I have been trying to sell a horse for maybe about a month.  Anyway I had a lady come this week to look at her.  She is a reg 16 yo arabian and I'm asking $1000.00 negotiable.

The lady comes gets on her to ride.  Walks her a couple of minutes bumps her into a canter and complains she is too fast.  Well I look dumb founded.  She states I like horses who canter at the pace I can walk.  Then she complained she had to keep contact right after she had cantered her toward the barn.  She is only riding her in a no shank plain snaffle by the way.

In another minute she puts her daughter on there and walks with her and then turns her loose who rides her up and down with the reins hanging with no problem at all.

She states she needs some weight and I agree.  No ribs show at all.  She has high withers and she shows some age of being 16 and she is an Arabian.

She might need 100 lbs.  She states well if she gains 100 lbs she might go crazy.  Oh yeah they feed straight corn.  I state I really doubt she will go crazy with 100 lbs of weight.  She might if you feed straight corn.  I am not a corn lover at all.

Well after they finish riding she offers me $600.00.  I tell I can take it.  Well we agree upon a price and I offer to deliver since she doesn't own a trailer.  In the mean time I have someone call and I tell them the horse is sold.

Well I go up unsaddle tie the horse who has done absolutle nothing wrong and she walks up and tells me she has changed her mind.

So I later call the guy back who now is scared why this lady suddenly changes her mind and who is going to believe that just happened.

So not only did she not buy her she just cost me another prospect!

I am just speechless at what people think they can get for no money.  This horse has been everywhere with no problems at all!

Anyway I hope she finds a $600.00 horse that only walks and lopes as fast as you can walk will go and do anything you ask etc etc etc.  With the feeding program of straight corn.

You run into those kind of people everywhere.  If you were selling pink widgits they would come and see and dicker, waste hours of your time, and then walk away.  That is just the nature of the beast.

Marla

jmho, anyone who shows up without a trailer to look at a horse is not serious......

My opinion is No One should buy a horse at first look unless you want to take a chance at a sale barn.

Depending on the use, if it is a trail horse and behaves well at the owners place, request to have the horse trailered to a trail head to see how the horse behaves on the trail with unfamiliar horses.

Barrel Horse, WP, EP etc - go to a different barn and test it out.

Then vet check, even if the horse costs a couple hundred bucks. Save lots of arguements in the long run with previous owner on health conditions. Granted not all conditions can be diagnosed, but a soundness test is pretty reliable for most issues.

If you want to buy a horse on site and take a chance, then the sale barn is the way to go.

I will never sell a horse to someone on first look that comes with a trailer. Guess I just respect my horses too much to send them down the road without checking out the new owners and making sure that the horse and prospective owners are a good fit.

$600 is a pretty good deal on your end for a 16 year-old horse right now. You should be able to find another buyer if the horse is sound and broke, especially if a novice can ride her. She sounds like a nice mare to me that can canter off after a few minutes of warm up and not "blow" throught the bit. Hang in there, the right buyer will come along.

Coupla years back we were selling one of our geldings for $12k.  Point earning proven APHA gelding.  Folks called, asked the right questions, made an appt to come see.  They pulled up in a rusted thru 91 Corolla.  I shouldn't judge, I say.  Introductions are shared, and I notice both are wearing bright white brand new Nikes.  Hmmm, don't judge, I say.  Pull the horse out of the pasture, brush him up, brag him up, and neither of them approach the animal.  Hmmmm, don't judge.  Wifey got an and they did their thing.  The folks watched.  When we asked if they'd like to ride, they just said, No, we're beginners.

What a Complete Waste Of Time.

But it happens.  People suck, and we can't beat brains into them.