Timewasters!!

christine48 said:
Wait until you are selling, then you will know what time wasters are!!
When I have bought horses in the past I've tried it for 20 mins or so on its home ground then made the decision to buy. Too many people these days want to try it numerous times, go XC schooling etc etc.
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And why shouldnt they ?
If im paying over £5000 for a horse and expect to keep and care for it for a long time, i'll make sure its the right one before parting with the cash, and if that means trying it a few times, seeing its behaviour at a show, and running it over a few xc jumps thats the buyers perogitive, if that doesnt suit you as a seller just say no, and watch your potential client walk away.
As a seller id be glad someone was taking the time to get it right, you just need to look at the amount of horses that arent as described hacking, in the box or even in the stable that find themselves back on the market because someone didnt take the time to try them anywhere other than 20 mins in an arena.
 
horsesatemychristmasmoney said:
Recently, looking at various classified ads for horses, especially, I keep seeing 're-advertised due to complete timewaster,' or 'please, no timewasters' or 'serious offers only.' Even 'only contact me if you want to buy!'.

So, what is a timewaster? Is it somebody who asks for pictures etc, then doesn't want to view? Somebody who comes to view and decides not to buy? Or offers to buy then pulls out? I'm just interested as there seems to be a lot of them about!
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I avoid adverts that say this. Rightly or wrongly, to me it screams 'mis-sold'. What did they find that I might miss.

Timewasting happens on both sides, don't advertise it though!
 
I think the term i thrown around a lot, we went to try what appeared to be a "happy hacker" got 5 minutes down the road and the owner wasvery fidgety asking shall we go back, horse promptly sammed the brakes on, reared and bolted down the road.

We got back to the yard and someone else said " oh wow did you hack him alone, and e didnt dump you like last time ?" very loud not ealising e were thinking of buying him :o after saying he isnt a novice hack as described we got accused of being time wasters :cool:
 
It's all very well trying a "hack" for 20 minutes but if I am buying, or selling a competition horse, a 20 minute hack will not suffice! I want to see it work at the levels required, look at proof of competition history, see how it behaves at a show etc.

When parting with over 4k I expect as both buyer or seller for more than a 20 minute try out.
 
To me a timewaster is someone who views a horse with no intention of buying, or who arranges viewings and then doesn't turn up.

I recently spent a long time looking for a horse, and I'm sure there were a few people who thought I was a timewaster, but personally I think viewing a horse and then deciding it's not right for whatever reason is not timewasting.. On a couple of occasions it did take a 2nd viewing to confirm that it was not the horse for me. Surely there is no point in actually having a second viewing if you are not allowed to change your mind at the end of it without being labelled a timewaster. I have also tried a horse and then decided it was too big, but until I had tried a horse of that size, I didn't know that I would feel it was too big for me. Having said that I'm sure there are some real timewasters around who go for a free ride and have no intention of buying at all.

The horse that I eventually bought I viewed 3 times. Once just to meet him and hack him out, a second time to try him round a SJ and XC course, then a final time in an arena with an experienced friend for a 2nd pair of eyes. Many people might have thought this was excessive and that I was joyriding, but for me it was peace of mind, and having decided that he was right for me I paid the full asking price even though I felt it was quite a bit more than he was actually worth. I really appreciated the fact that the owner was prepared to go out of her way to make sure that both horse and I were happy.

I was on the receiving end of some timewasting sellers too. I viewed a lovely horse very early on who I really thought was the one for me. I arranged to go back the next day with a friend and an instructor, and was 1.5 hours into the journey when I phoned her to say we were running 10 minutes late. She said that she had just sold the horse over the phone. A second person advertised their horse as 16.1hh. When I got there she was huge (about 17hh). Apparently they had forgotten that horses might grow between the ages of 4 and 7.

Timewasters exist on both sides, but I do think people sometimes get labelled as a timewaster when actually they are just being careful to get it right.
 
marychristmas said:
And why shouldnt they ?
If im paying over £5000 for a horse and expect to keep and care for it for a long time, i'll make sure its the right one before parting with the cash, and if that means trying it a few times, seeing its behaviour at a show, and running it over a few xc jumps thats the buyers perogitive, if that doesnt suit you as a seller just say no, and watch your potential client walk away.
As a seller id be glad someone was taking the time to get it right, you just need to look at the amount of horses that arent as described hacking, in the box or even in the stable that find themselves back on the market because someone didnt take the time to try them anywhere other than 20 mins in an arena.
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this.
a horse is not a car where a 5 minute tootle round the block and a look under the bonnet will tell you everything you need to know.
If you're planning on x countrying the horse or other activities what on earth's wrong with asking to test it over these before handing over a lot of money just because you HOPE it will do it when you get it home?
 
The seller from whom I bought Bella this summer was what seems to be the perfect seller. I emailed first to check if horse was still for sale and to ask some questions. She replied with plenty of supplementary info and photos and asked me just as many questions as I asked her! I went with my daughter to try her, they loose schooled and then rode and jumped her for me, then I got on, having changed to my saddle (at her suggestion). I really liked the horse,and felt comfortable at once. She offered to accompany me on a short hack (her on foot) as I didn't know the area. I even had a short canter!
The seller insisted I came back to try her again, with my instructor, as she wanted the right home for her or wouldn't sell her so wanted everyone to be sure. It was quite a journey (at least an hour) but worth it. The second time she left us alone to get the horse ready and go in the arena (she was around the yard if needed), and was watching from a distance how we interacted with Bella.
The third visit was with the vet for the vetting.
I was due to go away to Uk for the Olympics (spectating lol!) and the seller was quite happy to wait until I got back to collect and pay for Bella.
A positive experience all round, I'd say.
 
MyLuckyStar said:
I've got an advert online that says re-advertised due to timewasters.

My boyfriends mom wants to loan her pony out but only from our yard so I advertised, a girl (well she's 19) came to view him, rode him and said she would like to take him on. Drew the contract up and everything was fine.

Until myself, my boyfriend and the girl who part loans one of his horses were at a show. The girl with my boyfriends moms pony had been the yard that day and text me to say she was bringing him in for the night (which is apparently what his owner wanted her to do) so all was fine, until we got back to the yard and noticed his bed was still banked up and he'd got a block of horse hage on the floor. I contacted her to find out why his bed was banked up and she said she thought thats how it stayed so she spinkled some clean straw on the banks and thought he would just pull it down his self!

Needless to say his owner wasn't happy and she no longer had him on loan. It may sound harsh but after his attack last May he isn't supposed to be standing on concrete for long periods of time (which she knew) and he'd been standing there for at least 2 hours
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Well surely you'd make sure that she knew what she was doing with regards to stable management...?

Nightmare before Christmas said:
I too try a horse once at its home. I am there about an hour in total chatting and riding for about 20-30 min. Job done
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Me too, only horse I rode more than once before buying was my TB - and only because I bought her from my boss and riding her was my job! My "ginga-ninja", who was the best pony ever and I still miss 2 years on, you couldn't even handle let alone ride!
 
I don't think your a time waster if you want to try a horse several times, especially if you are spending a lot of money.

I'm too impulsive. I try once and then decide there and then.

The last horse I bought was on sales livery at my yard so I was lucky enough to ride him several times before I bought him.
 
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