Musings: A horse in the "wrong" home- thoughts & a 'how much'?

People have different personalities and so do horses. I would say i really really like quite few horses, get along with many and there are some I just don't enjoy at all. Same for dogs.

If I were looking for an all rounder for my OH i think this horse would fit the bill. He is a novice but calm, confident and very kind and would take regular lessons with a trainer.

However, in the current market I would not pay 2.5 but maybe more like 1.2 for a not particularly special TB that was safe to hack and handle. Don't get me wrong, he sounds nice, but there are just too many of them available for very little, especially if you can assure the owners they will be going to a good home.

I think the best way is word of mouth, for example through a local riding club, ask your trainer if they know anyone who is looking etc.
 
o help, but want to add a 'me too'.

My ex-racer is perfectly sound & looks well, but rides like an RS beginners' horse. I've spent £1k on vet bills trying to find out if there's anything wrong with him, & have tried a load of supplements. It is beginning to dawn on me that maybe he's just slow?

I am sooooo sick of booting him around the school & hacking at a plod. The most fun I've had on him recently was when he had a mild spook at something & I actually got to RIDE rather than sit there like a sack of spuds.

I was having a nose about on various websites yest to see if anyone would swap me for a lunatic of any description that's got a bold jump, but I would feel too bad getting rid of mine :-((

Hope you get something sorted out with yours!

T x
 
I would try PC classified, lots of larger children but could not cope with a sharpe horse. My daughter was one of these and I bought a quite TB, looked the part but was not going to kill her.
I also had a Welsh B that looked good enough to show but was flat as a *******, the last time I saw him for sale was for 3,500 and he sold in four weeks for PC. A lot of mums can not cope with a horse with a personality and a stroppy teenager in tow.
I would say he could be worth a fair bit.
 
vermillion said:
That is the thing, he is lovely. I have never loaned before (it fills me with dread if i'm totally honest) but I think it might work for this horse. I wouldnt want him back though; unless he was unhappy or being mistreated etc. A contract would have to be mandatory; are there any basic ones that I could use as template? Does such a thing exist?!

He would probably be ideal for a teenager- he is a caring sort; although not sure how competitive he would be, probably easily BE100/ maybe Novice in the right hands. He isnt a fiery sort and will do minimal effort where possible! I think he is a cobbly-bobbly in a jazzy body!

Would that significantly narrow our field do you think?
Click to expand...

It's so annoying as this would have been exactly the sort of horse I'd be looking for if I hadn't just agreed to take the coblet on full loan for a year. As for contracts the BHS website is great for them :)
 
Caol Ila said:
You can either take a risk and sell him and try to be picky about the buyer, or find him a loan home, or perhaps a loan with a view to buy. To be honest, if I was horse hunting and I saw your lad for sale, I'd go look at him. If I saw him advertised for loan, I wouldn't. I guess I would not want to put the work into a six-year old horse that the owner could take back any time.
Click to expand...

This ^^
I have had it happen to me as a loaner, brought a lovely conny on from being a 4 year old. Soon as he was ready to go out and win I got him taken off me :( This has put me off loaning now, so if you were to loan out, make sure the loaner was certain of your intentions from day 1 and have a contract in place for both of your peace of mind
 
catembi said:
o help, but want to add a 'me too'.

My ex-racer is perfectly sound & looks well, but rides like an RS beginners' horse. I've spent £1k on vet bills trying to find out if there's anything wrong with him, & have tried a load of supplements. It is beginning to dawn on me that maybe he's just slow?

I am sooooo sick of booting him around the school & hacking at a plod. The most fun I've had on him recently was when he had a mild spook at something & I actually got to RIDE rather than sit there like a sack of spuds.

I was having a nose about on various websites yest to see if anyone would swap me for a lunatic of any description that's got a bold jump, but I would feel too bad getting rid of mine :-((

Hope you get something sorted out with yours!

T x
Click to expand...

I would swap tomorrow for something slow and safe I could also plonk my 14 year old on. Mine is however not suitable for showing due to some really nasty looking scars - before my time she was neglected. Back to health now and a total cowbag challenge... I have photographic evidence but no first hand proof she can jump... still want to swap :D:D
 
I think you need to look at what you see as negatives, him being too nice, a hunter that will pootle at the back, good looking and a happy safe hack as being the things that will sell him even as a tb he should be able to find a good home, more people are looking for something like him than for the type of horse you prefer.

I have the same here at livery but IDx tb and with good dressage results, his previous owner sold him on because he was too boring out hunting but he absolutely suits his teenage owner who can go anywhere with him in safety and still have fun hooleying up a field when she wants to.

Sell his good points they far outweigh the bad ones for the average home.
 
Yup, if it has got the attitude & scope to jump 1 m 20 (with work), I'd swap in a heartbeat.

Don't care about scars as I have NO interest in showing. I just want to jump affil on something that also wants to jump.

If you're serious, pls come & see him, with no obligation whatsoever. They live at home & I have a school. I have another slowcoach (EPSM) so we could go on a snailspace hack. I think they would both be too slow for you! My old mare is probs the fastest of all 3 & she's 40.

T x
 
Best to admit relationship not comfortable and part ways, I started out grating with mine and got to point I couldn't tolerate her. Sweet mare, not her fault and I think she may have suffered a bit as a result by my coldness and our lack of relationship.
 
catembi said:
Yup, if it has got the attitude & scope to jump 1 m 20 (with work), I'd swap in a heartbeat.

Don't care about scars as I have NO interest in showing. I just want to jump affil on something that also wants to jump.

If you're serious, pls come & see him, with no obligation whatsoever. They live at home & I have a school. I have another slowcoach (EPSM) so we could go on a snailspace hack. I think they would both be too slow for you! My old mare is probs the fastest of all 3 & she's 40.

T x
Click to expand...

She loves to jump - but sadly I doubt she can reach those dizzy heights. Probably because she's sideways until the last 2 strides - or more probably because she just can't... I don't think I've yet met the horse too slow for me though... not in my present incantation anyway :D She is a however a bona fide lunatic ! - not sure thats something to bragg about Hmmm... I'll have to change our names and move away now if I plan to attempt to sell her :D Shh.
 
Interesting post....the amount of people actively hunting for a safe young flashy horse who will do low level eventing is immense. Go and have a look at wanted ads in eventing on HQ. I wouldn't get hung on TB = low money, he has not been raced extensively so it's not really relevant.

If you struggle to sell, then how about looking for a competent amateur who wants another eventer to run now and work put a deal with them? With a view to selling on once said horse has a couple of runs under its belt..worth a lot more than £2.5k.
 
Thank you all for your responses, it has helped immensely as I was at a loss where to go from here.

I think you are right in that my perceived negatives may well be big positives for someone- I just need to find that person who is willing to put the work into a horse that is a blank canvas; albeit a safe blank canvas!

Still unsure of pricing as he is; I think 2.5k as he stands sounds about right, although I have poured so much money into this horse that it is a 'value' amount rather than what I want for him.

Lucie07: Will look for amateur's seeking rides, that could work well on a shorter term basis.

At the risk of sounding like a total pony-patter I think because I like him so much as a horse, but not as a riding horse I feel indebted to finding him the right sort of home. Others I have sold have been to go on and do jobs, eg. hunters, young event classes where there is a set market and the horse has a purpose.

If I can work out how to upload the photo thingies on here I'll try and make an album for the depressingly charming boy, but dont hold your breath.

Catembi - I think you may have my horses twin! Any more laid back and he would be horizontal in a deck chair- but I always feel as though I am 'nagging' him when I ride; he has lovely balanced paces, but they are just naturally very slow!!!!:D
 
Slightly different but.... I asked an experienced friend to find me a pony to ride and drive. showed him a picture of the stamp of pony I wanted and he found one almost exactly like I described, a sweet, willing, gentle, little cob albeit a bit inexperienced. I couldn't dislike her but even as I (foolishly) handed over the money for her I knew she wasn't the pony for me. Luckily my YO helped me to get her going nicely and fell in love with her to the extent that when I 'fessed up and said I could not face carrying on with said pony, he jumped at the chance to buy her. She has blossomed in his more experienced hands and they are having a whale of a time driving together in TREC events, clinics, etc.
So don't feel bad. He might not be the horse for you but someone out there will absolutely love him.
 
I'd say 2.5k was cheap for such a chap. A friend of mine sold a very similar chap for very similar reasons (ok he was an ish, but otherwise the same exactly) for 10k and I was gutted I couldn't afford him. I looked for ages for this and found zero genuine horses in my budget of 3.5k (everything listed as 'gentleman but can be sharp'!). I'd love exactly this type of horse and would merrily pay 3.5k if he's really safe, providing there were no health concerns from racing. If I didn't have an Arab who thinks the hedge is full of monsters, can't hack out because cars (moving or stationary) want to kill him, can't jump and won't go down the scary end of the school I'd be on to you right now op... I'm not bitter or anything!
 
OP I was looking for exactly what you describe for a client just before Christmas. If only I'd known about yours!

As it is, the client bought a horse ( under her own steam I hasten to add) which was smaller, weaker, greener with some ex racehorse issues. ..... for what you are valuing yours at.

Don't underestimate the safety factor - it's far more relevant to a lot of people than you might think!
 
Op I could have written your original post, I bought a Welsh cob foal 7 years ago, we broke him and I've ridden him on, nothing wrong with him, a good lad all in all but I just couldn't make myself get on with him and get him working properly. After much debate I've just sold him to a lovely home, just what I would have wished for him. I didn't ask stupid money, I got a fair price from a good home and I'm happy that he appears to be happy there.
Don't feel guilty, it's like boyfriends, he's just not 'the one' lol, it happens!
 
Sounds like a lovely horse who would find a lovely home. If I had the money spare i'd buy him for my OH! His last horse was very quirky and put him right off! Catembi you would have liked him as he had a huge jump :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top