ALso, I’m not sure if anyone mentioned this, but people shy away from mares. It’s harder to sell a mare than a gelding. It usually takes at least 10-20% off the price.
We love Halfies in therapeutic riding because they are sturdy enough to carry adults but short enough that the volunteers aren’t reaching above their heads. The TR program where I’m on the board, I believe the only horse we’ve actually paid for was a halfie and is darling.
I think that many of the negative comments are overly harsh. It’s true that Nelly isn’t supple/bending and she is rushing to the jumps. BUT this is the case with many horses showing at local levels. And many of them do just fine at the local/4-H/pony club level and their owners enjoy them thoroughly. Her price is fair—and well below what people would pay for a child-proof pony with changes, a slow steady pace, and a nice supple bend.
I love Haflingers and know them well. They can be pushy, stubborn, and independent (though not always!) and hence often need a gutsy kid or reasonably experienced adult rider. But they are so pretty, healthy, versatile, and perfectly sized for people who want a smaller horse.
So good luck OP! I hope you find the right buyer for Nelly. She is very cute.
I just found her actual ad on DreamHorse and I’m not sure of a polite way to tell you I think her pricetag is wishful at best. I looked at a seven year old haflinger, sound, papers, w/t/c and brave to fences this afternoon… Owner is asking $950, I’m pretty sure she would drop, and she offered to deliver. The gelding was a little pushy on the ground, but safe enough for my very beginner boyfriend. We aren’t in your area- I’m near Harrisburg, so I’m sure that makes some difference as your area is typically more salty than mine.
I hope you don’t mind me quoting your ad, but I would seriously reconsider these lines; “Nelly is best suited for an intermediate rider. The video attached is with her and an advanced rider - we do have a video of her with a junior rider so please call or email for the link!”. I always assume the seller is including the very BEST video that represents the horse at his or her finest… If she is shown with an advanced rider, I would assume she both requires one and that’s her best effort shown.
I know when I was shopping an 11 year old “prospect” would put me off.
If she’s evented, find out at what level, and put that in the ad. If she’s evented at recognized events, USEA has an online database and her record will be available. If it’s decent, highlight that.
The more specific you can be about what she’s done, the better it will sound. Too vague and it just sounds fishy (not implying you are fishy, but horse ads, full do creative bs. Buyers get jaded).
Totally agree on kid friendly video, and on taking her out more this summer - hound walking, combined test, etc.
[QUOTE=jse;7644530]
Just need opinions/explanations on what it is about this kind of horse that won’t spark any interest![/QUOTE]
The price.
[QUOTE=meupatdoes;7646632]
Because, at least from what is shown in the video, she does not exhibit understanding of the basics. She consistently does not bend in the direction she is going. Consistently her shoulder is curved in and her nose is pointed out -the opposite of straightness when riding on a curve or corner. She does not demonstrate any response to the inside leg, and falls in around every turn.
If the rider does not have control of the horse sufficient to ride it straight on path they are travelling, how broke is the horse?
This is a 3.5 year old horse on his fourth ride undersaddle and it is much less heavy and lean-y on the inside leg, and softer in the bridle. He makes baby mistakes with his straightness but for the most part when he is on a curve his ribcage is pressed out and his nose is in -to match the shape of the curve. When he crosses a diagonal he moves his spine from one bend to the other, and does a little baby legyield away from the new inside leg. It already looks lighter and overall softer to ride and in this video it is being ridden its 4th time. These are little details that the haflinger could work on as well which would make her much softer and easier to ride.
I am not saying the haflinger isn’t cute, just that there are some basic things that could be checked off in a few focused rides which would make her notably more pleasant to ride and to look at on video. If the horse is leaning on the inside leg like a freight train don’t ignore it; focus on making sure the basic training is there and she will be super cute.[/QUOTE]
I just wanted to write a little note to thank you and everyone else for all of your advice on her! I appreciate your thoroughness, whole heartedly!
I actually rode her today with your suggestions in mind and made her bend and girl knows what she’s doing! Haha! She just tries to evade it by leaning in and taking the reins! I had been just allowing her to go as she pleased because I figured she just needed to find her balance but when I sat up, put my inside leg and bent her - she did it. Fought at first but she totally knows! If I could upload the video and share it with ya - I’d love that! It for sure won’t be part of her sale video but I would love the critique! I think the leaning and pulling and rushing is just a way to get out of the work for her - and she’s gotten away with it way too much in the past!
I’m going to re-vamp my advertisement and get her out there a bit more!
[QUOTE=jse;7647900]
I actually rode her today with your suggestions in mind and made her bend and girl knows what she’s doing! Haha! She just tries to evade it by leaning in and taking the reins! I had been just allowing her to go as she pleased because I figured she just needed to find her balance but when I sat up, put my inside leg and bent her - she did it. Fought at first but she totally knows! [/QUOTE]
I was thinking about this thread today while I was riding. There is a big difference between what a horse knows, what the rider allows and what you can get on video. You have taken the criticism constructively and positively and I applaud that. Good luck selling your mare. There is someone out there for her and I have faith that you will get your ad polished up enough to catch that person’s interest.
I’m pretty bad at selling horses, I tend to keep mine forever, but I think what others have suggested about diversifying the video would be major!
Find a smaller rider to do some nice flat work with her and edit it! (the person in the black shirt and chaps didn’t help me want to make an offer to say the least…)
Set up a nice easy hunter course at home and do it until she’s doing it well then video it, edit if needed (when I say easy I mean something you’d do at a schooling show).
Do some short clips of her out in a field, crossing water, even short in hand work so people know she’s not a pushy pony on the ground.
When I was trying to sell one of my horses I hired someone for the video because I know I’m not an amazing rider and she really did have a lot of training that I couldn’t show off well enough! No shame in it!
If yours is at all similar to mine (and mine is a cross, so a bit more “sporty” than a heavy type) he knows exactly what to do, with a rider that knows how to ask.
Mine could do some spectacular things with a better rider than me. As it is I could take him into most any situation and he would perform admirably.
But throw him in the 2A/2B classes at IHSA and he will bend to the outside, ignore the rider’s leg, and generally be a pig. I’ve had to tell the riders “tell him who is boss from the moment you put your feet in the stirrups. If he slugs behind, thump him with your legs good and hard.”
I personally don’t need to do that, but haflingers are SMART. Which is why they are also typically sneaky, comical, bratty little evaders.
Mine knows who is in the saddle.
So in short, I agree with what most people are saying. Basically, you really need to put someone on them that is the same type of rider that you want to market to.
I can school my horse all day long and get him going well, but put a kid on him and he’s not the same. I wish that I had a gutsy 12 year old to whip him into shape.
I would also take yours to some local dressage shows. I know when I take my guy to local shows the women love him and want something similar - small height, not as intimidating as a huge warmblood, good mover, lovely eye candy, friendly personality, etc.
I think your market at a higher price is a dressage home with a small adult, personally.
Can I just say it’s refreshing to see someone come on here for advice and say thank you instead of arguing about it or getting defensive? Best of luck with your pony, OP, and I’m moving into that farm. Seriously. Can I build a treehouse somewhere?
Haffies…the mac trucks of ponies…yes they can go anywhere and do anything IF they are not completely obstinate and you can manage to find a saddle that stays on their round little backs. I used to haff to use them for tourists trail rides…so admittedly they were not the best trained haffies out there and being kept on pasture contributed to their roundness…ahhh flash backs to city slickers literally slipping right off and under them saddle and all…but I can not picture even a slimmed trimmed and well trained haffie showing hunter or jumper or jumping at anything…well maybe that sprig of green stuff 10 feet off the trail…basically i can sum up their attitudes as “haffie badger don’t care”
I almost hate to share this but my BO won’t take another one as a boarder bc the ones we’ve had all seemed to be attached to the same petite older amateur beginner/ rerider adult who let them get away w murder. They seem to have been purchased mostly for their looks -all that Barbie hair ! These nice ladies tend to spend more time grooming than riding, horse never has a hard enough job to keep them polite. Since they walk all over their owners, they assume they can do the same to barn staff. Because they are smart and now bored, they tend to open stall doors, gate latches, and just generally find trouble. Now whenever a halfie owner calls looking for stalls, “we’re full”. That might seem unfair to the owners of all the perfectly mannered, well employed haffies out there but it only takes a few bad apples… and LOL, "Childflingers ", I LOVE THAT !!!
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