Gold Eyes, Part 1
Anna didn’t give up looking for a gentle gelding for her 9 year old nephew, David, despite all the wasted hours she’d spent looking at horses that turned out to be nothing like the sellers promised. She considered herself fairly knowledgeable about horses, and also about human nature. She had worked for many years as an investigator and from old habit, began keeping a log of her horse-hunting forays. She began transcribing recorded phone messages and saving emails. The stall she had set aside in her own barn for David’s horse was empty, and the fall weather was nearing its end.
As she had done many times before, Anna spent the evening of Sunday, November 1st perusing the ads on one of her favorite Internet websites. She clicked again on the ad for the beautiful honey-colored gelding called “Cowboy.” This horse had intrigued her, because he appeared to be everything Anna wanted for her nephew. The ad described Cowboy as “broke as the horse at Wal-Mart.” According to the ad, he was the horse given to beginners on trail rides, and a perfect play day mount for a child. He was a 13 years old palomino Quarter horse cross and 14.2hh. The picture in the ad showed Cowboy carrying his rider across a small wooden bridge on a loose rein, looking very relaxed.
Anna had refrained from calling the seller, Bob Roberts, for two reasons. She could see that he had many other horses for sale on the site. He was a trader, and Anna particularly wanted to buy a horse with a known history. Cowboy was also at the very top of her price range at $1,500. Nevertheless, she picked up her phone and made the call.
Bob answered, and Anna explained that she was looking for a horse for her 9-year-old nephew.
“Even though David has been taking riding lessons once a week for almost two years, he still needs a docile animal,” Anna explained.
“Cowboy should be fine, but I won’t sell you the horse until you come ride him,” Bob replied. “I got another person who really wants this horse, but she lives three hours away. She wants to send me a check but I won’t do it until I know she’d get along with the horse. I can go out in the pasture and ride this horse up with just a piece of twine around his nose, that’s how gentle he is.”
Anna asked Bob if his price was negotiable, but Bob said if he took any less for Cowboy, he’d lose money on the deal. Anna asked where the horse had come from. Bob said he’d owned Cowboy for about 14 months, but had known the horse for 10 years; a close friend and fellow rodeo rider had used Cowboy to carry the flag in rodeo events. He then offered the information that he was selling Cowboy because he didn’t care for the horse’s deep gold eyes; he preferred the more usual brown-eyed horses.
Bob went on to explain his business model. He told Anna that he wanted her to be happy with any horse she bought from him. He said he’d lived in his small town all of his life, and that he had a reputation to uphold as a fair dealer. He told Anna that if she bought Cowboy, had him for a week or two and didn’t like him for whatever reason, he would refund her money. Bob spent ten minutes telling Anna about a gorgeous Paint he had sold to another woman a few months before. The horse had an exceptionally long and lustrous white mane and tail. After two weeks, the woman wanted to return the horse because she realized she didn’t have enough time to ride. When she brought the Paint back to Bob, he saw that she had roached his beautiful mane. The woman told Bob that the horse had gotten into a field of cockleburs and she didn’t have time to pick them all out. Bob refunded her money but in his opinion, it took $1,000 from the value of the horse. Anna asked what became of the Paint. Bob said it was his wife’s favorite horse, so she was happy to have him back.
They discussed the logistics of Anna looking at Cowboy. Bob mentioned that he would be driving to a town midway between their homes the following day, and could possibly bring Cowboy along for Anna to ride. Anna asked for the exact location, and Bob described the barn of a horse dealer Anna knew to be dishonest.
“Do you know this person well?” asked Anna
“No, this is the first time I’ve done business with him. He has a gaited horse he wants me to put some miles on,” said Bob. “Why?”
Anna related to Bob the story of looking at a horse at the barn the year before. She was disgusted and appalled by what she saw, and told Bob she thought the man, James, was a crook, and she also had doubts about James’ girlfriend, Lily.
“Well,” replied Bob, “I don’t want to associate with people like that. I’ll make some excuse for why I can’t ride their horse after all.”
Anna looked at the clock and realized she had been talking to Bob for 45 minutes. They ended their conversation by agreeing that Anna would come the following Thursday to meet Cowboy.
On Monday, Anna drove 45 minutes away to look at a “kid safe” horse that immediately tossed his rider. By that time, she was feeling very discouraged. On Tuesday, Anna called Bob to say she was having cold feet about buying another horse, and didn’t think she’d be making the hour and a quarter drive on Thursday to look at Cowboy, especially since the horse was really out of her price range.
“Gee, Anna, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll tell you what. I can see you really care about your animals. Since he’d be going to such a good home, I’ll come down to $1,250 on Cowboy, if you want him. I’ll also let you have him for a few days before I cash your check, just so you’re sure,” said Bob.
Anna was skeptical.
“I mean no disrespect, Bob, but I have to ask. You’re a horse trader. Why on earth would you care about where this horse goes?”
“Well, Cowboy belonged to my friends. The wife, particularly, cares about this horse and I promised I’d find a good home for him.”
“Would I be able to talk to Cowboy’s former owners?”
“No problem, I’m sure they’d love to talk to you,” Bob said thoughtfully. “I’ll also show you a pretty little sorrel mare you may like. She’s my wife’s favorite, but she’d probably sell her to a good home.”
“I thought the Paint was your wife’s favorite.”
“Oh,” Bob paused. “She has two.”
On Wednesday, Anna made an Internet search of Bob’s name and phone number. The only information she found was multiple ads for horses. Bob called that evening to say he would be out checking fences on the following morning. He suggested they meet at a convenience store near his home, so Anna could follow him to the place where they could ride the horses.
Anna arrived only moments before a truck and trailer pulled into the parking lot of the store. In the truck with Bob were his 3-year-old daughter, Crystal, and a young man he introduced as Logan. Bob drove the truck and trailer a few miles down the main road and turned onto a gravel lane, with Anna right behind him. He drove over the narrow bridge that Anna recognized from Cowboy’s Internet ad and pulled to the side of the lane. The ground on one side of the lane dropped steeply away to a deep creek and heavily wooded land. On the other was another steep incline down to a plowed farmer’s field. Bob and Logan unloaded both horses from the trailer. Both horses were saddled. Cowboy’s coat was crusty with dried sweat. Bob removed Cowboy’s halter and placed a cavesson on his head, tightening it around his nose as if it was a girth. He then bridled the horse. Anna asked why he buckled the cavesson so tightly and Bob said he did that with all his horses. Logan bridled the sorrel mare and both men mounted. Then, Bob reached down and grabbed Crystal, swinging her into the saddle in front of him.
Bob rode Cowboy back over the bridge and immediately dived down the slope. Logan followed on the mare. Anna walked to the edge of the road and looked down. They had reached the bottom and were wading through a creek that was as high as Cowboy’s knees. They crossed the creek and rode up a steep hill on the other side. Anna lost track of them for a little while, then Bob came down the hill to a gully and tried to make Cowboy jump it, so that he would be situated to ride straight up the ravine and back to the road. The horse refused, so he rode away and took a different route back to the gravel road. Bob lifted Crystal down from the saddle, and said that Cowboy had refused to jump the gully only because he knew Crystal was in the saddle, too. Anna told Bob she wanted to see the horse canter, so he rode down the steep incline on the opposite side of the road to the plowed field. He cantered the horse in circles for a few minutes. Logan was with him on the mare.
Back on the gravel road, Bob dismounted. Anna buckled the strap on her riding helmet and got on Cowboy. The saddle was much too big for her and the stirrups too long. Bob got on the mare and they rode up a slight hill on the gravel road. Cowboy walked calmly, although he tossed his head frequently. Anna asked him to trot and he did, but it was short strided and very bumpy. The horse traveled with his nose in the air, but rode with a loose rein. They turned around and rode back to the trailer. On the way, Anna asked Bob to ride on ahead, while she stayed behind. Cowboy became agitated by himself and danced around, tossing his head. After a minute or two, she followed Bob back to the trailer. A car drove by and Cowboy did nothing. Anna would have liked to test Cowboy a little more thoroughly, but didn’t dare ride down the steep embankments herself. She had to be content with staying on the gravel road. Anna asked Bob how the horse behaved bareback.
“Well, I don’t know, I’ve never ridden him bareback. Let’s just see.”
He pulled the saddle off, jumped on Cowboy bareback and rode him back across the bridge. The horse did fine. Then he turned around and came back.
“I thought you rode him in from the pasture with just a piece of twine around his nose,” Anna questioned.
Bob didn’t answer.
Anna watched Bob lift all four feet; handle the horse’s ears and mouth. Bob grinned when little Crystal further demonstrated the horse’s gentle nature by walking underneath Cowboy and squeezing between his hind legs. Anna asked him again about the people who had owned Cowboy. He told Anna again about Cowboy carrying the flag at rodeo events. Bob said Cowboy loved peppermints; that he fed all his horses peppermints. Anna asked about a current Coggins certificate for Cowboy, Bob said it had just expired but the horse had only been on his farm and the farm of his former owner, so he was fine. Bob told Anna that he bought and sold a lot of horses. The horses he felt weren’t safe or sound went to auctions and he commented that he hated people who bought horses at auctions and tried to pass them off as completely safe and sound when they didn’t know anything about them.
Anna liked Cowboy, despite his obvious lack of training. She told Bob she wanted to buy him. Bob said he would deliver the horse for $75 and could do it the next afternoon. Anna felt like he would be a safe horse because he seemed so unflappable. She could work with him for a few weeks to brush up on his training and have a nice gelding for David. Bob reiterated that he just wanted Anna to be happy.
“If you get the horse home and decide in a few days or a week, or even two, that he’s not the right horse for you, you just call me. I’ll come get the horse and give you your money back.”
Anna asked him about talking to Cowboy’s former owners. He said the number was sitting right next to his phone at home, and he’d call Anna with it that evening.
Anna gave him a check for $250 as a deposit. Her search for a horse for David was finally over.
Gold Eyes- Part 2, Click here
As she had done many times before, Anna spent the evening of Sunday, November 1st perusing the ads on one of her favorite Internet websites. She clicked again on the ad for the beautiful honey-colored gelding called “Cowboy.” This horse had intrigued her, because he appeared to be everything Anna wanted for her nephew. The ad described Cowboy as “broke as the horse at Wal-Mart.” According to the ad, he was the horse given to beginners on trail rides, and a perfect play day mount for a child. He was a 13 years old palomino Quarter horse cross and 14.2hh. The picture in the ad showed Cowboy carrying his rider across a small wooden bridge on a loose rein, looking very relaxed.
Anna had refrained from calling the seller, Bob Roberts, for two reasons. She could see that he had many other horses for sale on the site. He was a trader, and Anna particularly wanted to buy a horse with a known history. Cowboy was also at the very top of her price range at $1,500. Nevertheless, she picked up her phone and made the call.
Bob answered, and Anna explained that she was looking for a horse for her 9-year-old nephew.
“Even though David has been taking riding lessons once a week for almost two years, he still needs a docile animal,” Anna explained.
“Cowboy should be fine, but I won’t sell you the horse until you come ride him,” Bob replied. “I got another person who really wants this horse, but she lives three hours away. She wants to send me a check but I won’t do it until I know she’d get along with the horse. I can go out in the pasture and ride this horse up with just a piece of twine around his nose, that’s how gentle he is.”
Anna asked Bob if his price was negotiable, but Bob said if he took any less for Cowboy, he’d lose money on the deal. Anna asked where the horse had come from. Bob said he’d owned Cowboy for about 14 months, but had known the horse for 10 years; a close friend and fellow rodeo rider had used Cowboy to carry the flag in rodeo events. He then offered the information that he was selling Cowboy because he didn’t care for the horse’s deep gold eyes; he preferred the more usual brown-eyed horses.
Bob went on to explain his business model. He told Anna that he wanted her to be happy with any horse she bought from him. He said he’d lived in his small town all of his life, and that he had a reputation to uphold as a fair dealer. He told Anna that if she bought Cowboy, had him for a week or two and didn’t like him for whatever reason, he would refund her money. Bob spent ten minutes telling Anna about a gorgeous Paint he had sold to another woman a few months before. The horse had an exceptionally long and lustrous white mane and tail. After two weeks, the woman wanted to return the horse because she realized she didn’t have enough time to ride. When she brought the Paint back to Bob, he saw that she had roached his beautiful mane. The woman told Bob that the horse had gotten into a field of cockleburs and she didn’t have time to pick them all out. Bob refunded her money but in his opinion, it took $1,000 from the value of the horse. Anna asked what became of the Paint. Bob said it was his wife’s favorite horse, so she was happy to have him back.
They discussed the logistics of Anna looking at Cowboy. Bob mentioned that he would be driving to a town midway between their homes the following day, and could possibly bring Cowboy along for Anna to ride. Anna asked for the exact location, and Bob described the barn of a horse dealer Anna knew to be dishonest.
“Do you know this person well?” asked Anna
“No, this is the first time I’ve done business with him. He has a gaited horse he wants me to put some miles on,” said Bob. “Why?”
Anna related to Bob the story of looking at a horse at the barn the year before. She was disgusted and appalled by what she saw, and told Bob she thought the man, James, was a crook, and she also had doubts about James’ girlfriend, Lily.
“Well,” replied Bob, “I don’t want to associate with people like that. I’ll make some excuse for why I can’t ride their horse after all.”
Anna looked at the clock and realized she had been talking to Bob for 45 minutes. They ended their conversation by agreeing that Anna would come the following Thursday to meet Cowboy.
On Monday, Anna drove 45 minutes away to look at a “kid safe” horse that immediately tossed his rider. By that time, she was feeling very discouraged. On Tuesday, Anna called Bob to say she was having cold feet about buying another horse, and didn’t think she’d be making the hour and a quarter drive on Thursday to look at Cowboy, especially since the horse was really out of her price range.
“Gee, Anna, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll tell you what. I can see you really care about your animals. Since he’d be going to such a good home, I’ll come down to $1,250 on Cowboy, if you want him. I’ll also let you have him for a few days before I cash your check, just so you’re sure,” said Bob.
Anna was skeptical.
“I mean no disrespect, Bob, but I have to ask. You’re a horse trader. Why on earth would you care about where this horse goes?”
“Well, Cowboy belonged to my friends. The wife, particularly, cares about this horse and I promised I’d find a good home for him.”
“Would I be able to talk to Cowboy’s former owners?”
“No problem, I’m sure they’d love to talk to you,” Bob said thoughtfully. “I’ll also show you a pretty little sorrel mare you may like. She’s my wife’s favorite, but she’d probably sell her to a good home.”
“I thought the Paint was your wife’s favorite.”
“Oh,” Bob paused. “She has two.”
On Wednesday, Anna made an Internet search of Bob’s name and phone number. The only information she found was multiple ads for horses. Bob called that evening to say he would be out checking fences on the following morning. He suggested they meet at a convenience store near his home, so Anna could follow him to the place where they could ride the horses.
Anna arrived only moments before a truck and trailer pulled into the parking lot of the store. In the truck with Bob were his 3-year-old daughter, Crystal, and a young man he introduced as Logan. Bob drove the truck and trailer a few miles down the main road and turned onto a gravel lane, with Anna right behind him. He drove over the narrow bridge that Anna recognized from Cowboy’s Internet ad and pulled to the side of the lane. The ground on one side of the lane dropped steeply away to a deep creek and heavily wooded land. On the other was another steep incline down to a plowed farmer’s field. Bob and Logan unloaded both horses from the trailer. Both horses were saddled. Cowboy’s coat was crusty with dried sweat. Bob removed Cowboy’s halter and placed a cavesson on his head, tightening it around his nose as if it was a girth. He then bridled the horse. Anna asked why he buckled the cavesson so tightly and Bob said he did that with all his horses. Logan bridled the sorrel mare and both men mounted. Then, Bob reached down and grabbed Crystal, swinging her into the saddle in front of him.
Bob rode Cowboy back over the bridge and immediately dived down the slope. Logan followed on the mare. Anna walked to the edge of the road and looked down. They had reached the bottom and were wading through a creek that was as high as Cowboy’s knees. They crossed the creek and rode up a steep hill on the other side. Anna lost track of them for a little while, then Bob came down the hill to a gully and tried to make Cowboy jump it, so that he would be situated to ride straight up the ravine and back to the road. The horse refused, so he rode away and took a different route back to the gravel road. Bob lifted Crystal down from the saddle, and said that Cowboy had refused to jump the gully only because he knew Crystal was in the saddle, too. Anna told Bob she wanted to see the horse canter, so he rode down the steep incline on the opposite side of the road to the plowed field. He cantered the horse in circles for a few minutes. Logan was with him on the mare.
Back on the gravel road, Bob dismounted. Anna buckled the strap on her riding helmet and got on Cowboy. The saddle was much too big for her and the stirrups too long. Bob got on the mare and they rode up a slight hill on the gravel road. Cowboy walked calmly, although he tossed his head frequently. Anna asked him to trot and he did, but it was short strided and very bumpy. The horse traveled with his nose in the air, but rode with a loose rein. They turned around and rode back to the trailer. On the way, Anna asked Bob to ride on ahead, while she stayed behind. Cowboy became agitated by himself and danced around, tossing his head. After a minute or two, she followed Bob back to the trailer. A car drove by and Cowboy did nothing. Anna would have liked to test Cowboy a little more thoroughly, but didn’t dare ride down the steep embankments herself. She had to be content with staying on the gravel road. Anna asked Bob how the horse behaved bareback.
“Well, I don’t know, I’ve never ridden him bareback. Let’s just see.”
He pulled the saddle off, jumped on Cowboy bareback and rode him back across the bridge. The horse did fine. Then he turned around and came back.
“I thought you rode him in from the pasture with just a piece of twine around his nose,” Anna questioned.
Bob didn’t answer.
Anna watched Bob lift all four feet; handle the horse’s ears and mouth. Bob grinned when little Crystal further demonstrated the horse’s gentle nature by walking underneath Cowboy and squeezing between his hind legs. Anna asked him again about the people who had owned Cowboy. He told Anna again about Cowboy carrying the flag at rodeo events. Bob said Cowboy loved peppermints; that he fed all his horses peppermints. Anna asked about a current Coggins certificate for Cowboy, Bob said it had just expired but the horse had only been on his farm and the farm of his former owner, so he was fine. Bob told Anna that he bought and sold a lot of horses. The horses he felt weren’t safe or sound went to auctions and he commented that he hated people who bought horses at auctions and tried to pass them off as completely safe and sound when they didn’t know anything about them.
Anna liked Cowboy, despite his obvious lack of training. She told Bob she wanted to buy him. Bob said he would deliver the horse for $75 and could do it the next afternoon. Anna felt like he would be a safe horse because he seemed so unflappable. She could work with him for a few weeks to brush up on his training and have a nice gelding for David. Bob reiterated that he just wanted Anna to be happy.
“If you get the horse home and decide in a few days or a week, or even two, that he’s not the right horse for you, you just call me. I’ll come get the horse and give you your money back.”
Anna asked him about talking to Cowboy’s former owners. He said the number was sitting right next to his phone at home, and he’d call Anna with it that evening.
Anna gave him a check for $250 as a deposit. Her search for a horse for David was finally over.
Gold Eyes- Part 2, Click here
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