WWYD - part exchange? sales livery?

Jayzee

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Evening,

Just looking for a couple of opinions. I have a cracking 9yo 14.2/3 cobnemara (unregistered chunky connie) who I bought as a bit of a project but she has turned out to be a superstar and has not put a foot wrong. My current horse is off with suspensory issues which doesn't look that promising. So the project pony has become more a permanent feature as she does every thing I want to do (80/90cm jumping, xc, dressage, occasional hunting, riding club activities) and is a really fun easy ride, however not a complete novice ride.

I had her up for sale at the end of last year and had loads of calls about her and 3 people came to see her in the 1st week, the 3rd person decided they liked her and arranged the vetting,long story short but the buyer dropped out before the vetting. The whole selling process was a faff and I decided as she was fun she would stay. However at 5'9/10 I am really too tall for her although I don't look a bad size at all (instructor and friends all think I should keep her), I just feel slightly too tall. I feel its in her best interest to find her a more suitable sized rider and find myself another ride. Only issue is I wont have a lot more money (possibly 2000 more at a stretch) that what the pony sells for to go towards another, coupled with the fact that I want to find a reliable straight forward horse that enjoys work to replace her. I don't mind green or a but sharp but I would like one that enjoys work and is a happy character.

Because I don't want to deal with the millions of calls and faff of personally selling her, along with the fact that I am very fond of her. I have thought about selling through sales livery, but I don't have a huge amount of money to spend of sales livery and I appreciate its impossible to tell how long it may take. Another thought I had briefly was part exchange for a larger mount. But my question is does this type of part exchange exist (I am under no illusion that I will have to probably add money to the pot as well as it being depended on someone else having a horse that would suit me - but possibly less stress as far as selling goes? Are there good dealers in the south east that may offer this?). Slightly unsure of how to go about it, so i wondered if anyone had previous experience of a similar situation.

Sorry long post, chocolate offered if you got to the end
 

bonny

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I wouldn’t go down the sales livery route, she sounds like she would be easy to sell and for a reasonable price, assuming she is sound etc ? I’m sure you could find a dealer willing to do a part exchange but again it would to his advantage, not yours so my advice would be to sell your pony yourself and then go horse hunting. Describe her as 14 2 though, or 15 hands not 14 3 !
 

be positive

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I wouldn’t go down the sales livery route, she sounds like she would be easy to sell and for a reasonable price, assuming she is sound etc ? I’m sure you could find a dealer willing to do a part exchange but again it would to his advantage, not yours so my advice would be to sell your pony yourself and then go horse hunting. Describe her as 14 2 though, or 15 hands not 14 3 !

I agree, if she is straightforward and you do a well written ad with decent photos you should sell her fairly easily for a sensible price, yes it can be a bit of a faff but the benefits should outweigh that, sales livery can work out well but if she hangs about for several weeks the costs will run up and any dealer willing to p ex will be unlikely to give you anything that in reality is worth more than her and ask for you to pay the extra £2k, 14.2 will be more desirable than 14.3.
 

oldie48

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I also think she would be fairly easy to sell. would she be a potential FEI pony? She'd need to have a bit more scope than jumping 90's but if she does and moves well, I'd advertise her as a a full up 148cm as long as she'll scoot under the stick without shoes. If not then she's still a good pony for a competitive child or a small adult.
 

eggs

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I would keep her too as she seems to do everything you want. I am 5'8" and rode my daughter's 14.2 Dales pony and never felt under horsed - closer to the ground that than usual, yes but not too big on him.

If you do want to sell it would be worth getting the 'pony' measured properly as it would be very frustrating as a buyer wanting a 14.2 pony for their child to compete to find that the pony measures out. In my experience most people seem to think their horse is taller than it actually is so your pony could well measure in.
 

Jayzee

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Will definitely measure her for future reference.

Oldie48 - I don't think shes going to be FEI potential, however she is a fun competitive riding club/ pony club pony
 

Snowfilly

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I'd say keep as better the devil you know! She's sound, she does what you want.

If you do sell, don't bother following Bonny's advice and just plucking a height out of thin air. Get her properly measured and stick that in the ad. You'll have far happier buyers!

(Yes, I'm still bitter about a 60 mile round trip to see a 14.2 that was actually 15 hands + and therefore useless as it wouldn't fit in the junior jumping!)
 

splashgirl45

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i would wait till spring, what about advertising her on the pony club website or contacting the local pony club to see if anyone would be interested. or try to get her advertised at local riding club, she sounds like she would suit an adult for doing rc events. if i was looking she would be the type i wanted if she was safe,,,
 

gallopingby

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Another keeper, you say your instructor and friend think you should keep her but you feel too big, are you sure this is really what you feel or would you just like a bigger horse because some people think bigger is better!! If she ticks all the boxes I'd just enjoy her, better one you know than an unknown. If you really want to sell I'd get her measured at 148 or 153 and go down the PC or RC routes. Plenty of people looking for sane, sound types in these areas. I think sales livery, unless going to a specialist yard will just eat up any money you may need to buy a replacement. Good luck, remember its conformation and therefore length of stride, shoulder set etc that produce a good ride not necessarily height so a taller one won't necessarily give a better ride.
 

rara007

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Bit of a different view to the others but I sold my previous one ( 15hh welsh RC/WHP type, decent results (elem RC dressage, jumped up to 1.10 and a decent little horse) through sales livery. I really struggle for time to answer queries let alone show the horse. He sold within a week (being a genuine horse of sellable size) and I got what I paid for him 18months previous plus a little- he was 13 and his showing and jumping results were previous owner. Most things I sell through an agent now, too many wasted evenings! Obviously depends how much of the full value you need and how much you value your spare time at but for me it’s not worth the frustration.
 
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