Selling a seriously talented sj pony - do we?

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moneypit1

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We have several youngsters aged between 4 and rising 6 and they all jump. We have one in particular who is seriously talented and will go far in the right hands. The proplem is a friend wants to buy him for her daughter and although we have told her that the pony is too much for her she will insist on buying him for the full asking price. We do not want to sell as I for one can see problems ahead as the pony can be sharp and tbh the daughter has only had schoolmasters before. If we refuse to sell it will no doubt cause trouble in our relationship which I don't want but if we do sell to her the same will happen in no time and the pony will be ruined to boot. What would you do?
 
I would go down the route of saying you are going to contact local sj trainers to get this particular pony a professional home. After all, if this pony is as good as you hope then you want it to do well to promote you as a breeder/producer.


I prefer to be honest - after all, if you did let them take the pony and it did all go wrong - you would never be here the end of it!!
 
I agree with the above. I think you would end up with more problem's by letting her have the horse. And I would ring round local SJers see if anyone would like to view him. If someone did agree that might get you off the hook for a bit!
 
tricky one . from what i have seen friends and horses ! can you not keep ownership of the pony and produce him further ? if not be absoloutely straight with your friend and tell her that you dont think its fair on pony or daughter and if she still insists ( which sounds like she will ) then say to her that only on the condition that she has a professional trainer ( sounds like she can afford it ) and if all goes wrong then to never blame you as you told her but value her as a friend and thats why you gave in. at least you can keep an eye on progress ( or lack of it !) and if you sell the pony to someone else your friend will never forgive you thats for sure , especially if pony does well ! so if you sell the pony to your friend you get the money , keep your friend happy and still see pony. if you sell pony to someone else you get money , upset friend , maybe forever , and may not see much of pony. if it were me i would have no choice and HAVE to do the first option.
 
I think honesty is the best and only way forward in this situation. Say if she did buy the pony and then became terrified as she is over mounted, not only has the pony been wrecked (and such a shame if it has the potential you have described) but would have destroyed her confidence too, in turn which could deteriorate the relationship anyways (you could possibly be blamed for selling a 'dangerous' pony etc).

I would either send the pony to a SJ yard and get a professional opinion or wait for the right seller to come along. I am sure your friend will be able to find another pony out there for her daughter :)
 
I'd tell them no and that the reason for the decision is that it is the right one for the pony and for their daughter. They are probably focusing all their attention on getting your pony at the moment but soon enough will look elsewhere if they are in the market for one.

You could also tell them you wouldn't want it on your conscience if something went wrong because you genuinely believe that right now the girl would be in over her head.
 
Has this child actually ridden the pony

I ask because a family showed a lot of interest one year when my son was outgrowing his 13.2
When she went on the market the girl tried the pony with her instructor giving a lesson.
It was apparent very quickly they were not suited as pony was looking for next fence as soon as she landed over one--just way too quick reactions for child used to a kick-on.
So no damage done and we were able to turn down a 5star home for the best of reasons backed by her instructor.

Pony found an excellent home from which she was loaned out but never sold again.
 
This could turn out very dangerous, if you did sell the pony you could end up with having to live with causing a nasty incident and ruining a very good pony- sell it to the right home and explain the issues, the people may buy something suitable for the person to enjoy and progress on rather than get hurt- and the pony ends up in a better home ! two negatives or two positives :)
 
charleysummer said:
This could turn out very dangerous, if you did sell the pony you could end up with having to live with causing a nasty incident and ruining a very good pony- sell it to the right home and explain the issues, the people may buy something suitable for the person to enjoy and progress on rather than get hurt- and the pony ends up in a better home ! two negatives or two positives :)
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Agree with this. Also, you can be sued these days for selling a child an inappropriate mount, and are they going to stand up and say, oh no, they told us it was all wrong, but we insisted? I doubt it if their kid is in hospital!

Maybe you could offer to help them find something more suitable? Though generally it is a good rule of thumb to avoid people who don't accept advice from those more experienced!
 
You have to think about the problems. If you're trying to run a business, to which you sound sucessful, it's your job to advise these people.
Unfortunately it may cause problems but business comes first :)
 
skewbald_again said:
Agree with this. Also, you can be sued these days for selling a child an inappropriate mount, and are they going to stand up and say, oh no, they told us it was all wrong, but we insisted? I doubt it if their kid is in hospital!

Maybe you could offer to help them find something more suitable? Though generally it is a good rule of thumb to avoid people who don't accept advice from those more experienced!
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Here's a thought, thinking about the above. Why not say, OK, BUT you will have a statement drawn up BY A SOLICITOR so it is watertight, which they must sign, saying that you have advised them that the pony is unsuitable, and that you cannot be deemed negligent in the case of 'death or injury' or something equally legalese and scary to their child.

I wouldn't sign that, no matter how much I wanted a pony!
 
Could you not explain to them that the pony is not suitable for their child, but offer to help them look for one that is? Or loan them the pony for a week or so, whilst keeping a close eye on it to make sure it's not being over worked?
 
I had this problem. I was selling my 16.1hh ISH who is rather big, chunky and opinionated (he was 5 year old) I got one mum trying to buy for their 13 year old daughter and i was rather concerned that he would be too much for her. Anyway, turned out she knew a friend who saw me ride him. This friend told her that he was very green and needed experienced rider to bring on so was so relieved then when this lady said she wouldnt buy him for her daughter.

I would be honest. You could say that he is rather highly strung and could turn dangerous and you would feel so bad if anything happened to their daughter. They have to put their daughter first so surely then they wouldnt be interested any more.
Either that or give this kid a ride on it and hope it then shows that this pony is too much. especially if you get your instructer to watch this kid on it and then you could ask the instructer to tell your friend that in their professional opinion the pony is too much for their child. that way you dont get involved :)
 
No you don't. Tell the mother absolutely honestly why you are not prepared to sell her the pony at any price.

I have just heard via the local horsey gossip grapevine that a woman I used to be on a yard with 4 years ago has taken to going round saying that we (me and my daughters) told everyone her pony was dangerous. Background to this is my no 1 daughter was riding it in the field one day, pony stopped dead and put its head down to graze, child fell off and unfortunately broke her wrist. At no time did I ever say such a thing, its pretty much a freak accident and just one of those things. But it gives this woman an excuse as to why this pony never gets ridden... I can't tell you how upsetting it was when this filtered back to me, and I wouldn't want anyone else to feel that way (unless you are a stirring old cow, which I don't think you are as you wouldn't have posted about this in the first place).

Of course as we all know, there is nothing quite like a Determined Mother, and she could still end up with this pony at some stage in the future, but at least it wouldn't be your fault.
 
Cuffey said:
Has this child actually ridden the pony

I ask because a family showed a lot of interest one year when my son was outgrowing his 13.2
When she went on the market the girl tried the pony with her instructor giving a lesson.
It was apparent very quickly they were not suited as pony was looking for next fence as soon as she landed over one--just way too quick reactions for child used to a kick-on.
Click to expand...

I agree with this - let the child 'have a go' and hopefully they will be put off ;)
 
It's a bit of a dilemma because you risk falling out with her if you don't sell her the pony but if you do sell it to her and it turns dangerous, she probably won't be your greatest fan.

I like the idea about drawing up a scary-sounding legal document to warn her off. However, first I think you need to calmly explain to her that the pony really is not suitable and then offer her child a lesson to prove it.
 
Thanks everyone, phew, what a difficult one eh? Brilliant advice from you all and i know what I have to do. I guess sometimes honesty is the best policy but I will try and be kind about it. Trouble is, the pony is not officially on the market yet so it could get a bit messy if we don't find a buyer! Will deffo get in touch with some sj families locally first. Thanks again. x
 
Dont even go there. I have seen the devastation that a 'Determined Mother' can cause. Stick to your guns and make sure that the pony goes to a suitable home. Friendship will go totally out of the window if the child gets hurt.
 
I would just like to offer an alternative opinion as I was in in a similarish situation a few years ago, but from the other side. We were at livery at a dealing yard about 4 years ago when a friend of the dealer brought her very whizzy jumping pony for the dealer to view. My daughter, who was 11 at the time, took one look and instantly fell in love. I have to say, he was 16 so not quite the same as the pony you are describing here. For me there was no decision to be made, as the kind of money they were talking was way out of my league and my daughter knows that, so he remained the "lottery pony" as in the one you would buy if you won the lottery. However a few months later, we left the yard and 2 weeks after I had a phone call, offering me the pony for a price even I could afford. My daughter went to try him and, despite the fact that she had only ever ridden steadier ponies, she actually handled him well and jumped him with no problems. Despite feeling a little wary, we bought him. The first few months were a very steep learning curve for my daughter and she fell off numerous times. Her friends from the old yard were horrid, bitching that she couldn't ride him and she never would be able to. However, to her credit, she persevered and gradually they turned around culminating in competing in HOYS 138 qualifiers. He was the best pony she ever had and he made her the rider she is today.
I appreciate that you have to protect yourself and your business but give the girl a chance, let her ride him under your supervision, perhaps on trial at your yard and then make your decision. As long as you put the appropriate safeguards in place so that you cannot be blamed if it all goes pear-shaped, what have you got to lose?
 
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