Selling and Buying horses woes..long

Thank you all for your hilarious stories! Just to let you all know, if anyone calls me and say's "Hi I'm from ridecamp, how much does your horse weigh?" I'll say, "Well, she weighs about 910 lbs, and likes to eat her beet-pulp and corn oil like a good trooper." But if some wing-nut calls me and they aren't sure if maybe "she is half-clydesdale?" because she looks so much like one in her little Arab picture, and they then ask me how much she weighs...then I may answer, "She weighs about as much as the manure pile she can produce in two months!" Or maybe I'll be very nice, and say, "Oh, about 2,300 lbs or so since we wormed her last year". And hopefully the police or the navy won't get involved in all this either!

I have also bought a few, although with good success. I might pass on a little advice though. If you are looking for a very nice, gentle, trained pony for your child, you must drive out in the rain, sleet, or snow, and grab the horse classifieds as the delivery truck drops it at the feed store, and then as quickly as you can possibly dial, call the best ad you see, and get your buns over there fast with money waving in hand. Whew! Ponies are very, very hard to find. Good ones. We've had two. That would be a money making business!

First I avoid ads that say, "He can do it all! Train him to do anything your way!" I have had extremely good luck buying from people I know. We bought two NATRC equines, (one mule) for beginner riders, and it has been a love connection. I helped a friend buy a great Morgan mare off the show circuit, from a lady who kicked my butt regularly. I told the buyer, "If you can afford this horse, write the check now". That horse came after two others who had dumped everyone in her family and broke the buyers collarbone. They were terrified-afraid to try the Morgan, so I rode her, way-pregnant, because she was so nice. Then I sucked up to the seller and said, "don't you think you should give my friends a couple months of free lessons, so they don't screw up your nice training job, and learn to ride properly?" That done, and done, the horse has been living happily in that family for 8 years now. I went out a couple months ago to try a couple of horses for a friend. One was a pinto, but I told him not to look at the color until we figured out the legs. And it was hard because he was exquisite. 16 hands, half arab, tri-colored buckskin pinto with golden brown eyes, and a huge mane and tail. And the worst rotten feet. We tried to hope that he was so dead lame because of the stinking falling down barn he was in, and maybe he had an abcess. But x-rays showed severe ringbone, bilaterally. So that sadly didn't work.

Last year I went to look at an endurance prospect to buy. Russian! Ridden in the Mountain trails of Northern California near Tahoe! Sweepstakes nominated! 7 year old , sound gelding! Bred at a ranch that a friend bought a nice horse from! So I drive up and the woman was trying to put this maniac wild horse on the hot walker, and he was snorting and rearing and whirling and wouldn't look at her. I said, "Uh, no, I don't think so". She was selling him for the friend in Northern California. But guess what! She had another one! Russian! 15-3, Gorgeous, huge feet, breath taking trot! Sweepstakes. Very sweet. I was falling in love.She says, "I ride him all over these mountains, lets go for a trail ride!" I brought my own saddle and helmet. I said, "Let me just try him in your round pen first". Lunged okay. I got on. Noticed that he had an extremely short neck. Then I was eating dirt. That fast. "Oh! That's why that other girl was selling the other horse! She's getting over a concussion! And they are brothers! And he's never had anyone on him but me! And I trained them both! And what kind of saddle is that? I don't like your saddle!" Again it's the damn saddle! Beth

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