MORE TIMEWASTERS! ARGHHHHHHH!!!

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natalia

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This time for this one-
http://www.horsemart.co.uk/advert/4_yrs_14_2_hh_coloured_surrey/77141
I have been breaking this little chap for his owners with a view to sell. He was advertised last week and had quite a few calls. First people turned up friday evening, rode him, loved him and seemed like they knew what they were doing as obv. he's still very green and only a baby. So they made an offer (quite a low one but as I thought he would be going to the right home I accepted.) They arranged to pick him up today and turned up with a trailer. Now, on viewing the horse I told them his travel experience was limited, he's only ever been on a lorry and only ever with company, as we don't travel youngsters alone and only have lorries. He loaded fine, but as soon as they moved off he panicked, tried to go over the breast bar and then climbed out the jockey door when they pulled up. I then offered to deliver him in the lorry with his mate the following day, at which point they started saying they wanted their money back as he was too much trouble. I offered to let them try him for a week and see if they could overcome it with a few nice feeds in the trailer and a friend to travel with on a few short round the block trips to which they said they haven't got time and don't have a lorry nor did they have any intention of buying one so there was no point???. I ended up giving them money back to shut up but feel that yet again I've wasted my time,, wasted a whole afternoon, and lost out on the other people who wanted to see him today as thought he was sold. The poor little chap would have been fine with a friend to travel with and had he been allowed to get used to the trailer before being carted off in it. Right now it seems there are hundreds of TW's about and they all seem to be coming my way! ARGHHHHHHHH!
Pleased I kept my temper today though and didn't tell them to eat it.
 
See, I wouldnt really call them timewasters as they obviously were intending on taking him.
Unfortunate situation- hope he finds a super new home soon.
 
I do agree to a point.
If a horse will not travel and they want to travel him in future it will be a lot of hard work that possibly they didn't envisage when they said they wanted to buy him.
Also they are big scary animals to be leaping out of a horsebox.
Good luck in the search. I'm sure he will find a great home soon with someone who is patient and brave enough to teach him
 
Im not sure timewasters is the term I would use either. However he is a smashing looking little cob so have no doubt he wont be long looking for a home. Hope things work themselves out quickly for you.
 
I think they were in the sense they knew they were taking on a project of a green horse who really hasn't done much or been anywhere, and who was clearly worried by the situation. It's not like he would be trouble full stop, he loads fine on to anything, but hasn't travelled alone and they were told this. ours live in large groups in barns or fields and so never have to go off and do this sort of thing and never meet trailers as we don't have one. I would just think if you were taking on a green horse you would be prepared to work through little things like this and bring a friend for him to travel with if you knew the circumstances. Its not like they were going to take him straight out to PC or showing so would have had a few months to get him confident in their transport before he could compete or do anything anyway.
 
Meant to say he's the type of cob that you show something to once and the next time he's fine with it, he's been like this all through his education and they knew this. So you would think that they would be willing to work with him, but never mind. I'm just more annoyed as they seemed like the type of people who knew what they were doing and said they weren't bothered about having something that needs work on things.
 
I understand. I would have thought they would accept your offer f a week trial to see how he imporved travelling wise with aa little time and work. Oh well, just as well they didnt take him and waste another week of your time I suppose.
 
I think they are inexperienced novices, you may have been doing him a favour by not selling him to them!
Oz
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I agree with unicornleather, they don't sound very patient at all..

Saw your ad for him the other day and was very tempted, if you still have him in a few months time let me know!
 
I can understand that your frustrated but I can also see their point of view. If you are breaking horses maybe it would be a good idea to invest in a little trailer to get young horses and ponies used to them also. But I also think if they knew it was green they would know that you may not have done anything with it but back it. Hopefully you will find a nice home with people who have the time he will need.
 
personally, I think that if they knew he was green, and
they took him on that understanding, then they shouldnt have been so hasty,
All mine are green, and I bought them knowing they needed work, so you cant get a bargain, and expect it to be perfect,
not int he real world!!
good luck with finding him a more suitable home!!
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[ QUOTE ]
That's not time-wasting. Pony chucked a fit before it had even left the yard. Of course they did their best to get their money back.
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[/ QUOTE ]Actual I think time waster might be right,because I was there when the pony came back.There is a little extra detail I didnt dare tell T-H at the time. Because they couldnt immediately get T-H on the phone, the comment was well thats hardly surpring, said with undertones of "Crook andshe has conned us" These people had a very peculiar attitude, it was a lovely little horse, and loaded straight into the trailer. OK it got scared, it could easily have been sorted out.As an outsider to the situation,I am not exactly sure who the individuals were, but the person I would lable as "Supposedly" knowlegable friend, seemed intent on taking the worst possible view of the situation. I think maybe the pony had a lucky escape.
 
I think you've had a lucky escape. I have read your ad and you clearly state that the pony is not yet used to being travelled on its own.

They Knew this and still arrived in a trailer (when it has only travelled in a lorry) with no company for it.

Complete novices that don't think.

I am sure with time and patience this little pony will be fine.....
 
Hmmmm Mike, didn't know this! They couldn't get me on the phone as I was on it stuck in traffic at the time and had someone to go see who I had to shoot off too! Lucky escape indeed!
RE why we don't get them used to trailers at home before sale its pretty simple- I HATE THEM. They aren't nice to load young or green horses in, are claustrophobic and after traveling in the back of one driven by a well driving friend, I wouldn't want to myself so why should my horse? I've had the brunt of a couple of nasty accidents with trailers involving them flipping and have a horse that all his life has refused to go in one, and after 13 yrs he ain't gonna start now! Therefore I won't travel any of mine in a trailer full stop. Dangerous horrid things. I know lots of people use them and are fine but being involved in a trailer accident is anyones worst nightmare and I won't risk my horses.
 
Wouldn't class them as time wasters - but feel your frustration.

But perhaps a more comprehensive education on travelling will help in future.

.
 
If you explained to them clearly when they came to view the pony that he did not travel in trailers on his on own and they turned up in a trailer with no companion then they were very stupid.

If you said he would probably be ok then I they are not time wasters as the last thing they would want is to be travelling half way up the motorway and then there was an incident.

I agree most horses are more comfortable in a lorry but that is a luxuary a lot of people are unable to afford and if you are in the business of selling horses then it might be worthwhile in investing in a trailer so you can trailer train your horses. Either that or you will need to be very clear in adverts that your horses do not travel alone in trailers so there is a risk they may not do so.
 
Nothing to comment re the timewasters bit - he is only rising 4 and I would have thought someone who was buying something that green would have had the sense to know that it won't all be plain sailing, especially first time travelling alone. Maybe he had a lucky escape!

What a cracking sort he is lovely chap and very reasonably priced - sure he won't hang around too long!
 
don't think they are timewasters unless it was mentioned before pick up that he didn't like trailers and didn't travel alone.

i have bought a lot of youngsters who have never travelled and not yet had one try to leap over the breast bar- they have all travelled alone and 90% were in a trailer.

i wouldn't say it is normal for a young or green horse to try and escape from the trailer and i really don't think they are timewasters if they have picked up the horse and paid for it
 
i have to agree with MILLITIGER here. I too have seen/put/heard of many young foals/yearling/green/ect horses put in to a trailer for the first time, alone ect. I have never seen such a violent reaction, as this sounds.

Thinking about this logically, i think a horse woudl possibly be more upset about being made to travel next to a compleatly strange horse to them. This situation is not really one to of been expected.

I dont think it is so much that the horse panicked, or was afraid, but more the fact that he attempted to and managed to escape from the trailer, and out of the jockey door! If this had happened on the road it could of been fatal!

I think after this has happened, you have a duty to inform other potential buyers, and i would also try him on a trailer at home to see if it was just a matter of him being wound up/upset, at the time. Or weather this has now turned into to something this boy could end up doing again. You may not liek trailers and prefer a lorry, however you can nto guarentee that he wont be used in a trailer in the future. It would be a nasty surprise for someoen to find out the hard way taht thsi horse will not travel in a trailer at all. there is also the possibility that he could behave like this in other situations. He obviously is more inclinded to escape from situations he dosnt like, and the horse trailer incident shows that. You have only had him a few weeks as you have stated. I think i would chalk what happend down to experience, and an unurual situation, and look at the bigger picture now.

It woudl be unfair to sell him with out disclosing what happend in the trailer, and i think this woudl sadley put many peopel off. It is a shame as he is only young. After having one try to escape from a horse lorry, it was a situation where the horse always had the potential to do it again. The horse that it happend with in my case, also had that extra edge in other situations he didint liek, and was very clever and calculated. I can say that in my case everythign had been done carefully and risk was minamised. hwoever the horse still amanged to almost escape form the horse lorry. Luckily i managed ot stop him and i think that only becasue i managed to diffuse the situation before it became dangerous.

I was not there when your horse escaped from the trailer, but i can only assume that he panicked, snapped the bailign twine he was tied to, someone opened the jockey door, he saw the light, and dived to escape through the opening. If this was the case, you could blame the person for openign the jockey door, however most peopel woudl not think that a horse would try to escape through it. It coudl ofbeen worse he could of seriously ingured him self.
 
I don't know why there are so many people who reject perfectly good horses on the smallest, most insignificant "faults". They don't seem to realise you need to train animals to accept things, they don't do it automatically. How could they have expected a 4 year old to be fully trained in everything it might encounter?

I remember one person coming to try my 15.1 mare. They seemed a perfect match until I mentioned that she only travelled alone in the full width of a trailer, because otherwise she over-balanced. This is quite common with some mares. To my astonishment, she then said she had no further interest as she occasionally travelled to competitions with her friend. This person later ended up buying a horse which turned out to have navicular.

In a 4 year old, I don't think any reasonably patient buyer would have been put off by this behaviour.
 
Baring i mind that i have only bought yongsters/problem horses/hrse with behavioural problems. I would say it is natural to expect a youngster to find banlancing its self in a trallier/box difficult. Some horses in general find it difficult to balance when travelling. Some horses are freaked out by the movement, and do need more time. These are things an experienced horseowner would bare in midn when buying a youngster, you would expect. Thats why i woudl not sell a youngster to a novice no matter how competant they are. As they ussualy do lack the knowledge, experience that is required to bring on a youngster in all aspects of life. Ive seen many good horses runied in unexperienced hands. Mnay people buy youngsters, get them backed then becasue they have good temperments advertise them as a novice ride, or sutable for a competant novice. I find this unfair to the youngster. Its ussualy these quiet , honest youngsters that are pushed too hard, to fast to soon. Just becasue they have a good temperment. The OP did open this horse up to novices in the advert. The peopel who rode him and liked him may well of been able to ride him, as woudl probably most people woudl be able to , if he had a good temperment and was honest. However when it came to doing anything more with him, they lacked the experienced to see him right in the situation. Baring this in mind, i would say that maybe it was unwise to say he was sutable for a competant novice. As a novice is a novice what ever way you butter it up.

It may of been these peopel where nothing more than competant novices, that had simply never experienced this sort of situation before, and felt it was too much for them to safely deal with. I have to say that at least they where honest enought to walk away, rather than have the frame of mind to carry on with him at home, in the hope they coudl sort this out.

I have to say that a horse escaping from a trailer through a jockey door, is not an insignificant fault. Having dealt with bad travellers before, this could be the start of something serious. This youngster used its brain, it managed to escape from the trailer, and it wont forget that it was able to do this. Meaning that he could now go on to do this again and again.
 
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