mispresented horse can any1 help

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fox111

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we bought a 14.2h ex bsja pony 4 wks ago the agent selling the horse on behalf of the owner signed a contract stating the pony was forward going but safe as the advert read on horsemart.

we went on a funride last weekend and the pony went nuts bolted blind.

we are currently taking action to return the pony and seekin legal advice.

luckily we are insured against this problem and taking action to sue.

has anyone evere had the same problem any advice gratefully received.
 
personally i would never taken a pony i didnt know very well on a fun ride, they can turn the most sane horse into a nutter (ive seen it happen before).

My comp mare (bay in my sig) can put up with ANYTHING however get her on a fun ride and it totally blows her mind.
 
Agree with P_G - even the sanest horses can morph into nutters on a funride or out hunting.

If the horse has been okay in all other areas, you might struggle to prove misrepresentation I would imagine.
 
the pony was bought as an alrounder and we were asured he was "safe" and 100% in all situations.

we were told the agent had hunted him and now she denies it.she said if you had took him the week you bought him we would have returned him.

I cant see this is fair on any horse and he is 14yrs not 6yrs.

being an ex comp pony going out is not new to him.

A safe hunter is enough evidence that he would cope with a funride.
 
he has been silly to hack cantering sideways and then leaping if you try to half halt or correct him in anyway.

he will stand as good as gold and go backwards
when asked to move and them leap into the air at 30mph

we had to test him before it was to late to reurn him. as the contract stated if he proved to have any vices he could be returned and i could see he was not safe.
 
Hmmm, not necessarily - just because it has been hunted desn't mean it is an easy, safe horse to hunt? Plus my OH's horse is an experienced hunter but can still get quite hyper on a fun ride.
Did she get it vetted/look at passport re the horse's age? Thats is a fairly massive variation!

ETS my horse, I would sign a contract saying he is forward going but safe....because for me, he is. Difficult though as for someone else, he might not be safe if they don't know how to ride with their seat and use the little tricks that will slow him down, ie pulling on his mouth does absolutely no good at all!!
 
This kind of thing really winds me up!!

Sorry no disrespect to you or anything but lately all i have seen on here is people buying horses, not giving them any chance to settle in and when the horse does something wrong they want to send it back at the drop of a hat.

Half the time these horse have been passed from pilar to post before hand so its not suprising really!!!!
 
Hmmm, it certainly seems as though the seller has been economical with the truth to say the least. Could it be that he is unsettled as yet though? Some horses seem to settle almost immediately, and others can take months. If that was the case, it could be that the sellers description was an accurate account of his behaviour while he was with her. Just a thought - I'm not trying to be obstructive...

Good luck with your claim anyway, and let us know how things progress.
 
I'd agree with Dubble that he might still be settling in...or it might be the change of rider as horses aren't like cars - they can be completely different with different people?

My horse, for instance, was totally fine & no trouble with me & looked like a novice ride, but a different rider (even my dr trainer) really upset him. Altho if I'd SOLD him to my dr trainer, who had then ridden him every day & built a rapport then he'd have relaxed & been fine again.

Also, Cat & I did affil dr & sj, jump cross, xc schooling in a group, & he'd previously hunted but still I wouldn't have dreamt of taking him on a fun ride cos it def wouldn't have been fun & only 1 of us would have come back alive...
 
I have recently had a similar problem of misrepresentation, but in my case horse was rearing vertically - not something 'your granny could hack' as was advertised.

Feel free to pm me for advice.
 
Agree that a horse can change totally with a new owner, a pony used to a very relaxed rider is going to be totally different with a more 'tuned in' rider, asking for more, and vice versa. I used to take a horse out on regular fun rides, this horse was a super star, jump anything, regulaly went to SJ comps, had hunted etc, but somewhere on the way to the fun ride the evil pixies would swop my horse for his evil twin. There is just something about fun rides that brings out the worst in some horses. I would happily sell this horse as an all rounder, he was ridden by novices out hacking etc, despite his high jinx on fun rides.
 
Did you have a 5 stage vetting? If you did, they'll have taken a blood sample & stored it if this was agreed, so now you can ring the vets & get it tested to see if the horse was sedated in any way.
 
I wouldn't let my children take their ponies on fun rides and would only let them hunt them when they are galloping in open country on hacks in groups with absolutely no fear & decent brakes. I wouldn't expect them to get to that stage for a few months on a new pony.
If this pony was a bsJA pony then I would expect it to be really quick and fairly strong.
Sorry to sound negative, but without more information - esp regarding how capable your child is then it's hard to comment otherwise.
 
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the pony was bought as an alrounder and we were asured he was "safe" and 100% in all situations.



[/ QUOTE ]

There isn't a person alive who can guarantee that an animal is safe in 100% of all situations. Animals are unpredictable at the best of times!

Buying a horse is a case of buyer beware I'm afraid and most people have to chalk 1 or 2 losses up to experience I'm afraid.
 
what a shame for you, although i have to agree with the other posts, the horse is still very new to you, probably still settling in and trying things out.

when you say 'bolted blind'? BSJA ponies are often ridden in strong bits by strong kids, was it a bolt or was it that the kid couldnt stop?

i did funrides and hunted my previous ex FEI pony in a snaffle, i never had any problems, but the lady who had her after me had to ride in a pelham for 9 months till she got to grips with the mare!
she literally couldnt stop her.

and if asked i would have described the mare as a safe sane allrounder!

as previously stated, they arnt machines and do react differently to different people, particually after change.

good luck with whatever you decide anyway.
 
I hope you get it sorted but like the others have said it can take a while for them to settle down.
We bought our first horse last year and 3 weeks after getting him he chucked hubby and I within 24 hours of each other. I was terrified we'd made a huge mistake and had bought a monster. Since then he's never put a foot wrong and is an angel to handle so we wrote it down to his "settling in phase".
 
If the seller is a dealer, then the 100% in all situations is a pretty stupid thing to put in writing and you will be able to return the pony and get your money back. If it was not said in writing, then it will be harder.
 
Have you got a copy of the advert -

Its all a matter of opinion and really and hard to prove - not like a vice or soundness

Fit for purpose sold - i believe it is
Tough one - call Derbys they are really good
 
the owner didnt seem suprised when we told her what had happened ive hunted since i was 11yrs old, worked for masters, secretaries etc been in showing, eventing, polo and veterinary yards.

im pretty sure this pony knows what hes up to, he acted like a just backed 4yr old.

I dont think its acceptable for people to get away with this.

Ive spoken to a previous owner and a trainer they stated that he was sold from them soley as a jc pony and that they would never put him in any other situation but a school as he had no mouth and was extemley strong willed.
 
we have

copy of advert
3 statements from professional on funride
previous trainer and owner statement
contract saying return if not vice free

i can understand what you are saying about new horse etc. but ive ridden,competed and owned many horses. I dont mind the strong, stroppy behaviour but this pony was dangerous.
 
my horse is safe, but i took him on a sponsored ride thing after owning him over a year and he went nuts bolted, threw me off and proceeded to do 5 laps of flat out gallop around the car park. i got back on and finished the ride but i had no brakes whatsoever
 
[ QUOTE ]


Ive spoken to a previous owner and a trainer they stated that he was sold from them soley as a jc pony and that they would never put him in any other situation but a school as he had no mouth and was extemley strong willed.

[/ QUOTE ]


Not that I am siding either way here, or even criticising, just an observation.

As someone who, by your own admission, is very experienced and has hunted for 11 years blah blah, could you not tell the pony was dead in the mouth? Surely that would have raised alarm bells at the potential for problems when in fun rides, regardless of what the seller/dealer told you.

My own horse is 100% for a novice to ride in general terms. She can be hard work on the ground as she's quite quirky. However, I'd never class her as 100% safe across country on fun rides etc as she gets quite strong cantering in company. I didn't know she was like this when I first took her to a farm ride, but I expected it and bitted her in a Waterford as a precaution. Have since cantered in company in a French link and realised the waterford wasn't such a bad idea after all!
smirk.gif
 
I might be experienced but certainly not mind reading.

nobody can tell while trying a horse wether it would be sensible you reley on the person selling it. my own horse has to be ridden in a particular way but i would never class him as dangerous but not a novice ride.

Surely a safe ride is sensible if this pony was behaving in this way while out hunting it would be sent home.There is no way it is safe. my old horse wasnt a novice ride but would never put hiself or rider in any danger.

in my view a horse that has no concern for his own safety is most definately a liability, he went through wire and whatever was in his way.
 
I wouldnt consider owning any horse i couldnt reley on in certain situations unless it was a youngster. unless i wanted to have a pure dressage horse or sj. This pony was advertised as an alrounder and i think selling a pony like this for a child isnt acceptable.

my horse is an ex dressage horse and yes he was strong hunting but he was 8yrs and never out of a school. He is now training for his 1st BE and is extremley bold ive had him just 4 months.

if you send a horse away to improve surely you expect him to behave you cant send him for 6 months to "settle in" he's 14 yrs old.

This pony acted like an uneduacted 6yr old.
 
we got advice from heather at the neue schule bit bank (who i highly recomend) and took precautions using a pelham with a lozenge which was in excess of £70 so precautions were taken.

Whats the point of having a horse on trial if you cannot take his behaviour into account for the first 4 weeks???

Everybody has different expectations but when im told the horse has hunted regularly, sensibly. I expect far more at the age of 14yrs old. I personally wouldnt hunt a pony like this its not for him and i feel its unfair to ask such a buzzy pony to do so he obviously cannot cope.
 
Good luck, I do think it sounds as though the pony was mis represented but I also think I would never send my child on a fun ride on a strange pony! Do admit that I can be a neurotic parent.
tongue.gif

All the best with getting him taken back, poor pone.
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We bought a dutch mare from a dealer and it turned out to be a LUNATIC and unrideable! We had no come back but then I discovered the chip in the horse didn't match the one on the paperwork, so got it sorted that way!
 
I know i have a 5yr old daughter who thinks shes invinsible, had her first tumble last week (not bad shes been riding since she was a tot!!). She thought it was the end of the world for a minute then hoppped on and of she went.

the girl (my cousin) is rising 17 yrs although v petite. she was noway overhorsed she should have been fine. we all make mistakes aah!

thanks for your reply i was starting to think i was in the wrong but i just got this feeling with this 1 ive been around horses from all over for many years and good friends with many professionals.

Theres noway i could sell him on to an innocent party.
 
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