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Discuss horse riding and ownership on our Horse forum.

Viewed a pony thats perfect but owner changed mind after 5* vetting done

66 replies

Sierraspider · 23/04/2015 11:12

We have been on the search for a pony/ horse for a while now and we viewed a lovely connemara that was perfect in every way. We tried her 3 times to be sure she was our forever friend, and she passed a 5 vetting which I paid for. Ide told my nearly 4 year old we were picking said pony up next week and paid a £350 cash deposit. I've just had a text from the ponies owner saying she's sorry but she has changed her mind as she thought there was something wrong with the ponies back (wtaf???!! Wasn't mentioned before or in the advert!) And because shed passed the 5 vetting shes decided to keep her. She said she will have to give me the deposit back next month as she doesn't have it anymore Angry. I know there's nothing I can legally do about her changing her mind but what about my deposit? I'm majorly pissed off to say the least and now have to tell my daughter we wont be getting the pony. I also feel used - I feel like the owner used me to pay for a vetting knowing full well she would change her mind if the vetting came back 100%. I just need vent. Has anyone got any advice? The owner is a private seller and not a dealer.

I know there's nothing I can do but I'm so annoyed and need to vent.

OP posts:
backinthebox · 27/04/2015 10:51

We've just bought a new pony for our 7 yo DD - she is also tall for her age. We bought a 12.1hh pony for her. She's been out pony racing on our 11.1hh this spring, she was the youngest in her race. The others were up to 10 years old, and not one of them was on anything over 12.2hh. A 14hh Connemara is a performance animal much more suitable for a teenager, definitely not for a 4 year old on the lead rein. I appreciate that you don't want to sell a pony on when it is outgrown, but really - ponies are happier and healthier when they are kept in work suitable for their breed, size and mentality, and often that is more important to them than being in a 'forever home.' The sentimentality is always the human's in these situations, not the pony's.

So you need a pony that will not go nuts when all it does is trundle up the road for 20 minutes at a slow walk. Thing of it in the context of cars - your child may one day aspire to own a top of the range sports car, but you wouldn't send them out for driving lessons in a TVR or Porsche, you would probably find them something like a Toyota Yaris or Ford Focus. People who jump in a performance car with no experience and think they are capable of driving them usually end up wrapped round trees. By putting your daughter on a pony she does not have the knowledge, ability or muscle strength for you will be inviting a loss of confidence at some point at the very least, or an accident at the worst.

If you want something you can ride that she will grow into, buy yourself something nice and safe and ploddy, get her a proper lead rein pony on loan, and ride out together. That's what I do with my 4 yo - and I expect him to stay on the 11.1hh for at least another 4 years! (And yes, he is tall for his age too.) We'll have had the 11.1 for 8 years by that point, and then he will go on loan (because I don't want to sell him, and he will be old by that time. But will still be healthier for being gently hacked about and teaching another young child to ride.) But please don't buy a 14hh and think your daughter will be able to ride it independently, competently and safely at any point in the next 6 years! I see over horsed kids at Pony Club all the time, being hauled about by a pony too big for them (and I have bought that Tshirt too - I over horsed my then 6 yo with a 12.3hh - far too much pony for her ability and needs at that time.)

Back to the first point you were discussing though - there are some complete twats selling ponies out there. I've made appointments numerous times only to have to disappoint my daughter when someone has texted me the night before a viewing to tell me they've either changed their mind or sold the pony to someone else. That kind of person needs removing from the equine market place. But there are lovely sellers out there too. They are the ones I've been lucky enough to buy from - I keep in touch with all the sellers of horses and ponies I've bought recently. Keep looking, and you'll find something that suits you.

Erudite · 27/04/2015 15:39

Brilliant advive back which I agree with.

OP - without being a bit blunt - I think that unless you buy a a chunky native with plenty of bone a pony for you at 11 st is going to be pushing it. And a chunky 14 hh will certainly be way too much horse for your 4 year old.

I wouldn't ride most 14 hh at 9 st TBH and I'm a very balanced and experienced rider.

Booboostoo · 27/04/2015 20:59

The buyer behaved appealingly, I hope you get your deposit back, but in the end she did you a favour. Sadly there is no way a 4yo child can grow up with the same pony. To be safe your child needs a pony that suits her riding skills, but at the same time ponies are outgrown as the child's abilities develop.

Most child start with a lead rein pony, then a saint of a first ridden, then a very experiences all rounder/first competition pony, then a more challenging, competitive competition pony, then their first horse. If you are lucky you may combine two of these stages, e.g. some lead reins are also good first ridden, but you can't combine all of them even if there was no question of size.

I've had horses most of my life, I have 4 at home at the moment plus stables, arena, horsebox and all the related rubbish that goes with them but my 4yo goes to the local RS for rides. At that age they can't really commit to a pony and at the same time they benefit from the social aspects of having group lessons and being around other children. The RS also has plenty of different kinds of ponies so she can, eventually learn to ride the ones that need more encouragement, the fizzy ones, the cheeky ones, etc.

Bonkey · 28/04/2015 11:52

If your dd is that tall at nearly 4 then she will not be able to ride a 14hh for life anyway so if/when you do start looking again I would look with a view that you will be upgrading ponies for a while until she is on horses...

Better to forget the size and buy a suitable pony with she can safely handle and ride - I could put my 7yo ds on a 14hh and he would feel totally unsafe due to height!

I have lurked on this thread , hope that you got your money back and everything is sorted

catguilt · 28/04/2015 12:10

dd is a very tall 9 year old and is on a 13.2 and he is one of the biggest ponies in her group at pony club

Connemaras can be tricky buggers, strong and opinionated, I wouldn't put a 3 year old on one.

Molecule · 28/04/2015 12:46

We had a connemara mare, of stocky build, that dh was given as an extra with some TBs he was buying in Ireland. She was super, very calm etc and was ridden for the first time with just a head collar on when a friend (in Ireland) was rounding up youngstock and could only catch her. Dd at seven used to pull her out of the field and she and her friends would play for hours on the lawn, constructing small jumps, plaiting her mane etc. She was so laid-back you could prop ladders against her. So they are not all feisty competition ponies.

But, and this is a big but, she certainly was not the pony dd would want to compete on. There was no way Connie would move out of a slow gear, and whilst fine to play with she really had no future in a competitive home. She bred super foals though and lived a long and happy life.

So what I'm really saying is the pony you get for a 4 year old will absolutely not be the pony they will want or need later on. As everyone else has said she really needs an 11hh. Our children had a fantastic shetland that they could handle themselves and ride, and didn't move on to the 12.2 till they were 7 or so. Dd1 was always under horsed compared to her friends, yet has remained, at 21, the only one still riding and is happy to ride and hunt anything now.

Sierraspider · 28/04/2015 18:29

Still no deposit back nor any money for the 5* vetting. Tomorrow first thing I will be taking action via small claims. So irritating. Has anyone else had this happen?

OP posts:
notquiteruralbliss · 02/05/2015 07:14

OP our first pony ( ridden by my tiny children) was 13:2 and we still have her 10 years later. I don't get this thing of treating ponies like bicycles, starting with something small then upgrading every year or so as the children grow. If you get something big enough for you to ride, you know he / she will always have a job. And of course small children can ride 14h ponies. I know 5ft women who happily ride 17:2s which really isn't that different.

notquiteruralbliss · 02/05/2015 07:18

Though what molecule said about children outgrowing the abilities of their first pony and needing something sportier is also a fair point. But it depends on what first pony is like, what the children want to do and whether ( as in your case) the pony also has an adult rider.

VeryVeryDarkGrey · 02/05/2015 07:34

Of course a 5ft woman riding a 17.2 is different to putting a 3yo on a 14hh connie how ridiculous. A grown woman has strength, knowledge, balance and experience to help her control the horse a 3yo has nothing. If the pony decides to tit about that kid is coming off and its a long way down

notquiteruralbliss · 02/05/2015 08:08

My point was that size isn't the most important thing. I have known 11:2 ponies i wouldn't trust with a small child off the lead rein and 14:2s who were absolute saints and could be happily ridden by someone whose legs barely came past the saddle.

A good family pony can adapt to their rider and doesn't 'tit about' with a small child on board. If our pony is being ridden by a wobbly small child, she is incredibly careful not to dislodge them and goes at their pace, whereas, if she is being ridden by an experienced teenager, she goes up a few gears.

AuntieDee · 05/05/2015 11:21

OP have you heard any more back from her?

Sierraspider · 10/05/2015 11:43

Hi everyone I eventually did get the deposit back but not the money for the vetting. We bought a 13.2hh stocky, safe cob in the end and shes perfect for us both. Very placid and safe X

OP posts:
Sierraspider · 26/05/2015 10:25

Just an update. I know how annoying it can be when you don't get updates on threads! Basically we got all our money back in the end after threatening court.

I took peoples advice from here and got a smaller, 13.2hh very sturdy big boned cob. She will ALWAYS have a job because if my daughter ever looses interest or outgrows her (extremely unlikely - this pony is built like a tank and her old owner was a man who did a mixture of thingd including ridden classes!) She will always be with me. We will only ever do happy hacking. Shes also broken to be driven but we don't have a cart. Had her a little while now and she's settled in beautifully, hasn't put a hoof wrong and my daughter adores her/ feels safe riding her on the lead. The pony is a total confidence giver. Thanks for everyones input. I'm glad the connemara sale fell now, or we wouldn't of found the perfect pony who we now own :-)

OP posts:
AuntieDee · 06/06/2015 11:31

That's brilliant news! Good for you x

Butkin · 08/06/2015 15:21

Well done - a much better outcome

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