Who will admit they dont care who buys their horse

I hope I can keep my animals for life but if I HAD to sell then no, I wouldn't sell to just anyone.
I saw an ad the other day for someone wanting to swop one of their horses for a horsebox. I could never do that.
 
Hi, the answer is people don’t care, as I posted last week we travelled to Suffolk from Cornwall to see a horse which the owner wanted to go to a good home. We where 3 miles from viewing the horse when she rang to say she had sold it that morning over the phone unseen and the cash had been transferred. This was a case of money more important than home.
 
Yea it is true, I am very proud, but I did see things they did, that I didnt approve of. Rapping, boot polish on spur marks for the showing, hardly any turnout, found her in a field lame, in middle of winter, rain scald, mud fever, skin and bones. No sorry she would never leave me again for professionals, although I know some who would never leave her in this state. Couldnt take the chance. She still competes but with me at a lower level or friends at a higher "local" level. Its only money!!!! If you aint got, you dont know what it is!
 
It is interesting that over 100 years after Anna Sewell wrote about a fictional account of the lives of horses and of the chance effects of being sold this issue remains as poignant as it was then. Had anything actually changed?
 
I haven't read other posts but as I sold a horse last weekend I can honestly say that I could have sold this horse months ago had I not been interested in where he went.

The people I turned down,

The lady who wanted him for her 12yrs daughter but none of the family were horsey and daughter had no support.

The chap whose first question was how low would I sell him for.

Amother girl who wanted him on working livery at a local equestrian centre.

The lady who wanted him as an occasional hack

The man who was going to keep him in a field with his stallion.

The lady who admitted she only had £50 a month to look after him.

Others who clearly wanted him living off fresh air in a field.

This is on top of those whose e-mails were so illiterate I didn't bother responding too. ( I admit it i'm a speach and literary snob )

He was sold to a lovely couple with land and stables of their own so offering him some security, a qualified trainer who they had used for years and he was going to fulfill a quality active life.

So no I don't sell to just anyone but this experience has taught me that I am soooooo glad I don't sell horses for a living as there are just so many idiots out there who have no clue as to the basic needs of a horse.
 
My horses are hopefully with me for life.
Hopefully nothing could happen to mean I couldn't provide that.

I did have s couple of projects s few years ago, but I took them on from desperate people and found them great new homes and stil keep in touch. Even having one back to find another home when the first people couldn't keep him.
 
IF I ever had to made the extremely sad decision to sell my beloved boy then the new home and owners would be vetting thoroughly. No way would I let him move to a yard with no winter turnout for instance, or a place with no hacking.

Of course you can't guarantee they wouldn't move yards after money had exchanged hands but I would do my utmost to make sure he went to a loving home that gave him the best.
 
BBH said:
He was sold to a lovely couple with land and stables of their own so offering him some security, a qualified trainer who they had used for years and he was going to fulfill a quality active life.

So no I don't sell to just anyone but this experience has taught me that I am soooooo glad I don't sell horses for a living as there are just so many idiots out there who have no clue as to the basic needs of a horse.
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but how can you know that this 'lovely couple' weren't a 'lovely' pair of con artists who have been buying good horses and passing them on at a profit for years and years?? we don't really know who we are selling our horse to unless we know them personally.
 
Ibblebibble said:
but how can you know that this 'lovely couple' weren't a 'lovely' pair of con artists who have been buying good horses and passing them on at a profit for years and years?? we don't really know who we are selling our horse to unless we know them personally.
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Well the likelihood of always being able to sell horses to those we know is very remote I would say. Based on this we can only go by what we feel is right.

These people were not con artists, they bought someone very reputable along with them, all of them have a record of results and photos in the competition ring and nothing adverse came up on a google search. They knew exactly what they wanted and were not timewasters.


Besides your analogy could be applied to most dealers and thats how people make their money, buying good horses and selling them on for profit. Not all dealers are con artists.
You can never truly know who you are selling to but you can do as much as you can do to find out.
 
You can find the most perfect home for your horse when selling, but that doesn't guarantee they'll stay there, the next owners may have to sell or have a change of circumstance.

When we sold Miro it was important to me he went to a good home - and there were a few people who called about him that i didn't like the sound of so i called them back to say he'd been sold. The lady who bought him is still in touch with me and says he's her forever horse. I hope thats true but if not then i hope she takes the time to find him a good home like i did.

Some people though don't have the luxury of waiting for the right home to come around. Job loss, divorce - sure they all play a part in why horses end up at dealers or first viewers.
 
You can never be 100% sure the new owner is genuine. But at least you can be happy with yourself that you tried your very best to find a nice horse, and didn't hand them over to the first person coming waving money.
 
htobago said:
And why do we assume that we are the best possible owners our horses could ever have? Is it not possible that by selling on a horse we might be giving it a better home, with someone even more experienced, even more sympathetic, an even better rider, etc, etc than ourselves?
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See, this was what I was hoping for when I sold mine. I had taken him as far as I could and he needed a better rider than me to go further. Sadly, the person who bought him ruined the horse's confidence and punished him for it, turning him into a rearing nervous wreck.

I also said I would be unwilling to sell a horse I thought a lot of, I sold another horse wth no worries as he was the sort who would be happy just about anywhere with just about any rider. I still sold him to someone who I felt would give him a good home.

As for my current one, there is a old owner who would have him back tomorrow if I chose to loan or sell, and as he is a well brought up and well schooled pony who was broken and brought on by this person, I would be happy to let him go to her.

I agree, if no-one sold there would be nothing to buy, but it was heart breaking to hear what had happened to a horse that had been such a fantastic servant to me, I felt so guilty for letting him down after what he'd done for me.
 
Couldn't ever sell to someone I didn't know, or who hadn't loaned her first.

I know it makes me a bit soft, and I'm by no means the best owner she could ever have, but I'd never forgive myself if I discovered she'd ended up somewhere awful after I'd sold her on.

Understandably though, people do hold onto their horses until they are broke, and then money becomes the priority.
 
With the exception of one horse who was psychotic I try and find good home for the other horses I have sold (I think I succeeded too ;)). With the aforementioned one I just wanted her gone before she killed me. I was totally honest in her advert and over the phone so as far as I was concerned I covered my back. I do wonder about her sometimes but last I heard of her she was in Milton Keynes and that was over 4 years ago.
 
I am going to be completely honest now and probably be hated by all but in the end with my old horse I just wanted her gone and yes I did contact some dealers who were unknown to me and who I knew nothing about. This is certainly not the way I would want to sell a horse, my previous horse I could have sold 4 times over but I waited for the right home for him. With Tilly it got to the stage that I could do no more with her to get her even sellable privately because my confidence had been too badly damaged and she was draining me physically, emotionally and mentally (sounds dramatic I know but those who know the full story back me 100%).

I was however devastated and the day I made the decision I could not stop sobbing. But in the end a very good friend bought her off me for silly money and will make sure she gets a good home. You can not believe the relief I felt and how grateful I am to my friend.

So I for one will never condemn someone for making that decision.
 
I've sold two horses. The first was my first horse, who I simply grew out of. I wanted to do more dressage, she didn't. I found her a lovely home with a lady who just wanted to trail ride, and the horse was also used to teach kids to jump. She loved it. The owner even had the mare's retirement all lined up.

The second horse I sold was a youngster I got as break-in-and-turnaround project. Lovely temperament, easy to train, not spooky at all, would make someone a nice horse. If I could have afforded two horses on a long term basis and more to the point, not been leaving the country, I would have kept him. My mare of many years was leaving the country with me, but the circumstances forced me to not change my mind about selling the gelding. A turnaround project is a turnaround project. Anyway, the only hard part about it all was selling, finding people to buy him who weren't useless and would bring him on and add to the good foundation I had given him. It seems everyone and their mother wants a horse their inexperienced kid can do gymhana on tomorrow, and my greenie four year old wasn't that! We finally found an (apparently) knowledgeably woman with a (seemingly) competent trainer, but this involved him leaving the state. So away he went. About six months later, I got an email from a friend linking to an ad on a horse selling website, asking, "Is this your horse?" There he was, trotting around an arena, tail swishing, looking a little bit unhappy. That horse was always a cheerful guy when I had him. I never did find out why he didn't work out for those people or where he went. Shame, really. I do wonder what he's doing now, who has him... kind of a Black Beauty thing... Like the fictional horse in that book, he had a very kind temperament, so I hope that has seen him through.
 
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I must admit that for me it depends on the horse. As I have got older, I have found selling really hard. I've sold 3 in the last 5 years, all of whom I have got to the stage of really hating seeing them in my fields (you'll know what this means if you've ever had a bad (for you) one). Oddly enough though, despite my really wanting to get rid of them, they have all gone to really good seem to be forever homes. I'm really dreading selling my youngsters though as I suspect nobody will be good enough :(:( When I think about it though, its pretty arrogant of me to think I'm the best there is cos I so am not.
 
Maesfen said:
Yes, that was spot on; well said Kate.:)
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Thanks Enfys and Maesfen. I knew that degree in philosophy would come in handy one day!

Joking aside, I was really just thinking aloud about the logic behind some of the rather 'holier than thou' statements I seem to see quite a lot on here (in discussions about selling and also about DIY vs full livery).

They all seem to be based on the premise that a horse's current owner (usually the person posting) must be the best possible owner/carer for that horse.

If this is the case, then every person who ever buys a horse is depriving that poor horse of the best home it could ever have!

I think we all accept that the 'current owner/carer is necessarily the best' premise is ludicrous and can't possibly be true......except when that current owner just happens to be oneself. ;)
 
I would rather sell my horse for pennies to the right person than sell him for thousands to the wrong person.

I've recently witnessed someone buy the wrong horse.. and its not nice for the owner or the horse. I wish more sellers were pickier who they sold to...
 
scarymare said:
I must admit that for me it depends on the horse. As I have got older, I have found selling really hard. I've sold 3 in the last 5 years, all of whom I have got to the stage of really hating seeing them in my fields (you'll know what this means if you've ever had a bad (for you) one). Oddly enough though, despite my really wanting to get rid of them, they have all gone to really good seem to be forever homes. I'm really dreading selling my youngsters though as I suspect nobody will be good enough :(:( When I think about it though, its pretty arrogant of me to think I'm the best there is cos I so am not.
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Wow - humility, honesty, rational thinking and self-deprecating humour - all in one post!

Where is the 'like' button?:)
 
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