Trading in your horse...

D

dumpling

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 May 2007
Messages
985
Visit site
Someone I know has just 'traded' in her horse. Now she bought first horse online without viewing it, turned out to be a complete idiot and apparently it would try to cow kick her and it took her ages to do anything with it. She tried parelli with it and claimed it worked wonders, shed created a fantastic bond with it. Went to it's first show and it got placed last twice. Anyway to get the point on her day off she traded it in for a different one... Is that common?! Do people do that?! I couldn't imagine just swapping my boy over as such.
 
I couldn't trade my horse in anymore than I could my dog, but some people perceive their horses very differently. I personally can't stand it when people upgrade their horses like they upgrade their mobile phones. I think it shows a certain attitude that I hate and it sounds like your acquaintance has that undesirable attitude.
 
Maybe she likes a project. Maybe she will improve another horse. Maybe if she has improved the horse she has increased the horses chances of a good , long term home.
 
Not every has half a ton of animal as a "pet" , some want a horse to compete on and if it does not fit the bill then no point in having it. Trading it in is just the same as selling it, and people sell horses all the time, nothing wrong with that. If I bought a horse to do a job and for whatever reason it was not for me , I would also sell it or part exchange it with a dealer. Some people can't afford to collect horses that are of no use to them. If you can only afford one horse, then it has to be a horse that fits the bill. That's my take on things anyhow, but each to thier own. ;-)
 
Couldn't agree more with Speighty. Why waste money and time on something that will not suit you, a horse is a working animal, not a pet so needs to earn its keep so as long as she 'disposes' of it carefully then it shouldn't be a problem.
I'm not a fan of the throw away society but in this case I agree with her and next time perhaps she'll take more time and consideration as to how and why she chooses something, makes sure it's right for her rather than take the first thing she sees.
 
Yep, agree with the rest, trading just the same as selling. Mind you I've never known a good one to get traded in before...
 
I did trade in a nutter once, but for any horse I've had for a few years and is getting on a bit, and not a schoolmaster type, I have too many mental visions in the way of them getting sent to the Continent on a meat lorry...
 
I wouldnt say i traded my horse in me and my friends swapped horses, written letters signed with lawyers there etc, i bought my first big horse from ireland as a move off ponies I was 16 he was 6 just broken, brought him home and he turned out to be to much for me and i lost my confidence the horse that my friends had was to quiet for them wasnt fast enough and they were putting him up for sale to buy something a bit quirkier, and because they were selling him for the same price that i had bought my first horse for, they loved my horse, i didnt get on with him, i went and rode theirs and felt instantly safe and confident hacked him on his own which i couldnt do with my first horse, took him back to his yard from the riding school that i tried him at hacked him past a train station up roads and felt like i could do anything, so we went to see a lawyer and got everything signed over and exchanged incase something were to happen, i have never looked back since, i only had murphy six weeks and it just didnt click at all, when i got taz back to my yard it was instant i loved him felt super safe, and felt that i could do anything, hacking schooling, jumping, the hacking was the most important as i couldnt hack murphy on his own he didnt trust me. There are times when trading horses works best for both parties, ive now had taz three and a half years and will never sell him and he's a completely different horse to when i bought him now that he has grown up a bit

ETA taz was only 3 when we swapped horses had been broken but not done much
 
JenTaz said:
I wouldnt say i traded my horse in me and my friends swapped horses, written letters signed with lawyers there etc, i bought my first big horse from ireland as a move off ponies I was 16 he was 6 just broken, brought him home and he turned out to be to much for me and i lost my confidence the horse that my friends had was to quiet for them wasnt fast enough and they were putting him up for sale to buy something a bit quirkier, and because they were selling him for the same price that i had bought my first horse for, they loved my horse, i didnt get on with him, i went and rode theirs and felt instantly safe and confident hacked him on his own which i couldnt do with my first horse, took him back to his yard from the riding school that i tried him at hacked him past a train station up roads and felt like i could do anything, so we went to see a lawyer and got everything signed over and exchanged incase something were to happen, i have never looked back since, i only had murphy six weeks and it just didnt click at all, when i got taz back to my yard it was instant i loved him felt super safe, and felt that i could do anything, hacking schooling, jumping, the hacking was the most important as i couldnt hack murphy on his own he didnt trust me. There are times when trading horses works best for both parties, ive now had taz three and a half years and will never sell him and he's a completely different horse to when i bought him now that he has grown up a bit

ETA taz was only 3 when we swapped horses had been broken but not done much
Click to expand...

What a good result. What happened to the first horse. Does your friend still have him?
 
If I had a horse that I felt completly out of my depth with had and had tried my best but failed yet believed someone else could do a job with it then yes I would trade in the hope that when it worked out everyone involved would be happy.

The other option is PTS but will a vet PTS a horse because it cow kicks and the owner is scared of it I doubt it, and how much of a failure would you feel - I think that would push me to give up horses all together. I think a good vet would suggest a trade in

the other option is to send it to Market then ???
 
Putting a horse down because the owner is incompetant is an outrage! Why on earth NOT sell it/trade it/give it away? Why should any horse die because it's owner can't ride it or handle it when there are people (yes, even "evil" dealers) who could sort it out?
 
Certainly I understand where your coming from if you don't 'gel' with the animal. However it seemed such a rash thing to do given she had transformed it and created a wonderful bond with it. She doesn't do it for a challenge she wants something to do hunter classes on which her new horse doesn't really fit the bill for either.

It just seemed to be a complete decision on one day given she was talking to me about it being so fabulous.

And no I'm not into PTS an animal purely because it cow kicks.
 
I think deep down from the day she bought it she knew shed bought the wrong thing. She completely over horses herself all the time. I guess deep down she was scared of it.
 
I've always sold horses on apart from one. I think it's only fair that once they have served you, you sell them on to serve someone else. I do not keep in touch with any of the owners of any of the horses I have sold - other than my first pony and he was over 30 when he was put down last autumn. I think having been brought up on a farm you harden fairly quickly to the life and workings of animals. I have also spent the majority of my life in racing and horses are sold a lot - it's part of life. I remember my first bottle raised lamb who turned into my pet ewe. She was awesome but died when she was about 3 and at the age of 7 ish that was a steep learning curve. I personally would never judge someone for selling a horse - on the same level I wouldn't judge them for keeping the horse until it's final days. Whatevery suits the persons circumstances and goals. On a different note, I couldn't sell one of my cats or my dog.

OP - if this person over faces herself with the horses she buys, it's not really a concern of yours if I am completely honest.
 
i can see it from both sides, no it's not something i would do with my current horses, but that is because they suit my purpose, But, if faced with a horse who i didn't gel with, or it didn't suit what i wanted then yes i would consider trading it in or even swapping it:)
I can't see in this case that the owner did anything wrong, she put time and effort into the horse even though it was not an easy horse by the sounds of it, would have been easier for her to have shipped it off to a dealer right after she had it but she didn't;)
 
Wagtail said:
What a good result. What happened to the first horse. Does your friend still have him?
Click to expand...

unfortunately he was sold about a year ago now as friend went to college to become a farrier, horse has a home for life now, doing a job that he is well suited to with a good routine and enough work to keep him happy.
 
kirsty17 said:
I think deep down from the day she bought it she knew shed bought the wrong thing. She completely over horses herself all the time. I guess deep down she was scared of it.
Click to expand...

Quite likely, so it was probably a good thing to trade it rather than spoil it, no?

I don't really see why you're so bothered about it. Hopefully the horse will go onto a better person.
 
I dont know if I have read the ops post wrong, your friend bought a horse unseen it was a bit of an idiot cow kicked and was placed last twice so she traded it in on her day off, oh and you say she always over horses herself.

I am surprised you have got the repilies you have your friend sounds like she should think very carefully before buying a horse while I think you should maybe sell a horse you cant get on with you should also consider before you buy.

I actually thought this was a joke at first she is certainly not the type of person I would want buying any horse I have for sale even though I bring on some to sell.

There is nothing wrong with trading in a horse against another that suits your needs better but how you have presented this situation really doesnt sound the best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top