what the heck do i do now? selling advice (again, sorry :( )

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tinap

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Really needing some helpful advice now. Here's the story.....(sorry its long!)

Daughters competition pony went up for sale in April as she is 16 & its her last year on ponies. He was a bit over priced with room to negotiate. Had a few calls & 1 viewer who got on with him fab but was too big on him (he's only just 14hh).

Daughter took him eventing in June ish & they had a silly fall & he was off lame for a while with a knock to his fetlock. He was off work for about 8 weeks so I took him off the market.

Fast forward to end September. Fully fit & well again, out competing & winning again so put him back up for sale at a reduced price.

A young girl comes to try him & gets on with him fab. I offer to take him to a show for her, which we do where she wins her class. They want him subject to vetting.
In the mean time someone else rings for him from a long way away but I tell her that he is sold subject to vetting. She requests that if he doesn't go that I keep her number & ring back.

Vetting takes a few weeks to arrange for various reasons. On the day he has a slight reaction to flexion test (not on the previously injured leg). Buyer walks away as they already have a lame pony at home. Don't blame her, I would probably have done the same although vet thought she was crazy & said that having to choose between his safety & competition record & a flexion test on the day she would have chosen his record & reputation. That's by the by anyway.

So, I then ring the other woman back & explain all. She is very keen to come & see him after watching all his videos thinks he is what she is looking for. But, as she is coming a long way, requests that I do not allow anyone else to come & view until she's been & not to renew his ads (which were all running out). Fair enough, she seems very keen.

They came on Saturday & although the girl was a bit more novicey than I thought, she rode him well & he was an absolute angel for her. He really looked after her, popped her round a course of jumps a lot smaller than he is used to & they went for a stroll down the street in heavy traffic. Both seemed very happy & said would ring me on monday.

Not heard a thing upto last night so thought I would send a text just to see if she was interested. Got email today basically saying not interested as he wasn't a push button & still needed to be ridden at lower fences. (Which is very true as he isn't a push button & does need a rider not a passenger, although he is a very easy ride!)

Fair enough.

But now I have a problem in what the heck do we do now?!!! The daughter can't compete him come the new year & is desperately wanting to move to horses. I have no savings & cannot afford 2 on livery so need to sell him for her to progress. I don't want to sound stuck up, but the daughter is talented & I don't want her to have to now stop because she won't have a ride. The pony will struggle if registered as a horse as he is only 14hh.

I never dreamed we would have a problem selling him as he is one fantastic pony who is very easy to do & ride. Everyone is shocked he is still here!!! Friends have also said I am too nice & should not be bending over backwards for people, but I thought I was just trying to get them to get to know him right :(

I have put him on a joint suppliment after the flexion test thinking it can't do any harm.

I would really appreciate any advice at all. The daughter is heartbroken. As much as she loves him to bits, she made peace with decision she made to sell him a long time ago & its just really hard on her now to be still going through it xx
 
All you can do is get his advert back up again after christmas, maybe try some new sites and hope he goes quickly, realistically your daughter won't miss out if she doesn't get her new horse for a few months so you should be fine. If you want a quick sale drop his price a bit.

Next time, perhaps make sure that you don't stop viewings/adverts unless you have a deposit in your hand. You can be fair to a potential purchaser without risking sales.
 
I know someone else who has two amazing ponies for sale and they have had the same problems as you with people coming to see them hearing nothing for ages, one reason for not having one of them was they wouldn't make enough when they sold him on!
 
KristmasKat said:
All you can do is get his advert back up again after christmas, maybe try some new sites and hope he goes quickly, realistically your daughter won't miss out if she doesn't get her new horse for a few months so you should be fine. If you want a quick sale drop his price a bit.

Next time, perhaps make sure that you don't stop viewings/adverts unless you have a deposit in your hand. You can be fair to a potential purchaser without risking sales.
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I agree with this. When I was looking I had one viewing cancelled two hours before hand because the horse was sold. I was a bit annoyed but can understand it as the seller needed to sell and didnt want to hold the horse on the off chance I liked her.

Be firm, have as many viewers as are interested. I viewed horses I sounded v keen on because they sounded perfect for me and when I rode them they werent and the one I finally I bought I was only half sure about even viewing
 
:)hello! i to have had the same problem this year i had to sell my 14.1 connemara within a week of advertising i had a lady come to see him for her daughter they loved him and i agreed for her to take him on trial..after a week i got a call to say they are absolotley in love with the pony so they arranged a 5 stage vetting which was the following week which he passed then 2 days after the vetting she calls to say they have decided the pony is to small! fuming!at their reasoning i could understand if it was for a vet faliure or something but the point is they knew how big the pony was when they saw him first time some poeple are unbelievable ive had various timewasters since.. sick of wasted phone calls and viewings i registered my pony on a site called "horse and pony match" they have been brilliant they take all details of your horse/pony and match them with the people who only suited my pony its saved me so much time and wasted viewings it cost just £10 to register until sold im so pleased that i dont have to deal with time wasters i actually have a very genuine mother/daughter share viewing him on the 28th fingers crossed! good luck with selling your pony! :)
 
Agreed with the above... you need to allow all viewings on your horse, and keep the adverts up.

Preloved is a good website, Lincsequestrian (I think you are S Yorks), horsehunter are all cheap.

Try PC website and horsequest.
 
Why wait until after Christmas to readvertise? Often families have time off over the holiday period and may find it easier to view a pony then - just a thought.

Is there a good local child who could compete the pony for you to maintain his competition record and keep him out there and in peoples thoughts? I would imagine the ponies out there doing are the ones that are easier to sell.

Or what about looking into a part ex deal with a dealer. Granted you will not get as much for the pony that way but it would kill two birds with one stone, pony moved on and daughter straight onto horses.

Hope you get sorted, it must be quite traumatic.
 
Thank you everyone! He's been on all the usual, horsequest, pc, hho, horsemart. Haven't done preloved because I always thought that was for cheaper lower end stuff. Will try anything now though! The horse & pony match thing sounds a fab idea, I will certainly have a look at that!

I need to harden up a bit & stop being too nice! Would you tell other interested parties about the previous failed flexion test? I'm very honest!
 
tinapisascrooge said:
Thank you everyone! He's been on all the usual, horsequest, pc, hho, horsemart. Haven't done preloved because I always thought that was for cheaper lower end stuff. Will try anything now though! The horse & pony match thing sounds a fab idea, I will certainly have a look at that!

I need to harden up a bit & stop being too nice! Would you tell other interested parties about the previous failed flexion test? I'm very honest!
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Horse and pony match are definatley worth a look, as for past failed flexion test i wouldnt personally say anything as this will be part of the next vetting you never know on the day your pony was tested before he may just of had some stiffness there which isnt now..flexion tests are all a bit hit and miss as regards to how much pressure a vet puts on the leg being flexed etc
 
tinapisascrooge said:
Thank you everyone! He's been on all the usual, horsequest, pc, hho, horsemart. Haven't done preloved because I always thought that was for cheaper lower end stuff. Will try anything now though! The horse & pony match thing sounds a fab idea, I will certainly have a look at that!

I need to harden up a bit & stop being too nice! Would you tell other interested parties about the previous failed flexion test? I'm very honest!
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Put him on Facebook too with the post viewable to your friends and their friends - the power of social media is amazing! If he's evented, how about BE site too?

Have been in your situation and then kicked myself for trusting 'buyers'. Put him up right away and only take him off the market when he's arrived at his new home. Many dealers insist vetting is done immediately and full livery charged once deposit is paid - something to consider maybe......

Yes I would declare the flexion test - there's been many a debate as to the usefulness of this particular test. You may want to get your vet out to do it again as if he passes the test, it will really help the sale. Good luck!
 
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Has he hunted? If not, do you think you could persuade your daughter out and get a few pictures of him at the meet, if he behaves? He's a perfect PC Novice teams allrounder really, and often those ponies seem to sell better with hunting experience as their jockey is likely to want to do it all...
 
tinapisascrooge said:
Thank you everyone! He's been on all the usual, horsequest, pc, hho, horsemart. Haven't done preloved because I always thought that was for cheaper lower end stuff. Will try anything now though! The horse & pony match thing sounds a fab idea, I will certainly have a look at that!

I need to harden up a bit & stop being too nice! Would you tell other interested parties about the previous failed flexion test? I'm very honest!
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No!! You sound far to nice. I'm not suggesting you hide anything or are dishonest but lests face it we all get the odd stiff or sore day ourselves and its nothing serious so wait and see what happens at the vetting
 
One other option (I know its less than ideal) is loaning the pony out? That way you could get a horse for your daughter and wouldnt be paying for 2 on livery. If you do LWVTB then you should (fingers crossed) get the money for him outright at the end.

Just be patient though, keep advertising everywhere you can and dont fall into the trap again of not letting anyone else see the pony just because someone sounds interested.

And if I were you I wouldnt mention the failed flexion test, I know honesty is normally the best policy but this wasnt a major failure, it was a slight reaction to the test - and the vet themselves said it shouldnt have put the buyer off. The pony isnt lame and if he has no previous history of lameness in that leg then it isnt a major problem. If he had arthritis or an ongoing history of illness related to that leg then as a buyer I'd want to know, but if it is something that causes no issues in his day to day life and it isnt affecting his performance then I dont see why you would need to highlight it.
 
Give John Whinnett a call http://www.johnwhinnett.com/ he deals in horses and ponies and would def part ex. This might be your best option in selling pony and finding a horse for your daughter. If he doesn't have want you want in stock he will source it for you and his prices are not too steep.

I am in no way connected with JW this is not advertising.
 
Other things to consider - dropping the price. If people aren't coming to look then they may perceive he's over priced.

Look through the wanted ads.
 
Agree with whoever said get your vet out to do another flexion test (you don't have to pay for a full vetting seeing as he passed the rest).

Use social networking to the maximum (as your daughter is 14, I'm sure she would be more than happy to do it!) - join the groups for your local horse scene, there are plenty for buying and selling horses, and they'll target a more local market.

Agree also on get him out hunting - and get the word out with your hunt. If he can be seen out and behaving himself now, that's an advert on its own.

Make sure your pictures are spot on and use as many as you're allowed - at least one conformational, one movement and one jumping.
 
Lolo said:
Has he hunted? If not, do you think you could persuade your daughter out and get a few pictures of him at the meet, if he behaves? He's a perfect PC Novice teams allrounder really, and often those ponies seem to sell better with hunting experience as their jockey is likely to want to do it all...
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It is a good shop window too, providing he behaves.
 
Could you also perhaps find a competent younger child to do the odd class or rally on him? When mines 11 if I was looking, I wouldn't travel hours to see a 14hh ridden by a very experienced 16yr old for fear it might be too much. So I'd only bother if it was local. If your ad mentioned either your child or another riding it successfully at a younger age though, I'd be more inclined to travel. Ditto comps, if you're there anyway can you get a decent younger child to do clear round or something?
 
ace 1 said:
:)hello! i to have had the same problem this year i had to sell my 14.1 connemara within a week of advertising i had a lady come to see him for her daughter they loved him and i agreed for her to take him on trial..after a week i got a call to say they are absolotley in love with the pony so they arranged a 5 stage vetting which was the following week which he passed then 2 days after the vetting she calls to say they have decided the pony is to small! fuming!at their reasoning i could understand if it was for a vet faliure or something but the point is they knew how big the pony was when they saw him first time some poeple are unbelievable ive had various timewasters since.. sick of wasted phone calls and viewings i registered my pony on a site called "horse and pony match" they have been brilliant they take all details of your horse/pony and match them with the people who only suited my pony its saved me so much time and wasted viewings it cost just £10 to register until sold im so pleased that i dont have to deal with time wasters i actually have a very genuine mother/daughter share viewing him on the 28th fingers crossed! good luck with selling your pony! :)
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I can second that..I was with Horse and Pony Match for a few weeks and they found me a lovely buyer for my horse. I was so sick of being messed about and as it was a forced sale (lost my job) I was really nervous of selling anyway. Their website is www.horseandponymatch.co.uk - defo worth a go.
 
I was in the same situation, albeit worse. We had a family really interested in my pony (jumped 148s county shows, qualified for eventing novice champs, amazing hunter, used lightly in riding school, generally amazing etc.) for the whole winter. They expressed their interest in september, but i was still looking for a horse. They came to ride him numerous times over the winter, passed vetting. In may i got new horse, rang the people to tell them the "good news"....suddenly they didnt want him. All winter we had turned down considerable offers as we were keeping them for these people - who we knew well, at my school, in my pony club etc. - it was horrible. We have now fallen out with them and they now have this scrawny 13'2 which is vile, karma is harsh ;)! They dont take it anywhere and they hardly ride it so i am glad we didnt sell to them. I learnt that it was probably for the best, he is now in the perfect home and is thriving - it did, however, take us until july to sell him eventually. We ended up letting the people take him to pony club camp and a two week trial - a risk, but it paid off. maybe some sort of trial would be a good idea and keep competing him through the winter. Let people know where you are taking him and if he wins or does well get the commentator to announce he is for sale. good luck, i know what you are going through!
 
It can sometimes be hard to find the right new owner for a good pony, you have really only had a couple, so just keep trying. Just before Christmas in nasty discouraging weather is not the best time to buy a pony, so things will probably pick up in the spring.

One problem is that if parents pay a lot for a pony, they expect to go out next week and win and don't appreciate that you and your daughter have taken years to get it to where it is now. Or they take it to a Clinic and expect everything to be perfect and if it isn't, they send it back as not as advertised. Like expecting it to jump a line of 4' fences and the rider misjudges it and falls off, the pony gets the blame (this happened).
 
Sorry everyone, had to nip out!

Lots of useful advice, thank you all so much!

We haven't had him out hunting before, the daughter has thought about going but I don't really know how to go about it (pc we are involved with is very, very small & not linked to a hunt- I don't know anything about it!) Also she is a bit wary now after his fall eventing & has realised how easily he or she can break!!

As for the eventing, they have done PC area & some other pc branch ode's at novice level because the daughter struggles with harder dressage tests (would easily cope with the inter xc & sj & possible open) & usually has good results although Tbf they haven't done them regularly. We were going to enter BE on a ticket last year but then he had the fall so missed it. He is actually not quite 142cm which I think is what they have to be to affiliate but someone on here told me they never check height certificates anyway! He would measure bigger if needed as we tried to get him in at 138 when we had his full certificate done, he measured at 141.6cm.

I can't really loan him out unless I can get a horse on loan as I need the funds from his sale to purchase a horse, although we are not looking for a been there done it horse, she wants to start from scratch with one so don't really want to spend more than £3k on one. I would do a part ex if poss (that sounds horrible, like he's a car :( ) but it would have to be the pony going in exchange for a horse + cash (ideally wanting about £4-5k for pony) xx
 
If you find your local hunt and phone up, there's a good chance there'll be a suitable meet soon and they'll know someone sensible who'll take your daughter out. Horses break easily, but if she's sensible and careful, and keeps with someone who knows what they're on it could be a brilliant advertisement for him. Now's the time a lot of families are looking for the next pony up for their children- the family my sister takes out hunting have just had a restock of ponies, and lots of other children are moving off 13hh up to 14hh.
 
As soon as the competition season starts drawing nearer your market will pick up massively. Might as well keep him going, try again in the new year. You are not losing time as if you are going to go out looking for a young green horse a lot of the big dealers etc have run their stock down to have less in the winter. As for the failed flexion, ask your vet how you can check this but I honestly would not mention it as it really can come down to the day. It would be a different matter if the horse has an injury which meant it would always fail. A friend had one who failed on a flexion and she took the horse off the market till it was sound again. Once horse was properly sound, she readvertised and it sold having passed a stringent 5*.
 
Thanks lolo, I will have a look & ask about :)

I've been told by numerous people that his height is part of his problem - everyone seems to want full up 148's!
 
Cross posted, but thanks luci. We've been looking today at other things she can do on him instead of BS & we have some options so he can still get out. We were completely shocked about the flexion test & thought if anything came up ot would be from the leg he had the injury on (although he got the all clear from that). The vet that did it said it just seemed like a little stiffness in hock (not lame or unsound & all other tests on circles etc were perfect) hence me getting the joint stuff just incase. Would the vet have to mention it if she came to vet him again? Just that she's the only decent vet in a reasonable radius so is likely to be used to vet him again. She did actually say that coming out to vet a 13yr old showjumper she wouldn't expect to get a clean vetting & what little he did react to really surprised her
 
tinapisascrooge said:
Cross posted, but thanks luci. We've been looking today at other things she can do on him instead of BS & we have some options so he can still get out. We were completely shocked about the flexion test & thought if anything came up ot would be from the leg he had the injury on (although he got the all clear from that). The vet that did it said it just seemed like a little stiffness in hock (not lame or unsound & all other tests on circles etc were perfect) hence me getting the joint stuff just incase. Would the vet have to mention it if she came to vet him again? Just that she's the only decent vet in a reasonable radius so is likely to be used to vet him again. She did actually say that coming out to vet a 13yr old showjumper she wouldn't expect to get a clean vetting & what little he did react to really surprised her
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If you are worried about the flexion I would get your own vet to look at it and see if it they think it was a one off and something more. Put your mind at peace. Think I might mention it if it got to the stage of a vetting but if you could say, he failed the flexion test at that point, our own vet has now cleared him and therefore we are happy to submit him again, then that is fair. Also that you can tell the vet ( if its the same one) what you have done. I would just check about confidentiality etc as not sure though. If someone else has paid for a vetting then can you refer to it for another person? I honestly don't know?
 
Is he 14hh? If so why not market him as a WHP? If he will jump clear round the big tracks at the Champs etc he will be worth his weight in gold. The harsh lesoon is you keep him advertised and accept viewing until somebody buys him (in full).
Selling 14.2hhs is bloody hard as the capable kids are already on horses and the others couldn't ride a decent pony while they've a hole in their arse...........
 
Yep measles, it seems that's my problem! Although he's chunky & perfect for vertically challenged kids (like my short arsed daughter!)

I don't think you can luci. I know the vetting paperwork that did get done went to the prospective buyer as it was her that paid for it.

Baggybreeches, yes he's 14hh, well hes 141.6cm so just under 14hh with shoes. She's done some local level whp with him & always does very well. I know naff all about showing though! He's not very flashy - is a palomino & white cob type but is predominantly white (another downside to selling, not showy enough for most pc types & too cobby looking for jumpers!) . The owners of the new forest the daughter rides are thinking of doing workers with her as obviously she can't compete her bs anymore cos she's 14hh too so its something we could do with ours too. He will ping over the biggest of workers jumps :)

**scuttles off to research whp classes....... :D
 
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