Failing to share

[Skib]

I followed advice given on this list, looked at web sites etc and found a possible share. The owner said I sounded fine and she had no other replies. She would be glad to see me. I made an appointment to visit.
Only to get a phone call as we were about to leave: a girl had seen the horse that morning and "fallen in love with her on the spot".
I did the mature thing: waited to ask my teacher, found out a bit about the yard. BHS advice is not to rush into anything rashly. Everyone said to me, Take Care.
But next time, is rushing to view a horse directly I see the ad and instantly falling in love with it the only practical way to do this?

[cvb]

But next time, is rushing to view a horse directly I see the ad and instantly falling in love with it the only practical way to do this?

LOL - that sentence is a contradiction in terms isn't it !! :p

This is about risks, and how much risk you can handle.

If you rush in you may end up falling in love with a horse that is in a awful yard with an unbearable owner, and you won't know til you are committed cos you haven't had time to check it out. Question is how much of a problem would that be ? Could you simply give notice on the share agreement and serve your time ?

On the other hand you can reduce the risks by filtering out the ones that will obviously be a problem beforehand.

Having said that, my big sis went off to a couple of stud visits on Sunday and came home having bought a yearling filly :cool:

Last seen heading home to 'fess to hubby ;)

[Wobblydeb]

Hey, you did the right thing. I reckon the trick is to reply to an advert and arrange a viewing quickly, and then give yourself time to mull over the horse/stables/owner you've just seen :)

I am surprised that the owner didn't keep your appointment to view, and make her mind up after meeting both of you. What happens if you had turned out to be the better rider or easier to get on with, or more suitable for her horse? :rolleyes:

You'll find something - chin up :)

[mayS]

I agree with Wobblydeb: the owner is shortchanging themself by not meeting you. You might've been a much better choice to ride the horse and/or gotten along better with the owner. It's not like owner couldn't have told the girl in the morning to wait a day for an answer. :p

I understand your frustration and annoyance with this... but not much you can do about it. At least the owner called you ASAP instead of letting you drive all the way out just to tell you the horse was no longer available.

Hang in there, and you'll find the right one. Better off taking your time because once you sign a contract, you're locked in until that contract expires.

[Rojeth]

I was looking for a share for ages, and found one where the owner was going away for 3 months and the horse was as good as mine for that time. It was the best offer id had and i rushed in to it, only to find that what they had told me was not true - he would not hack out alone, he hated schooling, he had no confidence and would spook at anything and he constantly napped.

I was left feeling unable to get out because the owner was overseas and i couldnt leave her in the lurch. The only good thing was that it was a short term thing, which ended early after he spooked at a gate and broke his saddle.

I would definitely look closer into a share and talk to others at the yard, as i found out a lot of home truths about the owner. I would also sign a formal contract, dictating the terms of share and responsibilities. I would also check out insurance documents, for both the horse and tack and show them my own insurance. Make sure you define everything so there are no grey areas!

[momofsix]

I can definitely sympathize--something similar happened to me. I tried to be responsible when buying our first horse. I tried her out multiple times, and discussed the purchase with vet and trainer and farrier. All during this process, the her owner assured us no one else was looking at her and to take our time making this big decision. We finally made an offer and the same day, a family looked at her for the first time, just "fell in love with her" and they let them take her home for 1500$ more than our offer. Then they called us. I didn't blame them for taking the money, I just couldn't believe they never called us to see if we would match the offer or that they would sell her to a 12 year old beginner who she was totally unsuited for after telling us they were mostly concerned finding her a good home.
My story has a happy ending--the family who bought Sauvy realized within a few days that they made a huge mistake and returned her :eek: The owners called us meekly and asked if we were still interested. I couldn't even talk to the lady, I was still so upset but my OH cooly drove up there and bought her the same night--for the original offered price. Maybe you will get lucky and this impulsive little girl will change her mind again. But you may not want to deal on a permanent basis with an owner that is that much of a flake! So sorry!