When are we going to put a stop to this!!!

horsesfornow

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I joined this forum end of last year, I must say I am shocked on how many poor people have been sold unsuitable horses from dealers.
I am not saying that all dealers do this but I will say that there seems to be more bad stories than good ones.
Horse riding is a great hobble or sport but also a VERY dangerous one if you haven't got the right horse to meet your needs.

What do you think about this??

Or have you got a good or bad story to tell about buying from a horse dealer that people should look out for??.
 

Roody2

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I've bought all my horses from two different dealers and they have turned out very good.
Yes there are some unscrupulous dealers out there who would sell any horse to any person regardless of whether it was suitable, there are also some dealers who will sell a crook horse that should be retired, but that doesn't mean they all are bad.

I think partially it is just human nature that we will post on here looking for advice about something that has gone wrong or we don't agree with more often than we will come on here and praise the service we have had from a good dealer.
 

Weezy

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I would prefer to buy a horse from a dealer than a private person ANY day of the week - you are protected by law with a dealer, not with a private. There are bad dealers and good dealers, buyer beware - do your homework and don't overestimate your ability!
 

Holly831

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I used to buy my daughters ponies from an irish dealer - he always brought a selection over and we could try as many as we liked and he was always happy to exchange if we were later unhappy with our choice.

To cut a long story short, my daughters pony was killed jumping cross country in a slow rotational fall. we were (and still are) devestated.

When she felt ready to own another pony the dealer invited us over to Ireland, looked after us and had lined up 6 suitable horses for us to try whilst over there. We fell in love with one and bought him. The dealer then had him at his yard until he could be 'shipped' (it was a very windy 6 weeks waiting for the ferry!!)

He didn't charge us a penny for the 4 days he ferried us round and b&b etc. We paid the owner of the pony direct so I know he made no money from the sale either.

There are some good dealers out there - Gil being one of them!

The horse we bought is fab - 3 years later he has given my daughter her confidence back and he is an absolute star where ever we take him.
 

ISHmad

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Two of my horses came from dealers, and I would buy from both dealers again. Equally there are some dealers I wouldn't touch with a bargepole and I do think that *some* of them should act with more of a duty of care to their customers and to their horses.

Like anything in life there's good and bad everywhere.

I'd prefer to buy from a good dealer again than risk some of the private sellers out there. But again there's good private sellers as well as dodgy ones.

Buyer beware but at least with a dealer you have more rights if things go wrong.
 

Alfie_Moo

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Yeah i agree with you. I got my horse from a dealer as a first laid back horse. I knew when i got him he was a young at 4 1/2 years old (have been riding for 6 years so not that inexperienced). Did get him vetted and vet confirmed the age (turned out the vet got teeth muddled and ended up being 3 1/2! Can't really blame that on the dealer though as it was the vets job). I have had him for 3 months and he is just becoming a teenager, if I didn't have an amazing YO and YI i don't think i would have managed to keep him!
 

Weezy

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But Alfie_Moo that is not the dealer's fault. You bought a young horse, everyone knows that their attitudes can and do change frequently! Also a horse that has been a saint under the care of a dealer can become a completely different animal when their routine changes/they are fitter/they are more unfit/etc.....

Too many people jump on dealers as soon as there is a problem and I don't care for it - horses are living animals and not machines, they can and will change!
 

Alfie_Moo

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Sorry that was really just half the story really. There was a lot of other things that also happened, the horse turned out to have been sedated when we checked the bloods from the vetting, so that was the dealer.
 

Holly831

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I wonder how many of the problems are caused by people 'beefing up' their riding abilities?

I know when selling horses privately if you say 'not a first horse/ not novice ride' etc my heart sinks when someone comes to try them and they walk up the yard in brand new gear and then say 'oh I have been having lessons at the riding school for 3 months and I am really experienced'

If you want a happy safe hacking horse then you shouldn't be looking at a young thoroughbred type (just an example and I am sure there is an happy hacker young TB out there some where
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)
 

FanyDuChamp

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Both of mine have come from dealers and I would be more than happy to buy from either of them again, in fact when we were looking for Fany we did visit the dealer we bought Cappy off, but he had nothing Elizabeth liked the look of.

I think there are honest, decent dealers. Dealers whose reputations are well earned and treasured. Then there are the fly by nights. I have always gone by word of mouth, fellow riders or in Fany's case a couple of people who had bought recently off the dealer and I have had no probs with what I bought.
 

SirenaXVI

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[ QUOTE ]
I wonder how many of the problems are caused by people 'beefing up' their riding abilities?

I know when selling horses privately if you say 'not a first horse/ not novice ride' etc my heart sinks when someone comes to try them and they walk up the yard in brand new gear and then say 'oh I have been having lessons at the riding school for 3 months and I am really experienced'

If you want a happy safe hacking horse then you shouldn't be looking at a young thoroughbred type (just an example and I am sure there is an happy hacker young TB out there some where
grin.gif
)

[/ QUOTE ]

I so agree with this, although I am not a dealer, when I was selling my 2yo PRE, the number of calls I had from novices was ridiculous, one woman even got shirty with me when I said it was not the horse for her!

Everyone is very quick to blame the dealers and I don't dispute that there ARE some really dodgy ones, but people also have to take responsibility for their own actions, no one forces them to buy unsuitable horses!
 

Natch

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But bad news sells - good news isn't very interesting and would result in a very short thread
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Add me to the list of people who have bought from a dealer and were 100% happy. She knew exactly what type of horse he was (a safe and fun teenager's horse, do a bit of everything, not going to go to HOYS but priceless). She cam on recommendation from my yard owner of the time, and let us have him on a weeks trial.
smile.gif
 

benson21

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Unfortunately, I bought from a dealer, a horse advertised as a confidence giver, good weight carrier, good in stable, hunted numerous times, weaved occasionally at mealtimes. 6 months down the line, I have a horse that I am too scared to ride, he is not comfortable with me, I presume my weight for him is an issue. He bucks with most that have ridden him, weaves constantly, only hunted twice(not that that makes any difference) and is completely unsuitable for us. We told the dealers we were novice, nervous riders, so didnt 'beef up' our riding abilities. Had a 5 stage vetting, we now find out that the vet we used was the vendors vet, and we wernt told.
 

millitiger

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i think someone else on this thread has hit the nail on the head- many people overestimate just how good they are at riding.

i have bought and sold a few horses in the past and the amount of people who sounded fab on the phone, but put them on the horse and it was a totally different story!

one girl came to try a really big jumping horse i had- i said he had to be busy, loved jumping and could be a handful.
she said she wanted to jump Foxhunters, tried him, fell in love and bought him.
a year later he was for sale again as she wanted him to share with her mum and had been pootling around 2ft clear rounds with him. brain not occupied= naughty horse!

was i at fault for selling him to her or should she have been a bit more honest with herself (and me) about what she wanted?
 

SO1

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I think problems occur when people are looking for a very cheap horse which is also a saint to handle and competitive and they don't have a great deal of experience.

The horses from the dodgy dealers are often very cheap compared to private sales and that attracts buyers thinking they can get a bargain from a dealer. They don't bother with vettings as again they are expensive etc. Dealers dodgy or otherwise know what they have and what they are worth and you not going to get a bargain from a dealer.

Additionally dealers cannot test the horse in every environment and dealers yard is often a very different environment from the place where the new owner is going to keep the horse and the routine is probably different. Dealers yards do not tend to have novice or nervous riders working for them to test out if the horses are suitable for those types of people. Horses are often very sensitive to their environment. A horse that might be great with professional riders kept on a professional yard might change completely when kept in a different way.

The better dealers horses can be more expensive than buying from a private seller but the service you will get is better. One my friends bought a cob from a dealer he was very expensive and she could probably got the same quality from a private seller but it saved her the hassle of going to go to look at loads of different horses as she told dealer exactly what she was looking for right down to colour and although she did not have one is stock and it took her about 6 months she went out and found her her perfect horse.

If I was a very nervous rider I would be wanting to buy a horse from someone who nervous and perhaps selling the horse as their confidence was regained and they wanted to move up to a more challenging horse or perhaps had been outgrown by a nervous teenager and the horse would have been kept in a similar environment as I would be keeping it.

If you have bought from a dealer, had your horse vetted and are having behavioural problems it may not necessarily be because you have been sold a dud horse. It may the stable management that might be the problem.

I bought my young pony from private sellers and had some issues with him during the first 9 months ownership and I thought I might have to sell him. I thought it was the pony that had the problem when it was really that the yard and stable management which was not suitable for him. He needs to live out all year in a small herd of like minded ponies and he needs to have a very big airy stable and be on a very calm quiet yard and once that was sorted he was happy and back to being a super pony again.

I think people also have to accept that their perfect horse at the price they want to pay may not exist so they might have to put up with a few inperfections!
 

SO1

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Just seen the sticky saying people are not allowed to post about negative experiences about dealers anymore even if not named so the OP will not being seeing lots of negative experiences any more I think!
 

lulu111

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Dealers i think these days have an extremally hard job as well do the riding schools. People generally blow up there riding ability not due to their own fault as in todays world they are taught on robot horses as they cant teach on anything else due to fear of being sued , also people do not ever want to admit that its thier own lack of knowlege or abiltiy that the horse is not working out and straight away its the dealers fault,never theirs!!!!!also a lot of people are buying horses as its cheaper to keep (so they think ) than paying to go for lessons and its very hit and miss when they take them home , we cant tell people how to feed , how to exersise!!! once they are gone . Horses are lot more intelligant than people give them credit for and they are very much like children in the sense they try to push the barriers and if they can get away with it they do, , i honestly feel its not the public fault and its not the dealers fault it just how society is this days but their is always two sides to a story and that what people forget. Bad stories are much more intresting than good stories. it can take hour to ruin sometimes less to ruin a good horses and scar it for life it takes a hell of lot longer to make and produce a horses, i have seen time and time again horses that one person will call mad bad luntic to go to a new home and be the best thing since slice bread and that i think is something all people should remember there is so much more to being a horseowner and you never ever stop learning with horses in my job i learn something new everyday,hope this helps!!!
 

Weezy

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[ QUOTE ]
Just seen the sticky saying people are not allowed to post about negative experiences about dealers anymore even if not named so the OP will not being seeing lots of negative experiences any more I think!

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't worry, this thread is perfectly above board
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We are discussing the pros and cons of buying from a dealer and no individual/business has been named or even hinted at, so all fine
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WishfulThinker

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I think that until people are honest about their abilities, unsuitable horses will be sold to folk!!! It is not just the dealers - ok so there are a few that are bad, but there are also some folk who big up their abilities, get shown a horse to match that, take it home and then when they cant handle it scream about being sold an unsuitable horse!

I bought an unsuitable horse for my then experience. If it had been 4 years earlier he would have been perfect. After 4 years of owning him it was perfect and I would never change him for the world. I know it was my jugdement that purchased that horse. That and Mastercard.
 

nicnag

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I have been lucky enough not to have any bad experiences of dealers, however I have been on the other end of the spectrum with a dishonest buyer when I was selling a lovely horse who needed a very experienced rider, in all honesty a man was his best option. I was completely honest with my description, turned away plenty unsuitable buyers. The guy who bought him in the end was a experienced semi-pro show jumper, I visited his yard, got references and eventually delivered the horse to him confident I had found the right person for him. 6 months later I found him advertised for sale and called up to see what was happening as every time I had phoned I'd been told he was doing great. The owners refused to speak to me but after a bit of hunting I found his new owner and she told me he had been bought for a third party - a 14 year old girl, who he had successfully terrified! The reason I got him in the first place was that his previous owner had been a 13year old girl whose father decided he was going to buy one horse that she could 'grow into to' - something I had told the all prospective buyers. He fortunately has landed on his feet in a perfect home now but the whole experience just showed up how devious buyers can be as well as sellers!
 

eggs

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No-one is forced to buy any particular horse from a dealer. As with a lot of things it is a case of caveat emptor and if the buyer is not very experienced they shoud take someone experienced with them.

A friend of mine went to a dealer who seemed to have nothing but dodgy horses - either behavioural or physical problems - but as there was nothing suitable for her she did not buy from there.
 
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