No wonder people are giving horses away!!!

If he hasn't been in a RS for 8 years then I think it irrelevant and have no idea why it would be mentioned in an ad or any more than in brief when people viewed him, many horses have unknown history beyond the last owner and most buyers do not do enough research so it hardly has a bearing on why he has not sold, he must be in his teens, 8 years since he was in a RS plus he must have been 5 years to work in one which puts him at a minimum of 13 probably if he worked there for a couple of years he will be 15 now and I suspect that is far more of an issue than his old history.
Not being comfortable hacking closely with others does suggest a horse that will kick, he may not but it would put me off as I am used to all my horses being happy to nanny a youngster that may at times bump into them having a moment and I would not expect them to overreact if this happens it would potentially put off a less experienced person as they will feel him tense up when crowded and if he does it out hacking I guess he will be the same in a warmup when competing, it is not nice when you get trapped on a tense horse between another one and the fence, again it will put off novices who want to go out and have a relaxed day competing.
The fact he will not go out with mares is a negative for anyone who has mixed turnout, however "perfect" he may be in every other way the issues he does have along with the fact he is not young so unlikely to go to anyone other than someone looking for an easy schoolmaster will mean they probably see the negatives outweighing the positives so look elsewhere, they probably do end up with undeclared problems but they are all looking for the nonexistent "perfect" horse that in reality does not exist.

I agree that he should have sold if he was priced fairly but can see why he was not, to an experienced person the issues are minor and manageable but to the less experienced they may seem too much especially if they have read ads describing the dream horse they will continue to search, go and view, be disappointed and maybe wish they had bought him.
 
be positive said:
If he hasn't been in a RS for 8 years then I think it irrelevant and have no idea why it would be mentioned in an ad or any more than in brief when people viewed him, many horses have unknown history beyond the last owner and most buyers do not do enough research so it hardly has a bearing on why he has not sold, he must be in his teens, 8 years since he was in a RS plus he must have been 5 years to work in one which puts him at a minimum of 13 probably if he worked there for a couple of years he will be 15 now and I suspect that is far more of an issue than his old history.
Not being comfortable hacking closely with others does suggest a horse that will kick, he may not but it would put me off as I am used to all my horses being happy to nanny a youngster that may at times bump into them having a moment and I would not expect them to overreact if this happens it would potentially put off a less experienced person as they will feel him tense up when crowded and if he does it out hacking I guess he will be the same in a warmup when competing, it is not nice when you get trapped on a tense horse between another one and the fence, again it will put off novices who want to go out and have a relaxed day competing.
The fact he will not go out with mares is a negative for anyone who has mixed turnout, however "perfect" he may be in every other way the issues he does have along with the fact he is not young so unlikely to go to anyone other than someone looking for an easy schoolmaster will mean they probably see the negatives outweighing the positives so look elsewhere, they probably do end up with undeclared problems but they are all looking for the nonexistent "perfect" horse that in reality does not exist.

I agree that he should have sold if he was priced fairly but can see why he was not, to an experienced person the issues are minor and manageable but to the less experienced they may seem too much especially if they have read ads describing the dream horse they will continue to search, go and view, be disappointed and maybe wish they had bought him.
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Yeah I can see that. He just gets snarky if horses come too close, doesn't actually do anything but a total novice would probably not like the ears back and swishy tail.

It hasn't been mentioned in any ads that he's ex-riding school I don't think. It's that line as a seller, the owner is honest to a fault and could easily sell him without mentioning it, but would hate to then be thought of as a liar because of not mentioning what are really minor issues. Then again, I've known him a long time and ridden him in all situations, so I know that they really are minor...I can see though how it could sound to others.
 
I would definitely choose a horse with small problems listed, when I was younger we bought a pony who suddenly lost a lot of weight vets told us to put her down because they couldn't find a problem but insurance insisted she went to Leahurst. She was there a week and they found out she was glucose intolerant, we changed her feed and she was back to her normal self. When she was up for sale when I was 13/14 my dad was advised by the riding school owner not to tell people she was gluton intolerant because they might think she had other issues and not buy her but I told him I wouldn't hide it from people vieiwng because it would ultimately mean she would go downhill quickly and could end up pts! I was fuming at the riding school owner, it would never put me off a horse to be told what issues they have as every horse has it's quirks and problems it's whether you can deal with them.
 
But is it the fault of the sellers? Or are too many people either exaggerating their experience of simply deciding they want to own a horse and going out to buy one with no thought to the future.

I am sure a lot of people get these 'problem' horses home and then have little or no idea how to handle or ride them. If a horse has no 'leader' (and I use the term very loosely) then it will make up it's own mind as to the required action/response. It's not being naughty or bad or a problem, it simply doesn't know what is being asked of it and assumes the leadership role.

As an example, we have two mares, sisters, when we bring them in one walks in without being led, goes straight to her stable and gets her dinner. She was taught to do this and knows what is required of her. If we let the other loose then she wanders off randomly.. I am sure she knows her dinner is waiting but she assumes she is free to go for a ramble first. She has never been taught differently and has no intention of being 'naughty'. We find it very interesting to watch.

Sellers have been given such a bad name because of incompetence on the part of the buyer. Yes there are and always have been those sellers who con the public on a regular basis and manage to get away with it, but there are also very genuine people who sell a horse or pony and are horrified to see the outcome when the animal falls into inexperienced hands.

Really beginning to believe there should be some sort of test and certification before people are allowed to go ut and buy horses.
 
I think it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other unfortunately, I've been on both sides and it seems to be people that are the problem, not the horses.

I ended up gifting my horse to a good friend, as long as he is never sold on or loaned out, because i know he has a wonderful home for life and have seen how much she loves him in the time she had him on loan from me. I would never, ever have sold him privately, i used to struggle enough when i decided to get a sharer in the past!
 
Have just skimmed this thread so forgive me if it's already been said but your friends aren't helping to sell the horse with an add like that. Marketing and advertising are big business because they work.

Never go highlighting the animal's weak points in an ad - I wouldn't even mention it until speaking to people on the phone. By putting in the ad you are putting doubt in the minds of potential buyers about the horse. This is crazy especially as its such a good horse with no real vices. They are making mountains out of mole hills and signs on nobody is biting.

They might think they are helping the horse by being so honest but they're wrong. Any little foibles can be explained at the viewing, the problems mentioned are pretty much non issues anyway.
 
Fwiw from his advert, at his age with lack of record competing I thought he was over priced :p- and that was without knowing the hacking/turnout issues and him obv being my sort of type.

the big question is are you going to put Dan on him so you can go for hacks together :D.

(Irish gal it wasn't in the ad ;) ).
 
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Well I don't remember it being in the ad anyway, though it is a Friday afternoon and I have had half a cider at the pub :p

GG, I know they not advertising him now but I also red flagged the hacking alone bit/might have put people off when presumably actually not that much of a problem?

(Actually I checked ;) the earlier ads weren't too great really re. loading and req very confident rider, I wonder if people remembered/searched for them).
 
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ester said:
Well I don't remember it being in the ad anyway, though it is a Friday afternoon and I have had half a cider at the pub :p

GG, I know they not advertising him now but I also red flagged the hacking alone bit/might have put people off when presumably actually not that much of a problem?

(Actually I checked ;) the earlier ads weren't too great really re. loading and req very confident rider, I wonder if people remembered/searched for them).
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I know - written and used despite my protestations as he's really an absolute sweetheart. There's a person in the area that was given him to sell then and given him to sell now and let's just say, she's got her own to sell and hasn't made much of an effort but there you go. The original advert says he's not good in a trailer - he is for anyone apart from the person advertising him at the time. He's also as good as gold, but back then, he spooked at a bin that blew over in the wind and took exception to being beaten with a schooling whip badly enough to leave whelp marks on him. So - it was said he needed a confident rider. He has, over the past 2 years been ridden around a field by a complete beginner bareback with a headcollar and two leadropes on as reins. He doesn't care about any traffic and all the current owners have done is point out a couple of issues on the phone to people.

Oh well, it is what it is and yes, he was way overpriced, the actual price the owner wanted to advertise him at was less than half of that, but again, the person who has had him on sales livery has done her own thing.

Owners mind is made up now, he's coming here on Tuesday and yes Ester - Dan will be riding him, as will I. He's a super dude! :)
 
Sounds like you (and Dan) have had a stroke of luck to have this lovely horse come into your lives, I hope you have many happy times together!

Both of my personal riding horses have come my way through word of mouth and cost next to nothing to buy, my mare (who sadly died in April) came with some very expensive rugs and tack probably worth in excess of what I paid for her, my gelding cost a nominal sum and a small gift that I got for his former owner as a token of my gratitude.

Both are seriously nice horses, ( will talk of mare as if she is still with us) well schooled (due to their past jobs), good minds easy to do in all ways, tolerant of novices, weight carriers- but on paper I bet a lot of people would walk on by even if they could easily fulfill their requirements of an honest low level all rounder type because they are older (over 15 when I got them) and a few wear and tear issues (hock arthritis- and mare had COPD and prone to laminitis) Neither of them really like to hack alone but that is probably more about my confidence as a rider as anything else, they will, and not kill you when doing it!

It's true an older horse whose done some work may risk you some vet fees, but when you look at it what horse doesn't carry that risk? Still, I am glad to have had them both in my life and glad I have taken the risk!
 
I'll book a visit ;) I didn't think that first ad (not by the person that was later selling so I assume owner?) didn't really sound like the chap you had told me about. I also never saw him advertised off facebook, not that I'm a regular on sales sites nosing at welshies honest! :D he won't have anything to complain about now at least ;)
 
Surely the problem is that "perfect" is subjective? Everyone has their own ideas of what a perfect horse is. For me, its an honest nature and a horse who tries his hardest for me, I couldnt care if he had the odd little quirk. Whereas something I might not even think twice about, another person might think its awful! I remember trying to sell one of my horses a few years ago - this horse was in my mind an absolute dream competition horse with proven long-term results and the most honest horse in the world but I didnt hack him out so when people asked I told them that, so many people couldn't look past that yet in front of them was a truly one in a million very reliable horse who would take them round a XC course on the buckle end with his eyes closed. He probably would have hacked, I just chose not to as another horse had destroyed my confidence so I didnt hack ANY of mine for 10 years! Yet the absolute rubbish of the horse world was selling no problem and still seems to be with the genuine good horses being ignored... bizarre! This is why I tend to buy my horses either unbacked or just very newly backed as hopefully they havent had time to get ruined! Although saying that, this same horse I bought having not been told by the owner that he was cold backed (who later admitted he was "horrifically cold backed") so I spent the first year spending a lot of time getting launched into the air! However, he grew out of that and never put a foot wrong after that. I bet some people would have put him to sleep though!
 
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So now it turns out that this "perfect" horse with a few minor issues did not sell because it was a) badly advertised b) put up for a higher price than the owners wanted c) that while in the sales yard he was badly treated and they probably put people off buying for some reason.
A good horse, well prepared for sale with an appropriate ad/ price will usually sell, once the ad has been on badly worded/ over priced etc then people will pick up on this and wonder why it hasn't sold, the reasons may be genuine but once the questions are in peoples minds it will put them off following up.
I don't think this is anything to do with people not buying him due to the owners being too honest or the horse having a few issues but simply due to him being sent away to a "bad" yard to sell, the wrong price/ ad and missing the boat as far as potential purchasers are concerned. I know they are no longer selling but I suspect a well presented ad on a decent site would probably bring a few interested and suitable purchasers to view him, getting the ads right is half of the equation when selling, putting on one bad photo or a few inaccurate lines of wording and you may as well not bother, if you also overprice then you are on a loser from the start.
 
be positive said:
So now it turns out that this "perfect" horse with a few minor issues did not sell because it was a) badly advertised b) put up for a higher price than the owners wanted c) that while in the sales yard he was badly treated and they probably put people off buying for some reason.
A good horse, well prepared for sale with an appropriate ad/ price will usually sell, once the ad has been on badly worded/ over priced etc then people will pick up on this and wonder why it hasn't sold, the reasons may be genuine but once the questions are in peoples minds it will put them off following up.
I don't think this is anything to do with people not buying him due to the owners being too honest or the horse having a few issues but simply due to him being sent away to a "bad" yard to sell, the wrong price/ ad and missing the boat as far as potential purchasers are concerned. I know they are no longer selling but I suspect a well presented ad on a decent site would probably bring a few interested and suitable purchasers to view him, getting the ads right is half of the equation when selling, putting on one bad photo or a few inaccurate lines of wording and you may as well not bother, if you also overprice then you are on a loser from the start.
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Not that cut and shut be positive but I can see why it would look that way. I don't remember saying he was perfect, that was kind of the point of the post...no such thing as perfect but that some people are sold horses as such. It would take forever to go into on here. I've known him for a long time and I'm very careful about what I ride after my fall, but I have no hesitation about this horse whatsoever.

Yes, the ads haven't been great but to be honest, that's pretty irrelevant as there has been no shortage of people responding and viewing him. They have just seen other horses, some at the same yard that have been sold as totally bombproof and perfect and they've bought them instead, only to regret it.

I don't think it's fair that I lay the blame solely on the buyers as yes, the sellers can be at fault as well. His current owner responded to the initial advert and was put off when she spoke to the seller on the phone. It sounded to me like they'd be a perfect match, so I called her back, she came to view and has had a couple of amazing years with him. She's stuck her boyfriend who is a total beginner on him, done all sorts. He's improved her confidence now to the point that she's taken on a youngster that has a lot more scope and can fulfil her jumping aspirations. If people could be a little more open to accepting that the vast majority of horses won't be absolutely perfect in every respect, there would no doubt be a lot more better matched horses and owners around.
 
Horses don't seem to be selling down here at all. People seem to have irrational expectations. We are currently selling a sweet 12hh "companion or project". He's a perfect companion but has been knocked about and yanked round under saddle and is very nervous when ridden. We were mis-sold him as a first pony last year and have no tiny jockeys capable of reschooling him. Price is virtually nothing and we have been honest in the advert. But the only interest we've had is from people wanting to put their very young children/grandchildren on him who,then look put out as if we've wasted their time when we say he is a ridden project! It's in the advert for heavens sake and for the price we are asking you aren't going to get a perfect leadrein pony. ���� its so frustrating.
 
It's not just finding the perfect horse its finding the perfect yard. It's not the cost of buying it's the cost of keeping. It's all relevant. and the cost of buying has gone down whilst the cost of everything else horse related has gone up.
 
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