Went to view a pony for sale - Owners now want to loan :(

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The wife

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So for those of you who kindly gave me advise regarding the Fell pony last week and for those who can offer any advice please regarding LWVTB...

Went to view a pony last week, I had, against my normal will asked for a trial period of a couple of weeks. This was declined - not an issue... Offered a price, which was accepted. Owner now wants to the pony to go out on a LWVTB of an undisclosed period although will still accept the offered purchase price. They originally said a year which we declined. I went back to owner and said a LWVTB was fine - At the end of the day if pony is not good enough for our job then we can return... However they begrudgingly agreed to my 3 months maximum period because owner is struggling to come to terms with selling it.

How does this work? I assume that we have to have a loan agreement in place? What do we do after ploughing 3 months of work into said pony for them then to take it back and possibly sell on for alot more than it is worth now? Very peeved if I am honest. Sister was all for telling them to stuff it.
 
Honestly? Sounds like a nightmare already. I can see this causing nothing but stress and heartache and I'd walk away at this point.

Sorry. :(
 
You'd need to have a clear contract - I think there is one on the BHS website. It needs to include what happens in the event of serious injury,; if Ned is injured past being able to work again and who has consent to PTS if needed. Sadly the adverse outcomes are what is going to cause you more grief.

You do risk putting in a lot of work - and falling in love - only to have the owner come and take it back. But equally you get a rather extended trial period where you can return Ned if things don't go right. You could include in the contract something restricting her right to take him back? So it would be open for you to return him but not for her to require his return? (Although why the owner would go for that I don't know.)

For me - both having bought and sold LWVTB is not what I would go for under any circumstances. Far too much grief. But if this is THE pony for you then the hassle may be worth it to you.
 
Thank you.

It wasn't so long ago I posted about going with a gut feeling - This time I have followed it an declined. Told them the offer to buy will stand for a week only. I will not loan it.

Feel much better already.

Thanks so much
 
Where is the pony for sale, is it far away? Unless it's the perfect height age sex done track record in what you require it for etc etc then I'd offer to buy no strings attached if it's exactly what you want. Does sound like a headache already so I'd be tempted to steer clear!
 
Whoopit said:
Where is the pony for sale, is it far away? Unless it's the perfect height age sex done track record in what you require it for etc etc then I'd offer to buy no strings attached if it's exactly what you want. Does sound like a headache already so I'd be tempted to steer clear!
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No pony was local, literally 20 minutes in a horsebox - we broke it in 2 years ago and it has done nothing since. Seller approached me about selling it, not the other way around (which I think is important) and did I know anyone who would be interested in him. The answer was yes me! Seller is too novice for pony, too tall and does not have the knowledge to bring on a pony like this (It has been recently cut) and admits this themselves.

Sellers are acquaintances who I have known for a long time and yes potentially it is everything we require. No ridden track record, although it will be a decent pony with alot of time and effort being put in.

Feel slightly cheated to be honest. Told them my offer to buy will stand for a week and to think about it a bit more. I did say when I put my offer in that I didn't need an answer immediately and for them to make sure it was the right thing... 2 days later I get a phone call saying they would accept it.

Thing is we can offer a perfect home. Ex-professional rider, 5* facilities with a varied workload (we like all of our horses to do everything - even the horses who show will go hunting, SJ, X-Country, hack etc) and get tonnes of turnout, even during the winter, as I think it is good for their mental health to not be drilled and have fun and be horses.

It was only yesterday that they were saying how much they were looking forward to seeing him out and about in a home that he will excel in. Grrr.

Sorry I am ranting now!
 
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Sounds like they are just wanting you to re back and bring on again for them, for nothing !
I would stick to your offer to buy now or walk away.
 
Good call OP. Especially with the additional details. Sounds like they are looking for you to produce the pony and then take it back. Not on!
 
The wife said:
I went back to owner and said a LWVTB was fine - At the end of the day if pony is not good enough for our job then we can return... However they begrudgingly agreed to my 3 months maximum period because owner is struggling to come to terms with selling it.

How does this work? I assume that we have to have a loan agreement in place? What do we do after ploughing 3 months of work into said pony for them then to take it back and possibly sell on for alot more than it is worth now? Very peeved if I am honest. Sister was all for telling them to stuff it.
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Why do you have to work it for 3mths? Just ride it with no attempt to improve it in any way and hope they still want to sell at the end of the loan period. If you improve it at all they could decide to keep it after all, or as you say sell on for a higher price. As long as you can accept the loan isn't just for you to decide if you want the horse, but for them to decide if they want to be without it too, then go ahead and just hope for the best.

ETA: just read the bit about them being 20min away. That would put me off. Are you sure they won't be coming round all the time to visit when you maybe don't want them too, if they can't let go?
 
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Sugar_and_Spice said:
Why do you have to work it for 3mths? Just ride it with no attempt to improve it in any way and hope they still want to sell at the end of the loan period. If you improve it at all they could decide to keep it after all, or as you say sell on for a higher price. As long as you can accept the loan isn't just for you to decide if you want the horse, but for them to decide if they want to be without it too, then go ahead and just hope for the best.

ETA: just read the bit about them being 20min away. That would put me off. Are you sure they won't be coming round all the time to visit when you maybe don't want them too, if they can't let go?
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An experienced rider cannot "just ride it with no attempt to improve it in any way" you cannot help but ride to improve every horse you sit on, it comes as second nature.

I suspect they thought you would have no interest in the pony, because you want it they now think he is possibly something special and greed is kicking in, if and when they get their sensible heads on they will realise it is in the best interests of the pony to go to a knowledgeable home where he will be brought on correctly and make something of himself, they will be having mixed feelings and an element of jealously as they know they cannot do what you can and were trying to keep some form of control.

You are probably best off out of it and sadly the loser is the pony, you could always send a proxy buyer in, it has been done before when sellers got greedy.
 
be positive said:
An experienced rider cannot "just ride it with no attempt to improve it in any way" you cannot help but ride to improve every horse you sit on, it comes as second nature.
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well I know it wouldn't be easy, you'd have to actively try not to improve it, but I figured it was worth hacking it on a long rein and trying hard to just sit there for 3mths instead of losing the purchase by making it so well behaved they wanted it back. Sounds like OP has made her decision now though.
 
I think you said in a previous thread that they weren't sure of selling to you because you have said you'll sell the pony if he doesn't work out for what you want? They might be genuinely unsure as wanting a permanent home and not just greedy.
 
Be Positive -

The sister actually said this and completely agreed with you, she said it would be nigh on impossible to not improve it, even from a basic manners and going forward from the leg point of view as these are 2 elements that would definitely need improving on before 'proper work' even started.

Sugar_and_Spice -

It would still cost money to keep it for those 3 months and time to even give it it's very basic care. If I were gauranteed a sale at the end of it I would not hesitate but they could not say if this were the case.

Palindrome -

Yes indeed I did say this in previous thread/post, however, that is the risk anyone takes when selling a pony and at least I was honest about it. Perhaps I should not have been and promised them he would have a forever home? On the other hand I currently have 3 old crocks sat in a field on retirement as they will not be sold. If the pony were good enough he would have a home for life, I don't make a habit of buying horses to bring on and sell - not that I have a problem with those that do mind I just can't be doing with the hassle and work involved for little back these days, plus I hate dealing with buyers who want everything for nothing (I know not everyone is like it mind but quite an increasing number are) I don't think anybody can genuinely offer a forever home these days to be honest, it would be lovely to be able to but circumstances can change so quickly. My personal blessing is if money ever became so tight I couldn't afford to pay for livery close by is that I can send my horses to my mothers who would happily look after them for nothing! I did also say that I would offer them first refusal if he wasn't top class or didn't have the brain for it - Not that this means alot legally but I am a person of my word and honest, they know this, else they would not have sent us the pony to break in the first place.
 
Yep, nothing wrong with that, just pointing it out as people are saying that he is being greedy while it may not be the case.
 
Sounds like you did the right thing but I hope for the sake of the pony they will take your offer to buy outright.
 
We had a similar experience. We viewed and tried a horse for sale that had done nothing for ages, owner had lost interest, when she saw how he we ant for us, she would not sell, but LWVTB. We accepted and took him home hoping she'd go back to her original thinking in the year that we'd set. She didn't, I fact ended up asking us to keep him through the winter on a 'month by month' basis. That and they refused to buy him a saddle that fitted ( I managed to borrowed one)
Personally I wouldn't do it again.
 
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this... Just an update. I stuck by my offer and owners have declined saying they will keep the pony and get a friend to ride it... Shame as I wonder how long that lasts with no facilities other than a 10m x 20cm grass paddock on a slope...
 
The wife said:
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this... Just an update. I stuck by my offer and owners have declined saying they will keep the pony and get a friend to ride it... Shame as I wonder how long that lasts with no facilities other than a 10m x 20cm grass paddock on a slope...
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10mx20cm. Is it a real pony ;)
 
The wife said:
Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this... Just an update. I stuck by my offer and owners have declined saying they will keep the pony and get a friend to ride it... Shame as I wonder how long that lasts with no facilities other than a 10m x 20cm grass paddock on a slope...
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Thats a shame, their loss I think.
 
As someone who is actively looking for a LWVTB rather than a "sale"; my view is that IF the owners didn't want to sell then why FFS advertise the pony as "for sale" in the first place?

If they're wanting to loan, then loan; if wanting rid, then sell, but it isn't fair to advertise something for sale and then change the goalposts half way through.

Seems like they needed to make up their minds about the whole matter!

A real shame though OP, coz you'd obviously liked this pony and now all it will do is go to waste.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
As someone who is actively looking for a LWVTB rather than a "sale"; my view is that IF the owners didn't want to sell then why FFS advertise the pony as "for sale" in the first place?

If they're wanting to loan, then loan; if wanting rid, then sell, but it isn't fair to advertise something for sale and then change the goalposts half way through.

Seems like they needed to make up their minds about the whole matter!

A real shame though OP, coz you'd obviously liked this pony and now all it will do is go to waste.
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They had actively approached me as well about buying him. Phoned me up and asked if I knew of anyone interested in buying him... I am so pleased I did not recommend anyone as I would have been highly embarrassed. Half of me wants to think that they didn't know what they potentially had until I offered a price and that if I was willing to buy him that he must have some potential... The other half is more understanding that they hadn't appreciated how difficult it can be selling a pony.

Never mind. The search continues again... Incidentally, they bought a more suitable horse last week... Say no more.
 
walk away. i had this years ago with a pony. LWVTB was agreed, I had pony 1 month and was then willing and able to pay full amount in one go, had started to get pony fit, it looked less like a hairy beast. Went to give the cheque and the woman flipped out and drove down next day and removed the pony and was going mental saying I was trying to steal it. How she wanted better for it etc.

Pony spent rest of its life in a field at a run down stables doing nadda.

Woman was a nutcase anyway though.
 
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