Why so cheap?!

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bertin12

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So following on from my thread the other day about what sort of budget I should have for a safe, confidence giving cob/ native type..
I've been looking online at private sellers as well as dealers, and is there a reason some dealers advertise as I've described above so cheaply compared to private sellers?
I've seen a lovely little cob, 5 yrs old & described as perfect for a nervous/ novice rider, good in traffic etc etc & only £800.

I've never gone out to look at/ buy a horse, they've always just been at the yard I'm on or through a friend, so I am pretty clueless with all this.

Should I be avoiding/ be more cautious of dealers?

Any info welcome!
 
I agree that there aren't that many 5 year olds that are good for the novice as they are still needing education themselves. Personally I would describe myself as a novice rider and my first horse I bought was 14, the second 10 and the third 9.
 
That's what I was thinking.
Just watched a video and I can tell she definitely needs more work in the school, she's not very forward going which I guess could be why they're saying she's suitable for a nervous rider...

I'm in the south east, can anyone recommend reliable dealers, so I know who to look at/ who to avoid?
 
I saw a couple of horses with one dealer. One of them wasn't very forward going. The dealer laughed and said they deliberately didn't feed for energy, because if the purchaser wanted a forward going horse they could feed the horse up for that. So I'd be wary of a 5 year old that's described as safe for a novice -it may just be underfed to keep it quiet!

IME dealers charge more than private sellers because they need to make a profit, so I'd also be wary of a horse that looks cheap.
 
Not sticking up for dealers, but "not feeding for energy" and "under feeding" are 2 very different things. Most people feed their horses unnecessarily giving them too much energy anyway :wink3:

OP, I would be wary of any dealer that's selling horses so cheap. If you want to buy a safe and reliable type from a dealer, you're looking upwards of £4k; but most reliable dealers will be looking at producing and selling competition types.

My Safe Cobs have a good reputation; also Clip Clop Traders and Southgate Farm.
 
Very cheap 5 year olds probably have had nothing done with them or haven't had much done with them because they are tricky, have rubbish conformation or have some other problem. I'm also very wary of very lazy horses, often described as suitable for a novice, once you start dealing with the lack of attention to the leg, you often get other issues arising such a napping, bucking or rearing. In my book, even as a beginner you want a horse that goes off the leg or you just end up learning very little except to kick.
 
Thank you everyone. This is all a big learning curve for me as like i said I've never had to go 'horse shopping' before.

All I want is a nice steady, safe pony to have fun on and hack out. The type of pony you can jump on and go for a relaxed ride 3-4 times a week. But the more i look the more I think I'll need a bigger budget!!
 
izzy. said:
Thank you everyone. This is all a big learning curve for me as like i said I've never had to go 'horse shopping' before.

All I want is a nice steady, safe pony to have fun on and hack out. The type of pony you can jump on and go for a relaxed ride 3-4 times a week. But the more i look the more I think I'll need a bigger budget!!
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Chances are you will need quite a healthy budget as after all safe is what everyone is after! good luck with your search
 
You should be able to get a safe hack for a reasonably low budget. It's if you want to do RC activities too the price bumps up.

I've had five year olds that were suitable for novices, but novices that were prepared to learn and have lessons.. I'm not saying all five year olds are easy, or even most of them, just some of them.. In an ideal world a novice should get lessons with a new horse however old it is.

Have you a good instructor that knows you and could come with you to view horses?
 
Yep I've got an instructor who I can trust and will probably come along if I ask.

I'm not a novice as in haven't had horses/ any experience before. I've been around horses for 15 years & rode a lot of ponies when I was younger, but In recent years I haven't ridden a lot and have lost a lot of confidence.
I am going to have some lessons at a riding school before I go out and buy anything anyway just as a 'refresher' and get used to riding different horses before I go and try any out.
And I am planning on having lessons on new pony whenever I get one :)
 
What about a loan with view to buy, lets you gel without so much commitment initially and allows you more time to save if the horse is worth the extra cost. Just make sure you have contracts in place for both parties and firm timescales. I personally wouldn't look at any 5yo unless you have a fair amount of time to work it, underactivity at this age is asking for trouble! Edited as I've just read you're last post (scrap the 5 yo comment!)
 
Crumpet said:
What about a loan with view to buy, lets you gel without so much commitment initially and allows you more time to save if the horse is worth the extra cost. Just make sure you have contracts in place for both parties and firm timescales. I personally wouldn't look at any 5yo unless you have a fair amount of time to work it, underactivity at this age is asking for trouble!
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If lwvtb is an option for a horse I really like then I'll definitely go down that route. I'm not rushing into anything and I'm after a horse that I can have for a long time. I'm happy to spend the time looking for the right horse :)
 
To answer your initial question

because the dealers will have acquired some coloured cobs cheap, broken them in, they seem quiet enough but not actually put any mileage on them/had them ridden by a novice nervous rider - who then gets them home and the holes start to show up/horse starts to take the pee!

For what you want OP I would be tempted to make as many local contacts as possible (instructors/farriers etc) :) and if in doubt err on the older side - later teens can still give you many years (especially if native type!) pleasure, enjoyment and confidence especially if you have a bit of a limited budget. Or someone may have something that could do with the sort of life you can provide but not want to put them on the open market for any number of reasons but happy to sell through a contact.
 
ester said:
To answer your initial question

because the dealers will have acquired some coloured cobs cheap, broken them in, they seem quiet enough but not actually put any mileage on them/had them ridden by a novice nervous rider - who then gets them home and the holes start to show up/horse starts to take the pee!

For what you want OP I would be tempted to make as many local contacts as possible (instructors/farriers etc) :) and if in doubt err on the older side - later teens can still give you many years (especially if native type!) pleasure, enjoyment and confidence especially if you have a bit of a limited budget. Or someone may have something that could do with the sort of life you can provide but not want to put them on the open market for any number of reasons but happy to sell through a contact.
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Ah I see i see!!

Well if anyone in herts/beds knows of something that might be suitable in a couple months then let me know haha!
 
I do agree with the posts above but another side of the coin is that some private sellers over-value their horses.
If you are not used to buying horses from ads, I would ask an experienced friend to go through the ads with you - it can be quite a skill deciphering them! I am usually more interested in that they leave out than what they put in, that can be very informative.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I do agree with the posts above but another side of the coin is that some private sellers over-value their horses.
If you are not used to buying horses from ads, I would ask an experienced friend to go through the ads with you - it can be quite a skill deciphering them! I am usually more interested in that they leave out than what they put in, that can be very informative.
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Oh that's a good idea thank you. I have many horsey friends who are experienced in this sorta thing who would help me.
 
IMO £800 is way to cheap for a horse suitable for a novice, don't touch it with a barge pole!

I wouldn't necessarily rule out a 5 yr old.

We recently sold a 14.2, 5 yr old mare to a novice mother/daughter share. We'd had her for 2 years & she'd hunted, done sponsored rides, dressage, sj & xc at RC level. She was well schooled & a fantastic steady hack, either on her own or in company. We had put a huge amount of work into her & made sure that she'd seen & done as much as possible. I had lots of interest in her, including from a local RDA group. We were able to choose the home we wanted for her & got the asking price which was £3500.

It does make me cross when people expect to buy this type of genuine, safe all-rounder for peanuts. It takes a lot of time, money & effort to get most horses to this point.
 
Have you thought of contacting The Blue Cross or Redwings or one of the other big rescue places, if you have a limited budget? Or you could do worse than en ex polo, which can be very forward going but responsive and obedient, although you'd have to be careful about old injuries. I've known a couple of ex polo horses in hacking homes going on well into their late twenties and still being lots of fun (including one with an eye lost when still playing). There's a facebook group dedicated to re homing polo ponies.
 
Landcruiser said:
Have you thought of contacting The Blue Cross or Redwings or one of the other big rescue places, if you have a limited budget? Or you could do worse than en ex polo, which can be very forward going but responsive and obedient, although you'd have to be careful about old injuries. I've known a couple of ex polo horses in hacking homes going on well into their late twenties and still being lots of fun (including one with an eye lost when still playing). There's a facebook group dedicated to re homing polo ponies.
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Hadn't thought of a rescue from one of the charities, good idea!
 
depends where in the country you are, I wouldn't say £800 is cheap for a young horse with no particular breeding or experience sounds about right-ish but I'd steer clear of a 5yr old if its a confidence giver/schoolmaster type you want tbh, something older, been there done that, even 'aged' horse might suit you better and be within budget.
 
HazyXmas said:
IMO £800 is way to cheap for a horse suitable for a novice, don't touch it with a barge pole!

I wouldn't necessarily rule out a 5 yr old.

We recently sold a 14.2, 5 yr old mare to a novice mother/daughter share. We'd had her for 2 years & she'd hunted, done sponsored rides, dressage, sj & xc at RC level. She was well schooled & a fantastic steady hack, either on her own or in company. We had put a huge amount of work into her & made sure that she'd seen & done as much as possible. I had lots of interest in her, including from a local RDA group. We were able to choose the home we wanted for her & got the asking price which was £3500.

It does make me cross when people expect to buy this type of genuine, safe all-rounder for peanuts. It takes a lot of time, money & effort to get most horses to this point.
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This so true, days out are far more valuable than whether it can trot round a school, Have you tried looking a Pony Club classified, and also http://horsegossip.proboards.com/board/75/horse-pony-sale. On both of these sites you find outgrown ponies or ponies that the rider are ready for the step up, most of these will come with a checkable history.
 
honetpot said:
This so true, days out are far more valuable than whether it can trot round a school, Have you tried looking a Pony Club classified, and also http://horsegossip.proboards.com/board/75/horse-pony-sale. On both of these sites you find outgrown ponies or ponies that the rider are ready for the step up, most of these will come with a checkable history.
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Thank you for that link, there's some nice sounding ponies on there and not really high prices
 
I currently have a just broken 4yrold that could be safely ridden by a novice or nervous rider as he is a total gent, in fact my sister who hasn't ridden at all for 4 years and ways never the worlds best rider has ridden him, HOWEVER to have a novice on him once in a blue moon and to have one as his main rider would be 2 totaly different kettles of fish.
Whilst he coped beautifully and is extremely mannerly it is because I as an experienced rider have drilled manners into him and keep on top of him.

He is not spooky or silly and can be left for a week and still be fine when you get back on (last week I left him in the field all week, dragged him out on Saturday, bathed him. On Sunday I hacked him to a show, won his class and went reserve champ and then hacked him home, he has been broken for less than 3 months!)

He is intelligent enough that he would learn to take advantage of a novice, I think and whilst he is not the sort to be dangerous he is likely to decide that the hedge looks perticularly edible right now!

He is staying with me so not for sale but if he were it would be for around 5k.
Anything suitable for a novice/ nervous rider for less than £2k unless it is very old then I would be very wary
 
Last edited:
izzy. said:
That's what I was thinking.
Just watched a video and I can tell she definitely needs more work in the school, she's not very forward going which I guess could be why they're saying she's suitable for a nervous rider...

I'm in the south east, can anyone recommend reliable dealers, so I know who to look at/ who to avoid?
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Clover Barn is a dealer in Kent who I know a couple of people who have purchased from them and they are very happy.
First link is their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/clover.barn.3
Second link to their website:
http://www.cloverbarn.com/
 
It very much depends on the dealer, some cant be trusted, others can.

I once sold a young mare, who i honestly described as not a novice ride, as she could be a stroppy madam, i told several novices who called that no they could NOT come and try her! The "person" who bought her, told me a pack of lies, and it was really a very dodgey dealer. In 5 weeks the same horse aged a year and became the perfect novice ride! The very nervous novice who bought the horse ended up terrified of her, and sold her on again. The horse ended up (on the dealers boggy fields) with a nasty case of mud fever, which she blamed me for, another of the prize ****** lies!
 
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