Buying or selling a horse? This could happen to you!

You're selling a nice horse. Nothing major wrong with it, maybe a little old, maybe a cosmetic defect like a scar -- basically anything that puts it in the lower price range.

A lady calls on your ad, looking for something quiet for a beginner. Brings over a kid, maybe her daughter, to see the horse.

Girl falls in love with horse, lady is knowledgeable about hoof care, worming, etc. and you pretty much believe this could be the retirement home your been-there, done-that dependable horse deserves. Light riding, lots of brushing and treats ...

You knock the price down from what you were asking, they're so nice and it's the perfect home and after all, the old boy has a light case of heaves, and really shouldn't be ridden faster than a trot.

As you make final arrangements, you make sure they know you'll take the horse back if it doesn't work out for them; you want what's best for the animal of course.

A week later, you get a call from a friend. An acquaintance of theirs has just picked up a new horse, and it sure reminds them of the older one you have. Except, of course, he's quite a few years younger, and no health or soundness issues.

Which is good, because this acquaintance doesn't know the first thing about horses.

They spent twice what your friend would have, but the horse is so great for beginners. In fact, the day they brought him home, all of the kids in the family, half of their neighbors, and even Grandpa took a ride on Smokey, and he never fussed a bit.

But your friend is concerned, because their new-to-horses pal called for advice this morning. Smokey is walking a little weird now, and it seemed like he was breathing a little loud. He coughed a few times, but that's no big deal, right? They all do that ... but could you come take a look? Just to reassure them that it's nothing to worry about.

You stop by after work to visit Smokey with your friend at his new home.

Except "Smokey" is the horse you just sold to that nice lady with the sweet girl, just a week ago ...

He nickers in recognition as you approach, and then begins to cough. Not only was he overworked to an extent that he could barely move now that the bute (pain medicine) has worn off, but the lady you sold him to just a week ago neglected to mention the heaves, and the dusty bedding his new owner is using is aggravating his breathing.

You call your vet, and proceed to explain what happened to the stunned new owners. Sure, they'll sell him back to you, but they paid over twice what you sold him for ...

There are other kinds of dealers. The one in this example simply "flips" horses ... buys them cheap, sells them for double or better -- without revealing significant health issues, or known problems, of course -- and maybe underestimates their real age a little. No harm done, right? Just making a living.

Another kind of "dealer" runs the same pick-up scam, convinces you of the great home your horse will receive, and often talks you into giving the horse away. But within a week, the horse is on a truck out of the country to a slaughterhouse.

(They prowl the free Craigslist ads. You're a naive fool if you don't follow up on references when the 'nice folks' with the 'kid' or 3 show up with their trailer in tow.)

The closing of the three U.S. horse slaughter facilities did not end horse slaughter ... it simply increased the distance that animals will travel, and potentially the amount of suffering the animal will endure in a country that does not have the humane treatment laws and governance the U.S. plants operated under.

The ad describes the horse you've been looking for. Beginner safe, bombproof, well broke trail horse. Trailers, clips, bathes. Crosses water, bridges, road safe. Easy keeper, no vices. Not a baby, but not too old. And the price is right, too.

You call the number in the ad and make an appointment to see the horse right away, because the lady who answered is asking if you're the one who called earlier and is coming out this weekend to see him. You don't want to miss out on this deal, so you tell her you can make some time tonight.

The lady is right there to meet you when you get there. Just about to sit down to dinner, but she's got time to show you this special horse. Only the best home will do, you see. This horse is one of a kind. You can do anything with him.

How convenient, the kids were just riding him before dinner. He's all tacked up and ready to go! Want to take him in the arena, or just follow the trail around the farm? Sure, go ahead, he'll be fine. He knows his way around here, not going to run away with you or anything. (Was that a nervous giggle? Nah, she's just making a joke.)

You hop on and ride. There's a nice little path that wanders up the fence line, turns toward the back of the property along a little piece of woods (no spooking at the noisy squirrels) and turns back toward the barn alongside the road. Doesn't bat an eye at the big trucks rolling by, either. Gosh, he's nice. And you sure don't want to let him get away, with those people coming this weekend to see him; they'll for sure be bringing their trailer.

The lady is sweeping the barn aisle when you get back. "So, what'd you think?" You try to hide your enthusiasm; you were really hoping to pay a little less than this, even though he's nice. "Well, seems okay, I'll want to have my vet out to check him over of course." You're getting ready to make an offer and see if you can get him for a bit less money, but before you get a chance, she says, "That's not a problem, but I can't hold him for you; I've gotten four calls today, and another guy is coming out tomorrow to look at him for his daughter."

It's crunch time. She's waiting to join her family for dinner. Waiting for you to make a decision. You can wait for the vet, but you might lose him to another buyer tomorrow if you do. He seems to be everything he was made out to be. And his price is pretty fair, considering all that. So, you get the checkbook out. You'll be back tomorrow with a trailer, and she's got a bill of sale all ready to go on the table by the door. Don't worry about trying to find a truck and trailer to borrow, she will deliver him after dinner tomorrow. How nice is that?!

You leave with butterflies ... wow, finding the perfect horse was so easy! There isn't the shadow of a doubt that he is anything but what you hoped for ... yep, that's it, "Shadow" is perfect.

Shadow is delivered the next evening. He comes off the trailer, looks around, and starts nibbling at your lawn. You take him into the barn to put him in a stall for the night, so you can acquaint him with your fence lines in the morning when it's light. You give the lady back her halter and lead, and she's on her way.

You go back out to the barn at least three times before bed to check on your new boy, who is contentedly munching hay and blinks sleepily each time you flick on the barn light. Satisfied, you go to bed.

In the morning, you wake to the ruckus of loud neighing and hooves striking hardwood stall walls. You enter to find a nervous, sweaty wreck. After a considerable struggle to halter him, you lead him out into the pasture to show him where the boundaries are. He spooks away from a water tank into you, nearly knocking you over, and then bolts forward, ripping the lead from your hand.

Almost two hours later, you finally catch an exhausted, shaking, sweating mess that is no more than a "Shadow" of the horse you fell in love with.

Shadow had been worked hard for three hours, cleaned up and drugged before you came to ride him that first evening. He'd been on that trail loop around the property so many times he could do it in his sleep, much less in the exhausted stupor he was trudging through when you tried him.

He'd been worked hard and then drugged again to get him into the scary horse-eating trailer. He was hungry and tired when he got to your barn, and more than happy to rest up that night.

But in the morning, your wonderful Shadow seemed to be possessed by demons. In his natural state, he is a nervous, skittish horse, with little training and poor handling. He was spoiled and does not respect personal space or your position as the alpha in the herd.

Shadow WILL make a good horse, but he will require a lot of time and probably professional training to be the horse you fell in love with.

You have a few choices. You're not going to get your money back -- at best, the seller might offer to let you trade him in toward a more expensive horse.

You can sell Shadow, perhaps for half of what you just paid. This is very common. You bought a horse to trail ride this summer, and there is no way he will be trail ready (or even simply safe) in a month. Lesson learned, send Shadow to what may be his fourth or fifth new home this year, and be a smarter buyer the next time.

Or, you can put the effort into making Shadow the horse he was advertised as, and is most likely capable of becoming. He will need months of consistent ground work, and probably 30-60 days professional training under saddle after that. It is a big investment for a horse you can't ride.

The "model" for illustrating this lens is a horse that we purchased without doing our homework.

The owners had an urgent situation arise, and he just HAD to be sold that weekend. We were told that he was kid safe, trail safe, and some other things that turned out to be simply matters of opinion.

In addition, Blizzard had some issues that were not fully disclosed to us.

Our fault, in retrospect, for not asking certain questions, like, "Does he go completely nuts -- without regard for his own or anyone else's safety -- if he's shut in a stall and can't see the other horses?"

Would have been nice to know before we discovered it, as it was a KNOWN issue, and fortunately there were no kids in the stall with him when we found out what happened if the other horse was turned out first in the morning.

We later sold Blizzard to a nice couple as a "husband horse" (follow-the-leader was one thing that he was actually quite good at) without hiding any of the potentially dangerous habits that we'd discovered during the time we owned him.

Do NOT go alone when you go to look at a horse. Take a vet, a trainer, or a friend to help you see the flaws you might otherwise miss.

Ask SPECIFIC questions. Be wary if a question is "overlooked" more than once, in conversation or email replies.

You don't have to assume to worst of someone selling a horse, but don't be naive either.

* If I'm selling a horse that rears, I'm going to tell you that. I don't want you hurt.

* If Mr. Flipseller is selling a horse that rears, he'll tell you ... IF you specifically ask if the horse rears. (Otherwise, he's got a didn't-ask-didn't-tell policy.)

* If Ms. Scamartist is selling a horse that rears, she has selective amnesia. "What? No, not old Hank." (Even if Hank happens to be lighter in the front than a kangaroo.)

Take your time -- a horse is a 30+ year investment.

Sent: 3/3/2008 4:56 PM

I was looking for a horse for myself or my son, both beginner riders. I came across a great ad. Wonderful trail horse! This horse is bombproof and kid safe, rode over bridges and through water, never spooks.

I really did not want to travel far for a horse, but the ad was to good to be true. I called and a older woman answered. She said they had taken the horse in on trade from someone that owed them money. She just sounded like an over-all nice woman. I told her I would come down and see her, gave her a date and time. (First mistake!)

I got there, and her daughter already had the horse tied in the barn. We saddled her up and she rode her in the round pen and then on the grounds. I rode and thought she was great. I finished by looking the horse over and lifting all four feet -- horse was awesome. I told them I would think it over and get back to them.

I called to ask a few more questions, and they told me they needed an answer right away because they had a few more people interested in her. I told them I would like a vet check and all shots and Coggins done before purchase, and they refused.

But, I decided to take the horse. I had to pay for Coggins and shots, and wait 30 days before going to get her. They charged me another $100 for board and of course it cost me another $150 for barn call for well check and shots.

Went back to get her, and they had put at least 150 pounds on her. I think she was put out to pasture and left there for the whole 30 days. She loaded good, but when I got her home she was a total nightmare. I almost wondered if it was even the same horse. I couldn't lift her feet at all, she kicked [at] anyone who tried. Riding her was a nightmare also. She wouldn't stand still. She did a lot of bucking.

When we would get done working with her, she would start shaking. This concerned me, so I called my vet. He feels this horse at one time may have been badly abused, and the people I bought her from [may have] drugged her the first time I went out there.

I kept this horse and worked with her the best I could, making sure she had no health problems. I put her back on the market, listed her issues and advanced rider. I sold her to a terrific guy that is a little more experienced than myself, and he loves her. I can check on her whenever I want.

My advice to anyone buying a horse: surprise the seller with an unexpected visit. Even if they board, there is always a door to knock on!

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