sad & annoyed. horse I sold being re sold and not as described.

charlie76

charlie76

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I sold a horse approx two months ago to a friend who said he would be her horse of a life time and she loved him. I have since seen him for sale by a dealer . I am a little cross I was lied to about a basically a home for life which wasn't to be, however I know situations change. I am more upset and concerned that this horse was sold at a very cheap price due to behavioral issues he has. The horse is very talented and would have been worth a lot of money however he was not good to hack, he had been known to spin and run off ( with not much hope of stopping!) On the road if a lorry came along therefore we never hacked him alone,he was also spooky and would run if spooked. Although he didn't rear or buck with us I have also seen photos of him standing vertical and napping .
This horse is now being sold as a total gentlemen and there is no mention of his issues.
In the wrong hand this horse could be a disaster waiting to happen.
We only had the horse ( who we kept for three years) as he belonged to a teenager who's mother was too worried to let her ride him after he had run off several times with her. We did re school him and he improved but there was always that reaction in him.
Not much I can do I suppose but just needed to vent !
( we did disclose his issues when we sold him BTW and would never had let him go had we known he would be swapped in at a dealers in no time at all, we have asked about buying him back but his price for a horse we know has issues is beyond our reach esp as we would have to sort out the new issue of rearing) very very sad.
 
jemima*askin said:
Is the dealer aware of his problems?
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This is the key question if I where you OP I would ring the dealer up with a witness in the room with you and tell them the whole story .
It might just help some poor mug in the future .
My sympathies are really with the poor poor horse though .
 
Goldenstar said:
This is the key question if I where you OP I would ring the dealer up with a witness in the room with you and tell them the whole story .
It might just help some poor mug in the future .
My sympathies are really with the poor poor horse though .
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Good plan. And we are mortified about it, we sold him only because he was not quite quality enough to make the speed at the next level for eventing and some one who I knew well said that they would like him and I sold him for peanuts due to his issues but thought he would be well loved and his talent appreciated for a long time to come. If he was realistic in his price we would have him back tomorrow and I would rather give him away on full loan to some one I trusted and know where he was . He is a lovely kind horse but he has always had a flight instinct when worried.
 
Your friend saw an opportunity and is really not much of a friend! I would tell the dealer too. You never know, the dealer might be an honest type and has perhaps only schooled the horse, describing him as they found him under those circumstances. Telling the dealer could prevent him being sold to the wrong home.
 
Sugar_and_Spice said:
Your friend saw an opportunity and is really not much of a friend! I would tell the dealer too. You never know, the dealer might be an honest type and has perhaps only schooled the horse, describing him as they found him under those circumstances. Telling the dealer could prevent him being sold to the wrong home.
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I agree, and I would also offer the dealer what you are prepared to pay for him, in fact I would go along to the dealer in person, with a friend.
The dealer will not have paid a lot for him and may be glad to get rid of what looks like a problem for him. Not all dealers are out to scam their customers. Like most business people they want their transactions to be uncomplicated.
 
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I don't think it's fair to assume the new owner was just looking to make a quick buck.

Maybe she wasn't truly put in the picture when she bought him/didn't appreciate just how bad the issues were.

Maybe he had her off and she realised her safety isn't worth it after all? There are lots of reasons as to why she may have sold him.

I'm not saying there couldn't be a more sinister explanation, but people can be quick to jump the gun on here.

OP, if I were you I'd make as many people aware as possible, including the dealer.

Good luck, I can understand why you're annoyed.
 
What an awful situation to be in, shame on the friend. I would call the dealer up and tell him what you know - he could be none the wiser especially if he hasn't hacked him.

I am looking for horses at the moment and have been stunned by the amount of horses sold with very serious behavioural issues. I know you were trying to do right by the horse by selling him to your friend but it really does go to show that you can't trust many people when selling on problem horses. Hope the story works out well for the horse.
 
SpringArising said:
I don't think it's fair to assume the new owner was just looking to make a quick buck.

Maybe she wasn't truly put in the picture when she bought him/didn't appreciate just how bad the issues were.

Maybe he had her off and she realised her safety isn't worth it after all? There are lots of reasons as to why she may have sold him.

I'm not saying there couldn't be a more sinister explanation, but people can be quick to jump the gun on here.

OP, if I were you I'd make as many people aware as possible, including the dealer.

Good luck, I can understand why you're annoyed.
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But OP says she told the 'friend' the horse's issues and priced him accordingly.

Obviously the 'friend' wasn't as trustworthy as OP thought, or the horse would have been offered back to her.

I think you need to put the dealer in the picture OP, and maybe, having given the dealer time to check out your version of him, put in an offer.
 
It's also possible that the horse was destabilised by the change in home and the 'friend ' was not as good a rider as they thought and was embarrassed to admit this to OP.
 
Maybe you are right. I suppose its always going to be emotive when selling horses. I know situations change and I know that anyone who think a home guareenteed for life is daft as no one could say this , I just wished I was told and I would have given all the money back and taken him back, especially if there was an issue with him. Oh well, you live and learn.
 
Oh no! I hope you manage to get him back. It just goes to show that people can do whatever they want once you sell, but I'm glad you are realistic and i understand it can seem different with a 'friend'. I think when you sell you have to consider would you be happy if you never heard from them again, if not always a loan.
 
I have spoken to her and she has cleared a few things up so I am a bit happier. I prob shouldn't have posted this but I just felt cross and disappointed. Hopefully things will work out for the best for the horse , the owner and everyone involved. Thanks for the replies.
 
SpringArising said:
I don't think it's fair to assume the new owner was just looking to make a quick buck.

Maybe she wasn't truly put in the picture when she bought him/didn't appreciate just how bad the issues were.

Maybe he had her off and she realised her safety isn't worth it after all? There are lots of reasons as to why she may have sold him.

I'm not saying there couldn't be a more sinister explanation, but people can be quick to jump the gun on here.

OP, if I were you I'd make as many people aware as possible, including the dealer.

Good luck, I can understand why you're annoyed.
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I've seen it happen lots where the "best friend" offering a "home for life" just wants a cheap horse to sell on. If the OPs friend didn't want the horse then why not sell back to OP for the price she paid? That would have been the decent and honest thing to do if it was a genuine case of "oops sorry no I cant deal with this after all". No need to part exchange the horse with a dealer, that was choice, most likely driven by financial reasons.
 
You can't be responsible for a horse you once owned for the rest of its life. You sold the horse to s friend who obviously knew the issues the horse had. She must have eventually realised that she couldn't cope with the problems so moved him on. If there is any responsibility to notify of the issues it would fall on her. I would suggest that she probably didn't mention the issues to the dealer or she would have got considerably less for him. If she contacted him now then she may bring problems on herself. Either way it is nothing to do wioth you.
 
Sugar_and_Spice said:
I've seen it happen lots where the "best friend" offering a "home for life" just wants a cheap horse to sell on. If the OPs friend didn't want the horse then why not sell back to OP for the price she paid? That would have been the decent and honest thing to do if it was a genuine case of "oops sorry no I cant deal with this after all". No need to part exchange the horse with a dealer, that was choice, most likely driven by financial reasons.
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Maybe she was embarrassed to admit he was too much after all, as GS said. Maybe a dealer saw she was having issues and offered to take him off her hands. Who knows? I'm not saying I would do the same, and I think most honest people would go to the friend to offer him back, but it's a waste of time (and maybe unfair) to speculate.
 
Not a waste of my time, I've got nothing better to do this morning! :) if she sold the horse to a stranger rather than offer back to OP due to embarrassment, I still think that makes her a rubbish friend.
 
It could be that the horse is fine for the dealer. Different rider, different horse. They may not be describing the horse falsely according to their experience of the animal. As for the friend selling on - that's no friend :(
 
For all we know the horse was given some training and the issues sorted, either by the friend or the dealer. Maybe a change from competition environment, change of feed, more turnout, different saddle...... etc have changed the horse.

I guess I would not contact the dealer without contacting my friend and just enquiring what had happened? There may be an explanation. I would not go behind my friend's back to the dealer without at least confirming what the situation was.

There are some horses who change with a change of circumstances.
 
twiggy2 said:
then you should not have sold him, when you sell you hand over responsibility if you wanted control then you should have kept him-no point moaning about what you could have prevented
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I have to agree, I'm sorry. And I'm really shocked that you sold him on.
 
i went through a similar thing and it's horrible. I swapped my horse for another with my ex when we split, the deal was he'd keep mine, bring him back into work (he'd had an op and medical issues) then if he wasn't sound he'd turn him away then try again at a later date and i would take on his horse who'd had enough of competing and needed a quieter life. At the time it made sense, the horses we swapped for suited us both better but it wasn't long before he'd won a few comps on my old horse so sold him on for a full price, not disclosing the medical issues.

In my case i tracked down the new buyer and informed them, but they decided they weren't keeping the horse anyway so passed him on to a dealer, who i also informed of the medical issues but the horse was still sold on.

I was livid at the time, the ex and i had a huge row, he threatened to sue me for informing the new owner of the medical issues and said if i was that concerned about the horse long term i should have kept him or put him to sleep, which as harsh as it sounded given that i believed at the time he was going to be kept by the ex, it was true and to this day i beat myself up about it.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
You can't be responsible for a horse you once owned for the rest of its life. You sold the horse to s friend who obviously knew the issues the horse had. She must have eventually realised that she couldn't cope with the problems so moved him on. If there is any responsibility to notify of the issues it would fall on her. I would suggest that she probably didn't mention the issues to the dealer or she would have got considerably less for him. If she contacted him now then she may bring problems on herself. Either way it is nothing to do wioth you.
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You see, when I take on an animal I consider it is my job to do my best for him, he is part of my family, and always will be .......
The friend who offered a home for life had the option to phone up OP and discuss the situation, but did not, after this, I would consider anything she says to be dubious.
In this case the animal will be dangerous in certain hands, that is why OP tried to find a permanent home for him.
 
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twiggy2 said:
then you should not have sold him, when you sell you hand over responsibility if you wanted control then you should have kept him-no point moaning about what you could have prevented
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That's harsh. Many horses could be 'a disaster waiting to happen' if they fall into the wrong hands. However, with full disclosure of the issues, the horse can go on to have a productive life in another home. OP thought that she was doing the right thing by the horse, but has been let down by her 'friend'.

OP, I'd alert the dealer to the horse's quirks, and leave it at that. Agree that it is quite possible that he hasn't shown signs (yet) of his tricky behaviour in another environment.

The dealing yard that I bought my cob from also does schooling liveries. Some of the horses come in for retraining because, according to the owners, they have any number of poor behaviours (napping, bucking etc). However, quite often, they simply don't put a hoof out of line from the time they arrive! YO reckons it's because they know they have arrived at 'school' and gain confidence from the environment, and firm but fair handling.
 
Tiddlypom said:
That's harsh. Many horses could be 'a disaster waiting to happen' if they fall into the wrong hands. However, with full disclosure of the issues, the horse can go on to have a productive life in another home. OP thought that she was doing the right thing by the horse, but has been let down by her 'friend'.

OP, I'd alert the dealer to the horse's quirks, and leave it at that. Agree that it is quite possible that he hasn't shown signs (yet) of his tricky behaviour in another environment.

The dealing yard that I bought my cob from also does schooling liveries. Some of the horses come in for retraining because, according to the owners, they have any number of poor behaviours (napping, bucking etc). However, quite often, they simply don't put a hoof out of line from the time they arrive! YO reckons it's because they know they have arrived at 'school' and gain confidence from the environment, and firm but fair handling.
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I agree any horse can become a problem but it is different to selling one that is a problem.

my point though was if the op wanted to have control over the horses future then he should not have been sold and there is no point moaning about it now
 
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