What do you think of this situation?

P

Pixxie

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 January 2009
Messages
2,588
Location
Cambridgeshire
Visit site
Im going to look at a horse on saturday (circumstances with me are constantly changing dont ask lol)

i called the owners today and it just doesnt quite add up for me. the horse seems lovely, and just what i want to be taking to college with me.

this is what i was told. horse was bought for daughter, they have done a bit of everything with her, XC up to novice height, jumping in lessons and general flatwork but nothing intense. the horse is now ready to go on to continue education, mare is very sweet and willing, can take a couple of weeks to settle (but what horse doesnt) and they are selling because they have a youngster coming soon.

now this all sounds well and good, but heres the crux. theyve only had her 5 months. now this just doesnt quite add up for me, screaming dealer at me (even thought theyre listed as private) or something is very wrong with the mare.

if i like her would obv have 5stage vetting done, but anything i should look out for? anything that jumps out at you here?

opinions please
x
 
Hmmm... either not "good enough" for daughter or the daughter produces horses. You'd be amazed as to how many teenagers there are that produce horses - even importing them from the continent!!! As in: Mum & Dad buy horse, teenager produces horse, horse sold for profit, etc. Doesn't mean it's bad... quite a few produce fantastic horses.

But better make sure it's not a scam by greedy dealers. Given you are getting 5-stage vetting done, make sure horse's temperament is fine as that is often what makes people buy and sell horses within a short time-frame. There are MANY ways to make it seem like the horse has a nice temperament, such as through sedative/drugs or even not giving the horse any water over night. For the latter - check whether there is water in the stable.
 
It screams something wrong with her to me! Could be they've spotted early signs of health troubles eg headshaker or could be behavioural eg cold backed, bucks, rears, bolts, weaves, windsucks etc etc etc. I'd draw up a l-o-n-g list of questions to cover every conceivable issue and keep a note of the answers. First on the list would be why are you selling her on so soon after buying her? If you can sneak a look at the previous owner from the passport, you could possibly get some more info.
 
I suppose it depends on how good you are at spotting liars. They seem more and more abundent in the horse world these days. If they have only had it 5 months I'd say there was a problem with it or its behavior. Ask them to get the daughter to put it through all its paces including some cross country jumps. I always ask them to leave it in the field so I can see it caught. The thing is with the sedalin gel it last for about 7 hours so it wouldn't matter that much when you arrived they could have drugged it up although very risky as excercise raises the heart beat and can be dangerous if it has had sedalin. Then see it groomed after catching jumped, walk trot and canter (in and out of the menage) if possible and with heavy traffic if they say it's traffic proof. Check it picks all its feet up and lets you tap them.

Sorry so long I just do not trust anyone these days.
 
no really dont apologise for length, i want to be as thorough as possible, and considering i already dont trust them 100% at all i want all the advice i can get.

while i may not trust them it is ultimately the horse im going to see not them, so i just want to be as clued up as possible so i can give the mare a fair chance without letting them blind me

x
 
I was going to see a horse at the end of last year, in advert it said needed to sell hence price, phones to see it and people were quite awkward about when i could come and see it it, ended up binning it as had a bad feeling. I am so glad i did. It may have been a great horse but things didn't add up. I have ended up buying a fab horse a month later.
Go with your gut feeling and if your concerned get it blood tested, you would be amazed what people will do these days!
 
see thats the thing, she was fine for me to come see her whenever it suited so long as it was before 5:30pm because the mare likes a routine and this is when she is fed, which i think is fair enough because Marley is the same lol

so in that respect nothing seemed awry, and also the pics of her have dates on them only one date is legible but its 20/05/09 so obviously recent? its just the selling so quickly and getting a youngster part that has thrown me
x
 
what do they say if you ask them outright why they are selling her after only 5 months? It's a reasonable question - the first question I always ask is why are you selling him/her...
 
where is this horse? Is it at aprivate house or yard. If yard it will probably have previous dealings if it is a dealer and someone on here will know them.
 
Don't forget human ego / pride.

I see an awful lot of people over horse themselves. Some cannot admit it and struggle on and some are smart enough to realise and sell the horse, although they will NEVER admit the real reason. You may have something like that going on here.

If your gut tells you something is wrong, then the chances are you are right.
 
have you got someone very experienced going with you? it might be worth paying your instructor or someone similar to accompany you.

unless the rider is known to produce horses, i would be very cautious.

if you do decide to buy the horse please learn from one of my mistakes. make sure you ride the horse at the vetting. whilst it can be sedated when you try it, vetting day is a bit different. i ended up with an expensive worthless horse (turned out to have bit of a history" and several weeks with my ankle in a cast.


good luck
 
Ask out right why they are selling and go from there. Have you googled the telephoone number to see what you come up with?
 
It takes a few weeks to settle in and likes routine could also be read as 'we couldn't do anything with it for 5 months' ? I think you're right in being cautious, does anyone else know the horse?
 
[ QUOTE ]
see thats the thing, she was fine for me to come see her whenever it suited so long as it was before 5:30pm because the mare likes a routine and this is when she is fed, which i think is fair enough because Marley is the same lol

so in that respect nothing seemed awry, and also the pics of her have dates on them only one date is legible but its 20/05/09 so obviously recent? its just the selling so quickly and getting a youngster part that has thrown me
x

[/ QUOTE ]

Now that might be the rub Pixie. She has a routine and gets fed at 5.30..

Just think, you arrive late and want to ride at 5.25, she knows it's tea time but you carry on anyway and why shouldn't you?
grin.gif
She then behaves badly - so you have a horse that sets the agenda and fixes the parameters.

might be wrong but I know we had one like that at our yard....you'll notice I say HAD...it got sold on because it was so uppity and wanted its own way all the time and was very naughty when it didn't get it.
frown.gif


And I'd have to say it was a mare too, sorry if I sound sexist but a mareish mare is a total pain.
blush.gif


Good luck, nothing to lose by going to see it.
 
Pixxie, in all honesty (and it might sound funny) I would go with your gut instinct to be honest. You already say you don't trust them 100% which to be would signal you already know something doesn't quite add up.

If you're still interested then maybe go see it. If I wanted to sell my horse I actually wouldn't have said anything about "before 5:30pm as the horse has a 'routine'". I mean what does it do if this routine isn't stuck to rigidly??! My horse wouldn't give a monkeys, it does as it is told/asked, doesn't matter what time it is (ok, so within reaosn, maybe not 11pm or something).

I think there are plenty of genuine, honest sellers out there so if you don't feel right about it don't get involved.
 
Hey Pixxie
smile.gif


For what its worth, i once went and looked at a horse who they'd had for...a month. They were NO WAY a dealer lol, and they didn't actually tell me how long they'd had him until i got there etc but anywho. They sold him because they first bought him as more of an impulse buy and then decided they simply were happy with the horses they had, and he wasn't they're type breed wise etc.
Just again with what everyone has said already, go with an open mind and outright ask them why they're selling so early. Then go from there
Good luck!
 
... and remember there is always a 'reason' for selling a horse. The problem is determining the real reason(s)

Do not trust anything the seller tells you about the horse. Some sellers are dishonest and others are just daught.

Realy on your eyes and instinct.

For instance if they tell you the horse is safe in traffic ask them to ride it out on a busy road and show you how laid back it is!

I always try to buy a horse locally as it's true characteristics and behaviour will be known to locals!

Good luck but tread with extreme caution.
 
I would ask why they're selling after so short a time, wait for their answer - leave a nasty uncomfortable silence, maybe just say ahaha or um and then pause - and with any luck they will chit chat to fill it with some info perhaps they didn't want to divulge (much easier to do in person than on the phone though as is awkward for them with the eye contact going on)
Also ask if you can have previous owners telephone number/details / address to contact them to find out more about horse as obv they've not owned it for long. (address at least will be on passport, so if they lie and say sorry not got their details any more then AVOID)
 
Think the 'takes time to settle' bit and the rigidity of her feed times would raise suspicions with me. IE a few mths down the line when she is still bonkers and weaves if she is fed at 5.35 they can claim they advised you of this. All horses take time to settle in and also like a routine but you also need a bit of flexiblity ie if you are out competing routines have to slip. I am also a little suspicious why they have told you she takes time to settle in?! Being cynical maybe hints of a stress head who box walks / weaves?! My thinking is if in doubt don't as these are signals you have already picked up on and there may be some others that they have concealed a bit better that you may not spot!
 
I would go and see the horse but think the alarm bells are tinkling away!

Selling because youngster coming on is a classic non statement especially given the fact they have had her only 5 months. From your description of the mare she sounds like 'she is coming on' herself, jumping a bit of novice etc.

I would be a bit suspicious of people growing in and out of a horse in 5 months. More likely they think she doesn't suit or she is a pain in the neck or they have noticed something physical that could give problems in the future.

Could you speak to the previous owner perhaps? or if you really like her and she is near enough as for a week's trial.

Let us know how you get on. Go with someone deffo.
 
yes, I sold a horse I had only had for 4 months because of that AmyMay.....we simply didnt gel and yes, I admit it- I overhorsed myself. But he was a smasher and I would buy him back ina minute.......if I knew where he was now.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Pehaps the partnership has simply not gelled.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this to an extent - we are all quite quick to judge here.

Perhaps teh horse & rider don't get on - perhaps the rider thinks the horse is too small (and always has done but thought they'd get over it). Perhaps she has had a fall & got scared. Or perhaps, as others say, something doesn't add up.

Go and see her - take someone with you who knows what they are looking at. Trot it up - do flexion tests (if you know how). See it ridden.
IMO it is quite easy to see if a horse has been given sedalin - and yes, if you can, ride it at the vetting too.
 
I sold my last one after about 6 months cos basically i just didn't get on with him but i wouldn't have admitted that. There was other reasons so i didn't lie or anything. Question why they're selling her after only 5 months, i know i was questioned and i didn't mind answering. Are they competition people or do they just enjoy bringing horses on. They could be genuine but just make sure you are careful and ask as many questions as you can. If you see her and you're still suspiscious then just move on.
 
A couple of years ago I bought a horse who had been owned for 7 years but had hardly been ridden by the owner until the last 6 months (big mistake), he was a really nice horse but i was overhorsed and had to sell him on after 6 months, I still see him and still speak to the new owner (very competent and confident rider) and he continues to be a super horse but wasn't right for me, but i was able to admit it. Just bought another and decided because of my past experience that I would go for one that was maybe not making the level the present owner wanted to compete at, this one had same home for 7 years but would not make novice eventing easily and she is absolutely super, she has not put a foot wrong and the owner was truly very sad and emotional when selling. So what is a failed partnership for one might be okay for another........not saying what is right or wrong just sharing my experience with you.
 
[ QUOTE ]
and yes, if you can, ride it at the vetting too.

[/ QUOTE ]

Excellent suggestion - I did this at Thumper's vetting.
 
I would go and view the horse before you jump to any conclusions, yes go with your suspicions but not everyone is a crook and with a dodgy horse just because they have only had it for a short space of time and even if they have, perhaps they are just basically selling it because there is some profit in it hence why they are getting another...its business.

All you can do view see as much as you can, have a second viewing and if the horse ticks every box then have it vetted and see if you can trace previous owners (and trust me that really does count for a lot).

If you get a dodgy feeling about it all, walk away.
smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top