selling your horse - trial period

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PaddingtonPony

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Hi all,

Somebody is interested in buying my horse, and have asked for a trial period of 4wks to make sure everything is ok before buying. I have not yet given an answer, but am definately considering saying yes.
I understand the risks, and was wondering what sort of agreement i should get, and should i ask for a deposit? ive never sold/bought a horse with trial before. I would also appreciate if any of you think i should refuse or shorten the trial.
(it may be worth to mention, i know of the buyers through horsey contacts, and believe them to be genuine ie i dont think they are going to run across country with my horse!!)

Thanks all, really appreciate it
 
What reason have they given for wanting a trial?

I'd be very reluctant to offer a trial given how stressful horses can find changing yards. I wouldn't want them sending the horse back after a few weeks on a whim rather than giving the horse a fair chance to settle.
 
Make sure they pay for the horse in full before they take them.
Make sure they take out insurance for the horse before they take them.
Make sure they know that if the horse is injured whilst they are on trial, you either won't take the horse back or should they decide to return the horse, the price of the horse will be reduced to cover vets fees, and the possible reduction in value of the horse, so you won't be giving them as much money back as they paid.
TBH if you do decide to go ahead, I would deffo get a contract drawn up, to cover the 'just in case's'
 
running away with you horse wouldnt bother me, but what happens and i hope it doesnt if they break it?! i assume they will insure it for trial period, but what happens if they injure it and its a long time healing? the insurance pays vets fees but who pays to keep him? what happens if you send off your nice well behaved pony and not such a well behaved one returns. sorry to be negative but heard so many bad things with trials, but only from the sellers side
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My horse hasnt been in proper regular work for 2 months due to the snow. He was obviously not going as well as he should be when he was tried, and they want to make sure he will improve/ and that they are not over horsing themselves..
 
A horse can be ruined in hours, never mind 4 weeks!
However, if you are confident the potential buyers are genuine and you are happy for the trial, then it is a good idea to ask for a substantial deposit of at least 50%. And make doubly sure both parties are insured as insurance companies are very good at riggling out of things, especially if horse is at a different address than on the policy.
I had about 3 'genuine' buyers who each told me how much they loved and wanted my horse when I was selling him. They rode in the school took him out on long hack etc. said they would phone the next day and I never heard from them again - day tripping joy riders!
Sorry, got carried away there... but good luck with what you decide, hope you find a nice home.
 
yeah im really worried about getting a broken horse back, as i do need to sell him, and (however horrible it sounds) dont really have the time or funds to have him on boxrest for weeks if that were to happen.
Ordinarily i wouldnt, but they do seem like nice people, and in the current market i wouldnt want to say no, and then still have a horse for the next couple of months..
So i should ask for full payment.. i never thought of that.. but what would happen if he was returned in an either broken, or bad-behaving state? i would obv have to give them their money back.
 
and if they are overhorsing themselves you are left to do the repairing. wouldnt do it wth any of mine, but you know your horse and your customer
 
PaddingtonPony - I would ask for 100% before they leave, and state (in writing) that if the horse gets a serious injury, you will not take the horse back and will not be refunding their money.
 
mmm.. 50% sounds reasonable to me (but im bias).. so prob not so to them..

if you did get a 50% deposit, what would you give back etc if horse wasnt returned in proper state, or if it was returned as normal (unlikely as they wouldnt be returning him in that case) would i give the full sum back?

He costs £3500 by the way, if it makes a difference..
 
haha you can tell im really unsure as to what to do..
100% certainly sounds good too
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If you were a buyer, what would seem reasonable to you? would you say 100% was too much, or even 50%?
 
i'd try to word it to them, that they are buying the horse from you (therefore 100% upfront) but you will sign something to say that you will take him back if x, y, z but you won't take him back if x, y, z (eg serious injury, gets wrecked)

get a proper contract drawn up (do you have any legal friends?)

they will try harder with him if they feel they have more to lose. x
 
As someone who had to have a broken horse back after a trial period I dont think I would ever do it again. I lost a huge amount of money, as horse could never be ridden again.
We sold my daughters pony late last year, and were asked for a trial period, I explained why I didnt want to do this, but said that they were welcome to come to our yard and look after/handle/ride her as often as they liked before buying. Fortunately they understood and the sale was successful.
 
Personally I wouldn't offer I trial, for reasons others have said above, injuries, horse coming back with problems etc.

Are buyers local to you?

If buyers are not too far away, perhaps they could come and ride him everyday at your yard? That way you don't have the worry of having a broken horse returned and they can get to try your horse thoroughlly.
 
You need to ensure that your horse is both freezemarked and microchipped and that you see the passport, driving licence and rates bill of the people trialing the horse. Also inspect the yard they will be keeping it at. Ensure that they have it vetted before they take the horse on trial so that both parties are aware of its condition and that you have a contract drawn up by a solicitor and signed and dated by both parties. Take a deposit from the people trialing the horse.
 
When I was selling my mare last year I let her go on trial - Id NEVER do it again! They came in a 505 trailer even though Isaid would need a 510, didnt take the partition out as I said so she threw herself around the trailer the whole journey - pulled shoes off, various scuffs. Then instead of letting her settle took her for a hack the next day after shoes were put on and wondered WHY she didnt go well! (did nothing wrong except be forward and snort btw). I had a transport guy collect her and bring her home & kept her! Was a complete waste of time, so stressful for my poor girl and for me worrying about her! In hindsight id never have done it but thought at the time it would be a good idea!
 
If you had a car worth £3500, would you let a stranger take it away on holiday to make sure it ran ok?
Let them vet it, have trainers check it and say you will refund it don't work out. I wouldn't let him go without full payment TBH.
 
NO NO NO!

If the people want a trial with your horse then let them come & ride at your place, under your watchful eye as many times as they want but don't let them take the horse away. It only takes a short time to ruin a horse & only moment to cause a serious injury. What do they need a month for anyway? Don't do it. If they are genuinely interested in the horse then they can play by your rules.
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The only way I would do it is with the money paid in FULL before they pick up, then a condition that states the horse must be returned in the same condition or better than it arrived in and if they return it, they lose 20% of the money for wasting your time (lost advertising, ect.) I would also insist that its fully insured including loss of use and make clear that if the horse comes back unrideable they wont see a penny of their money. Also would give them a maximum of 2 weeks.
 
OK, thanks so much everyone. Im going to make sure i have a very water-tight contract and will have a good look and many visits to where he will be staying..
Thanks again, you've all been a great help!
 
Never would even consider it. Have over many years seen too many problems.

One horse came back to yard and couldnt get shoes on without being sedated, was fine before.

One came back and was terrible in traffic, was fine before.

One never came back, dead, they took it hunting and it broke its leg.

Too many people take the mick, some, take them use them and send them back and move to the next poor horse.

If they really want the horse let them have the trial at your yard.
 
Trial as much as they like at your yard only. Both our horses were bought locally and we had a weeks trial on both of them. I think the problem of sending a horse on a months trial is the temptation is to then try and do everything with them regardless of fitness/settling in etc in that short space of time to try and check everything out.
 


Cant believe the cheek of some people!!!
There is no way I would allow a trial on any horse, especially to people you do not know, NO matter how NICE they seem.
If it came back wrecked - how could you prove it wasnt like that before they had it??????????

I also would never have a horse on trial if I was buying. I have had horses in the past which I would have sent back if they were on trial, but persevered with them and ended up with super horses. You need a horse for a lot longer before you know what you have - simple as that!
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I'v had the same thing just happen with me, and i have always said i wouldnt do a trial period cause you cant get to know a horse in that time. However the people are very very nice (i no you cant always go under first impressions) but they are not local and live 2 hours away. However i am at university and the place they are moving my horse to is very close to where i live at home so am only considering it on the basis that i can see her at weekends.
I was just wondering what route you choose to take cause it seems more reasonable to proceed as them buying the horse and accept it back on certain conditions. Also wondered if you had any advice from the contract you had drawn up?
Thanks its very much appreciated
 
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