Too Good to Be True
Susan was looking for a horse her 10 year old daughter, Amy, could ride. Susan had looked at many horses already but none of them were the "kid-safe" horses in the advertisements. Amy was interested in showing in western pleasure classes but also enjoyed trail riding.
Susan saw frequent ads for “family safe” horses by a specific farm in a neighboring town. She had called several times when she saw horses that looked like possibilities, but they were always already sold. The sellers, Mary P. and Dale R., were friendly and talkative, and promised to keep an eye out for a horse for Amy. In September of 2009, Susan saw an ad that seemed like a perfect fit. Mary and Dale had Daisy, a 9 year-old chestnut Quarter Horse mare that had shown in western pleasure classes and done well. The pictures in the ad showed the horse being ridden by Mary and Dale’s daughter, who looked around the same age as Amy. They were asking $1,600, which seemed a very reasonable price for such a nice horse. Susan called right away and made arrangements to go look at Daisy that afternoon.
The mare was nicely built and easy to handle. Susan enjoyed talking to Mary (who worked as a paramedic) and Dale (who had been laid off from his construction job some months before). They said the mare was the best mannered horse they had, and they often used her for the least experienced riders when they went out trail riding. Susan asked about Daisy's history. Dale told her that the mare had belonged to a “crazy” woman a few miles away. The woman’s husband was an alcoholic and had come home one night, very drunk, and tried to ride the mare bareback in the field. He frightened Daisy and she bucked hard enough to dump the man. He insisted his wife should get rid of the horse immediately, so Mary and Dale bought her. They had owned her for over a year, but since they didn’t compete much in horse shows, they felt the mare was being wasted.
Susan watched as Mary boosted her own daughter onto Daisy's bare back. The child rode the mare around the small pen at a walk and jog, controlling her with just a halter and leadrope. Susan got on and was impressed with how light a touch she needed to direct her.
The barnyard was bustling with activity. Several young men were riding horses up and down the driveway. Another young couple had just arrived to look at a different horse. Clearly, Mary and Dale had a thriving business selling horses. Susan told Mary she was very interested in the mare but wanted Amy to ride her first. Susan promised to call Mary first thing the next morning and arrange to bring Amy to see her. As she was leaving, Mary handed Susan the horse’s registration papers so Mary could look at the bloodlines, then walked away to talk to the new couple. Because Susan had been looking at horses for some months, and had had several rather hair-raising ordeals, she quickly copied down the name of the previous owner, returned the papers to Mary, and drove home.
Susan found the mare’s last owner (Jean D.) on the Internet and called her that evening. A soft, cultured voice answered the phone and Susan launched into her story about going out to look at the chestnut mare. Jean was irate. Jean told Susan that she had owned Daisy since she was 2 years old and had trained and shown her. Jean said the mare had always been very unpredictable, and as she got older, she started rearing whenever she didn’t want to do something. The mare had actually gone over backwards with Jean on four different occasions; the last time had broken Jean’s wrist and she was still in a cast. She had sold Daisy to Mary and Dale a few weeks ago as a broodmare only, with the emphatic direction that the mare not be sold as a riding horse.
How could Mary and Dale put Amy at risk like that? How could they be so charming and tell such lies? For Susan, it was the last straw. She decided to abandon her search for a safe, well trained horse for her daughter. Currently, her daughter Amy is taking lessons at a nearby stable and hoping to change her mother’s mind.
Susan saw frequent ads for “family safe” horses by a specific farm in a neighboring town. She had called several times when she saw horses that looked like possibilities, but they were always already sold. The sellers, Mary P. and Dale R., were friendly and talkative, and promised to keep an eye out for a horse for Amy. In September of 2009, Susan saw an ad that seemed like a perfect fit. Mary and Dale had Daisy, a 9 year-old chestnut Quarter Horse mare that had shown in western pleasure classes and done well. The pictures in the ad showed the horse being ridden by Mary and Dale’s daughter, who looked around the same age as Amy. They were asking $1,600, which seemed a very reasonable price for such a nice horse. Susan called right away and made arrangements to go look at Daisy that afternoon.
The mare was nicely built and easy to handle. Susan enjoyed talking to Mary (who worked as a paramedic) and Dale (who had been laid off from his construction job some months before). They said the mare was the best mannered horse they had, and they often used her for the least experienced riders when they went out trail riding. Susan asked about Daisy's history. Dale told her that the mare had belonged to a “crazy” woman a few miles away. The woman’s husband was an alcoholic and had come home one night, very drunk, and tried to ride the mare bareback in the field. He frightened Daisy and she bucked hard enough to dump the man. He insisted his wife should get rid of the horse immediately, so Mary and Dale bought her. They had owned her for over a year, but since they didn’t compete much in horse shows, they felt the mare was being wasted.
Susan watched as Mary boosted her own daughter onto Daisy's bare back. The child rode the mare around the small pen at a walk and jog, controlling her with just a halter and leadrope. Susan got on and was impressed with how light a touch she needed to direct her.
The barnyard was bustling with activity. Several young men were riding horses up and down the driveway. Another young couple had just arrived to look at a different horse. Clearly, Mary and Dale had a thriving business selling horses. Susan told Mary she was very interested in the mare but wanted Amy to ride her first. Susan promised to call Mary first thing the next morning and arrange to bring Amy to see her. As she was leaving, Mary handed Susan the horse’s registration papers so Mary could look at the bloodlines, then walked away to talk to the new couple. Because Susan had been looking at horses for some months, and had had several rather hair-raising ordeals, she quickly copied down the name of the previous owner, returned the papers to Mary, and drove home.
Susan found the mare’s last owner (Jean D.) on the Internet and called her that evening. A soft, cultured voice answered the phone and Susan launched into her story about going out to look at the chestnut mare. Jean was irate. Jean told Susan that she had owned Daisy since she was 2 years old and had trained and shown her. Jean said the mare had always been very unpredictable, and as she got older, she started rearing whenever she didn’t want to do something. The mare had actually gone over backwards with Jean on four different occasions; the last time had broken Jean’s wrist and she was still in a cast. She had sold Daisy to Mary and Dale a few weeks ago as a broodmare only, with the emphatic direction that the mare not be sold as a riding horse.
How could Mary and Dale put Amy at risk like that? How could they be so charming and tell such lies? For Susan, it was the last straw. She decided to abandon her search for a safe, well trained horse for her daughter. Currently, her daughter Amy is taking lessons at a nearby stable and hoping to change her mother’s mind.
This work by horsetradertricks.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.