Would you sell your horse to a riding school?

C

casinosolo

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 August 2012
Messages
622
Visit site
To those of you who have sold horses: would you sell your horse to a riding school? Or would you sell to someone who you knew was going to keep the horse on working livery at a riding school?

Just after some opinions!

Thanks :)
 
Personally no, the thought of children kicking to go and yanking to stop on them makes me itch :mad: But I think it would in the end depend on how I thought they'd settle and what the riding school was like, how many hours they'd work a day, how often theyre turned out, local rep, etc. :D
 
I did.

Pony went there on full livery first.
Then went on to working livery .. cheaper for me and they loved him
Then sold him to them
He was there for about 10 years.

He was much loved and cared for by everyone
 
elsiecat said:
Personally no, the thought of children kicking to go and yanking to stop on them makes me itch :mad: But I think it would in the end depend on how I thought they'd settle and what the riding school was like, how many hours they'd work a day, how often theyre turned out, local rep, etc. :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! I suppose it does depend on the specific riding school doesn't it :)
 
cally6008 said:
I did.

Pony went there on full livery first.
Then went on to working livery .. cheaper for me and they loved him
Then sold him to them
He was there for about 10 years.

He was much loved and cared for by everyone
Click to expand...

That's great to hear! i think in a well-run, well-respected riding stables there should be no problem. Unless, of course, the temperament of the horse does not suit. I suppose it's hard for sellers when they don't know the specific riding school in question.
 
Depends on the riding school! I took a young friend to one at the weekend for her first lesson, it is slightly away from our local 2 (not the best reps) and the first time I'd been on it.

WELL, I have never seen such loved, and well looked after ponies! They were gleaming when they came in for their lessons, there were more helpers than ponies on the yard and they were all walking about with grooming kits asking who needed washed / groomed next which was fabby as it got some of the ponies out their boxes so the staff could get in and muck out etc.

Ponies were lively, and not exactly nose to tail types, but safe. Yard was immaculate and the lady who owned it told me she tries to only work them once a day, twice maximum.

No horse is ever sold on or put down, they live out their retirement on grass on site. And it's the helpers duties to bring them in for grooming etc... which make it easier for the staff to give them a check too.

Fabby wee yard!

So yes, if it was a yard like that then deffo!

I remember my favourite RS pony being sold when I was younger... I was devestated.

it came back a week later as it had turned out to be unrideable away from the school :P
 
Ordinarily, no! but I keep my horse on a riding school\livery yard. The riding school is like none I've ever experienced before. The horses and ponies are always put first before finances. I also know, that if ever the owner has sold horses on (rarely) she will always be very careful who she sells them to. (I've known her to turn down potential homes on more than one occasion) so, in this case, yes I would!
 
Yes, but I actually gave on 'free loan' for the rest of her life.... a very substantial purebred dartmoor mare who had been a broodmare for several years before we acquired her when the stud couldn't keep her any more. She was a well-covered, (read prone to being fat), leg at each corner mare and we had a laminitic pony that she bullied so we couldn't maintain the restricted grazing or exercise she would need now she wasnt in foal again. We had her broken and hacked out, schooling well but private homes weren't interested in her as a totally bombproof kick-along pony that never spooked or bucked, because she had no performance record. And I wouldn't have been able to guarantee that she wouldn't come back from loan or be left to get fat in a field if just a LR pony.
So when the local BHS training centre RC mentioned that they had to retire one of their very elderly LR/early rider ponies I offered her to them.
She has a home for life, is vet & farrier checked regularly, has lots and lots of cuddles and ongoing schooling from the older trainees. I couldn't have found the same lifetime guarantee anywhere else.
 
Tricky. My horse is in the private part of a riding school so I see a lot of what goes on. I'd be happy for him to work there maybe part time (couldn't give him up totally!) and I think the care is good but I'd have to lay down the law about which riders having seen some of the kids ride. Some of them are brilliant. Some not so much and he's not the type to be flapped at or pony club kicked.
 
Jenni_ said:
Depends on the riding school! I took a young friend to one at the weekend for her first lesson, it is slightly away from our local 2 (not the best reps) and the first time I'd been on it.

WELL, I have never seen such loved, and well looked after ponies! They were gleaming when they came in for their lessons, there were more helpers than ponies on the yard and they were all walking about with grooming kits asking who needed washed / groomed next which was fabby as it got some of the ponies out their boxes so the staff could get in and muck out etc.

Ponies were lively, and not exactly nose to tail types, but safe. Yard was immaculate and the lady who owned it told me she tries to only work them once a day, twice maximum.

No horse is ever sold on or put down, they live out their retirement on grass on site. And it's the helpers duties to bring them in for grooming etc... which make it easier for the staff to give them a check too.

Fabby wee yard!

So yes, if it was a yard like that then deffo!

I remember my favourite RS pony being sold when I was younger... I was devestated.

it came back a week later as it had turned out to be unrideable away from the school :P
Click to expand...

This sounds great! Reminds me of a place I rode as a youngster; the horses/ ponies were never sold and were treasured by all :)
 
DipseyDeb said:
Ordinarily, no! but I keep my horse on a riding school\livery yard. The riding school is like none I've ever experienced before. The horses and ponies are always put first before finances. I also know, that if ever the owner has sold horses on (rarely) she will always be very careful who she sells them to. (I've known her to turn down potential homes on more than one occasion) so, in this case, yes I would!
Click to expand...

Thanks for reply! Do you keep yours on working livery?
 
mnmnm said:
Yes, but I actually gave on 'free loan' for the rest of her life.... a very substantial purebred dartmoor mare who had been a broodmare for several years before we acquired her when the stud couldn't keep her any more. She was a well-covered, (read prone to being fat), leg at each corner mare and we had a laminitic pony that she bullied so we couldn't maintain the restricted grazing or exercise she would need now she wasnt in foal again. We had her broken and hacked out, schooling well but private homes weren't interested in her as a totally bombproof kick-along pony that never spooked or bucked, because she had no performance record. And I wouldn't have been able to guarantee that she wouldn't come back from loan or be left to get fat in a field if just a LR pony.
So when the local BHS training centre RC mentioned that they had to retire one of their very elderly LR/early rider ponies I offered her to them.
She has a home for life, is vet & farrier checked regularly, has lots and lots of cuddles and ongoing schooling from the older trainees. I couldn't have found the same lifetime guarantee anywhere else.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Again, glad to hear a positive experience :)
 
cinnamontoast said:
Tricky. My horse is in the private part of a riding school so I see a lot of what goes on. I'd be happy for him to work there maybe part time (couldn't give him up totally!) and I think the care is good but I'd have to lay down the law about which riders having seen some of the kids ride. Some of them are brilliant. Some not so much and he's not the type to be flapped at or pony club kicked.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts! I suppose that is a concern re who exactly rides it and not being able to control that. I think I would want a substantial say in that too if I kept one on working livery.
 
I sent my pony on loan to my friend's riding school when I was working and later studying abroad a few years ago. She took fantastic care of her and the pony reciprocated by being a little star for the school. She stayed for five years and when the school sold up and I was still abroad my friend found a temporary loan home with one of her clients until I came home a year later. I was always welcome to visit and even given a bed for a couple of nights and taken out hacking on my pony with the school so I could see the surrounding countryside and enjoy my mare again whenever I was back in the country.
I wouldn't sell her to a riding school but that is because I wouldn't sell my horse of a lifetime, not because of the riding school part. Like private homes, I think they can be very good or absolutely dreadful and if you need to sell you just have to check out any home carefully.
 
I don't have a horse but yes I would if they were suitable for that sort of work and the school was reputable.

It will be a home where they will always get fed, have other horses to socialise with and be regularly exercised. Horses in a riding school have to have these things to be able to work and earn money for the school. I would not sell to a poorly run or questionable riding school.

Everyone has to start riding somewhere. If noone sells to riding schools, there will be no horses to learn on!
 
Thanks for all the views everyone. I can definitely see both sides! I think it comes down to knowing the reputation of the place in question and whether the horse is suitable.

I am looking to buy a horse at the moment and was planning to keep it on working livery at a trusted local stables. However, I've found a lot of sellers seem uncomfortable with this when I mention it so just wanted to gauge some views! I wasn't sure if it was some sort of 'snobbery' towards riding schools, which may be the case at times, but also genuine concern.

It's helpful to hear views on both sides! If I find my perfect horse and his owner is reluctant for him/her to go to a riding school then I may have to consider other livery options.
 
It would entirely depend on both horse and RS in question. I wouldn't llike to sell any of mine to anyone, but if I had a pony for sale which I thought would suit an RS, and there was a suitable RS (good local rep, well organised and decent management) I would certainly consider it!
 
cally6008 said:
Where you keep your horse when you have actually paid money for him/her is up to you .. not the previous owner
Click to expand...

True, but I suppose if they know the horse well and know that working livery may not suit I would respect that. However, like you say once I got to know the horse better I may move it if I decided they could handle it and may even thrive on it!
 
I agree depends on the horse/pony and the RS.

In the last 7 years I have been to around 7 riding schools and have to say they all vary massively. Some I would be happy to sell a horse to - one in particular is a lovely, small riding school where horses are given varied work and they are all in immaculate condition being pampered and fussed over by hordes of adoring helpers. Others I wouldn't - one riding school which has since shut down often left horses w/o hay/water, they only got turned out once a week, all seemed v. unhappy and worked to the ground!

As for the horse/pony they would ideally need to be patient and forgiving if used in beginners lessons but I'm sure most riding schools would buy horses that are a bit 'quirky' if they are capable of being ridden in an advanced lesson - in fact I would say I have found riding school horses to be more challenging than privately owned horses in most cases!

I think you would first need to research what the riding school is like, prehaps by asking people that currently have a horse on working livery. And make sure you know things like how often they get turned out, average number of hours worked, maybe watch a few lessons to gauge the instruction style and what would become of the horse should it get ill/lame. Also remember most riding school horses are for sale for the right price so just because you've sold to a riding school doesn't mean it will stay there for life.
 
RS life is not for every horse, we personally suggest to owners that we try the horse out and if the horse is not happy with the life, then we suggest that they find a private home. Some horses just need the 1-2-1 relationship and will never settle in the RS environment, whereas others thrive on it.

We currently have only a dozen horses but at our peak 39, and every single one came from private owners, we have never bought from sales, auctions, dealers etc - so there clearly are people out there for whom it is the right move! I think we are a bit different as our horses are allocated to a certain member of staff who looks after them as their own, so they are not dealt with by lots of different people. They work no more than 2 lessons a day 5 days a week, so probably less than the average private horse does! We have one instructor who knows them all inside out so they are not being dealt mixed messages with regards to their schooling. Our ethos is rather that riders learn to work for the good of the horse physically and emotionally, yes some are beginners but there is certainly no kicking and tugging going on here - lots are in (loose!) english hackamores and many riders from other yards find our horses rather sharper than they are used to!
99% of ours live out their days here, we have a big field of all the "old retired folk" who have some downtime after years of faithful service. The only ones we have sold on are ones that don't really enjoy the RS life or when riders fall in love with them and they are right to move on with them.

Sorry long reply but had to do my little bit and stand up for my RS, having been invovled for over 20 years its my lifelong passion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top