letting horses go on trial

charlie76

charlie76

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I have a horse for sale, not an expensive horse at all. Some one has tried him and likes him, has been to see him twice, seen him in the school, hacking, handling, leading ect and is still keen. She has asked to have him on 1 months trial. I have said no. I am happy to give them a 2 week money back guarentee( with terms and conditions ie they pay the insurance, he must be returned sound and well ect) but I really don't want to send him on trial. Am I being unreasonable?
The thing is, I have a number of people who are also really intrested.
 
I think that sounds like a fair compromise !

You have no way of knowing how commited they are if you just let him go off on a months free jolly !
 
Don't do it.....i sent my NF youngster out on trial, came back a wreck after 2 weeks and now has had to go to a loan home to be brought on as didn't have the time to sort out the problems they managed to create in 2 weeks.

he is now going to spend 2 years with a lovely teenager and then sold from there without going on trail.

Biggest mistake ever.

They can trail from your yard.

Saying that if i was buying a horse i'd like to have it on trail but then realistcally some horses can take a year to settle proberly, so unless you have one chilled out horse you are better seeing the true horse in it's current environment and know that after a settling in period this is the horse you hope to expect.
 
Nope, nope and double nope. Too many things can go wrong and you have given her a fair enough trial without plus you have others interested. There is one horse (and a very good one at that) currently on trial at our yard for a month but these are the following reasons.

Bad vet issue thrown up on vetting, so trial is to see if new owner can do what she wants to do or not.
Would be vendor has put a hefty deposit down (and I mean hefty) with the proviso that if it goes badly, she will only take back 1/2 the deposit.

This way, both parties have a vested interest in the trial going well, rather than just the buyer. In friends defense, its because she really likes this horse and gets on well with it, owners have not hidden anything from her, vetting would have gone well BUT there is a big question over a potential problem with it.

Only time I ever disucssed a loan with vtb was when I really clicked with a horse but it would not pass my vet. Vet felt that, given correct work, would prob be OK but could not advise buying on those terms as there was a risk. Owner was happy for me to write a contract LWVTB in 3 months, but her soon to be ex wanted me to pay up front with the proviso I would get my money back if it didn't work out. Of course I am buying a horse that is being sold due to a relationship break down! Shame, both horse and actual owner were lovely.
 
I wouldn't allow my horse to go on trial away from home. If the person is truly interested then they will be happy to have the trial at your yard, which will also be better for them as they will get to see the horse as he/she is normally and what he/she will be like once settled in their new home.
Good luck :)
 
We let my daughters bsja pony go on a 3week trial, we decided to let this happen as she was slightly quirky not everyones cup of tea and with a pony like her it was very hard to expect someone to come and ride her two or three times and decide whether she was right for them, i really wanted to make sure she got the right home, the people were fantastic who she went too, we did a proper contract, i kept the insurance up for the period, they gave me half her money up front with written agreement that deposit would be kept if she came back injured etc. I know it was a risk but i felt we needed to take that risk to find her the best home possible as we had had so many people who just didnt give her a chance but if she hadnt been as quirky i may not of been so keen for her to go on trial.
 
I had my last horse on trial before I bought her. The lady who sold me her came to see her everyday as she cared for how she was settling in. I knew she actually cared where the horse was going. That was easy for her as she only lived 20 minutes away. If the horse if going a long distance its going to be difficult. I also said I would not buy her without a trial.
 
Gut instinct

I let a pony on trial to a yard for about 3 weeks and they vetted him there and bought him.
But if they can come to you to look after horse etc as if it was there own that sounds fair enough to me. Perhaps for a couple of weeks etc.

I personally dont know if I could do it. I was lucky I knew the yard it was going to, but I think no if I didnt know them
 
I wont ever do a trial. Allowed a horse years ago to go on a 2 week trial, he was there for 4 days then suddenly she calls me saying she doesnt want him as her farrier had said he had a bad pelvis... ERM?! The horse was perfectly sound and passed a 5 stage vetting shortly after. That wasnt the most annoying thing, it was the fact she organised for him to be brought back to me - she phoned and told me that he was on his way but hours later after much frantic calling he turned up (it should have taken 3 hours max, he arrived 6 hours later! Apparently the driver (some old man) had stopped off for a nap!! He hadnt had ANY of his travel boots on or tail guard, they were loose in the front of the lorry and half his tack wasnt there which then took her another week to send back. Never again.
 
I know a lot of people say not to do a trail but I've been looking for a new horse and out of the 8 I've seen 6 have offered me a trail. I havnt taken any on as not suitable, but its not as uncommon as I for one thought :p
 
I have had horses on trial successfully and have also allowed horses to go on trial also successfully. I have paid in full when collecting horse and signed to sau that if horse proved unsuitable within x amount of time then I could return horse if in same or better condition than when collected for full refund. When horse collected also written down on paper and signed by both parties any lumps or bumps said horse may have.
I know that things can go wrong but I would sooner ensure the horse was going to right home
 
No way, 2 weeks is generous but I woudn't let them take him away, I'd only let them trial it on your yard if at all to be honest. They've tried him in every aspect surely they know if they want him or not, I'd just say look you either want him or not, I've other people interested
 
robinsbrook said:
We let my daughters bsja pony go on a 3week trial, we decided to let this happen as she was slightly quirky not everyones cup of tea and with a pony like her it was very hard to expect someone to come and ride her two or three times and decide whether she was right for them, i really wanted to make sure she got the right home, the people were fantastic who she went too, we did a proper contract, i kept the insurance up for the period, they gave me half her money up front with written agreement that deposit would be kept if she came back injured etc. I know it was a risk but i felt we needed to take that risk to find her the best home possible as we had had so many people who just didnt give her a chance but if she hadnt been as quirky i may not of been so keen for her to go on trial.
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Yep, this is similar to what I did when I sold my step daughters 14.2hh, it is difficult with kids because you need to try them and the ponies in different environments, whereas I can tell pretty much straight away whether I like something or not, and I have enough experience to deal with any ground issues. It is slightly different for your average 'livery yard one horse owner' who are looking for a 'pet with aspirations'.
 
It took one of our current ponies 6 weeks to settle in here; she was extremely anxious and if she had been on trial I would have sent her straight back! However one year on and its a different story and we are very pleased with her. I don't know if you get a true picture in a few weeks and it is very unsettling for the horse to be passed around like that.
 
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