Dragon driving

[CalamityKate]

Tell me about it.

There seem to be a lot of traveller horses on there. Tell me about buying from travellers. I've heard good and bad things about it. There seem to be a lot of cheap youngsters. I'm tempted. Opinions please??

[CalamityKate]

There was a bloody zebra on there the other day!!!

For a second (being clicker obsessed and dying to try with different species I thought "oooh" but good sense prevailed. Especially when I saw the price.

[50BalesOfHay]

I think Saggy had one from them

[Poledra]

What, a zebra? Wouldn't put it past Saggy, mind you...

[50BalesOfHay]

[Littlebigbum]

so what is the price of a zebra?

[CalamityKate]

£5,500!!!

[lovebeansontoast]

My section d would look very cool with an injection of stripes. Pity he's a gelding... will just have to paint them on... cheaper anyway.

[Eve]

I would avoid a cheap youngster from travellers, there is a reason its cheap. It wont be out of a quality mare/ stallion.

Traveller coloureds that are well bred, go for A LOT of money, think £10K+ for a good driving stallion and yearling prices like any other well bred animals have prices that reflect.

I also wouldn't get anything over 2years old, too worried about its legs being trashed trotting on the road.

[chocolatecakeystuff]

There's tons of cobby type youngsters from local homes, cheap as chips.

Usually crap breeding, anything you get from travellers will likely not have vacs/ passport - also usually a huuuuuge worm burden. Will probably have been 'worked' before ready.

Not saying they're all bad on there buuuut think you have to be very careful

[pipsy76]

On a more positive note the most bombproof horse I've ever owned came from gypsys

[CalamityKate]

That's what I've heard Pipsy. Makes sense really; they see loads of traffic/get tethered on roundabouts etc. Often surrounded by kids/dogs/ fridges - they see all sorts and take it in their stride.

[SaggyOldClothCatpuss]

OI! CHEEKY BEGGARS!

Yes I do have one, and it's not a zebra! she's a super little Shetland x cob. She's an absolute sweetie.
I think it depends what you want out of a horse/pony. If you want to give a pony a good home and don't want to go to HOYS, then give it a go. You don't HAVE to buy the scrawniest screw on the site, although i probably would, but shop about. I'd lay money on most of them just needing a bit of TLC.
You're very likely to get screwed over by a dealer of private seller, and probably to the tune of thousands of £. At least a Dragon Driving pony is cheap!

[SaggyOldClothCatpuss]

You need to use your eye.

[Callisto]

I think that you really need to know what you are doing to buy anything from DD or a gypsy. A friend bought a couple of youngsters from our local foal-farmer gypsy. One has turned out well, great jump and very sensible. The other failed to thrive and had to be pts as it had sustained gut damage from an overload of worms.

Personally I wouldn't touch a youngster bred by a gypsy - they breed indiscriminately and produce badly conformed, malnourished youngstock that they sell for meat money (or send to the sales where they do go for meat). If you buy from them you just create demand so they keep breeding.

Having said that, our local travellers (not gypsys, these guys are new age types) have really nice and well looked after horses. In fact they have a very nice little dapple grey cobby type that I would be enquiring after had I the time and resources for another money muncher.

[Elansofar]

Hi a carriage colleague runs the dragon driving web site. She is defo not a traveller lol. The site seems to have been embarrassed by both the travelling community and the driving community and the trotting community. I have had success selling and buying from the site. be prepared to deal with anyone and use common sense.

[Littlebigbum]

True Elan the truth is Dragon driving is cheap and easy to use, so watch out!