It’s possible when you see and ride so many iffy horses you just get numb to it? At one lesson barn I rode at, I often had the argument that the horse I was riding had a lameness issue and the tack wasn’t fitting properly, and he’d come down with an abscess or a rub in a few days.
I do think it’s wishful thinking, too, on some parts.
I’m only okay at seeing lameness and I look at a TON of sale videos and am constantly surprised at how many are unsound to my eye. And I am mostly looking at young, green ones that shouldn’t be hobbling around. Recently noticed a good 8 to 10 strides of horse being head-bobbing lame in trot in the middle of a carefully shot and edited 3 min sale video. Every other aspect of the horse, presentation and marketing was very professional, which only made me more confused.
I do wonder, though, why sellers don’t just put videos right in their ads. It saves everyone effort.
I think some sellers may be wary for some of the reasons posted above, especially on Facebook, given people may weigh in with “he looks lame to me,” or “why is he doing X.” A random buyer looking by him or herself might not see anything, but horse Facebook groups can be a free-for-all. Of course, sometimes there IS an issue with the horse, or the video is just terrible, but seeing many commentators pile on makes it harder to sell, obviously.
I agree with what @Impractical_Horsewoman just wrote.
I am frequently shocked at the things people post in the comments of ads on facebook.
Not horses but there is not ever an apartment rental ad that gets posted in our community group that at least three or four people post that they think the price is ridiculous and that a person could buy a whole house for that price. (While I think, darn that is a nice apartment and the price is not bad for that neighborhood and then think, where are they finding houses that cheap?)
Oh yes, totally! I’ve seen some wild posts about the prices of things in general! And sometimes if there’s a pile-on, it’s hard to stand back and take a breath and get in touch with your gut.
I prefer to send sales videos privately, for a number of reasons. One, generally I am selling horses that are young and green, so if they are on the market for more than a few weeks, I am updating videos and don’t want anyone being led to outdated videos that don’t reflect the current level of training. Also, I tend to tailor the videos to what the buyer wants- if someone says they are looking for a dressage prospect, I won’t bother sending them jumping video, for example. Sure, I could cut everything together into a long video, but attention spans are short and I have found people are far more likely to watch four 1-minute clips than the entirety of a 4-minute video. They’re easy enough to send and I can send the price at the same time.
As for responses, it is helpful as a seller to get a “no, thanks” to gauge interest in the horse. Not because I get invested in anyone who sends me a message, but because if I have someone who tries the horse and wants to negotiate, it is helpful for me to have an idea of what other interest I have brewing. I recently sold a horse and within 12 hours of posting the ad, I had 30+ inquiries and 6 scheduled appointments to see the horse. If I had 30 inquiries and zero appointments, that would be helpful for me in indicating an unreasonable price, a bad video, etc.
I find that a lot of buyers don’t understand what riding a green horse entails, and some of them sit on a green horse for the first time when they come to try one. I try to be very upfront about what my horses need- if they have a spook, or they get fresh after a jump, or whatever it may be. I am interested in finding them appropriate homes and I am never offended if someone decides a horse isn’t for them. It can be difficult for a lot of buyers (particularly newer riders and horse owners) to watch a video of a professional riding a horse and gauge whether it will be an appropriate mount. This is another reason I like for people to message me- it allows me to vet them a little and decide if I think it’s worth spending the time showing the horse. Especially when my time is limited, demand is high and I don’t want to burn my horse out showing her many days in a row, vetting potential buyers is an important step.
I’m fairly certain I know this reseller, and I agree 100%. The somewhat frequent bashing of potential buyers, combined with videos showing unsoundness and some sketchy training, would drive me far away from ever purchasing a horse there. I’ve also known several that have come out of there with significant undisclosed issues (two of which required euthanasia) which unfortunately didn’t surprise me.
we have sold a few, very few that is. All were sold to private parties, we knew the parties and they knew the horse/pony, most had expressed interest in the pony/horse before we sold it to them.
Nearly everything that comes here stays for life. It was not the reason we named the place Sanctuary Morgans but it is what it has become
The people who are demanding this level of hand holding, as if it was like dating, are not serious sellers/buyers and are most likely reacting from some emotional experience they have had. Which, fine. It’s a stressful process unless you know and anticipate every step.
I don’t sell as my business, I dabble 1-2 projects a year because I enjoy it, but I have a bunch of friends and acquaintances who do. I should show them this thread. Sellers who do this for their living and are not selling their personal Dobbins don’t give a fig if someone “ghosts” them, they have literally dozens of messages open per horse. They probably won’t remember you. Especially at the price points most of us are talking about, probably horses up to maybe mid 5s, at MOST. Anything above that is mostly agents and trainers talking.
And buyers have to get used to, like a horse, get ready to go see it tomorrow with a deposit and have a local vet lined up.
Anyone who is being a cream puff about either end of this process is setting themselves up for disappointment.
Because I am a para rider, I need a very specific temperament. The horse needs to be sensitive because my legs don’t have the strength to deal with a dead sided horse, but they need to be tolerant enough to deal with my mounting and dismounting.
If I contact someone about a horse for sale, I ask about temperament first. If that isn’t a good fit, I reply that I am passing and I wish them well in finding the perfect home.
Sheilah
Hey, perhaps. Not all of us are churning through horses like candy, or feel so calloused about the process. If a major reseller doesn’t care if I send a “no thanks” that’s fine. I’m sending it anyways, because it reflects on who i am, and what we’re dealing in here - a living breathing animal, who I am hoping to find a good partner for, be it myself or someone else.
I had someone come try a four year old. She told me he’s greener than I thought so she offered me less. He was four, and he tolerated this very beginner older woman low level dressage rider who couldn’t pick up the right lead. I was frustrated watching her grab his mouth every time he tried to depart. This horse was walk trot canter and lead change (prob needed polishing for dressage but I do hunters ).
People often think it’s cost effective and better to get them young when they really belong on a schoolmaster w three legs and a peg.
I can understand why a seller would be cautious to post a sales video on FB or YT if there were minors in it to show how “kid safe” the horse was.
I was looking for a horse and checked out a pretty nice little appendix type. The seller wanted to get into gaming and didn’t think this was the right horse for that discipline. Okay, fine, whatever. When she rode, the horse had a propensity for picking up the left lead despite going to the right. I gave her pointers on how to ask for the correct lead, which she couldn’t manage. I had to get on and show her how it’s done and the horse picked up the right lead immediately. He’d just been allowed to canter around on whatever lead he wanted. Actually, it was pretty nice, willing horse and the price was right. I should have bought him.
Just ask them for their trainer and tell them you need a need to have a conversation with the trainer first. If the trainer sounds like a knucklehead tell them the horse breathes fire and eats children.
Did the buyers do PPE? Do you know 100% the seller knew about the issues? Because those are pretty big accusations.
Oh, that is not good. I wonder if we are not talking about the same seller (feel free to PM me). The seller I was referring to moves a lot of horses, often only having them in her program a few days to a few weeks; I’m not sure if it would be possible for her to know every single issue those horses have or even if they are in her program long enough for any issue to come up. I don’t find her training sketchy but I think her eye for soundness is very different than mine. She has perfected the art of curating good videos and photos and sets them up very well with an excellent rider who is very good at producing a good looking ride from a green horse.
If we are discussing the same seller, that’s discouraging to hear. If not, well, that’s still certainly discouraging!
I have gone to see many horses that were anywhere from head bobbing lame to just a tad not right.
In one case I asked the seller if the horse always moved like that. He turned red and said the horse had come out of the barn “stiff” that morning. Right. Another horse was off and the seller told me it was thrush related. A subsequent PPE revealed a sesamoid issue that I’m pretty sure the seller already knew about.
In other cases, I’m not sure the seller even realized there was a problem. I have a good eye for lameness and have typically brought a knowledgable friend or trainer with me when looking at horses to keep me from getting too excited about one that isn’t the right fit.
I think there are a few reasons. First, I’m seeing a lot of scammers trying to sell horses they don’t own. It’s easy to claim a YouTube video and stick it in an ad. Second, if the horse is in training, you might now want the old videos out there floating around. Third, IME, a video can be “hitchy” which can make a horse look less than sound, even when it’s not.
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