Shocked at poor riding standards of potential buyers!!!

I've been and tried out a few for me to bring on and a few for other people and when trying a youngster will deliberately ask it to do something a bit odd or in an unusual way . Not to scare the horse but it tells a lot about a horse as to how it reacts. I tried a potential young hedge hunter, owner rode it very very round. I rode it with long reins to see what it did (panicked like mad until i had it over bent). Showed me it wasn't suitable for the loose style of potential new owner.
 
I did a post ages ago on this. When I Sold my 12.2 5 year old green NF, a lady called on behalf of her daughter. We laughed at the Time wasters I'd had and she assured me her daughter was the best jockey going. I reiterated that he was young and green.

They turn up, pony was impeccably behaved, mother says trot on sophia and the little girl is hauling on the ponys mouth and falling behind the saddle. He looked confused as hell and kept returning to walk and the girl burst in to tears and screamed I hate him! Get me off! I was gobsmacked I actually burst out laughing. She said to me the pony is very green isn't he... I said yes he is but I think your daughter is even greener :)

Some people are just plain dumb.
 
I would totally agree that people inflate their opinions of themselves (and not just in the horsey world) but I wouldn't describe myself as a novice having ridden all sorts for 38 years and owned a loopy mare for nearly 18 who put the fear of God up alot of people, but I once got asked to school a big warmblood. It was bouncy in trot but when I got it cantering I couldn't sit down on it for love nor money. I had to adopt what felt like a ridiculous position with my backside sticking out to get any sort of contact with the saddle at all. I must have looked like a complete beginner, I certainly felt it. I suppose in a way its like driving someone else's car. The steering is heavy, the brakes are awful and don't even get me started on the biting point of the clutch. But after a few days its fine and your own car feels awful when you get back in it!
 
I am fairly competent, been riding 39 years! owned a variety of horses and always kept up with lessons etc.

However put me in front of somebody and my riding goes to complete rats! i have dreadful stagefright.

I am sure there is a large element of this when trying horses out.

Get the horse and rider away from this pressure and relaxed and you have a different picture.
 
I am *dreading* looking for a new horse when the time comes :(

I can ride okish, I've galloped over Exmoor and through the firebreaks of Spain without falling off! I have a reasonably independent seat, but I can't jump for love nor money, 2ft is about my limit these days, and I'm stupidly nervous of new horses, it takes me a long, long time to trust a horse. I have confidence wobbles more often than most, yet when I'm on a horse that I trust, it can spin, spook, prance about and I just don't care.

Trying to explain all that to folk without sounding like a total numpty is really quite hard!

My criteria for looking will be all about temperament, I don't care what it looks like so long as its a gelding above 14.2hh. My bet is I'm still going to find it nigh on impossible to find something suitable :(

Both of my horses have come to me because I've known them for years before buying them. This time round will only be my 2nd time out looking via the ads.
 
brown tack said:
When I had my tb up for sale I had a few people that I didn't even let them on him. They talked the talk but when they turn up wearing a bp, hat in the car, then wouldn't even touch him. I just thought no way.

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I would always take my bp to ride a strange horse, so many are not as advertised and I have no one else to do my job or care for my horses (other than long suffering OH) if I come off something not as described! Probably wouldn't turn up actually wearing it though!
 
PaddyMonty said:
despite having ridden (and owned) and competed affiliated in all 3 disciplines for 47 years I still pass over not novice ride as agree I see it as meaning total nutter.
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So (genuine question btw, not arguing or disagreeing) how would you advertise a horse who patently wasn't for a novice rider b/c it was sharp/quirky/sensitive/cheeky?

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Last year I took on a persistently lame 13.2 5 YO.. The chiro swiftly sorted all the lameness as it came from the back. I cracked on over the winter bringing him back in to work and schooling him, he was yet another pony who had never been schooled or taught the aids, and didn't understand what the rider was asking of him, he just guest, and sometimes he got it right!

Hes now a stunning little chap who knows exactly what hes doing, is light in hand and leg, he enjoys to move and work well....

Several weeks ago I lent him to a child for a pony club rally (not one of my children!) the walk and trot was fine although he wasn't flowing as he would normally, then he wouldnt canter. no way no how! he produced some lovely medium trot, but no canter! next was jumping, and the pony who had pinged over 1.05m the day before wouldnt even trot over a tiny cross pole.

In the end, I could face watching any more, and got on him myself, the pony went walk trot canter, poped a little fence, and then an xc fence! so what was wrong?

The child riding him didnt know the aids for canter! she just kicked harder! she also fixed her hands on the ponies withers because she was scared about him cantering :( No wonder he didnt canter or jump, he wasnt being asked to!

There are too many novice riders who think they are good riders. :(
 
When I joined my university's riding club, they had 5 levels.

1- total beginner
2- novice
3- cantering but not jumping
4- starting to jump
5- done quite a bit of jumping

After some thinking, I put myself in 5 (owned ponies, did PC, used to jump a lot, not massive, but a lot). (and instructor decided to make a level 6- I was the only rider she asked to be put in that group. All the others had to ask, or managed to get in anyway as I couldn't have lessons on my own).

Another girl put herself in 5- she'd never jumped in her life. The descriptions were pretty self explanatory.

Also got told by one girl that they'd been jumping 3'6" out of trot (I was surprised the yard had any horses that could jump 3'6" at all). Turns out she meant 2'3"... :rolleyes:

The vast majority of them couldn't ride. Even the other level "5"s had awful balance, bad positions... and thought they should be riding at Badminton. It drove me nuts.
 
PolarSkye said:
So (genuine question btw, not arguing or disagreeing) how would you advertise a horse who patently wasn't for a novice rider b/c it was sharp/quirky/sensitive/cheeky?

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I would explain it all in the ad. I've just bought mine, so have been looking at lots of ads. "Not novice ride" does put me off. I've been riding about 15 years, ridden some total *****s in my time, but lost my confidence. So I was looking for something reassuring. If they'd put "very forward going", which isn't suitable for a novice, I wouldn't have been put off.

I have seen ads where they have explained horse is very sharp etc, and yes, it put me off, but that's because I didn't want something sharp. By giving the specifics...you're being specific. Sounds idiotic, I know, but you are telling the truth in your ad, "Not a novice ride" covers too many things. It's fast, it's sharp, it's a total and utter pyscho...
 
I've run the uni riding team for the last 2 years and we sign people up at the beginning of the year at the freshers fair, we talk to them and get them to fill out a questionnaire and then categorise them in a traffic light system; red for no way, amber for maybe, green for yes. We had one girl who sounded great, said she'd jumped 1m20, knew lateral movements and had completed affiliated, we put her as green. When she turned up at the trials, she couldn't sit to a trot and was doing a double beat (sit,sit,rise,rise), she couldn't canter and was all over the place, she asked to jump, despite us trying to persuade her otherwise, and was nearly out the side door, socking the horse in the mouth and being left behind, luckily the horse was sweet natured. We were so shocked that got the 'green light' could be soooo awful. In general people wildly over estimate their ability and we might have 20 people we think will be perfect for the team and after trials it's more like 5.
 
I sympathise OP, selling horses is never as easy as you think! I remember a girl came to ride a WB I had, she claimed she was really experienced and had done all the PC teams at open level and now needed to move from her pony onto a horse. She wasn't a dreadful rider as such but this was clearly the first time she'd ever sat on a horse (as opposed to her pony). She kept doing things to death, like because he did flying changes - she thought this was the best thing ever and KEPT doing them over and over, I told her to stop as I could see him getting annoyed but too late - he threw in a big buck and off she flew. She blamed the horse of course even though Id never had this horse buck in the 5 years I'd had it!
 
Agree with all those who say how hard it is trying out a new horse. Recently I have tried a few. Usually I start by asking the seller to give me a bit of a lesson on it - or at least ask as soon as I try something and it doesn't work. One nice mare I tried would not halt when I asked her to by breathing out, closing hands and lower legs so I asked the seller who said breathe IN, and close thighs. Bingo! I am not the best rider by any means - too old and stiff now as well as untalented - but riding a new horse for the first (few) times really brings out the worst in me! And yes I always wear a Bp for trying a new horse.

Pretty sure too that I would hate having to see people like me come and try any of my horses!!
 
I help out at a riding school in the summer, and I was horrified to realise last weekend that a girl who could barely trot without assistance and her mother (who has not ridden recently) are now looking for a pony. The mother definately has an overinflated sense of her daughter's abilities. Both instructors have tried to advise that she is not quite ready for this, as she struggles to use her legs effectively and is not that balanced, but equally they don't want to be too critical in front of a child incase they upset her.

I also think when riding a new horse, particularly one that has been produced by the owner, it is best to ask what aids they have used to teach the horse to do x,y,z, people do vary!

I also think "not a novice ride" is quite a vague phrase, which is why it's so off putting. Perhaps you could try rephrasing "Horse has lots of potential but has only been lightly schooled, so needs an experienced rider to bring her on."
 
Inclined to think that people rush into horse ownership without enough experience with different types of horses. Besides it's probably cheaper to buy your own horse than fork out for lessons. Add to that the fact that most RS horses are pretty sensible and ploddy so you could end up believing that this is what all horses are like. It's the sensitive or difficult one who teach us the most but health and safety and insurance deems that risks should not be taken.
Today I had a different horse for my lesson and I struggled with the steering at first because he is used to being directed from the front whilst I'm used to using my legs. All this helps me though as I need to identify and learn to deal with issues like this.
 
Have you tried her on different websites? There might be someone just right for you horse looking to buy but they haven't found your mare yet! Is there any other ways to advertise her? Do you know of any local riding schools you really trust and like? Maybe someone there would be liking to buy your mare? I would she sounds delightful!

I know what you mean by ridiculous potential buyers! I worked/ rode at this riding school for about a year and a half. This knew girl came to help had no idea what her riding was like but on her first day she told me ''my mum says if I work here long enough she'll buy me a horse''. I was really shocked.

People don't seem to understand about buying horses. They seem to think it's an excuse to ride, they think it's cheap, easy, not much work. They don't understand you have to look after a horse and it uses up all your pennies! I recently got some really good helpful leaflets from Plumpton College which has stuff about how much it costs to keep a horse o pony. I am currently studying them and doing sums to work out if I could get a horse (probably not!).
 
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brown tack said:
When I had my tb up for sale I had a few people that I didn't even let them on him. They talked the talk but when they turn up wearing a bp, hat in the car, then wouldn't even touch him. I just thought no way.

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Why is wearing a body protector an issue? I always wear a body protector when trying a horse out as there are some really unscrupulous sellers that would put you on anything and hope it doesn't dump you (don't take it the wrong way, it is just how I read your first para?)
 
I have had the same problem loaning our Section D mare who is very kind,forward going and a breeze to ride,if you are a quiet and confident rider.She is the opposite with anxious riders who cling on to her mouth and her flanks.I have had people try her out who inform me they are experienced riders,with loads of knowledge and are wanting something forward going.I am honest and always tell prospective people that our mare needs a confident,able and quiet rider.The reality is that people turn up,some of who appear not to have sat on a horse in their lives,while others may have sat on a horse but had no formal instruction.I have had to tell one girl,who was trying to scramble on my lovely mare,to dismount immediately,that my mare would be unsuitable for them,and pointed them in the direction of the nearest riding school.
Some years ago when my daughter was almost 14 and having to move on to horses,she tried out a WB mare who was initially ok,but was clearly too sharp for my daughter,at that point in her life.When i thanked the seller for letting us try the mare,while explaining why i thought her unsuitable for my daughter,the seller really got the hump.I was just being honest and did not one want a horse that was too much for my daughter,and secondly i believed the seller would be grateful she did not sell her horse to an unsuitable rider.
 
I am definitely one of these people that would make people cringe when they see me ride. I wouldn't over-inflate myseld, but equally, I do think sometimes sellers can ask questions which invite the answer to be subjective.
For instance, if someone asked me was I experienced. I'd probably say yes. However they could decide that means I'm some kind of fabulous rider (which I'm not) whereas I've meant it as "I've had horses all my life, I'm confident getting on most things and I know how to properly look after a horse". Asking me what my riding is like is unlikely to get the response,
"Ah yeah fair point, I'm cack!" nor I would think would it from other people. And I know I wouldn't WANT a horse who was directly matched my my abilities now, because a) I like an interesting horse and b)if I do have lessons I'd be looking at selling it within, what, months? I'd prefer something capable of doing everything but kind enough to forgive ME while I fail at everything :D But I suppose that's the honesty I'm happy enough to share, which some buyers arent...

I had the opposite problem, when people came to try my horse I was staggered by my incompetence and vowed to improve that this year :D
 
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I've had it all:

people sawing at her mouth, "why won't she go into an outline", tell them to keep their hands still and bingo, one outline into a light contact as rider already had leg on, rider starts sawing again and states "for dressage you need to fiddle, she's not right" - ARGH!

lady who stated a dressage pony should be hard in the hand and pull, "the judges won't like her" she said, when I enquired why I was getting 60-70% then, she said no they like them in a strong contact, so I asked from where we were how would she say the horse was going she replied "very well, she's working from behind, through her back into the bridle" well then I said "but she's not strong in the hand". I head planted at that point, moved my reins off the wilkie onto the snaffle part and the mum asked the child to haul my ponies head in! Before I could object she had short short reins poor pony couldn't bend through the jowl it was that short and mum said " why won't she take the contact down". Told them to get off!

Another put up a cross pole, then upright at 3ft for me to jump - fine. Asked to put a back bar on to see she would jump a spread, yes no problem, they only went and whacked it up, measured after at 4ft spread (my pony is 14hh connie x cob!). Bless her she flew it beautifully only for them to turn around and say "she's cracking, perfect pony but we want something more complicated".

I've had one vet her then slate her on third viewing, then be upset when I declined their offer to buy her (they'd messed me around for over a month!).

I've had riding school kids on her (I teach in a riding school), I've had BS kids jump her, I have competed her at riding club 90-1m and hunted regularly so I know she can do all these jobs yet i've still not sold her! Had two professionals look at her ad who know her and me and all have said they have no idea why i've had such bad luck. The right person will be out there and each time I see more and more what an angel of a pony I have!
 
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