Non-Profit for Buyer, Anyway
I wish I knew about your website two months ago. We bought our 15-year-old son his first horse from a stable about an hour’s drive from us. We found the stable online; their website is amazing and they seemed like they really had a great program. It’s not just a riding or boarding stable. They are a non-profit 501(c)3. They take in donated horses and try to find good matches for them. The man who runs the stable told us that "Squire” used to be a beginner lesson horse and was a gentle trail riding horse, too. To condense our story, we bought this horse for $2,200. Within two weeks Squire’s personality started to change, becoming more aggressive and dangerous. He started trying to buck our son off, wouldn't respond to training, then after 3 weeks, ran our son into the round pen railing, bucking and rearing. We contacted Sam, the man who sold Squire to us. He said he would take the horse back but wouldn’t give us a refund. He wouldn’t talk to us on the phone either; he would only respond to emails.
I just checked his website and Squire is again for sale for $2,200. He’s described as gentle for anyone, with no buck, rear, or bolt. This non-profit organization is apparently tax-exempt under a "religious" exemption. Their mission statement: "Morality, Adherence to the Christian Faith, Love of All God’s Creatures.” It seems a little unethical to sell a first-time horse family a horse that was seemingly misrepresented, take the horse back with no refund, only to sell him again to someone else. Is there any way to warn would-be-buyers of this?
You might ask why I didn’t sell him to someone else instead of returning him to the stables. First of all, I didn't feel comfortable trying to sell him to someone else because I am not in the "horse community" per se and I might be in the same situation if I sold him to someone and a few weeks later they wanted their money back from me, which I would refund! Also there are a lot of horses for sale here, especially in the corner of the state where I am, and not a lot of buyers. We might have had to keep him for who knows how long and I felt that we couldn't take that chance. He was staying with a neighbor and there were too many things that could possibly go wrong while he was there. Also, we get a lot of snow in the winter and I didn't want to be knee deep in snow taking care of a horse that frightened me.
I don't know where to turn or what to do. Even if I just get the word out that "buyer beware" I will be happy. Interestingly, when I told a friend (who is very involved in the hunter/jumper scene here) about this, she just groaned. Apparently Sam doesn't have a good reputation within the horse community.
I wish I knew about your website two months ago. We bought our 15-year-old son his first horse from a stable about an hour’s drive from us. We found the stable online; their website is amazing and they seemed like they really had a great program. It’s not just a riding or boarding stable. They are a non-profit 501(c)3. They take in donated horses and try to find good matches for them. The man who runs the stable told us that "Squire” used to be a beginner lesson horse and was a gentle trail riding horse, too. To condense our story, we bought this horse for $2,200. Within two weeks Squire’s personality started to change, becoming more aggressive and dangerous. He started trying to buck our son off, wouldn't respond to training, then after 3 weeks, ran our son into the round pen railing, bucking and rearing. We contacted Sam, the man who sold Squire to us. He said he would take the horse back but wouldn’t give us a refund. He wouldn’t talk to us on the phone either; he would only respond to emails.
I just checked his website and Squire is again for sale for $2,200. He’s described as gentle for anyone, with no buck, rear, or bolt. This non-profit organization is apparently tax-exempt under a "religious" exemption. Their mission statement: "Morality, Adherence to the Christian Faith, Love of All God’s Creatures.” It seems a little unethical to sell a first-time horse family a horse that was seemingly misrepresented, take the horse back with no refund, only to sell him again to someone else. Is there any way to warn would-be-buyers of this?
You might ask why I didn’t sell him to someone else instead of returning him to the stables. First of all, I didn't feel comfortable trying to sell him to someone else because I am not in the "horse community" per se and I might be in the same situation if I sold him to someone and a few weeks later they wanted their money back from me, which I would refund! Also there are a lot of horses for sale here, especially in the corner of the state where I am, and not a lot of buyers. We might have had to keep him for who knows how long and I felt that we couldn't take that chance. He was staying with a neighbor and there were too many things that could possibly go wrong while he was there. Also, we get a lot of snow in the winter and I didn't want to be knee deep in snow taking care of a horse that frightened me.
I don't know where to turn or what to do. Even if I just get the word out that "buyer beware" I will be happy. Interestingly, when I told a friend (who is very involved in the hunter/jumper scene here) about this, she just groaned. Apparently Sam doesn't have a good reputation within the horse community.
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