a bit annoying if a previous owner was getting in touch a lot - not suggesting that any of you are of course!!
 
Im kinda the otherway round here, as I am (was) the new owner. I bought my (now) 8yo 6 years ago (:eek:) and have always stayed in touch with his breeder. She thinks its great as she can see how her breeding programmes are working out, he was one of her 1st born, she is even sponsoring his first Novice event this year. Not that I ever intend to sell, but god forbid, she would get first refusal or Im sure help put me in touch with an interested party.
Ive never sold an animal on, so really dont know what Id do. I think I would rather not know, as selling in the first instance would kill me.
 
This is really interesting as i am on the other end really.. I bought my horse last year and in that time the old owner is constantly texting and facebooking me, asking to come and see him. She's been down several times to see him and i have to admit i just dont like it.

Shes nice enough, but my horse was very poor, zero muscle, a total hat-rack when i bought him (along with various other problems) so i have very mixed feelings about it. She often comments about how well he's doing, but also how much she misses him. Last time she posted a picture of him on facebook saying she was 'really upset she'd sold him and would do anything to have him back again', whilst at the same time asking me to come and see him.

So do any of you who stay in touch actually go and visit your old horses, do you wait to be invited or do you ask to go and visit. Bear in mind this is not a horse on loan, i own him fully. I dont want to be mean, but surely at somepoint she has to accept that he is not her horse anymore?
 
I ended up taking mine back to the yard she was born on... Owner sold her to me and ended up with a horse and missus back to keep :D

No chance he can get out of seeing her daily after selling her on now lol

Pan
 
BlairandAzria said:
This is really interesting as i am on the other end really.. I bought my horse last year and in that time the old owner is constantly texting and facebooking me, asking to come and see him. She's been down several times to see him and i have to admit i just dont like it.

Shes nice enough, but my horse was very poor, zero muscle, a total hat-rack when i bought him (along with various other problems) so i have very mixed feelings about it. She often comments about how well he's doing, but also how much she misses him. Last time she posted a picture of him on facebook saying she was 'really upset she'd sold him and would do anything to have him back again', whilst at the same time asking me to come and see him.

So do any of you who stay in touch actually go and visit your old horses, do you wait to be invited or do you ask to go and visit. Bear in mind this is not a horse on loan, i own him fully. I dont want to be mean, but surely at somepoint she has to accept that he is not her horse anymore?
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That would annoy me. If I ever sold a horse on and wanted to keep in touch it would be friendly and on their terms. An infrequent update, perhaps a visit in a blue moon and the offer to buy back if selling (not expecting any mates rates etc) would be nice, but not obligatory.

I had one person state that they would pop down and have a ride at some point... that was more than a little cheeky I thought and I cut contact from then!

Pan
 
I am in contact with the lovely lady who has my little arab mare, she lives not far from me and I have an open invitation to visit any time. I always call first though, and don't visit excessively. She also comes over to see me and last week helped me muck out all the stables when the weather drove the herd in for the night! I am very lucky to have found such a super home for my pony, and a new friend as well! :)
 
Funny you should mention this as Amber's old owner found me on facebook a few days ago. We kept in touch to start with, then lost touch, so it's nice for both of us to chat about what she has been up to, and for me to share photos.

Same with Blossom- I am in touch with her previous owner and breeders via facebook and I tag them in photos and we chat via messages. I have invited them to come and see her id ever they want to as well.

Sadly, the only pony I sold, I saw advertised a few weeks later for considerably more than we sold him for. I was gutted, still wonder where he is sometimes :(
 
I saw one of my old ponys for sale a couple of months a go, I called,txtand emailed her, and had other people to try and get in touch with her so I could buy him back, but she never replied or answered the phone, or updated her advert to say he was sold, very frustrating, maybe she decided not to sell him after all, but il never know.

Im happy to stay in touch though in case they have any issues, and just to know how the horse is.
 
I still keep in contact with the new owner of my project pony whom I sold last year - I've even been to see her! It's lovely to hear about what she has been up to and it makes me feel so proud of her when I hear how she is getting on - especially as she was very nervous and didn't trust people when I bought her.
 
I'm on FB with Kali's old owner and do tag her occasionally in new pictures of him just to keep her updated on how he is doing . . . she did respond to one picture saying how lovely he is looking and how happy she is that he's with us (which made me cry).

I know, though, that she will never actually come and see him . . . it would be too hard for her (I think she found it hard to sell him) . . .

P
 
I use to send the old owner a christmas card but they stopped bothering. He is now retired and I was thinking of letting them know as earlier this year I thought he was going to PTS. Just in case they wanted to see him.Fortunately he got buted and is like new so far!

I sold a little pony to a lovely lady and she kept me informed of his happy progress. Then it was quiet so I assumed she wasnt interested. His previous owner pestered me to find out how he was so I told her to ring the yard he was at. They passed her back to me so I then contacted the owner and found out he was older than they thought(he was vetted) and diagnosed with cushings and PTS 2 years later. I was quite shocked as obviously the previous owner had lied to me and I had passed his age to the new lady. I did tell old owner and never heard from her again! I think she knew he was older and with hindsight thats why she would check up on him!! She had owned him for years. She probably should never have sold him and I did offer her first refusal when he went up for sale!

Another horse we had from breeder this one went back to the breeder who still has her to this day. Old owner use to come and visit regularly and she bought her back when she went up for sale. So that was good experience

I would like to keep in touch if I ever sold a horse again. Would hate to think it ends up in wrong hands.
 
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