How much would u want the new owner of a horse u sold to share?

[Foxglove]

In November I bought a nice horse honestly represented by a woman who was in 4-H with my kids 30 years ago, and who still lives about 20 min from me. She only had the horse (Bob) for 7 months. She said other than one trail ride, he hadn’t done much more than ground work with him.

. Question: after a couple of weeks being ridden by a professional trainer, we have discovered Bob has A LOT more training than I knew when I bought him. Apparently Bob was “not really worked” for some time, definitely not by the woman I bought him from, and likely not by the woman who had him before her for two years. But at some point, someone put a lot of training into Bob --trainer said she is finding “reining buttons.” Not sure how much I should tell previous owner before I sound like I am gloating that the plain old QH I bought from her actually has some nice polish! Would u want to know?

FYI she sold me Bob b/c he needed to be pastured alone and she didn’t have room to do that. I do.

I plan to do nothing more with Bob than Mounted Archery and low level fox hunting.

[luvmyhackney]

I wouldn’t share. Just send pictures and say he is doing fabulous in training and turning out to be a diamond.

[GraceLikeRain]

Agreed. Horse is doing well here’s a cute picture and that’s it. No one wins by knowing there’s extra buttons and the seller may resent feeling like they sold the horse “at a bargain”.

[cayuse]

Also in agreement. I wouldn’t share. Could lead to resentment on her part (people are weird). I’d just give her vague positive updates.
Congratulations on finding a nice horse!

[goodhors]

Not share either. She could not keep him anyway with her farm setup. She would likely resent that you got “extras” with him and for a lesser price than she might have sold him for. Agree to just telling her he is really “coming along well” with the trainer.

[endlessclimb]

Not share. Would come off as neener neener even if you didn’t mean it to

[WildLittleWren]

I wouldn’t share. I would just say how much you love him, share a picture or something, and leave it at that.

[clanter]

We have remained in contact with the breeders of several horses we have gotten to keep them informed on the progress those blood lines have obtained, but a transient owner we have never had much if any contact with after the purchase.

[BeeHoney]

An appropriate share would be something about how much you love the horse and that he’s working out well for you and maybe add a cute photo. And thank her for selling him to you.

I don’t think it would be productive to speculate about the horse’s past to the previous owner. It could likely make her feel badly–that she was foolish to not know, that she was foolish to have not asked enough money at the time of sale, or it could also be interpreted as an implication that she was hiding something.

The situation you describe isn’t all that weird. I know of several instances of very talented horses being sold to loving but “ordinary” homes without disclosure of their backgrounds. In those cases the horses while were no longer suited for / no longer enjoyed their previous career and were specifically sold to pleasure / amateur homes without disclosure of their background to avoid them going back in that direction.

[findeight]

No reason at all to share. She had him and sold him. If you are lucky, she wont know what you are talking about. Worst case, she will take it as you gloating about her ignorance of what the horse could do. If she contacts you asking how he’s doing, just say great, we love him. If she does not contact you to ask for an update, don’t initiate it. There is no need.

Look at it this way, finding buried treasure makes up for the horses you bought thinking they were golden only to learn they were…well…not.
.

[Janet]

As a seller I would mostly want to know that the new owner is happy with the horse. Conversely, I would also want to know if there were problems, and/or if the horse was being sold. I have not sold very many, and I like to keep track of them.

I would be happy if the horse is doing better than expected, and I would be worried if the horse is doing worse than expected.

[Libera]

Well this is definitely better than the other way around

For instance when you sell a well trained horse and the new owners can’t figure out how to halter it, how to canter, how to load into trailer, etc.

[Foxglove]

@Libera --your response made me laugh! As the new owner of Bob --in hindsight, he’s had to train ME in some ways —he loads like a dream --BUT only if the escape door is open and the handler stands on his left. Any variation and he plants his feet.

He will drop his head and open his mouth for the bit but only if the bridle is held in the right hand with the bit in the left palm at his preferred location (about chest high). Any variation and he lifts his head and looks into the distance until the handler remembers how to do it.

He likes his cross-ties just so, he sniffs his feed before eating —all and all, he’s a bit picky about how he’s handled. He doesn’t do anything BAD if things are not done his way --he just is a much more cooperate horse if one picks up his feet in the order he prefers for cleaning . . .etc.

[SharonA1]

For me, I would be delighted to hear that the horse had had good training in the past and now was back in a situation that recognized and appreciated that training. It doesn’t have to be a gloating thing, just a, “I’m so enjoying Bob, and we’re finding that he has had some good training in the past! Again, I am so grateful to you for selling him to me.”

I would think any seller would be glad to hear that report.

[findeight]

Unfortunately, not all sellers are kind, generous, honest people. True in all price ranges but more common where there is no way to verify ID, claims or past owners. Tends to be lower price ranges with dealers or auctions involved, often undisclosed.

Getting back to share can turn unpleasant.

[Scribbler]

Reading this situation.

Horse likely has some physical issues maybe just age that made him unsuitable for the competition home.

Horse is picky about how he is handled and likely had too many buttons for the previous owner. Either she couldn’t even get a bridle on him, or she got on, kicked him in the ribs, and he spun around 5 times or took off at a flat run, did a sliding stop, and she lawn darted.

She thinks she got a lucky break selling hom down the road to be feral and unbroken for someone else.

If she had him that long and neither her not anyone in her world could discover he’s a reiner, then they are the kind of horse people who won’t really appreciate the information.