Talented but quirky horse. What to do?

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Mistatiger

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I have a dilema!! I have a very talented,just turned 6yo, but he is a bit quirky. ie can have a spin and a nap!! He did BYEH last year and has a very big jump(probably more suited to a SJ career). I bought him with the view to sell but as he has not turned out as straight forward as I expected and to be perfectly honest I think he and I have a personallity clash I do need to sell him and am aware that I will loose money. What do I do with him as I only sell from my yard horses which I can 100% stand behind? Do I try to part X and if so where and who or does anyone else have any suggestions? He has jumped BSJA very well. One other thing is that he had a sucessful chip removed from his forleg. Any help greatly appreciated.
 
It's fine to sell him - be honest in your advert and be honest with purchasers, tell them what his flaws are. I would ask a lower price and say it's because of his quirks. I bet you will find someone on a limited budget who wants a talented horse and will put up with his antics.
 
i would work through this a spin and a nap deserves a good slap...............nearly rhymes! i would work on his strengths maybe he is much more of a showjumper than an eventer! clock up some winnings and his double clears where relevant and he will do someone well. px's are not a good idea you might get one with more probs/issues than you have already tho i think the one you have got has only got hiccups.. age and experience related.
 
I have a suspicion that the OP has sufficient experience to work through most things (sorry, but I think I know who you are
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). If he has that much jump surely he'd be fine in a pure SJing home?

Do you have any semi-pro contacts that might be interested? If he was cheap enugh the people who I bought my youngster from might be interested?
 
It depends what he stands you at (I don't want/need to know): do you just want rid or do you want to get what you paid for him? If he's smart and might hunt it could be worth sending him to someone to get him out, then he might sell that way. If he's cheap enough someone will buy him, but that doesn't mean you won't get phone calls for ever after.
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I have no idea who you are but trust GBs intimation.
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Could you contact some of your contacts, as it were? Perhaps some showjumpers and/or people who make a speciality out of "difficult"? I rode a horse for a yard I worked at the was beyond quirky but hugely talented and when we decided she wasn't the kind of horse we wanted to be selling (business was mostly amateur horses and my boss kept a few really top class show horses) we made a short list of all the crazy pros/semi-pros we could think of, called them up and offered them the horse for what we felt was a reasonable price. They all loved her and the first to come up with the cash got her. We were not keen to offer the horse on the open market in case we got a rash of unsuitable people so targeted word of mouth was definitely a better option.
 
i would contact some pros about the horse- if it has enough jump they might be willing to take the gamble on it being quirky...or they might sell it on for you?
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i'd advertise him as 'difficult' with full disclosure of what he does, and get a signed acceptance of this from buyer.
or, a friend had a pretty tricksy horse and sent it to a pro eventer who did an excellent job with it, and sold it for her. i know OP is definitely no mug, but this particular pro is a man who doesn't seem to have an imagination re: possibility of injuries to himself etc! he didn't even think it was particularly tricky, all the ones he gets to ride are like that! happy to pm his name if you would like. he might be prepared to split profit, etc?
 
I had the same problem with a very talented 6yr old who had a big jump was quirky, he would have a spin and nap and didn't enjoy the eventing realy. In the end he went to a semi pro I know who did a litle more pute sj with him, then made a video of him and sent him to his friend thst use to be an international s/ jumper. He loved him and bought him with all his quirks as it wasn't something that bothered him due them being pros. I learnt the hard way that you won't get anywhere unless the horse enjoys the job, no matter how long you spend trying to change their minds.
I would find a good semi pro jumper who would take him on to sell on your behalf.
 
I think you have two options, firstly as others have said, sell him yourself warts and all disclosed and like Kerrilli says get the buyer to sign a disclaimer.

I know who the original poster is and I have no doubt about your ability to assess a horse. If you really think it will make a good sjer then may be worth sending it to a pro sj yard for them to produce for you though this might end up costing you.
 
Thanks everyone, GB is right in that I am not a novice rider but I am big enough to admit when I know that I have a horse who not with the right rider. We all know that we can sell 100 good horses but it just takes 1 bad one to ruin your reputation. I am sure this horse is not half as bad as some out there that are being sold as genuine!! He has already jumped some BSJA'S double clear so I think I will send him to SJ guy to get him going again when weather improves. I am sorry to bother you all with this and I am probably making a mountain out of a mole hill but so many people get in to legal bother with horses and I just don't want to be one of them. On the plus side I hope it is encouraging to other riders that even experienced riders have their problems and need help from others, we are never too old to learn!! ps Diggerbez,and anyone else from up North, Kenneth is with me for a clinic 7th and 8th Feb if anyone is interested. Thank You again and hears hoping I find the right home for my boy.
 
If it makes you feel any better, my old boss I alluded to in my post produced a horse that won a PanAm medal and went to the Olympics. After that she was a top junior and amateur trainer (and judge) and in that guise had bought, trained and sold a lot of horses for a lot of clients. The horse in question was gorgeous and immensely talented, she was SURE it was going to be top class and she was well p****d off when it turned out to be so quirky. (There was some debate about how much the sellers knew but she was not prepared to go back to them because, well, she didn't want to admit she might have perhaps, a little bit, maybe been taken.
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A big component in the decision to send the horse on to someone else was her reputation - she had a good business built up selling good horses that went on to win for their buyers. Even if we had persevered the horse wasn't really our "thing" and while I loved riding the horse in many ways, I don't think even I was quite bonkers enough for it.
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At the end of the day the horse was going to cost us a lot of time and effort for very little reward and possibly never be something we could sell with certainty. I learned a lot of harsh lessons from her and one was to weigh the whole situation, to do business and not just think (or not think) with my heart and my pride.

I will say, too, the horse went on to scare the c**p out of the person (Advanced rider specialising in bonkers horses and part time race car driver) who bought it when it set out with her across country one day jumping any space or obstacle in its path regardless of whether or not it was an actual fence!!! She couldn't stop or even steer, the horse just locked on and went, jumping wire, ditches, random bits of woodland . . . Looking at this woman's face as she recounted the obviously terrifying experience, I was quite glad the horse had moved on.
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