Rant!!!! If you're gonna give your horse away.......

[rainplace]

Thank you very much for posting this thread. I've often looked at the free ads for horses and wondered if I should take the plunge into getting one. Not knowing much about horses, I would be a huge sucker for whatever the owner told me. If a first time horse owner ended up with what you are going through, I would imagine they would be wild to get rid of the horse and most likely never get another.

I "knew" to some degree that horses take a lot more care than other animals, but I really had no idea till I read this post.

Now if I decide to get into horse ownership, I will do so much more carefully.

 

[patandchickens]

Since you are so experienced with horses then, and know so much about them, then you cannot possibly have escaped knowing the single most important and self-evident thing about the horse market, which is, VERIFY.

I still do not believe that a majority of horse sellers (or giver-away-ers) are deliberately lying. They just have a different interpretation of terms than you, the buyer, does.

Universal translator:

"sound" should not be taken to mean anything more than "I myself don't notice any major horrible limping most of the time"

"quiet" should not be taken to mean anything other than "I can think of worse things a horse could do, and this horse doesn't do those things"

"vaccinated" should not be taken to mean anything other than "according to the seller's personal principles of how often, what, and by whom, which may differ widely from your principles thereof"

"teeth floated" should not be taken to mean anything other than "we paid someone to put something in his mouth and wiggle it around a while" (i.e., there is floating and then there is floating...)

etc etc.

Plus which, on top of that, of course people often DO lie, and as horse people we KNOW that they often lie, and therefore why would anybody take anybody's word about a horse for sale?

And you know what, as a responsible horse seller (occasionally), I can tell you all sorts of stories about buyers doing the same sort of thing. So miscommunication is certainly a two-way street. For instance, for all you know, the horse's feet might've been a whole lot worse before the seller got the horse and they were feeling fairly chuffed at having gotten them into that good a shape. So might you in their shoes.

VERIFY. It's not a matter of trusting or not trusting, it's not a matter of people lying or not lying, it's just that different people use words differently and have different opinions and knowledge bases on which what they say will rest.

I mean, horse trading is the POSTER CHILD for being careful what you're doing and not taking someone's word.

The horse has clearly been better taken care of than an awful lot of horses in the world are being taken care of. Just because the previous owner wasn't perfect, or didn't do things the way you would do them, does not mean they are horrible people.

BTW, when a horse is undermuscled and bony along the topline that way, it is never a feed issue per se -- it is either the horse being ridden in an incorrect way, or holding itself wrongly due to problems such as saddle fit or bit/teeth issues, or the horse is in physical discomfort from other causes such as feet, back/pelvis, etc. So if her topline is an issue for you then that is the sort of things to look at for solutions, not the feed mill or supplement shelf.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[AK Michelle]

I didn't have time to read the whole thread.

My last rescue reared all the time. Found out it was because his teeth hurt every time the bit was in his sore mouth. Got them floated and that helped alot.

Finally taught him to rear on command so I could tell him no when it wasn't appropriate. When every other trick in the book faile, that worked.

Went through a bucketload of cash on his feet too. So pigeon toed he could barely walk, the farrier was awesome and with time we were able to correct the issues. I might add I changed farriers 3 times before I found one that "Really" understand how to correct this particular problem.

With the trust came the improved behavior, but it was a long road, with a very happy ending.

Hang in there. You are a shining star for helping this creature.

Michelle

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Right there is the problem. You can't send horses to slaughter anymore. The slaughter plants in the US were closed down. Horse slaughter is currently not allowed in the US. People can't send them to slaughter. They have to feed them or find a home for them. That's led to thousands upon thousands of extra horses in the US. With everything else going on prices have dropped, homes have dropped, and rescues are full. Good horses are being given away free because they can't be sold because everyone is stuck with horses that have problems, lameness, or are just old and would have gone to slaughter. Not to mention there are many old farmers and similar around here that just ran a herd of horses for the heck of it letting them breed at will. Then ran them on a trailer and took them to auction where majority went to slaughter. When slaughter was banned all those horses that had never been handled were left in their pastures and the people who were only raising them because they could easily get rid of them for a bit of cash are now trying to get rid of them. Some are just being shot. Others turned loose. I know of one case where a person who couldn't take care of their horses put out a sign "free horses". The next day they went out to their pasture to find instead of 3 horses they had 5. The horse industry is bad right now in some areas of the country.

the buyers from mexico and canada and this country are at the auctions and feed lots everyday. I do not care that they publically say "Oh we do not slaughter horses here anymore" that is buffalo crap. They still do it, allow it and let neighboring countrymen come here to get them for the same reason.


texasgal....getting a horse from someone you know very well (a friend,elative) is different altogether...they usually do not lie to you...the 'stranger' with the great sob sotry will.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I think pat is pretty correct in saying that sellers don't lie about things intentionally. I know this isn't the same sort of situation, but recently we took on a free horse who we were told was aggressive towards women, food aggressive, and would sometimes turn her butt on you "to have it scratched". It was my dad's decision to take the horse and he had not ridden her and I had not seen her before we brought her home. I was a bit terrified of what we were getting into to say the least! Turns out, her and I get along perfectly and she has been pure joy to work with. Now, I could say that these people had no idea what they were talking about, but it could be more than true that this horse was nasty to the wife and daughter just because she didn't like them. During the four months I've had her, I haven't seen her pin her ears once to anybody, not even the other horses.

I can see your frustrations though. A lot of people buy horses thinking it will be this fairy tale story, but in reality they have no idea how to take care of the horse. It is very sad, and it always falls on the people who actually care and know about horse care to work with these horses so that they can have somewhat of a normal life.

Good luck with your new girl. She looks like a beautiful horse and I'm sure she'll come around with a little work. you just have to find what works for her.

 

[19hhbelgian]

Quote:
How many horse auctions and horse dealers have you actually been around? If you go to a horse auction the horses will all be kid safe and broke the best... Even the one's that were trying to run away with the person getting on them in the barn (away from most of the people interested in buying). The dealers tell you what ever gets you to buy the horse - they all offer a "money back guarantee" - just try returning that horse. People aren't so ignorant as to describe a horse that rears as quiet. People stretch the truth as much as they need to in order to come by the results they want, whether they admit it or not. Whether they do it once, or all the time, I'm sure we're all guilty of it at some point in our lives. I personally wouldn't lie about a horse because I care too much about their welfare, but there are plenty of people who only do it for the $, or simply don't want the horse any more. I don't know, maybe I've just seen too much and know too many people who don't tell the truth about their horses, to have any shade of rose tinted glasses... I think the OP was simply venting her frustrations

We all need to do that every now and then.

 

[lotzahenz]

I always go by this saying: There is NO FREE Horse, if the horse was worth some $$ they would have sold it. Also, the price of a horse is the cheapest part of owning it. She is a nice looking horse though, with nice muscle/hip. Sorry OP you are having such trouble, might need to cut your losses and mover her on to another barn. That's why I can never seem to sell horses, I tell them ALL the bad stuff, just in case. Don't want them to get a horse home and find out it's not what they want, and mistreat it.
HenZ

 

[Cara]

I think Pat is referring to private sellers. Horse dealers are something else entirely.

Interestingly we have the same problem with buyers! They try and talk us into telling them a horse we have for sale is what they are looking for, even if we tell them outright it's just not suitable. They're adamant that if they like the way it looks or the price is right, it must be perfect for them. I can't count how many people we have had to tell that they'd be wasting their time even looking.

ETA It seems to me that buying any horse is a crapshot. Sure you can limit the extent to which you might make a bad choice, by spending hours checking them over, working with them etc., but you never really know what you're getting until you've had it at your own home for several months.

I've posted many times about our difficult mare. Do I believe the sellers blatantly lied about her? No. They rarely used her and when they did they didn't ask much of her. It's when you ask her to work that she becomes a handful. She doesn't see why she should have to work hard, and will expend more energy fighting than she would have done cooperating. They most likely never encountered that side of her pottering around the ranch every once in a while.

 

[paintedsavvy]

scbatz33- Now that I have read all of your posts, I get your side of the story. I feel like you are a capable person and this horse is now getting just what she needs.

I think there are lots of different ways to do things the right way, the correct way, and the successful way. I hope you get what I mean.

I'm gonna recommend Easyboots again, just cause I think they are awesome. If you can get a natural trim and get the correct Easyboot size, they are just that: Easy-boots! I just think of mine as my horse's athletic shoes. We are asking them to be great athletes, aren't we? I used mine a lot at first, but now I rarely need them because my horse's feet are so solid. I have been using the same pair for over a year now, and they are still going strong!!!

 

[TERE]

Hi I'm from AZ & don't really know how to get around this site so ran across this thread by accident. Saw the pix of the horse and some of the posts which said things about the feet. I hope your farrier has taken a good look. I have had horses around 35 years and been around them longer than that. One of mine developed founder which causes the hoof to slope and the wall to thin out and not hold shoes. It is also very painful because the sole actually falls flat as if .. well in a human foot the arch of the foot falls. So look at the palm of your hand instead of the outside of the hand taking the pressure of the walking the center of your hand is taking the impact... OUCH!!! The pix seemed to show a sloping of the hoof, it could have been just a neglect but .. hopefully your farrier has said otherwise and I have just blown smoke. I hope so. Good Luck. We saw an ad WANT TO GIVE MY HORSE AWAY. I watched that ad for a week cuz my hubby said that horse was probably not worth the ink. Turned out to be a 4-H horse the girl wanted to retire to a good home. We got it after she interviewed my kids & us. He was the best horse for my then 10 yr girl who is now a vet and has 2 horses of her own. He trained her well!!! TERE