Selling a horse you love.......

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CharlesMax

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I have just, to my surprise, sold my lovely boy 3 days after advertising him, at asking price. I am rather shocked as I thought he would take ages to sell in this market and expected silky offers. I was, however, secretly HOPING it would take longer so I could have more time with him.

He has been such a pleasure to own but I need a more advanced horse and cannot keep 2! He is going to a fantastic new home which is comforting!

Have any of you sold a horse that has been very special to you and absolutely regretted it once the sale has been agreed?

Did you think the next owner would never look after them as well as you did, understanding their little quirks, insecurities and habits?
 
I will be interested to read this as I have just put my first and only horse up for sale. I love him to bits but I am expecting my 2nd baby and don't think I will have enough time for him for the next few years, and by then he will be in his late teens. It feels like selling the family dog at the moment, truly awful. I only advertised yesterday and so far 2 people have contacted me already. Secretly I am hoping he doesn't sell!
 
Good luck! If only they were not so bloody expensive to keep! The good home aspect makes me feel alot better though!

Will be devastated when I see him being driven off - he is such a gentle soul!
 
Yes! Girl will have owned him a year in May. She's talking about keeping him as a stallion etc. *rolleyes* He's coming up 3yo. I had him since from an untouched weanling and he was everything I ever wanted in a youngster. My circumstances changed, fuelled with everyone on the yard telling me I should get rid as I had 4 others. I've regretted it ever since. He would've been theperfect size and stamp. I've already asked her if I could buy him back at 3 times the price she paid, but sadly not.

More recently, the only other horse I have sold came back up for sale, being sold as something he really isn't. I feel guilty and worry about where the hell he'll end up as he has some serious issues, so I am now on a moral crusade to get him back too.

Some people sell horses and just get on and deal with. Others can't deal with it (that's me) and there's always a niggle at the back of their mind, wondering if they'll ever see the horse again.

Think very carefully before you do it. I've rushed into things, thinking I was doing the right thing at the time, only for it to really hit me a month or two later, then stay with me from then on.
 
Same thing happened to me last week.....much loved and cracking good pony, visit 2 hours after telephone call, money in the bank next day, no vet, quite taken by surprise! I have delivered pony to new home and its a lovely one (asked for photos first before agreed sale and took up reference from local instructor) and have linked up with new owners on Facebook. I sent a long sheet of handover notes with him to help them. Couldn't have asked for a better home and it was good to see him settled in his new stable. I would recommend delivering, its the first time I've done it and it made parting a bit easier.
 
Yes, I had two, my pony & my comp horse, I then separated whilst I was pregnant & couldn't afford two. Sold the horse, because although I loved him & we were so suited, my attachment to the pony went far deeper than even a pet.
I regret having to sell the horse, but not as much as I would regret not being able to afford essentials for him. He's in the same lovely home now, lovely horsey family with the means to keep him for life. Still in contact, & if their circumstances changed they would give me first refusal.
I don't really understand when people sell through choice, rather than necessity, then claim they are devastated & love them loads. Clearly not, or they'd keep them, not sell. I'm not saying there's anything wrong at all in choosing to sell, there isn't. But its a choice you wouldn't make if you 'love' them to the point its devastating to see them go.
 
SatsumaGirl said:
Some people sell horses and just get on and deal with. Others can't deal with it (that's me) and there's always a niggle at the back of their mind, wondering if they'll ever see the horse again.

Think very carefully before you do it. I've rushed into things, thinking I was doing the right thing at the time, only for it to really hit me a month or two later, then stay with me from then on.
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This exactly - I was pushed into selling my mare last year by friends who thought they were helping. She sold within a few days and I have been desperately sad ever since. She recently came back up for sale at 3 times my sale price (despite them saying they wouldn't sell her on). I couldn't justify paying that and it has upset me even more not knowing what will happen to her now.

Act in haste, repent at leisure, and don't listen to friends, listen to your instincts. I loved her hugely and now I have lost her.
 
Yes, I sold a homebred youngster as I was moving to London and my (long suffering) parents put the pressure on me to off load her. I sold her to a polo player, who then sold her on and 'can't remember' who he sold her to. I've contacted the HPA but have never manager to find her. I loved her to bits and regret selling her, but in the circumstances there wasn't much I could do :(
 
Yes. I had a gorgeous filly I bought as a 6 month old who was just the apple of my eye. I had her for 2yrs and then got into financial difficulty and so had to sell her. That was nearly 2yrs ago and it still upsets me :( But, I'm FB friends with the new owner who is in the UAE and who regularly tags me in pics and videos. She's owned by someone very wealthy and has the best of everything and has just started her SJ career and looks amazing! It's the best I could have hoped for tho I'd dearly love to have her back.
 
I only sold one and he was sold on within 2 weeks. Haven't seen him since. I was advised to sell my mare the other day, so having a place at livery would work (only one albeit large stable available, but my gelding bullies her around food, so have had to turn it down). I said no way. I love her to bits and even though she is a dopey little thing, she's part of my life. People clearly do sell horses and cope ok with it, though. I'm just not one of them.
 
Think it depends on the horse & whether you believe it is genuinely in their best interest.

Seven years ago I bought an ISH broodmare with a friend. She was bred (very well) to event, showed immense promise but turned out she had an injury she would have picked up as 1/2 yr old, that would be painful jumping. She was 6, moved like a dream, beautiful bloodlines, gorgeous easy horse who was on the scrap heap. Owner had LOU, & was looking to sell her as a broodmare to a home where she could be sure she wouldn't be jumped. We bought her, & in 6 years she gave us 2 fillies. They were event bred (as dam was), we are into endurance, so had no inclination to compete them. They were bred to be sold. As such, as much as we adored them we always knew they would be sold. The first we sold to our stud vet for her daughter to event. She is so pleased with the mare that we are breeding her a full sibling (due May) also for her daughter. The second we sold to a brilliant home, new owner fantastic & reguarly sends up photos. They went out last year (with filly as 3 yr old), won Trailblazers national final youngstock section & were reserve in the national final sporthorse section (not showing off, just don't want to be haranged about indiscriminate breeding of poor stock).

We really love (present tense because we still do) these youngsters. But it's as if we are their temporary gaurdians, giving them a good intro to life, but they are destined to be the horses of a lifetime for other people.
 
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Agreed that you need to be sure.

I haven't sold, but I did have a horse on full loan who then went back. In a sense, I guess it's not quite as bad because it takes the choice away and you know they're in good hands, but it was still upsetting to see him go. I don't regret, as I know he wasn't the right one.

On a slightly different note, I rehomed my dog about 18mths ago. I jumped into the decision due to moving to rented accom. and thought it would be best for her. To this day, it still chews me up. The owners didn't keep in touch and I have no idea how, or where, she is :(

Always be sure.
 
yes, im going through this at the minute, Ive just put my mare up for sale/lwvtb this morning as really struggling for time and money for 2 horses. It will break my heart to see her go as she is fantastic in all ways to me but i just cant justify keeping her :(
 
CharlesMax said:
I have just, to my surprise, sold my lovely boy 3 days after advertising him, at asking price. I am rather shocked as I thought he would take ages to sell in this market and expected silky offers. I was, however, secretly HOPING it would take longer so I could have more time with him.

He has been such a pleasure to own but I need a more advanced horse and cannot keep 2! He is going to a fantastic new home which is comforting!

Have any of you sold a horse that has been very special to you and absolutely regretted it once the sale has been agreed?

Did you think the next owner would never look after them as well as you did, understanding their little quirks, insecurities and habits?
Click to expand...

Yes exactly this except for slightly different reasons, my mare was extremely talented and I didn't have the time to take her out doing what she should be doing. She sold straight away to the first person who saw her. I really really didn't want to sell her but I knew it was the right thing to do as she was completely wasted. The lady who bought her knew how much I didn't want to sell her and keeps me updated on her progress, sending me pictures and I go to visit every now and again, in fact she always invited me up to ride which is really kind of her.

I just cried a lot as I watched her drive away :)
 
Oh yeah - it's not like selling a bike is it? I'd absolutely never make a dealer - i get the first bit right - i buy them cheap as "problems" - i work with them - turn them around into useful horses who can assure themselves of a good future - i sell for at least twice as much as i paid to a selected approved homes only - and then this is where i get it wrong ......... on one occassion i took back a horse i'd sold as a fit working TB (sigh! i actually started searching for him after i found out he'd changed hands 3 times in the first year) who was by the time i found him years later going blind, would never be sound again due to a serious injury -so in a great financial move (NOT!) - home he came to be an expensive field ornament - but i loved him, & my old boy had a well deserved retirement with me until he we said goodbye when he was 28yrs old. Another time, same again, worked for years to get a horse right, sold him for twice what i'd paid - ended up paying four times as my as i'd originally paid cos i discovered he'd changed hands & ended up with a dealer in a rotten state. Or my other classic one - buy horse, bring horse on, then give him away to a friend!! Regrets? None whatsoever! These days i stick to loaning my horses to friends & not selling - it's cheaper that way & i always know where they are! x
 
i'm 17 and i've sold 9 horses/ponies and i can easily say they have all gone to wonderful homes and i am in contact with all but three, but i have an inkling that my first 2 ponies will be in heaven by now.
though the hardest sell was of my last horse Honey who now only lives 3 miles down the road and is way more happy with her new owners than with me because she hated dressage, she wasn't bad at it but would be a right grump afterwards!
i find that even if i never get on with a horse i struggle to let them go as i always get scared of where they may end up, i may sell them to a lovely home but three years down the line they may not be able to keep them ect ect
 
Agree with Littlelegs. If you truely love a horse then you would not sell it by choice. Only if your circumstances force you to. Once you sell a horse, you do not know what its future will be. You may find a good home, but cannot control who the new owners sell them to.

Obviously some people have to sell so that we have the chance to buy our dream horses, but if you really love a horse then you would not part with it unless you were forced to.
 
Just going through it now, put my gelding up for sale who I have had since a yearling he is now rising 7. It was him or the rising 4 year old that I bred. Its been a really hard decision as I love them both, but I am struggling with 4 horses.

I think it will hit me hard when I find a buyer he has only been for sale a couple of days so it may take some time.
 
Personally think people who choose to sell because it is right for the horse (& this covers far more reasons than financially having to) should be appreciated for their selflessness. How many owners here bred their horses? Unless there were owners (& yes I truly love those fillies even though they were not bred for me to compete, I can breed & handle better quality than I can ride) prepared to sell, how many would actually have a horse? I have one I bred myself for myself, one I bought as a youngster & our broodmare. In my past is my first horse whom I bought as a 19 year old & kept until she was PTS following a stroke aged 29. I am grateful to the owners who have sold me horses (& apart from the 2 fillies have kept them all), & keep in touch with all save the broodmares owner who has not returned correspondence. I treasure the fact the owners of the fillies (now mares) do the same. I feel so proud to see them blossom & give enjoyment. It is a huge gift to give, a horse of a lifetime.
 
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