Selling Horses? - Do buyers really appreciate Honesty?

RainbowDash

RainbowDash

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Hi,

As the title really and out of interest.

If a seller honestly listed all the good points (i.e. lovely stable manners, hacks in company - front, middle or behind, lots of scope, easy to lead, clip, and farrier) and were completely honest about the the bad points (i.e. prone to bolting if ridden alone, 70% in traffic as long as it's not trailer/skip etc, spooks at logs, prams and cycles, naps, doesn't school etc) in an advert - would you view/buy?

Personally I like blunt and honest adverts - what's your thoughts/experiences?
 
I think its best to leave bad points out of the advert, from the sellers view, and then tell a potential buyer when they call. If you know what you are doing and think you might get on with the horse I would still view.
 
If I am selling, I insist on warts and all descriptions. I have said no to more buyers than I have sad yes to. I work hard for a good reputation, so I won't ruin it by taking money without ensuring it is a good match or selling a horse that proves to be anything other than what I advertised.
 
Hmm.
When you see the 'perfect' horse advertised you often want to believe it. But I suppose after a few bad viewings etc, I'd be inclined to sit down and look for some realistic adverts. So instead of viewing this 'perfect horse' with problems I personally wouldn't want to take on, I can go and view this 'realistic horse' that I have already decided has problems that wouldn't bother me.

I was toying with the idea of doing a bit of dealing (literally a few a year as I'd like to really know the horse myself, probably only enough to cover the costs. Possibly with horses who are a bit rough around the edges and need a bit of TLC and work first) and I was wondering whether people WOULD respond to bluntly honest adverts better or not.
 
Horse* said:
I think its best to leave bad points out of the advert, from the sellers view, and then tell a potential buyer when they call. If you know what you are doing and think you might get on with the horse I would still view.
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Yeah...I won't list bad points in the ad. I will say for instance, not novice ride or needs confident handling. It weeds out the unsuitable buyers to some extent and allows me to go into detail on the phone. A buyer won't see a horse I am selling without knowing all good and bad points as I don't want to waste my time or theirs.
 
I have always been 100% honest. However, some buyers tend to "forget" the extensive information supplied to them and then ring 3 months later complaining that the horse is not as advertised etc. when it is actually their horrendous riding and handling to fault.
 
Elsiecat said:
Hmm.
When you see the 'perfect' horse advertised you often want to believe it. But I suppose after a few bad viewings etc, I'd be inclined to sit down and look for some realistic adverts. So instead of viewing this 'perfect horse' with problems I personally wouldn't want to take on, I can go and view this 'realistic horse' that I have already decided has problems that wouldn't bother me.

I was toying with the idea of doing a bit of dealing (literally a few a year as I'd like to really know the horse myself, probably only enough to cover the costs. Possibly with horses who are a bit rough around the edges and need a bit of TLC and work first) and I was wondering whether people WOULD respond to bluntly honest adverts better or not.
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If you post perfect adverts, you'll get lots of viewings and lots of time wasters. If you have a horse with schooling issues that needs an effective rider or something that you have worked hard to train up that is sensitive....lots of different riders getting on, trying to grab it into a frame and look good is not going to help you or the horse.

Horses are top of the pile for me. I have in the past ended a viewing before the buyer had a chance to ride because I knew from her personality and energy around the horses that if she had sat on that horse, it would have been like a coiled spring. I didn't want her to take that horse back in it's progress when I had already decided the match wasn't good.
 
GG out of interest on what grounds would you turn away a potential buyer? And how would you go about it? Not critising you will have to sell my much loved gelding in the future and want to make sure he is in the perfect home.

Say would you turn away if you thought they didn't have enough knowledge or if wanted to just happy hack a well produced youngster?

sorry - hope this doesn't count as hyjacking the thread!
 
_GG_ said:
If you post perfect adverts, you'll get lots of viewings and lots of time wasters. If you have a horse with schooling issues that needs an effective rider or something that you have worked hard to train up that is sensitive....lots of different riders getting on, trying to grab it into a frame and look good is not going to help you or the horse.
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That's exactly what I think.

However I think the popular thing to do is to post this perfect advert, slowly reel them in, drop in the problems scattered along the way so nothing seems that bad.
Or, let them travel to view it, and hope they wont notice/wont care as wont want to waste a journey and buy said horse.

I'd personally dive at an honest advert.
 
Yes, when my lad was advertised he was put across as the perfect horse, turned up to try just in time to see him being led down the lane, having ditched his rider, the old gent (not the seller) leading him stood holding him in the stable, on offering to shut the stable door, the honest old gent replied "Nah the b*gger will be out in no time", to this day my lad is still the escape artist and still the love of my life.
PS the seller still tried to say he was perfect
 
_GG_ said:
Yeah...I won't list bad points in the ad. I will say for instance, not novice ride or needs confident handling. It weeds out the unsuitable buyers to some extent and allows me to go into detail on the phone. A buyer won't see a horse I am selling without knowing all good and bad points as I don't want to waste my time or theirs.
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This is the way to sell honestly, no lies in the ad, speak to people and state any bad points.

A horse that bolts is not going to be easy to sell, if it is not good in traffic try and find a home that wants to ride off roads all the time.

If more people worked through the problems , rather than passed them on, honestly or dishonestly the horses would be better off and so would the potential purchaser. Although often one persons problem horse is anothers dream horse, it's all relative.
 
bgb said:
I have always been 100% honest. However, some buyers tend to "forget" the extensive information supplied to them and then ring 3 months later complaining that the horse is not as advertised etc. when it is actually their horrendous riding and handling to fault.
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I am not a dealer, but I do get asked to work with and sell horses belonging to clients and friends and one thing I always do is offer to take the horse back within 30 days if they are not happy with anything. To date, I haven't had a horse back, but then I am very careful with who I sell to for each horse. BUT...at the end of that month, I email the buyer and ask them to let me know how they are getting on. Answers come back saying how much fun they are having/been out and placed at competitions etc.

Then, if I get a call a few months down the line saying the horse has started refusing, getting pushy etc...they get a very polite, "well perhaps seek the advice of a trainer to make sure you haven't changed anything because as you know, s/he didn't have those issues when you bought him/her"!
 
be positive said:
This is the way to sell honestly, no lies in the ad, speak to people and state any bad points.

A horse that bolts is not going to be easy to sell, if it is not good in traffic try and find a home that wants to ride off roads all the time.

If more people worked through the problems , rather than passed them on, honestly or dishonestly the horses would be better off and so would the potential purchaser. Although often one persons problem horse is anothers dream horse, it's all relative.
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I quite agree - and it's down to the rider at the end of the day - but if the horse/pony had a particular dislike of something which could not be sorted in his/her current home but would not be a problem in their potential new one - would a buyer rather know from the off?

My pony is not as bad as the i've hinted in the OP btw - in fact he's more 99% on road unless he's passing fields full of strange horses or cows :rolleyes:.

I brought my fella a year ago and am still working through his problems - but by looking at Horse ads - there seems to be a lot of horses and ponies who seem to good to be true.....
 
RainbowDash said:
I quite agree - and it's down to the rider at the end of the day - but if the horse/pony had a particular dislike of something which could not be sorted in his/her current home but would not be a problem in their potential new one - would a buyer rather know from the off?

My pony is not as bad as the i've hinted in the OP btw - in fact he's more 99% on road unless he's passing fields full of strange horses or cows :rolleyes:.

I brought my fella a year ago and am still working through his problems - but by looking at Horse ads - there seems to be a lot of horses and ponies who seem to good to be true.....
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I think it really depends on the problem and whether it's good points will outweigh the bad ones, a super schoolmaster that jumps anything may be forgiven if it has a tendency to spook out hacking but a talentless unschooled 14 year old that is spooky or bad in traffic may be harder to sell.

The same with issues on the ground, if the horse is a dream ride but a nightmare to clip I would not worry, shoeing is more of a problem, some will not go in a trailer but are fine in a lorry, put that in an ad and you prevent people with trailers wasting time contacting you.

Most of the horses advertised sound perfect but often if you really read what is there then work out what is not they will not be so perfect after all;)
 
be positive said:
I think it really depends on the problem and whether it's good points will outweigh the bad ones, a super schoolmaster that jumps anything may be forgiven if it has a tendency to spook out hacking but a talentless unschooled 14 year old that is spooky or bad in traffic may be harder to sell.

The same with issues on the ground, if the horse is a dream ride but a nightmare to clip I would not worry, shoeing is more of a problem, some will not go in a trailer but are fine in a lorry, put that in an ad and you prevent people with trailers wasting time contacting you.

Most of the horses advertised sound perfect but often if you really read what is there then work out what is not they will not be so perfect after all;)
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Good points.

I suppose really it depends on who is buying and what they want at the end of the day. One persons 'bad point' is another's 'so what?'
 
A lot of people I have contacted would do an advert outlining the good points, then tell me pretty soon of any bad points. I love honesty and usually would say I am not looking for perfection but there are some things I can deal with and some that I can't.

The owner I bought my horse from was super duper honest and as I was coming a long way wanted to make extra sure the horse would be what I was looking for, we talked over facebook about every aspect of the horse and lo and behold I knew when I got there I had already decided! What could be better than that :-)

I think most of us would agree every horse has its faults and if a seller says there is absolutely nothing the horse does that causes a problem I just don't believe them! Depending on how much you're spending of course!
 
I was lucky with my most recent buy (May 12 now) as seller was as honest as the night is dark and not one thing said has been a lie yet. :) We keep in touch via facebook with the previous owner and also the owners friend who has known the horse for 5 years.:)
 
I would absolutely prefer a seller to be honest - I would hate to be riding, for example, to then find out horse hates cars when im on the roads or is a bolter in open fields etc. if I was told at the time of buying at least I could make the decision that was best for both of us

I've only ever sold 2 horses (1 was my mare, the other was a friends horse) and I was brutally honest about their pros and cons (actually, I think I just talk faaaar to much :) )

Both horses are still in their homes, years and years later going from strength to strength- and that makes me happy

If I hadn't, who knows where they may be

I'd take honesty everyday of the week
 
_GG_ said:
Yeah...I won't list bad points in the ad. I will say for instance, not novice ride or needs confident handling. It weeds out the unsuitable buyers to some extent and allows me to go into detail on the phone. A buyer won't see a horse I am selling without knowing all good and bad points as I don't want to waste my time or theirs.
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I agree with this. You want to attract some people from the advert, but make sure that they understand all vices etc before they come and look..
 
Honey08 said:
I agree with this. You want to attract some people from the advert, but make sure that they understand all vices etc before they come and look..
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Agree, though I wouldn't necessarily be put off if faults were listed because seller admitted they were overhorsed.
 
I wouldnt put the bad parts in an advert, but would tell them when they either phoned or viewed. I really appreciated the seller of my boy telling me exactly what he was like and what medical problems he had. she was very up front and in my opinion honest, backing it up by allowing me to call her vet to discuss his medical problems.
Once I got said horse home (had him 8 months now) he is EXACTLY what she said he was. :D
 
Well I do.

However I placed an advert in a couple of years ago and said something like

'really nice but very averagey horse, not an olympic or potential .....

Got no replies and it was really cheap too!
 
scarymare said:
Well I do.

However I placed an advert in a couple of years ago and said something like

'really nice but very averagey horse, not an olympic or potential .....

Got no replies and it was really cheap too!
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Aha, but being on here should have taught you that nobody has an averagey horse and everything is a sport horse with olympic potential nowadays...
 
I find it really hard to word things correctly though. I didnt get a single reply to my last ad and wondered if I had made her sound worse than she is.
She is a great allrounder but fast. She has done everything but does pull the biggest and best bitch faces I have ever seen. She has never bitten or kicked though. She is only in a snaffle and if the rider uses their seat she pulls up no problem but she enjoys going fast and I dont want a rider that is always going to be pulling her around.
Do I say not first pony , or great 2nd pony or not novice ride ( although she can have complete novices pootling round the field they wouldnt be able to take her out )
Dreading having to sell but she has been outgrown.
 
Horse*

Sorry, am on phone so can't quote yourquestion and please forgive any.mistakes :-)

Basically, I will just be honest. If I think the horse is too much for the viewer, I will say that I will have a think about any other horses that might be more suitable but that, on this occasion I.believe the horse to be a little too much for the rider. If they say they don't care and they want it anyway, I will just say that whilst I respect that, I need to ensure that the horse is being used to its full potential and that knowing the horse better, I believe it would be as poor match and one I will not be responsible for. I have never offended anyone and most people are genuinely grateful that I consider their future safety/confidence.

Another example is a lovely section d I am selling now. He has beautiful flat training and will trot or canter into any jump, maintaing rhythm, never stops, just like a rocking horse. The viewer fell in love as he is stunning, but she wants to event competitively. This horse could go PSG with the right rider as his dressage is so establishes and he learns so quickly...he loves it. He foes live to jump, but he doesn't have the same natural ability to be able to bring in the ribbons eventing, as her old TB did. She would be left disappointed and he would he left not fulfilling his potential and also, possibly doing work that he doesn't thrive on.

You HAVE to be responsible when selling horses. If you overhorse a buyer, you risk that horse being poorly handled. For example and experienced rider may know that the horse just needs a good smack and telling to get on with it. An inexperienced rider may change bits, strap down in draw reins and ruin a good horse, selling it on to god knows who.
Or, and more dangerously, people can very very badly hurt, very quickly when overhorsed.

In terms of underhorsing..you are just giving the horse an unsettled future as the buyer will Dion realise they want more.

Horses are animals, not machines. If people are worried about the occasional spook, they should rethink what they expect from horses. If they frown upon a horse that fidgets having the girth done up or legs hosed...get a grip, there is no such thing as a perfect horse.

You just have to do your best to avoid nasty surprises, avoid potentially dangerous matches and avoid uncertain futures for the horses.
 
I was brutally honest when advertising my horse and he has now found a fab home. I found it easy to weed out the people who were after a fast buck (he was advertised as a project) against the people that were serious. The family who have him now were expecting to see a complete monster, but found a genuinly sweet horse that just needed an experienced handler/rider who could put the time into him to bring him back into work slowly. This is happening and week by week he is improving. They send regular updates and even said 'he is the perfect horse for us'. Im so happy that he is in the best home possible.
 
You need to be a little careful though. I had a horse to sell on and he had a lot of annoying bad habits to balance against the fact that he was super looking and very very good on the flat. The lady who came to see him only passed by on seeing something else because as I had kindly listed everything he did, she thought there had to be a lot more wrong..! She was very surprised that he ONLY did what I said he did..so I would list all the good points, if there was something major I would list that as well but would perhaps leave out the entire niggle list till I was actually speaking to said interested person!
 
Oh god yes!! When I was looking for a pony for my daughter I lost count of the times I trawled up and down the country to see completely mis- described ponies. What a waste of time, money and effort for all concerned. And this was often AFTER talking at length on the phone and asking a million and one questions. Eventually found a cracking one by word of mouth.
 
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