I recently posted about being sold a horse that turned out to be not as good as they told me she was.
Im now trying to sell that horse. Im being 100% honest about her problems but as soon as people hear what she does they are no longer interested. Ive had 3 people want to come see her that sounded like they could help her never show up or get back to me. Ive had maybe 40 messages since I posted her.
I have ridden her walk and trot in the arena and her paddock, but she’s really nervous going out on the trail and will eventually balk and rear or buck to try to get out of it. She needs a confident rider that wont let her get away with that and that definitely isnt me. She has never gotten me off, her bucks are super mild and shes never reared high enough that id be afraid of her flipping but obviously i dont want it to progress to that. So how do u move a horse like this along? Is she a give away? How much is fair? Any tips for wording the ad? I will not ride her anymore so she is going to waste sitting here. Its not about how much i get for her either way im loosing thousands of dollars that i paid to buy her. Id just really like to Find her a more suitable owner so that i can get a more suitable horse.
Well all you can do is be honest and wait for the right person to come along.
My mare was bought and sold back to the rescue twice. She flipped over when overwhelmed and no one would touch her.
As soon as I met her, I knew she was the right horse for me. I spent 4 months on ground work. Then started riding in an arena. I spent 5 months in there before trying to go out on the trail with her a little bit at a time. 19 months later, I am able to ride her out for 2 plus hours. And she is happy doing it.
So to answer your question? I would price her in the low 4 figures and see if there is any interest in her.
If all she does is react on the trail, then I wouldn’t consider her a write off just yet. You just need someone with time and patience.
Thanks, i posted her for 1500$ but im expecting a lower offer. Id take any offer really as long as it was the right fit for her. I had a couple people on the other thread say she was a giveaway so i wasnt sure. Just so annoying with how many tire kickers there are.
Not all horses are great trail horses! If she has nice gaits/a jump she can do other stuff and have great value. Have a trainer assess her.
Shes a big bulky qh so probably not a jumping prospect. She will react that way if anything makes her nervous so shes not exactly fixed just from riding in an arena only but she is definitely less stressed there as long as nothing spooks her. Shes gonna need a lot more confidence for anything. I cant afford a trainer at this time.
make a connection with a local trainer and ask her to evaluate your horse as a one time thing. Ask for advice on selling her. Pick a trainer that works with this discipline or type of horse. Basically you want to get an experienced rider to tyr out her buttons in the arena and report on what you have got and give you some advice. Horse might go perfectly well for the trainer. I think you could get some local trainer out for $50 (about the cost of a lesson). Money well spent to get some knowledgable advice. Maybe the trainer would be willing to buy horse.
Honestly, i live in such a small town we dont really have much for trainers here. Reason i havent taken a proper lesson in a long time. My friend had a similar issue years ago with her horse (but her horse hated the arena, did much better once they did more trails) and she was met with comments to put a bullet in the mares head from local trainers.
I did take her to a clinic hoping to find some ways to help her through her fears with a trainer that just moved to the area and honestly the whole thing was kind of a joke. Horse was pushed way to far past her comfort zone, and had a couple melt downs. All he told me was that she was a lot of horse, and that I definitely got ripped off. The only advice he gave when she reared out of fear was to remove the clip on lead rope so it didnt hit her in the face. (I normally use a rope halter without a clip but he does not believe in rope halters and we were not allowed to use one) id likely have to haul her a couple hours to find someone that was even worth my time to ride her.
Hmm yes that’s a problem.
Are there any experienced horsemen that you respect in the area? Maybe not open for business as trainers, but solid riders with a lot of experience?
You taught her this behavior, and you’ll teach the next one the same thing. This is entirely fixable.
If you want another horse, one option might be to try a trainer/dealer. That person may feel the horse’s problems are fixable and then they could make some money on her. They would offer you a “trade in” on a horse they would sell you. Obviously you would need to be very careful to get a horse well within your abilities that you try on the trails and vet thoroughly. One woman from my stable went this route. She didnt get much for the horse and went through two horses from the dealer before finding a safe and sound match, but it worked out in the end.
You need to hire a pro.
I won’t ride a horse that the owner or someone else won’t ride first. There is way, way too much risk in sitting on a horse that you don’t know and putting more pressure on it than anyone else. There’s no way anyone having met a horse once can do that safely. Please be careful in having folks out to try your sales horse!
And I don’t think you can call her “too good to waste” while you won’t either improve her yourself or pay someone to do that. After all, aren’t you asking the next person to invest what you will not? If that is your plan, then make her cheap or free.
You have to ask yourself the question, "when is enough “enough.” Right now you have a horse that is not even worth $1500. We know this because you’ve had multiple people looking and nobody has even made an offer at that level.
The reality is that the value of the horse, right now, is likely it’s carcass value at auction. You will never, as in NEVER, recoup any money you put into the horse. On top of that every day you keep the horse it’s costing you more money. If this is your REALITY then this is what you have to deal with. Your choices are narrow and unpleasant. You likely know what they are (even if you don’t want to accept them). Send the horse to auction, euthanize it, or accept that you’ve got a “money pit” and act accordingly.
G.
This sounds kinda normal for a strong opinionated horse at a new barn with a less assertive rider. Seems very fixable with a trainer/strong rider. I would be looking for those options before euth – ask your farrier, vet, anyone who sees other farms if they might suggest someone local who can help. What you describe is what I see trainer’s take on all the time.
(also, I just saw a video of me on my horse when he was acting up – and well, in the video it looks really mild, but it sure didn’t feel it. you might not be the best judge of what is actually happening. it might not be so bad…)
Some people are horrible on this site.
This horse has done this from day one, and I actually ended up meeting someone who knows the person i bought her from who said she likely knew about the behaviour.
Ive worked at a rescue and ridden tons of horses through there, ive owned horses for ten years, pretty sure I didnt mess any of them up!
Go kick dirt. I wasnt looking for a project horse and not everyone wants to work with a horse like this.
Not everyone will be looking for a trail horse. Some people just want a rail horse…
I have bought and sold horses like that a few times. You just have to wait for the right person to come along. If you cannot hold out and keep her for awhile, then maybe find a rescue that will help you look for the right person. I would make her training gaps very clear and accept an offer as low as $400 for her.
In the meantime, I would find someone who is willing to come out and work her. Wet saddle pads and confident rider would do this horse wonders.
I applaud you for doing what you think is best. If you are not the right rider for the horse, then continuing to ride her would result in injury, and the behavior would worsen.
Is she good at anything?
If she’s not good at anything and she’s got some ugly behavior, putting her down isn’t the end of the world. Sure in an ideal world, you’d send her to a trainer that can either work through this or figure out what she can do well and get her going in that, but finances are important, and investing potentially four figures in a horse that may not ever be worth much of anything might not be the best choice.
A kind death isn’t bad. There are a lot of worse things for a horse.
Maybe the OP can send you the horse and you can fix it for her. :rolleyes:
@Corgiequestrian Where are you located? I may be able to help you, or know someone that can. Is this mare papered? How is she bred? If she is bred to have a work ethic, chances are, she isn’t getting enough stimulation. Or as the saying goes too much grain, not enough work…
That’s happened to me. My first horse was a cow bred QH who had a work ethic like i’ve never seen. She had been blow to pieces on the reining pattern so we had some issues. She wanted to work and move, but she had some serious mental issues about loping… she almost killed us both in March of 2017. I found a lady who wanted a trail horse and she didn’t really want to go all that fast(my mare was great on the trail, bitless and bareback was her favorite. She emailed me about 6 months later and told me she is one of her best out on the trail.
It all comes down to finding the right person and being willing to take offers to ensure she ends up with someone who can handle her and train her to become a productive member of the barn.
Unfortunately, I think you will have to wait for the right person to come along. People are out there that are not put off by these issues (I would not be if I liked the horse). I have the standard questions of do you have a really good photo of her and video? Does your ad say something about willing to consider offers? Have your talked to local-ish barns about her? That is how I finally sold my hard size to sell mare that was really a great horse, just an undesirable size.
In the mean time, have you explored all the trainers around you? I would be looking for someone that has good skills in ground work to start working through these issues while you are trying to find her a new home. IME, the balking isn’t her being a jerk but is instead an issue of anxiety that needs addressed. I have been surprised how much the right kind of ground work helps with this type of problem… Sorry you are dealing with this, and I hope the right person comes along!
You probably need to change your mindset as far as how you describe her. Stop thinking of her as a “problem horse” and instead think about her as a horse that is unsuited to you, but would be perfectly well suited to someone else.
I assume she’s sound and healthy and not ancient, so if you are advertising her locally, think about the wording of your ad and think about how you describe her when you talk to prospective purchasers. Don’t talk her down and scare them off. Tell them frankly that you over-estimated your abilities and she’s too much for you with your current training skill set–eating a little humble pie would be a useful marketing tool at this point.
Talk up her good points. She must have some or you wouldn’t have bought her.
And spiff her up and take really great pictures to put in your ad. You are in sales now.
I’m not suggesting that you offload her as a first horse to an 8 year old, but work out what your market really is and address it squarely and enthusiastically. You liked her and bought her, so someone else will too.
