'Sold from field' ??????

YourStar

YourStar

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Hi all,
Have seen this in a few adverts I've been looking at in particular one which explains the horse hasn't been working and has been in the field since last summer, so what does 'Sold from field' mean? That I cannot see the horse being ridden? or..

Sorry if im asking a stupid question but I've seen it quite a few times and I'm wondering :)

Thanks

xx
 
Yep pretty much. Treat with caution. Not necessarily always something bad lurking about it, but just tread carefully and use common sense. It can just be a simple case of them not being able to have time to ride it/recovered from injury/just turned away/etc.

No harm in asking if they'd be willing to let you have a sit on, but generally, you see it how it is in person from the ground and it trotted up, and that's that. It's your decision whether to risk it buying or not. Same as 'sold as seen' really.
 
I understand it to mean that the horse is unfit and not 'well presented'.

I bought Little Lad from the field. He'd not been sat on in months and hardly handled. I spent some time with him, put my gear on, tacked up and the rest is, as they say, history in our case. Still, he's happy now :).
 
Ahh.. now I understand, this will mean that there can be two sides two it, you have a happy ending like MrsMozart and you buy a brilliant horse or you fitten the little bugger up and he turns out to be ... not what you quite thought !

xx
 
I bought a TB gelding off the field, he was like a hat rack and had horrendous mud fever and was covered in cuts and grazes, the vile dealer wouldn't even let us put a headcollar on him while we looked over him, but felt sor sorry for him so bought him there and then, gave her the money and went back 30 minutes later with a horsebox, his mudfever was so bad he was severely lame in both back legs, anyway long story short, he turned out to be quite challenge but has gone on to be a very very good horse.
 
It's basically being "Sold As Seen" you buy it but it might not have been worked for a while, groomed, rugged...touched for however long.
There might be an injury issue, behavior problems or could just be that the owner didn't have time to do anything with the animal.
Not saying it's always because there is something wrong with the animal or owner but there is usually a reason why they are being sold in this way.
If your interested in a horse that's being sold from the field, ask loads of questions and find out why it's being sold in this way and remember that if it hasn't been worked for a while you should treat the horse very carefully if your going to ride it...almost as a youngster. You might be fine but you also might end up on the floor very quickly.

I'm sure there are people with good and bad stories about buying a horse in this way.
 
I bought an ex-racer from the field mid April. I took the advice of the person from the racing yard who showed me all the available horses, and it was the right advice. I didn't even see her trotted up. I had a brief check of her legs in the field and then she took off to be with her buddies. She is lovely. I bought her as a project while my old horse had the summer off, but not sure that I can part with her now!
 
I've been looking for an Intermediate Show Riding Type (or Hack!) or An Intermediate Show Hunter Type for quite a while now I wanted something which has been there and done that around 8 or 9 years old, something that I can work with and get to know this winter, to then go on and show next season in the summer (nothing that needs alot of schooling and alot of work as I would only have the winter and then the summer to show him or her), when in Sept 11 I will be off to Uni and the horse will be worked by the producer who comes to us until I got back for the next summer...

I found a very cheap (£1800) 8 yo PBA gelding, same owner since 18months, competed county level but this year has just been turned away as rider had exam commitments, sounds perfect but now as it hasnt been worked all summer and has been living out im having doubts ....


xx
 
YourStar said:
Ahh.. now I understand, this will mean that there can be two sides two it, you have a happy ending like MrsMozart and you buy a brilliant horse or you fitten the little bugger up and he turns out to be ... not what you quite thought !

xx
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Sorry YourStar, we were of the not-so-good version :(. LL was fat, rude, unfit, and a right royal pain in the butt. We got him fit, sorted out his teeth, back, feet, etc. He ditched D2 a few too many times and she gave up riding :(, though she will sit on the Dizzy on. D2 took him on and learnt to sit spins, bucks, rears, and bobbing off. Now he's on grass livery, retired at fourteen. So, y'see, whilst for others it might be brill, for us it was less so, though we all love the little blighter and look forward to him coming home :)
 
We bought a pony for a friend's children from the field just before Easter this year. She was a 7 yr old broodmare, not in foal this year. She had been at livery on a large yard, less than 20 miles away from us. We saw her tied up, having her legs hosed as we arrived early to see her. She was then tied to a large horsebox while the engine was started and a carriage was brought down the ramp. We took her for a walk out on the roads, although the only traffic we saw was cars, the roads were quite narrow. My sister (who was the smallest among us) then sat on pony in the arena and walked and trotted round bareback while friend held leadrope.
Today that pony went to her 2nd show with the 2 boys and won a fistful of red and blue rosettes, having been perfectly behaved all day.
IMO, you need to know what you are looking at and buy from someone who you know you can trust, in our case the professional yard is a long-established, well-thought-of local business and we were pretty certain that the pony's story was genuine.
 
Could be fab and the people have just lost interest or had a confidence set back or it could be a nightmare horse.

The only person I know who bought from the field got a dopey, malnourished 16'2 gelding who, when given some TLC, turned into a bit of a nutter. She has since sold him to a marvelous, fearless rider that knows him well and loves him regardless.
 
MrsMozart said:
Sorry YourStar, we were of the not-so-good version :(. LL was fat, rude, unfit, and a right royal pain in the butt. We got him fit, sorted out his teeth, back, feet, etc. He ditched D2 a few too many times and she gave up riding :(, though she will sit on the Dizzy on. D2 took him on and learnt to sit spins, bucks, rears, and bobbing off. Now he's on grass livery, retired at fourteen. So, y'see, whilst for others it might be brill, for us it was less so, though we all love the little blighter and look forward to him coming home :)
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Sorry MM! Must have mis-interpreted your post!

xx
 
If it's competed at County level like they've mentioned, enquire to what judges it had and ring them up for their opinions on the horse. :)
 
Pearlsasinger said:
We bought a pony for a friend's children from the field just before Easter this year. She was a 7 yr old broodmare, not in foal this year. She had been at livery on a large yard, less than 20 miles away from us. We saw her tied up, having her legs hosed as we arrived early to see her. She was then tied to a large horsebox while the engine was started and a carriage was brought down the ramp. We took her for a walk out on the roads, although the only traffic we saw was cars, the roads were quite narrow. My sister (who was the smallest among us) then sat on pony in the arena and walked and trotted round bareback while friend held leadrope.
Today that pony went to her 2nd show with the 2 boys and won a fistful of red and blue rosettes, having been perfectly behaved all day.
IMO, you need to know what you are looking at and buy from someone who you know you can trust, in our case the professional yard is a long-established, well-thought-of local business and we were pretty certain that the pony's story was genuine.
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Sounds perfect and you have been lucky! Another thing I need to think about is that this horse is 350 miles from us although I have traveled the distance of the country to buy a horse it may seem un worthwhile if I cannot see the horse in his true state, him being worked etc !

xx
 
Sold from the field can mean different things to different people. I have a very nice handsome grey gelding which I may have to "sell from the field". There is nothing wrong with him at all and I know his full history as his owners bred him, I have him to get going and sell but really not having the time at the moment means he will be cheaper, no where near fit (but has shown in hand) and in the field!

All I would do is ask lots of questions but don't always expect the horse can/should be ridden and if you choose to ride it treat it as a youngster!

Good Luck!
 
Sadly 'sold from the field' meant the following for one my lovely boys:
We are selling him because we havent had the time to feed, rug or handle this beautiful pony since we bought him as a 3 year old from his breeders having persuaded her we are top pony producers.
We know his teeth havent been rasped and his back is now sore because we didnt put a rug on him due to sticking him out alone in a field on the side of a Welsh mountain. As we havent had the time or decency to keep him warm, feed him and show him ant love we are selling him to someone else who can.

Thankfully 3 years after buying the pony, he is now the most loving, gentle and kind pony I have ever had the privelege to own.
 
I have no experience of this myself, but the two people I know who did this both ended up with horses that they couldn't do much with.

One bought a beautiful Welsh cob that the owner said had been turned away due to lack of time. Everything was fine for a few weeks but he became difficult to mount to the point where he would start broncing and no sooner had she got on than she was flying off again! To cut a long story short he turned out to have a back problem that only showed itself after he'd been back in work for a while. He cost her a fortune in trips to the veterinary hospital etc. The previous owner denied all knowledge and said he'd always been sound (a likely story).

The second person had a similar experience. Horse was sold as a pony club type but unfit. It soon became clear why the seller had let her become unfit - she had no brakes and was basically a project horse.

I'm sure there are genuine people selling from the field, but I would proceed with caution.
 
YourStar said:
Sounds perfect and you have been lucky!
xx
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Well no, the point I was trying to make was that you need to know what you are doing. We tried her in the situations that we knew were most important to us. We needed a bombproof pony of a particular size, which could be ridden by a lightweight adult, if necessary. We also knew that the people selling her had a reputation to maintain, although not as a dealing yard particularly. We had bought previously from them, actually. Sis and I got our first horse from the same family, nearly 40 yrs ago!:D:D
 
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