Selling and loaning out woes

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Flyingsolo

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Unfortunately, my circumstances have changed, (our rented farm has gone on the market with planning šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«), and Im having to cut right down and need to sell on and loan out a few of my ponies, sadly.

I have put a loan advert up for one horse and despite having at least 30-40 requests for an application form, not a single person has ever sent one back to me filled out. The reason I have done it this way is to filter out unsuitable matches or time wasters.

The other pony, real nice, safe, steady, proven good sized childā€™s best friend/small adults pony, has had absolutely zero interest. Iā€™m absolutely gobsmacked. I havenā€™t had to sell on or loan any horses in about ten years or more, but I just didnā€™t realise it would be this difficult.

I have advertised all over as many Facebook pages as I can find, Iā€™ve paid for adverts on the top 5 sales sites, Iā€™ve posted free ads on the free sites. I have even started thinking outside the box and emailed, individually, at least 60 pony club branches, district commissioners, BHS instructors and horse finder agents with a ā€˜if you have any clients looking for this, please pass us onā€™ type message, but still absolutely nothing. I really do not want to put them into a dealers yard. Itā€™s a scary world out there for horses šŸ˜–

I feel the one I have for sale is very sensibly priced and Iā€™ve made it clear we are very open to offers, to see pony in a nice home.

At this rate, I guess as a last resort, Iā€™ll have to put them through the Blue Cross Home Direct rehoming scheme to secure them a nice home.

Every time I turn around, I see tons of new adverts for ponies just coming onto the market exactly like the one Iā€™m trying to sell and ponies with ā€˜REDUCED!ā€™ Written all over their ads who I guess people are struggling to sell.

Whatā€™s going on out there?!
 
What are your horsey community links like? My mare is for loan with a friend of a friend, I sent her ā€œadā€ to horsey friends and they put me in touch. At least they came with a sort of reference then too
 
I think a lot of buyers are distrustful of sellers. There are a lot of dodgy sellers which means decent buyers are very cautious about the wording of an ad. Thereā€™s also a lot of horses on the market to whittle down to a few youā€™d be interested in contacting.

I know I excluded a lot of adverts on the basis of a few words or a photo that looked off, some of them were potentially genuine, but most were not. I think the ā€œapplicationā€ idea sounds like it increases ease for you, but it might scare off potential loaners because it could come across as dealer-y. But, then again, itā€™s a loan pony so Iā€™m not sure.
 
Flyingsolo said:
Unfortunately, my circumstances have changed, (our rented farm has gone on the market with planning šŸ˜µā€šŸ’«), and Im having to cut right down and need to sell on and loan out a few of my ponies, sadly.

I have put a loan advert up for one horse and despite having at least 30-40 requests for an application form, not a single person has ever sent one back to me filled out. The reason I have done it this way is to filter out unsuitable matches or time wasters.

The other pony, real nice, safe, steady, proven good sized childā€™s best friend/small adults pony, has had absolutely zero interest. Iā€™m absolutely gobsmacked. I havenā€™t had to sell on or loan any horses in about ten years or more, but I just didnā€™t realise it would be this difficult.

I have advertised all over as many Facebook pages as I can find, Iā€™ve paid for adverts on the top 5 sales sites, Iā€™ve posted free ads on the free sites. I have even started thinking outside the box and emailed, individually, at least 60 pony club branches, district commissioners, BHS instructors and horse finder agents with a ā€˜if you have any clients looking for this, please pass us onā€™ type message, but still absolutely nothing. I really do not want to put them into a dealers yard. Itā€™s a scary world out there for horses šŸ˜–

I feel the one I have for sale is very sensibly priced and Iā€™ve made it clear we are very open to offers, to see pony in a nice home.

At this rate, I guess as a last resort, Iā€™ll have to put them through the Blue Cross Home Direct rehoming scheme to secure them a nice home.

Every time I turn around, I see tons of new adverts for ponies just coming onto the market exactly like the one Iā€™m trying to sell and ponies with ā€˜REDUCED!ā€™ Written all over their ads who I guess people are struggling to sell.

Whatā€™s going on out there?!
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Where abouts are you and is the small adult's pony available for loan? I'm looking for a companion/light hack.
 
Maybe the application form needs editing? Or just ask them the questions over message instead? Is the loan horse a companion or quirky?

For the pony - triple check your pricing, but also it is August and many people are away now.
 
Equestrian colleges are looking for horses for the next academic year so this might be an option??

Mine was on working livery at a college for two years.

It has both its Pro's and Con's. But it might give you some time & space to sort decent homes out for your horses instead of having to be rushed.

Please feel free to PM me.
 
I feel for you OP. I've been in your position in the past, I had to sell everything except one which I insisted on keeping. Hope you are ok and they find good homes. One thing I would not do is go cheap on price just to sell.someone thinking they can make a profit might buy and the horse ends up going for pillar to post. I think things are just really difficult at present. Hay is Ā£5_Ā£7a bale for small bales, expensive bedding,other living costs, council tax going up buy not wages šŸ˜•. People really do think twice before buying and there's an oversupply generally. Good luck with finding homes, hope they and you do well in the future.
 
Application forms may not be helpful because it implies applicants are competing against others for the share.
On paper I fail the BHS standard (I cant jump and I cant canter without stirrups) so I dont care for the formal standards.

May be use email so people can tell you what they and their child have done and what they like doing rather than dwell on the negatives?

And standards are not the ony measure. There is confidence and happiness with horses. When I cantered my old share up the track and back to prove I could canter, the RI owner didnt admire my canter. She said "Well, you're not afraid, are you?"
 
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I don't think it is a good time of year for selling children's ponies as most people look for them before the school holidays to allow enough time for them to settle in before pony club camp or the summer holidays start and will have found them by now.

Sounds like a great pony though. Have you tried contacting people who are doing wanted adverts.

I agree things are getting expensive and people may think twice about buying but there are wealthy people who don't have to worry about money or those with their own land.
 
We are actively looking for 2-3 ponies for our RDA, could you PM me where you please if you don't want it on an open forum? We both buy and have loans in our herd.
 
Surbie said:
We are actively looking for 2-3 ponies for our RDA, could you PM me where you please if you don't want it on an open forum? We both buy and have loans in our herd.
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Hi Surbie, thanks for your message. These are not RDA suitable Iā€™m afraid. Good luck with your search šŸ¤ž
 
Agree with the others who say get rid of the application form. Re the one for sale, would it be worth sending the ad to a couple of people on here for 'fresh' eyes on it to see if anything needs changing?

Although I'm not in the market at the moment, I hadn't got the impression that things aren't selling anymore so hopefully it might just be that you need a few key words/ phrases and/ or some different photos.
 
Iā€™d ditch the application form.
You can generally tell most of what you need to know about potential suitability by the tone and detail in the initial contact!

If you just say something along the lines of ā€˜please describe your experience, what you are looking for and xyz (if you have a specific requirement), then most responsible future owners will construct a paragraph or two.

The ones that go - can I have more details or will he fly to the moon (or other such random comments) you can just hit ignore on!

ETA - for the pony there has to be something in the advert putting people off. Iā€™m happy to look by pm if it helps.
 
From an outsider's POV why would a horse that will be a child's best friend not be suitable for an RDA pony? (I volunteered for many years with a group and some of our horses were RS types others were not as we were a group that had para-dressage riders too). It may not be an RDA type but does that mean you are viewing its rehome-ability through rose tinted glasses and it's not quite as desirable to the wider market as you had first perceived? Does it have some quirks or limitations that you find manageable that would scare others off?
Also. I know there are people on here who would run a mile at something advertised all over the place, or on the market for too long. I'd be tempted to withdraw all the ads and try again around the end of the month.
Like someone else has said I'd be tempted to get someone to review your ads and look for ways to improve their appeal. Also 3 decent pictures and possibly one short video being ridden can really add to an advert.
 
What are the photos on your ad like? Clean, tidy pony, smart bride/headcollar, no boots and stood up correctly from both sides for confo shots. Couple of pics or a short video of pony doing its job and maybe a nice head-over-the-door shot if there is space.

Make them look professional.
 
I know of a private school currently looking for ponies for their equestrian side - a lot of the children compete in NSEA, the ponies have a wonderful life with varied work and turnout as standard and the staff are all lovely. Iā€™ve had two friends send horses there in the past as itā€™s a slightly quieter environment than a normal riding school or college and been very happy. Feel free to PM me if you want their details.

Edit - aside from that, I expect the application form might be a bit off putting.
I loan one pony currently and own another that started as a loan, and can offer a good home. But Iā€™d worry that things might not be up to standard or the owner would be interfering/not able to let go and Iā€™d feel under pressure so probably wouldnā€™t persue on that basis. (Obviously I expect to stay in touch with the owners and the ponies are well looked after!)
 
Flyingsolo said:
Hi Surbie, thanks for your message. These are not RDA suitable Iā€™m afraid. Good luck with your search šŸ¤ž
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I have no idea about your ponies but actually a wide range of equines are suitable for RDA. Riders range from children and adults with severe and complex Learning Disabilities, through vision/hearing impaired, autistic riders and those with simple mobility issues. Ours is a very small group and we currently have riders who fit into all those categories, while we have also accommodated adults with MH issues in previous years.
We are not linked to a RS, our equines do RDA work a maximum of 8 hours per week spread over 3 days over the summer season (weather and light curtail winter activities) and are hacked by experienced volunteers at other times. The group own some of the ponies, while some are on loan to us. They all live out on a working farm 24/7. We are not currently looking for any more equines.
 
Has it ever occurred to everyone that they may not want their pony to go to an RDA/RS/school/college setup?

I know that I would never send any horse of mine to a RS/RDA/etc, because of what Iā€™ve seen. Even if what you see looks good, thereā€™s no way of ensuring that every rider/member of staff will treat the horse with care. At the minute thereā€™s also an issue (at least in my area) with a certain community buying up riding schools with a good reputation and running them into the ground (for max profit of course) with zero thought for the horses, even people loaning are struggling to get their horses back. Itā€™s happened to two local RS/RDA setups locally to me.

It could also be the case that the pony works best in a 1-1 setting which just isnā€™t possible in a RS/RDA.
 
HaplessHorse said:
Has it ever occurred to everyone that they may not want their pony to go to an RDA/RS/school/college setup?

I know that I would never send any horse of mine to a RS/RDA/etc, because of what Iā€™ve seen. Even if what you see looks good, thereā€™s no way of ensuring that every rider/member of staff will treat the horse with care. At the minute thereā€™s also an issue (at least in my area) with a certain community buying up riding schools with a good reputation and running them into the ground (for max profit of course) with zero thought for the horses, even people loaning are struggling to get their horses back. Itā€™s happened to two local RS/RDA setups locally to me.

It could also be the case that the pony works best in a 1-1 setting which just isnā€™t possible in a RS/RDA.
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Yes, of course it has. That is fine, it's the owner's prerogative to choose what to do with their horse, even if they are struggling to rehome one.
However that doesn't make the horse unsuitable for RDA. There is a misconception that RDA=plod, it doesn't.
I've known equines be used for RDA while also going hunting, showing, sj-ing, team-chasing and scoring well in dressage. What they do need is a willing, unflappable temperament.
Of course it may well be that OP's ponies don't have that. As I said I don't know her ponies.
 
Not all RDA set ups are equal.

Some are grand, and some are less so, with much less emphasis on the on going mental welfare of their equines. Mostly due to lack of knowledge rather than anything deliberate.

The two RDA groups I have been involved with attracted and were managed by horse people, and the equines were always very well cared for and kept sweet.
 
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