Bad Buyer Alert!
Oct 23 2009
This is Jack. Jack was a happy young Gypsy horse, gamboling about his home farm. His Mom didn’t let him read the Fugly blog on the days when I pointed out that his relatives in Europe were cart horses, so he lived in bliss, treated like a prince. 
 But he was for sale, and one day a lady came to look at him who made a good first impression, in the way that convicted sex offenders trolling for dates on Match.com make a good first impression. She was good – no one had any reason to suspect that she would be anything less than a wonderful home for Jack. And hey, he was going to a public boarding barn, not a private home, so that’s even less risky, right? Surely any horse not being cared for properly at a boarding barn would be noticed, and someone would do something about it. So off Jack went, complete with a signed contract and a payment plan.Â
Soon after, Bad Buyer fell behind on her payments. The seller told her she was willing to work with her, as long as all was well with the horse. She was assured that Jack was doing great. “They talked about how much they “Loved him” and how he would whinny whenever he saw her husband approach. She talked about all of her future training plans (They were going to start him in with a driving trainer this Winter.) and eventual showing career.”
After 2 missed payments, and e-mails and calls going unanswered, the seller decided she’d had enough. She had her contract and was going to enforce it. So she hooked up and headed off to pick Jack up, sending Bad Buyer a note to tell her that she could still complete the payments and get the horse back – but that he would live at her farm until that happened.
Until she got there and saw Jack. Please note that only 2-1/2 months had passed.
Needless to say, she was horrified and immediately loaded him up to take him home. “the sad thing is that this photo made him look chunkier. You could easily count all of his ribs by looking at him, his backbone was completely visible, his tailbone was very pronounced, and the life had left his eyes. In fact Jack was so worn out from the 3 hr trip from the boarding facility where he was kept (What kind of facility allows a horse to be boarded there in that kind of condition!? Why aren’t they reporting her to somebody?!)  to a safe undisclosed location (We stopped for a bit half way to let him rest.) that he laid flat out for the entire first hour he was home. Actually, there was a point where everybody at the farm (about 5 people were there at the time) thought Jack was dying. He laid down, shuddered, let out a big sigh, and we thought that was it. His eyes were so dull. He had absolutely no interest in food or drink, and add on top of that his mouth was pouring saliva from eating what had to be large amounts of white clover.
The Vet estimated that he was a 1, maybe a 2 on the body conditioning scale. In fact, the Vet said that another week or two and there wouldn’t have been a horse to pick up. He was shocked that he’d managed to make it, though honestly he looked like death. The thing that scares me is that this woman not only owns horses, but is also in the market to purchase others. She’s looking into several breeds, and I would hate to have somebody else go through the same thing. ”
Well, I would too and that’s why I’m happy to put this up. Bad Buyer is Angie Collins in Ohio. I am always happy to share both sides, so if Angie wants to come here and post, she’s very welcome to. But honestly, I have to say, I can’t imagine what kind of excuse she could have for this. And I’d also like to know which boarding barn let this happen.Â
Barn owners, it’s your job too – you need to ask questions.  Even if it’s a self-care barn! I worked at a self-care barn and I did harass owners if I thought a horse needed vet care or farrier care or was not getting adequate nutrition or fresh water. IT’S YOUR JOB! If they move out, they move out, but if it dies on your property, the fault lies with you as well for not doing anything. And trust me, legally, you will be held partially responsible if there is a cruelty case. So grow a spine and say something. Most people like to avoid conflict and they will pay the vet/feed store instead of the credit cards if they have to face a pissed off barn owner or manager every day. Â
Jack’s story has a happy ending, thanks to his seller having a contract and the cojones to enforce it. He is back home and gaining his weight back nicely. He wasn’t sick – he was just hungry. He has been hoovering up every morsel of hay in sight and should be back to his old self shortly. He’s out with a mini for companionship and doing better every day.Â
It’s a good cautionary tale for any of us who sell horses. The Bad Buyers of the world often make a great first impression. I know people who take hideous care of horses, but you’d love them if you met them away from their home farm. Don’t trust your instincts – do a little research. Just because you’re selling it and not adopting it out doesn’t mean you can’t ask for a reference or two. The good owners are happy to provide them. And if the little voice ever says “no” – listen to it. I don’t know about you, but my little voice has never been wrong!
109 comments to “Bad Buyer Alert!”
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I have never “sold” a horse, but I have free long-term leased a couple (two out of the three went onto live with their leasees until they passed away at 38 and 43).
I have only had ONE horse that I had to go and retrieve from a leasee’s home. I have a very firm contract for my free long-term leases that are all legally-binding. It details proper horse care, the location of the horse, if location should change, new location must be pre-approved, etc.
I was contacted by a woman regarding an older mare I had for lease. She was looking for a companion for another horse and a horse for her kids to groom/be lead around on. This mare was perfect for that. They sent me the barn address, I checked out the farm, noted the lack of grass, and they showed me the”feed room” in the barn and hay storage. Nice, clean, secure fencing, other horse in great shape.
After 3 months, I find an ad online for a horse that they “rescued.” (I had rescued this mare when she was 200 lbs underweight with elf-feet.) They had her up for adoption, and low and behold….there’s my mare. Not only there was my mare….but the fencing was wrong, and it was NOT the same farm. I immediately contacted the leasee with the ad and photos. She tells me she had to move her horses to a family member’s farm (without my knowledge).
Unfortunately……..
1. The farm they showed me was a friend of theirs farm. They apparently told the friend they’d be keeping the horse there…..and never did.
2. The “family member’s farm” turned out to be theirs – barbed wire, and even worse – sagging and dragging on the ground……uncapped t-posts….and four horses in a 2 acre “pasture” which was mud.
I told her that their farm was unacceptable, and because of a clause in my contract that says something along the lines of, “if I catch you lying about something in this contract, I get the horse,” I stayed at their farm while I called up a friend of mine and asked her to bring her rig.
Did I mention they didn’t have any children? They were using her as her husband’s (300+ lbs.) riding horse (she was barely 14 hands, petite in build, and 24 years old).
nativetimber –
I’ve had that happen a couple times on the site, so it’s not a problem with your computer. The easiest thing is as soon as you click on the link, go up and hit the “stop” button before it redirects back.
Thanks FHOTD. I wish everyone could find a NB farrier like Mark Plumlee. He is just amazing. And too this day, I’ve never seen a better farrier. My goal is to eventually be better than him! It might take me a while!…. On the serious side though, if you want to find a good NB farrier, call mark. He litterally has people from all around the world go to his school. It’s worth the phone call in my opinion, and your horse(s) will be happy and not lame for days after a trimming or shoeing! Good luck all. Hope I changed your mind about natural balance!
PerhapsAStar says:
the girl with the grey pony mare that she had trained to rear? And then sat her sister on her with no tack? Well, she and her friends are at it again (big surprise). Sliding stops while cantering downhill, taking the horse up and down steps. No helmet, of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rG26Gf-7PI&feature=sub
I think your comment is very valid. But I also think that worse things are being done with horses then cantering downhill and taking horses up and downs steps. To be honest what she is doing is no safer then steeplechase or flat track racing or any equine sport for that matter. I watched her videos and I didnt really see anything to even waste energy talking about.
My concern is people who starve thier horses and abuse them, not little kids riding tackless and doing tricks.
well they are lucky they dont have one of my horses. i would have been arrested. what lousy pieces of shit they are.how in gods name did they f*&^%k that horse up so quickly?? they must have tried really hard. there are no excuses for this to have happenned to that horse. none . hopefully she can drag their useless asses thru court. she must be happy hes still alive…bags of sc–.
Here is a cute well-bred Arab gelding in Minnesota. He’s a 2004 Magnum Psyche son in need of a new home by Saturday and available for $200! He was rescued to keep him from going through the sale barn by a former owner who now threatens to send him to the sale barn on Saturday because she can’t find a good home for him! Be polite to her, and just save this guy! He was bred to be a star, and instead has been let down his whole life, it seems.
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/grd/1440505873.html
zebradreams07, cheers and thanks !!!!!!
That poor guy! How in the world can a horse get that bad in so little time? What were they feeding him, dust mites?
I’m just curious if anyone could do some research about this ‘Angie’ person in ohio. I had a terrible incident involving one of my Friesian mares with an Angie MAYS in Ohio back in 2005 or 2006. She was dragged into court for the neglect and abuse of several horses (one of which was mine that she was leasing) and dogs as well. My mare went missing when I lost contact with Angie (she left her job and had put her house up for sale, new phone numbers, etc) and during that time my mare was seized by the animal control officers and put into a boarding situation for rehab. They said she was on IV fluids for a week and a half because she was so near death that she would no longer eat or drink. I’m just curious if this Angie is the same with a maiden name. Thanks.