want to return horse to seller....advice pls

Just wanted to say how much I feel for you. We were seen coming with our first horse many yeras ago.

I cant realy add much more than what the good folks on HHO have already said.

It might be worth sending a very formal letter to the vendor in the hope that they get the willies and cave in. But I probably wouldnt throw any more good money after bad.

I agree with every one else that you need to the holy trinity of teeth back and tack, also look at his regime. My cobs just get a look at grass and certainly no hard feed.

If things are still bad, or even if they are not, get some one good out to help, either with ground work, riding the horse for you or teaching you as your confidence will have taken a bashing. If the horse is definately not for you then sell - through an honest add or a dealer. Dont feel bad, horses are too expensive and hard work to be miserable over. Just chalk it up as another life experience. Fortunately coloured cobs of that size are always desirable. Just think yourself lucky you didnt get a TB! If Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

FYI - I trawl the horse adds every week just for fun. I remember seeing this add and thinking - if I was looking I would go and see this one.

PPS - yes cobs can and do buck
 
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Without a vetting, u haven't a leg to stand on, with private sales its buyer beware i'm afraid.

Dont give up on him yet, there are loads of reasons that he could be acting this way, agree with others about getting his back, saddle and teeth checked.
Then when u can eliminate pain u can start working with him, first from the ground then on his back when ready.

I have a gypsey piebald cob, he seemed perfect when viewing, went through a phase of being a horror with major napping, bucking and rearing.
I was nervous as hell and returning toriding at the time, so just couldn't handle it, he could so easily have been labellled a bad horse.
Turned out, he's smart, put a confident take no crap rider on him he's great, so the solution was i developed a bigger attitude than him. Took time, but i'm a hell of a braver rider for it, and he sure knows who's boss.

Good luck x
 
Op, a number of things:

What saddle are you using? And has this been checked/fitted by a master saddler?

How much turnout is he getting and what are you feeding?

Has the horse been assessed by a professional bhs instructor?

Has the horse now been vet checked?

Who told you he was laminitis prone (all native breeds are, actually).

How many times did you try him before purchase?

You will have recourse to return the horse and receive a full refund through the courts if you can prove (with professional reports) that you were missold the horse (private sale inc.). But you must have him fully investigated first by equime professionals.
 
y dont people give Mrs D123 a break - appreciate she may have p@@@ a few people off but at the end of the day she is entitled to have her opinion - if u dont like it dont read it :mad:
 
OP get a retrospective vetting done. It may be the case that a condition is found that can prove that horse is not as described. I have to say that while I am sorry for the position you are in I would be more cross with the "experts" you brought along rather than the previous owner....why on earth did they let you purchase without you vetting? You haven't come back to the post to reply to the questions what are you feeding and what tack are you using?? When you bought him did you ask about what way he was kept...eg was he field kept or stabled? Does this differ to the way you are keeping him now? I would def get full vet report as to be honest if these are not long standing issues then you haven't a leg to stand on and any vet worth their salt will be able to appraise the situation
 
y dont people give Mrs D123 a break - appreciate she may have p@@@ a few people off but at the end of the day she is entitled to have her opinion - if u dont like it dont read it :mad:

Yes, we are ALL entitled to an opinion and also entitled to disagree with whomever we see fit and if YOU don't like it, don't read it. Hypocrite.
 
can i just say that i dont understand all this talk about vettings...yes if you are not knowledgeable it is a good idea, however a vetting will only pick up what is wrong on the day. it is highly likely that this has happened since the purchase. I bought my horse who sailed through her vetting with a very reputable vet, only to be diagnosed with wobblers 3 weeks later....

OP i would get a vet out, have his back/teeth etc checked if all health is in order find some bloody good rider and see if they can sort him out for you. I dont think you can send them back. By all means try, but the previous owner will say you tried him etc and were happy at the time of the sale. Can i also mention that you did pay quite a cheap price for what sounds like a lovely boy. That does suggest there were this problem before. If you think he was drugged get blood tests done ASAP as it might still be in his system. Try buting him (like horse nurofen, available from the vet) and if that stops the problem then your horse is in pain and he was probably buted when you went to try him.

Good luck and sorry to hear your first horse wasnt a nice experience. Though we do live and learn :)
 
I am hoping OP has not been scared off and will come back and read all the helpful replies i was going to ask in the beginning butmany have already done so if there has been change in -

feed , tack , time stabled etc etc

i do hope also that OP has a friend that can visit horse and advise i would not give up on the horse etc not straight away but im sure these things can be worked on and sorted out if op does not have anyone who could advise maybe if she comes back on someone on here local could go and advise her in person i would get someone in to help with schooling if your not able to do it yourself i hope you come back and let us know hats happening :D
 
can i just say that i dont understand all this talk about vettings...yes if you are not knowledgeable it is a good idea, however a vetting will only pick up what is wrong on the day. it is highly likely that this has happened since the purchase. I bought my horse who sailed through her vetting with a very reputable vet, only to be diagnosed with wobblers 3 weeks later....

OP i would get a vet out, have his back/teeth etc checked if all health is in order find some bloody good rider and see if they can sort him out for you. I dont think you can send them back. By all means try, but the previous owner will say you tried him etc and were happy at the time of the sale. Can i also mention that you did pay quite a cheap price for what sounds like a lovely boy. That does suggest there were this problem before. If you think he was drugged get blood tests done ASAP as it might still be in his system. Try buting him (like horse nurofen, available from the vet) and if that stops the problem then your horse is in pain and he was probably buted when you went to try him.

Good luck and sorry to hear your first horse wasnt a nice experience. Though we do live and learn :)

Actually, I disagree with you about the vetting, a vetting can also pick up unseen things like heart murmers, can also tell if a horse has suffered from laminitis etc etc. It is doubly important for a novice to get a vetting, as they would not know what to look out for.

If the horse WAS drugged, the window of test has expired and a blood test now will prove diddly squat - bloods need to be taken at vetting not after the event. If he was buted up it is also too late (I am assuming the OP has had the horse for more than a week).

The fact remains that the OP, a self proclaimed novice, bought a horse without a vetting, she may have thought she took experienced people with her but it sounds to me they were not as experienced as they led her to believe - it happens all the time.

I do feel sorry for the OP but rather than sending the horse back (I don't think she can as it was a private sale) she needs to take the sensible steps people have advised her to do on here, I am surprised that her 'experienced' YO has not suggested this already tbh.
 
Oh what a minefield and I am sorry that all the excitement you had on buying your first horse has gone.

There is no point in rehashing old ground - you know now you should have had a vetting, and a blood test done. You have been advised to google the number to check your vendor is not a dealer - if there are several adverts then you do have more of a case ( as advised earlier). However, broad light of day - if you were advised to sue through say, small claims, regardless of what you have been told it is very very hard for a private individual to get money back off another - you could end up being paid a pittance a month for x years and still have all your legal costs etc incurred.

Best advice on here was to a: get a retrospective vetting. b: get out a tape measure and start to monitor your cobs weight - cobs only need to look at fresh grass and get fat and with all this rain, we are seeing a lot of grass/high protein come through. c: check what you are feeding. I have not seen your horse but for a 15 hand cob in light work I would be very suprised to see more than a handful of chaff and nuts twice a day - if that! d saddle - really really important. Ask in your yard if anyone else wants to share the visit to cut costs, make sure you have someone who is clear they are either a saddle FITTER or a master saddler. They are not the same! e: Laminitis, not the end of the world if caught early, learn how to check for pulses/warm feet. Last year we had a warmblood (17 hand!) who had a touch of that. Yard was highly focused on the ponies we had so very laminitis aware and caught this really quickly. We have a welsh section A and he - literally - in 2 hours of being on better grazing (not rich, just a little more) had started to have his feet warming up. Back to the starvation for him much to his disgust.

Get a positive instructor. Do not find someone who belittles you or makes you feed you or your horse is rubbish....!

Horses , even the nicest, kindest horse will test out its boundaries in a new place - they are sussing you out. You might be really unlucky with a serial bronker but on a more positive note, you might just have some teething problems which will teach you a lot and be the beginning of a great relationship.

And finally - never assume that a horse which is a cob is automatically going to be a bombproof ride. One of the sharpest horses on our yard is a cob, albeit one who is working at AD Med with his dressage but I have known a lot who, while lovely, were not for a real novice to ride.
 
where did the op go? I don't think she ever answered the saddle question did she? having seen the original ad pics the one he had in those didn't fit.
 
I'm afraid that I don't think you would have a leg to stand on. As sad as it is legally i'm sure you have to proove that the horse showed this behaviour before you bought him and that it was not therefore caused by yourself (not saying it is, just what the law seems to demand!). You said that you rode him and your YO also did whilst at the old property, I presume he was good then and not bucking. Has he definately come with the same saddle? Sometimes people will sell the horse with tack but that tack is probably an old saddle they've been trying to get rid of for ages and the saddle you tried him in is still at their yard! Other option could be that he'd been doped but proving that without a vetting and bloods is impossible i'm afraid.I'm sorry that this has happened. My advise to you, would be if not already, get him checked by a vet, then a physio or chiropractor (they cannot treat him without vets permission) and then saddler. If all this comes back with nothing wrong then you will have to consider your next options, which will be send him for schooling, sell him or have him put to sleep. I'm sorry to be so blunt and it's an awful situation to be as a novice owner. Lesson learnt, always get a vetting.

Sadly i think this posts about right, i do think buyer beware will come in to play. If hes deemed by a vet to be physically ok and just needs more experienced handlers, you may be able to sell him on and recoup some
money, but probably not much.
What a shame, but no matter how good an ad sounds or the horse rides get it vetted and bloods taken
 
I feel its a shame the OP hasn't stuck with this thread (apparently, or so it seems) -

Think there has been a lot of good advice to try and help her out of this difficult situation. But as she hasn't come back on again to answer any of the questions that might help people to understand what might be going on with the horse, and thereby suggest options to try for her and the horse - well its become a rather pointless thread hasn't it?

Without any further input to give a clearer picture I can only assume OP wanted sympathy rather than constructive help/advice. Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh - but although I do have some sympathy I am now finding it difficult to understand exactly what the OP expected in response?:confused:
 
I don't wish to appear rude, but this is your first posting and by what you have said you sound at best a novice and at worst an idiot or a troll.

Are you for real???

How rude!!! There is no need to post a reply like this! If you don't have anything sensible to post, please don't post at all!!!

Emms, everyone starts off as a novice, but with help and USEFUL advice, I'm sure you'll become alot more confident and knowledgeable in the years to come! Good luck
 
I haven't read all the replies so sorry if someone else has already mentioned this, but can I just point out that this is definitely not true? I know this because we all had exactly that dismissive attitude at the yard where I work, when a heavyweight coloured cob came in for reschooling because he apparently "bronced" when mounted. We all rolled our eyes and said yeah right, tiny bunnyhop buck maybe... until we got someone on him and he tried to turn himself inside out - I have never seen ANY horse bronc like that! You'd be amazed how agile this hairy great dopes can be...

To the OP - If you've listened to everyone else's advice and confirmed that it's definitely not the saddle, bit, change in environment or anything else other than a true behavioural issue, then I'd advise getting help from someone who specialises in reschooling problem horses (find someone who has a good reputation and proven results, because a lot of pretend experts do more harm than good) - even if you don't want to keep him afterwards anyway, you're not going to be able to get rid of him if he's unrideable.
I agree with the above and has for the poster who says cobs dont bronk, yeah whatever, cobs can do some pretty impressive bronking movements. I bought what was supposed to be a genuine happy hacker soon discovered that she could rodeo with the best. And if you managed to stay on for more than 20 seconds she would just rear and practically flip herself over backwards.
 
maybe the OP was hoping for an easy answer, which is only human :) I also hope that she is still reading, even if she has (understandably) been put off from posting again. Horse buying is a minefield for the majority of us.
 
Well the OP hasn't posted or replied to my pm to her/him which other people have asked the same questions but have had no answers especially about the saddle?

I hope you deep posting OP (Original poster) Let us know what you do ignore the ones that got on to you they think they know it all. They don't:)
 
Yes, we are ALL entitled to an opinion and also entitled to disagree with whomever we see fit and if YOU don't like it, don't read it. Hypocrite.

i take it ur 1 of those people that think they are above everyone else and no everything but nothing and if people dont agree with you they are wrong - in other words a bully! Dont bother answering this i already know the answer and t4 will not be reading this thread again:mad::mad:
 
i take it ur 1 of those people that think they are above everyone else and no everything but nothing and if people dont agree with you they are wrong - in other words a bully! Dont bother answering this i already know the answer and t4 will not be reading this thread again:mad::mad:



as a new poster ive noticed papafritta change since another poster got her memoirs published and pf didnt - dont take it personally :)
 
OP, have you googled the sellers phone number? If they have been selling frequently they may be classed as dealers.
Good luck with the horse, it is so disappointing when things are not what they seemed.
 
i.Try the BHS legal helpline;

ii. Try a Solicitor who specialises in Equine Law (some advertise in the back of H&H so worth a phone call);

You may find that threatening her with legal action is enough for her to change her mind, especially if it is in a letter written by a solicitor and she thinks that it may incur legal costs for herself.

iii. Act quickly.

Good luck!
 
I really feel for you, i've only had my horse 6 months and have just found out he's got Ringbone in his coffin joints. I'm not a novice and I had him on a weeks trial, and I did have him vetted. You are lucky as you can sell on, Me I'm stuck with mine as it's a health issue and he's only 11. **** happens we have to make the most of it, good luck with what ever you decide to do.
 
If it was an overnight change from angel to hell on four feet then I'd suspect dope. Patches' friend certainly didn't come off best when the person she had sold her (perfectly lovely) pony to took her to court :(

Yes that was me unfortunately, the shoe is now on the other foot. I've just found out my horse of 6 months has Ring-bone in his coffin joints, after my bad experience If the person who sued me could win then me and the OP couldn't fail to lose. But suing is wrong in my opinion, too much goes on already. Although I'm livid life sucks.
 
Horses change so much with different riders / environments - my husbands horse was sold as being spooky / cheeky - a few months later he is a dream to ride, very calm & responsive. Can we send him back as he is no longer as advertised! :D
 
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