RockRiverTiff
Well-Known Member
I want to apologize for not blogging this week, but when it comes to horse news this issue has pretty much swallowed my mind. It's very hard for me to separate my emotional reaction from my rational reaction when it comes time to sell a horse, but darn it I'm trying.
The horse in question now is my Arabian gelding (Sir). I've had him for 15 years. He's been shown extensively, is a prima donna, and is one of those horses that wants to work every day. When I was preparing to move to Chicago, I knew he would be miserable with only a caretaker's minimal attention during the week, so I offered him on lease. I even made it a cash lease to try to dissuade opportunists, but I still got horrible responses! Just when I was wondering if I'd have to find him a stable near the city, I finally got the "right" response--a family 15 minutes away whose young daughter was receiving lessons from a trainer we used to show with. I like and respect this trainer very much, and he has the same feelings for Sir.
Well I'm home now, and the lease is almost up. It gives me that *ouch* feeling in my heart to say it, but I know Sir is much happier being ridden every day at their stable than he would be sitting in my back pasture while I work with the minis. He gets great care, and from the regular updates I receive I know that he is well-loved. The family definitely wants to "continue on" with Sir, so I asked them if they wanted to purchase him outright. They had a show last weekend, they have a show this weekend--so I'm waiting to hear from them. Now here's the catch...
I googled Sir to see how he's been doing at his shows. The good news is that at 18 he's been both a Champion and Reserve Champion in Class A showing this year (wonder why they didn't tell me that...). Not too shabby! What bothers me is that the results show it's been with at least three different riders. The most recent show, the girl leasing him didn't even ride him. Do I have a right to be bothered by this? Since the lease was only with this family, I kind of feel like they should have notified me before passing Sir around the barn. They've told me several times the trainer really likes Sir, which is evidenced by the fact that one of his riders is his son, but if he's being used as a lesson horse I feel I have the right to know. Do I?
I'm also wondering now if they are eager to continue the lease for the original rider, or if it's the trainer that wants to keep Sir in his barn. I was concerned about how to price him anyway since he's older and was figuring half of market value, but I'm totally boggled by this situation. As I said earlier, I have a lot of respect for this trainer and really like the family, but I now feel very uncomfortable with my offer to sell Sir--or even re-lease him--until I know exactly who wants him and what they want him for. How would you deal with this?!
The horse in question now is my Arabian gelding (Sir). I've had him for 15 years. He's been shown extensively, is a prima donna, and is one of those horses that wants to work every day. When I was preparing to move to Chicago, I knew he would be miserable with only a caretaker's minimal attention during the week, so I offered him on lease. I even made it a cash lease to try to dissuade opportunists, but I still got horrible responses! Just when I was wondering if I'd have to find him a stable near the city, I finally got the "right" response--a family 15 minutes away whose young daughter was receiving lessons from a trainer we used to show with. I like and respect this trainer very much, and he has the same feelings for Sir.
Well I'm home now, and the lease is almost up. It gives me that *ouch* feeling in my heart to say it, but I know Sir is much happier being ridden every day at their stable than he would be sitting in my back pasture while I work with the minis. He gets great care, and from the regular updates I receive I know that he is well-loved. The family definitely wants to "continue on" with Sir, so I asked them if they wanted to purchase him outright. They had a show last weekend, they have a show this weekend--so I'm waiting to hear from them. Now here's the catch...
I googled Sir to see how he's been doing at his shows. The good news is that at 18 he's been both a Champion and Reserve Champion in Class A showing this year (wonder why they didn't tell me that...). Not too shabby! What bothers me is that the results show it's been with at least three different riders. The most recent show, the girl leasing him didn't even ride him. Do I have a right to be bothered by this? Since the lease was only with this family, I kind of feel like they should have notified me before passing Sir around the barn. They've told me several times the trainer really likes Sir, which is evidenced by the fact that one of his riders is his son, but if he's being used as a lesson horse I feel I have the right to know. Do I?
I'm also wondering now if they are eager to continue the lease for the original rider, or if it's the trainer that wants to keep Sir in his barn. I was concerned about how to price him anyway since he's older and was figuring half of market value, but I'm totally boggled by this situation. As I said earlier, I have a lot of respect for this trainer and really like the family, but I now feel very uncomfortable with my offer to sell Sir--or even re-lease him--until I know exactly who wants him and what they want him for. How would you deal with this?!