Sweet Itch and Selling A Pony

[EquiLady]

Hi all, my dc have grown out of their lovely pony and I need to sell her - she needs a job to do and is getting bored with either being out to grass or trotting like the clappers to keep up with the dc's big horses.

I'm at a loss about pricing her though - she's a 14hh New Forest, rising 15 and has done a lot of pony club / is nicely schooled. Good to shoe, box, catch... all the important stuff BUT... over the past 5 years of my owing her she's developed sweet itch. I know it's a complete dealbreaker for many - how would you compensate for it when advertising her, and what would be reasonable to ask for?

At her age she’s realistically looking for her last home as well which will impact on price.
How well/easily is the SI managed.
Is she safe enough for a nervous rider?

Good point - though she's as fit as a fiddle and I could see her lasting another 10 years in work. The SI is managed easily with rugging and is just a case of her scraping her tail and around eyes. She's definitely safe enough for a nervous rider - I've had two learn on her and she was first pony in her previous but one home (where she was broken and trained).

It's such as shame as she's as good as gold but ugh - sweet itch! I'll be very careful to make sure they are fully knowledgeable as I don't want her in discomfort. But she'd actually be better off away from us as we have a reservoir about 300m away from our fields and I suspect the fly overload is what's triggered it.

If she’s safe enough for a beginner she will have value! I’d be wary of selling a pony with SI to a very inexperienced home but you may find an experienced owner who has lost their bottle a bit riding who would take the sweet itch as long as pony was safe!

Many RDA groups are looking for ponies just now. Groups can get support from RDA Regional equine advisors and vets so managing SI wouldn't be a huge issue for many. A pony who is sound but been there and done that sounds great. They all have end of service plans too, sometimes a volunteer takes the pony on if they are able to be happy in a field.

I don't think you need to worry tooo much, sweet itch I would say personally is among the easier to manage of the common health problems, easier than lami for instance because you don't usually need to change their grazing or feed which can be difficult on a livery yard and unlike with things that cause lameness or more subtle symptoms like ulcers, the sores at least are visible to the naked eye so you can tell when there's a flare-up. Like yours most ponies with it cope fine with a suitable fly sheet and some topical creams on any sores although of course it's no good for a show pony as of course unsightly. Perhaps not for a totally novice owner but I would say most sensible people who have access to experienced advice can cope with a mild sweet itch case

As a rough guess I'd knock 15-20% off what you would have asked for her had she not had the SI, of course you do need to price her to take into account her age as well but a safe novice friendly pony will always have value and she sounds perhaps big enough to take a small adult as well as a child? As a stab in the dark around here I would market her at £4k and be prepared to accept perhaps £3.5 for a really lovely home? But it's very hard to gauge prices ATM, things went mad over lockdown but may perhaps fall as the cost of living increase hits?

Thanks for your advice everyone - and I'll look into RDA also, which is a great idea.

I know that many people wouldn't take a pony with Sweet Itch but it really depends how easy it is to manage - personally I would say that a good pony will hold it's value if the condition is not too bad. Our pony was bought with sweet itch - he was 100% right for us so we were prepared to take a risk. We've managed it with a bug rug and spray and over the years it's actually got much better, to the point where I'm wondering if he actually ever had it, or was just living somewhere where the bugs were really bad. I would be honest when advertising and say that she gets itchy in the summer months but that it's manageable. If she's a good pony I don't think that you will have any trouble selling her!

@horseymum

Many RDA groups are looking for ponies just now. Groups can get support from RDA Regional equine advisors and vets so managing SI wouldn't be a huge issue for many. A pony who is sound but been there and done that sounds great. They all have end of service plans too, sometimes a volunteer takes the pony on if they are able to be happy in a field.

I'm a trustee of an RDA centre. We get no help with vet costs and end of service is a headache. We have one that has been waiting for several months for a place at a retirement centre.