Trial before you buy? Buyers and sellers views

horseywelsh

horseywelsh

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A few musings ... your inputs wanted.

As a seller would you allow your horse to go out on trial?

As a buyer would you want to have the horse on trial before purchase?

If seller said no to trial BUT said you could come and view horse as many times as you wanted/do everything with it under owners supervision, see horse at competition with owner etc, would this change your decision re buying?

Any views/experiences appreciated but if want a scenario:
Imagine you are in the shoes selling or buying a reasonable riding club type, still young 5yr, limited competitive record but good what horse has, working nicely, good to hack, super temperament etc.

Discuss ... :)
 
I have had a horse on trial before I bought it, and I like the idea. I think it is a nice way to try the horse as much as possible so that you can know if it is definitely the right horse for you. The only risk you run is putting a horse on trial only to get it back a month later after it's been ridden into the ground.
 
I've never had a horse on a trial period before....

When I had my first pony we viewed him 3 times, but he was a 2 hour drive away! Second pony, I only went to see him once! But he was from down the road from a seller that we knew very well.

I guess some people might want to see how well they can incorporate their potential horse into their lives, and how well they interact with each other?

I think if a trial period is not on offer by the seller, every effort should be made for the potential buyer to see the horse in as many situations as possible. For instance, if they are particularly worried about competition behavior IE whether they get really excited etc, you could offer to let them ride said horse at a show etc?

I don't think trial periods are absolutely necessary from sellers; because sellers are so willing to allow multiple viewings etc.
 
i put a horse on trial once.... never again!

was unfortunate really, but the people very much over sold themselves, wanted a PC eventer, mare had done Intro, but was a BIG horse, & needed a lot of riding, but I thought a trial would give them a good idea of her & how to ride her, down side was they lived a good 200 miles from me, but as a good seller i agreed to deliver her.... 4 weeks later they phone to say they've been on holiday & not had chance to do what they'd planned (??) so could they have her for another couple of weeks.... so as she's 200miles away & i was up to my eyes, i agreed.... 3 weeks later they ring to say she's not for them, so it them takes me a couple weeks to free myself up to go & collect her, 400mile round trip I return home with a really thin, really fresh horse that obviously hasn't been ridden much or even turned out!

so while as a buyer i think its a good idea, esp if you aren't certain about what you want, as a seller it's not something i'd do (unless they were really local) personally if i wanted a horse on trial 1st i'd be more likely to buy off a decent dealer/producer, as it's their job to match the right horse with the right person.

i'd be more than happy to take a horse to a schooling centre for someone to try it away from home, but would be very reluctant to do a trial again!
 
Would never ever allow a horse out on trial. I have seen this go wrong and the seller end up back with a broken/misbehaving horse. You also have to think of all the buyers you might pass up on and you have to keep you stable rented but free incase it comes back etc etc.

On this premise I would feel it unfair to ask the seller for a trial too. However when I recently bought from a dealer she put on my receipt I had a 30 day warranty and I could return her for any reason whatsoever.... Which was nice, but I didn't ask for it and I didn't return the horse cause she's perfect!! ha ha!

I would allow as many visits as a buyer wants, but I wouldn't stop any other viewings until I had a deposit.
 
I wouldn't put mine or ask for one on trial. As soon as they are out on trial you lose an element if not all control over they're treatment. I am happy to let people try a horse 4 -5 times and will transport to a local EC if necessary, but it stays with me
 
I would never ask for a trial, and I certainly wouldn't offer one. Id be happy for potential buyers to try as often as they wanted, but I certainly wouldn't want my horse to potentially be ruined by someone I don't know.
 
I sell horses on behalf of owners and on two occassions have allowed a horse to go out on trial as in each case the horse had small issues that we wanted to be sure the buyer could cope with. Obviously this was all done with the owner of the horse happy with the arrnagement and checking the buyers yard etc and I held the purchase price of the horse from the buyer for the length of the trial. In both cases the horses were not returned and buyers both very happy with their purchases so it is something I would consider, but only if I thought the buyer was very genuine and also suitable and the owner was happy with the arrangement. Also I always draw up a contract and take full purchase price as a deposit with buyer responsible for insuring the horse and any injuries the horse could incur in their care.
 
i do what Incacola does. The buyer must pay the full purchase price, and insure the horse, then they can take it on trial. This gives me huge peace of mind too, I don't want the horse going to the wrong home, for the horse's sake let alone the people's, so it's a safety net for everyone.
But, i've never had it backfire either...
 
Once, never again.

I let a pony go on trial to a (what I thought) knowledgeable home.
He was the perfect gentleman when I let him go, loved kiddies, and took them round like a darling.
I had a phone call a feew days in saying he was perfect and theay wanted him, then a few days after another call saying that he wasn't right and they'd like to return him.

He came back, utterly spooked at everything in general, and took off every time a child tried to ride him (one poor boy got dumped face first into the muck heap). Not to mention they traveled him back in his outdoor rug, and he was dripping with sweat when he arrived.

Turns out, they had shut him up on his own in a stable, then after he started calling and being a bit highly strung, turned him out with three TB's who chased him round. Then the next day they tried to ride him, he took of, I wonder why?

I never got him back to how he was, but managed to sell him to a knowledgable home as a leadrein pony untill the child was a bit older.

After that, never again. Too much of a risk that you'll end up with a screwed up horse that you can't sell.
 
If I was selling I don't think I could let a horse go on trial, especially if it was someone I didn't know and/or miles away.

But, I have had a horse on trial - for 3 months. The owners offered this and were very trusting - I'm positive I wouldn't be that easy going about it! I did not hand any money over and they said not to bother insuring as he was insured with them for a few more months. We drew up a loan agreement and their insurance company were advised. I was a nervous wreck though as paranoid the horse would be injured, but it all worked out fine - horse passed vet and I ended up buying him.

It was great to get the chance to really get to know him, see how he was with my other horses and to take him to competitions and other venues.
 
i was offered my current horse on loan very kindly by his owner as i was waiting on insurance company paying out for my mare. I turned her down as i would of been paranoid that something would happen to him. Even though he would have been insured with me i just wouldnt of relaxed. I can see it from both sides though but feel it is risky. there are a lot of genuine people and a lot of people who will mess you around and look after your horse somewhat different to you would want.
 
Never, had one bad experience and got a horse back who ended up being pts. Some people came last year to try my cob and wouldn't ride him at mine but wanted him on loan. I refused. If they won't ride him in his normal environment where he feels safe and would give them a good idea of the way he behaves, how would they cope when he is in a strange environment - most horses we have bought have been a bit on their toes for a couple of days.
 
Would never let mine out on trial! It would take him a decent amount of time to settle into new home, and they can see full well what he's going to be like at current yard, I would allow them to ride him several times etc. I would not want him carted around just for the sake of the buyer, it is really disruptive to a horse's routine if this could potentially happen a few times. Plus how he behaves in the first few weeks at a new yard would not be representative of his normal, settled in behavioiur.

I would not want to take someone else's horse on trial as it seems like a huge responsibility, but I would expect to be allowed to try the horse a few times, take trainer along and generally spend time with the horse as if he was mine. If the buyer wasn't willing to do this then I would say my goodbyes.
 
If I had to sell a horse no I wouldn't unless it was to someone I knew, just to risky but I would of course let them come and try as many times.

I had my horse on lwvtb, I was very lucky! His owner and myself got on, she took a risk but she trusted me and it could not have worked out better, it went very smoothly and we had no issues what's so ever. I was lucky I found her and she was lucky she found me as I looked after the horse as if he was mine from the word go, I was honest about what I wanted and what I was capable of and she was honest about the horse, he was exactly what she said (and better). She also said she would take him back anytime if I wasn't happy with him.

My mum had her horse on trial for two weeks, she gave a £100 deposit when she picked him up and paid the rest 2 weeks later when she decided she would keep the horse. That was VERY trusting as she could have disappeared with the horse and not paid!

I know a lot of people can be trusted but after buying from a dodgy dealer in the past and realising what horrific liers some people are I just would be too scared of putting a horse on trial which is a shame when the process has benefitted me and I was trusted by others.
 
I think the way I bought my last horse was perfect. He arrived at my trainer's yard on holiday livery and was advertised for sale; I therefore got to ride him several times with my trainer present and also on a clinic with the original trainer of the horse before I bought him, I also got the opportunity to get my vet to look him over before a formal vetting and to see how he was to handle etc. The seller was happy as he usually left his horse with my trainer when away on holiday, I got a chance to see how the horse might settle into the environment that he would live in if I bought him, plus I got a 2-week window into the decision.

Having gone through that experience, I'd offer similar if I sold a horse I think - but I wouldn't allow a horse to be taken away to a prospective buyer's private home for trial (but part of that is that I have reining horses and there are very few private facilities in the UK which have riding arena surfaces suitable for practising all reining manoeuvres, sharp stops and spins etc.)
 
No either way. I would not allow a horse of mine to go off on trial and would not expect to be able to do this either. Horses take a while to settle down and even a month is not enough. The one time a trial was considered was when I really liked a horse who would not pass the vet, but my vet felt he would come good when back in work etc. Owner was happy for me to have the horse for 3 months to try this and lodge the purchase money with a solicitor. Her ex OH though wanted me to pay for the horse - and if it didn't work out, would refund me. Yes of course I am going to pay full whack for a horse that won't pass my vet, and to someone who has just split up their relationship - hence the horse being sold. Must get Mug removed from my forehead at some point.
 
I woud only ever offer a trial if the horse stayed on the same yard or went to a yard when I knew and trusted the YO which are very few and far between ;) .

I wouldn't ask for a trial myself unless a particuarly quirky horse but I would potentially dependant on the horse and its intended purpose request that it could be tried in various situations i.e. at a show, XC schooling etc prior to purchase although in reality with exception of current and last horse whom I both knew for several years before buying I have purchased all my ponies and horses having tried them out only once!

A knowledgeable/experienced rider in general will know pretty much from their first sit if the horse will be suitable for their requirements, I think the more young, novice or nervous the rider the more times they need to ride a horse (and very understandably so) and these are most likely the riders who will be wanting a trial. IncaCola's method sounds the safest for the seller if a trial was necessary but I still probably wouldn't!
 
I would have no qualms about offering or taking a trial for a pony as where children are involved I think it's doubly important that you find the right home. As far as I'm aware, it's fairly common practice with ponies. Please correct me if I'm wrong. With a horse however, it would seem odd to me and I have been messed around once so am wary now.
 
Wouldn;'t allow one to go out on trial. The risk of the potential owner riding the horse into the ground, overfacing it, battering it or in some way returning it to me in a ruined state. I know of a horse that went on trial and they jumped the daylights out of it until it soured.

As a buyer I would not expect a trial, but I would hope to be able to ride the horse more than once. I bought my current horse after riding him for a few weeks at the owner's yard.
 
I was offered my gelding on trial first, but didn't take them up on it - would have been worried that something would go wrong and the horse would get injured or something! Tried the horse, had it vetted, so was happy!

Our pony came on two weeks trial at the owner's suggestion, but that was a bit different as we already knew the pony, and the owner, and were 99% sure that we would have it.

Generally I would never offer a trial. Too much could go wrong.
 
We're lucky enough that we are about to take a horse on trial. We wouldn't have asked but one or two issues cropped up and I was planning to suggest a trial but the owner offered first. Gives us chance to see how she behaves away from home and how we cope with her quirks.
 
I wouldn't ever let a horse go on trial- people are welcome to come and try as many times as they like, hack, jump, go xc etc but I/someone I trust are always there to supervise.

I also wouldn't ask for a trial as imo you get a skewed view of the horse anyway when it has moved home- it is likely to be a little more jumpy, spooky than usual and I wouldn't feel able to really trial it thoroughly.
I would rather go back to the horse's yard a few times and take it for a hack, take it xc etc from the base it knows.

Maybe my viewpoint is a bit skewed though as I've only ever really bought and sold young horses (under 5yrs old) and I don't think trials are suitable for them.
 
Im currently looking to buy and Id love to have a horse on trial in an ideal world, but in reality this isnt going to happen. However, Id be happy justt to go back as many times as Id like.
 
Thankyou for all your replies.

In a soon to be sellers position I won't be letting my horse out on trial but will allow for prospective buyer to come and see horse/ride etc as many times as they wish. It's useful to hear of your views and it seems the majority follow this practise.

From a buyers position, all the horses i've had i've never trialled (majority bought unbacked anyway) and i've only been to see them once. Personally wouldn't want a horse on trial either.
 
Apercrumbie said:
I would have no qualms about offering or taking a trial for a pony as where children are involved I think it's doubly important that you find the right home. As far as I'm aware, it's fairly common practice with ponies. Please correct me if I'm wrong. With a horse however, it would seem odd to me and I have been messed around once so am wary now.
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Would agree re ponies and children. As a family we have had a few ponies on trial over the years. Only one was not bought - my sister and him just did not click. I think I would be far more inclined to allow a trial with a children's pony than a horse.
 
Not interested on either side. If I'm selling a decent money horse I'm happy to ship it to a XC course/clinic for the purchaser to try (providing they've already been and tried it and are still keen), happy to let them see it at a show/event and happy for them to try it 2/3 times but any more is taking the proverbial - it's incredibly difficult to know what to tell anyone else who rings up for the horse and if the first people decide not to buy after a prolonged period you've usually lost out on anyone else who was originally interested by that time too. I've also let people take a prospective hunter cubbing/hunting .

If I'm selling a cheap (<£3500) horse I'm less flexible. I think two viewings is plenty then you either buy it or you don't.

I don't want a trial when I buy and have never viewed a horse twice. I either make an on the spot offer or go home to think about it - in which case I usually decide against.
 
Have let a horse go out on trial to a friend once and would never do it again. Horse was returned to me after two weeks with a hole in a tendon.

Have sold a pony since then, purchasers were understanding when I explained that I didnt want to send her on trial because of what had happened with the horse. Their daughter came to us several times to ride and handle the pony, had a lesson with her instructor and spent an afternoon hacking with me, strange really they were happy to leave their daughter with me, but I wouldn't hand the pony over until she had been paid for!
 
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