Posts Tagged ‘Craigslist crap’
Craigslist Reality Check = WIN!
I couldn’t sleep tonight and wound up browsing the ever-horrifying Craigslist Farm & Garden section, where I found this extremely appropriate response to solicitation for some sort of colored stallion. (I didn’t find the original ad).
Happy news from Shiloh Horse Rescue – Cricket, the little Morab mare I featured last week, has already found a home. Hooray for Cricket! Now, here is Lucero, a filly that I can see being a great project for someone who is ready to start their first horse from scratch. She’s only two, so of course I would prefer (and I’m sure Shiloh agrees) that she get another year to mature before any under-saddle work, but she is sensible and quiet and should be a great training project for a 4-H or Pony Club teen.
Mrs. Pepin, you should have been a Fugly blog reader…
Yes, just another example where a lady who had two unrideable horses got scammed out of them by a shady dealer named Sandy Boudreau, aka Amy Adams, of Raven Rock Farm. Check out Ms. Boudreau’s pic – doesn’t she look like a nice lady? That is why you can’t go by what people look like when deciding whether to trust them with their horses. You, too, can be fooled. Ms. Boudreau seems to think she has done nothing wrong here but let’s start with, why do you even USE an alias if you are such an above-board, honest individual? Bullshit. I don’t walk around using aliases, and neither do any of you, do you, dear readers? You know who uses a fake name? People in the witness protection program … and criminals. I think it is a safe bet that Ms. Boudreau is not in the witness protection program, don’t you?
However, while I think it’s horrible that Boudreau didn’t say the following words to Mrs. Pepin BEFORE taking the horses on false pretenses, I am glad she said them in the newspaper for all to see:
“Ms. Boudreau said once the horse has been given to her, the owners can’t expect any more from her after that.
“First of all, I don’t want to be bothered,†she said. “I don’t want people hounding me over something where I am basically making no money. Why bother? If they sent the horse to rescue, they wouldn’t tell them that information, so why should I? So they can go and hound somebody else? Once they gave up the horse, they gave up the horse. If they didn’t want to do that, they shouldn’t have gone onto a public site to give it up. Not one person asked to see my farm or checked me out. They could have given it to Joe Blow or anybody else and they would be hounding that person. They never should have given their horses away if they felt so strongly. They should have kept them until they die or let them spend the money to put the horse down.â€
Yeah, she sounds like a bitch but she’s not wrong. Euthanasia would have been a lot kinder than what I am sure happened to those horses. Mrs. Pepin should have checked things out. She should have gotten a written contract. But like most people, she wanted to believe in a happy ending – no matter how unrealistic the odds were of that happy ending. Now she will feel guilty the rest of her life.
It’s not worth it. Look, no one enjoys holding the horse while the vet gives the shot, but even if you can’t do that, even if you walk away and let the vet handled it, you’re being so much kinder than letting the horse go out there to any fate at all. Giving your horse away free on Craigslist? You might as well open the pasture gate and let him run out.
It should not be news to you, as an adult, that people like Ms. Boudreau exist — YOU are what’s standing between your horse and that fate. Only you. Don’t drop the ball.
P.S. If you do not want to be hounded, I recommend NOT lying to people in order to pick up their free horses from Craigslist. Because it is amazing how often those stories make it into the media, whether that’s the newspaper or the Fugly blog. 
Just a helpful tip – don’t DO this crap and you won’t get “hounded” by the 99.9% of Americans who think you DID do something wrong here! And those of you who buy hunter/jumpers on the East coast, as always…vote with your wallets.
Getting back to the title of the blog…
“2 yr old Polish Arab May-15-09 (cremello) Stallion 15 hand started. Excellent ground manners ~ gentle ~ bomb proof To approved home ONLY $1000″
ONLY! Well, damn, what a deal! Sign me right up! I have always wanted a faux cremello Polish Arabian stallion whose only Arabian characteristic is his ears.
(Psst…Jeff? Since Arabians don’t even come in cremello – not that this horse is one, anyway, he’s probably a buttermilk buckskin but it’s hard to tell with the winter hair on – do you suppose he might not really be purebred? I mean, that and the fact that he LOOKS LIKE A DAMN LOW-END QH EXCEPT FOR THE EARS?)
And strangely, he is $1000 today but two weeks ago, he was free. Witness the previous ad:
Horses Need Approved Home – $1 (Lakebay)
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Reply to: see below
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6 yr old Golden Palomino Stallion 15 hand very gentle started, but green (kid safe) FREE to approved home ONLY 21 yr old Appaloosa mare 15.1 hands extensively trained in Western & English very sound & bomb proof (registered) FREE to approved home ONLY 12 yr old Egyptian Arab mare 15 hands gaited, extensive training ~ very intelligent FREE to approved home ONLY 5 yr old Polish Arab gelding (bay roan) ridden once but green ~ excellent ground manners ~ very attentive FREE to approved home ONLY 2 yr old Polish Arab (cremello) Stallion 15 hand started. Excellent ground manners ~ gentle ~ bomb proof FREE to approved home ONLY 22 yr old Golden Palomino mare 15.1 hand bomb proof ~ extensive training (retired gaming horse) registered ~ loves children FREE to approved home ONLY 3 yr old Overo Quarter Horse mare 14.3 hand double registered (double blue eyes) very gentle bomb proof, ridden 4 times, started needs finishing, loves children, VERY playful $500 O.B.O. 10 yr old American Saddle Bred gelding 16.1 hands extremely gaited (gentleman) bomb proof ~ was a rescue, don’t know extent of training FREE to approved home ONLY These horses are FREE to approved homes ONLY – NO NEED TO CALL MEAT MAN Call Jeff 360-204-2024 I will leave you all to wonder how a 2 year old that has just been started can be “bomb proof.” But hey, for those of you who complain that you want to see a Fugly Horse of the Day, there’s your winner! Now for God’s sake, geld that critter before it makes more fugly little fat-necked, triangle-headed yaklets!
Keep it up, a whole new generation of suckers are being born!
Posted on Los Angeles Craigslist:
3 year old fancy Thoroughbred gelding – $575
Date: 2011-01-16, 9:09AM PST
Reply to: sale-5chhk-2163358861@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Rookie ~ ON THE FEEDLOT ~ $ 575 3 – 4 yr old, 16h, bay TB gelding. We were told by the FLO this horse has been started but he was pretty spooked by the saddle blanket so we opted not to ride him. He is a fancy, well put together TB that looks like he could do anything asked of him if he was trained. He is a little shy but once we spend time with him his curious nature blossomed. If you are looking for a fancy project this gelding is the perfect match.
This horse is on a feedlot in Zillah, Wa. awaiting shipment to slaughter. He is available for sale to the public for a short time after which he will be shipped to a Canadian slaughterhouse for processing.
Calls only: 509-952-3866
Many more photos here:
http://rebelsequinefeedlotsales.myfastforum.org/Available_Horses_about36.html
To give these feedlot horses the best chance of being purchased and saved from slaughter please share this information with your friends, local horse community and any online social networking sites you may use. Thank-you!!
Sound familiar? It should. It’s the infamous Samantha Milbredt of Columbia Basin Equine Rescue, now operating with two NEW names, Rebel’s Equine Feedlot Sales and Phantom Meadow Equine. The latter claims to be a nonprofit, but they are not even registered as a charity in the State of Washington! Same shit, different name…Google the phone number in quotes and you will see it is a contact number for both of these organizations AND CBER. In fact, a post about the Icelandics that were at the feedlot a month or so ago clearly states to call $am at that number, and I found it used many times as a contact number for her during the CBER days.
So, what is wrong with that, you might ask? Well, let me show you some previous blogs that might tell you a thing or two about $am and her pals, and why they are one of the worst things to ever happen to horse rescue. They are responsible for souring SO many people on the idea of EVER rescuing or even donating to a rescue. I’d go so far as to say $am is the main person responsible for making ” horse rescue” a dirty word to people in the Pacific Northwest.
Repost: $150 for a bullet and other CBER fairy tales
Columbia Basin Equine Restaurant strikes again!
Part Two of As The Rescue Implodes
I was being too kind just calling him an ignorant cowboy
If you don’t want to read the links, I’ll make it very simple: $am and friends marked up horses far beyond kill price, splitting the profits with Chuck Walker, who owns the feedlot, and laughing all the way to the bank. They misrepresented age, soundness and condition to sell horses, and frequently sent desperately ill horses off to new homes at which they either died or infected otherwise healthy horses. They dodged questions, banned anyone who dared to ask them from their message board, deleted posts, flatly refused to take back horses that proved dangerous, sent horses to homes they’d NEVER checked out — homes full of barbed wire, junk, no money for feed, and in one memorable instance, a psycho who had sex with horses — collected money to “bail” horses and then collected money AGAIN from adopters without ever having so much as done the horse’s feet while in their care, let other rescues clean up their mess a ZILLION times (I know rescues that STILL have ex-CBER horses), allowed horses to go to slaughter that HAD been paid for, allowed horses to go to slaughter that they were sick of feeding, shot at least two old Arabian mares without ever once informing the donors who had paid for them that they needed a place to go, refused to provide status updates on horses that donors had paid for, flat out lied to donors about whether horses were even alive, and I could go on forever but it all leads to this…
…to keep people from being scammed out of their hard-earned cash and having a terrible experience with rescue and to prevent horses from winding up in an even worse situation than they were already in, please share this information with your friends, local horse community and any online social networking sites you may use.
It’s up to you folks…they are running around on Craigslist everywhere, just like they used to, assuming we’ve all forgotten about them. Spread the word.
FIFTEEN DOLLARS A DAY FOR QUARANTINE BOARD AT YOUR YAKIMA FARM, $AM? What the fuck are you smoking?
On a happier topic, you guys all know how much I love the rescued ex-broodmares! The one I posted for MAHR found a home – now let’s see if we can find one for Nike, who is over at Shiloh Horse Rescue in Nevada. Nike is 15, and despite having a belly that says she put a bunch of little racehorses in someone’s field, she was dumped and is looking for a riding home. She’s sound and shiny and just needs the right person who isn’t scared of a light-sided and forward Thoroughbred to work on fine-tuning her after-the-track riding.
File Under: No shit, Sherlock!
Craigslist train wreck of the day…I’m printing it in its entirety but please do not be an idiot and call the number or e-mail to harrass them. Give someone a chance to rescue what looks to be a lovely horse (and if you get him, please let us know!).
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A horse isn’t a good Xmas Present – $700 (Lyte/LaCoaste)
Date: 2010-12-30, 10:08AM CST
Reply to: sale-rt3qp-2135889984@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Ok so a horse isn’t the best Xmas Present for 4 little girls so we are now selling this 3 yr old registered Thoroughbred Gelding. He is broke and has coggins paperwork. Also his registration paper work goes with him. I’ll also through in the halter and lead rope. I don’t have any other tack because I just borrowed it. The kids refuse to ride it cause he is so tall. I paid $900 for him 2 weeks ago I would really like to get rid of him quick so I am willing to take a loss. please call 210-748-5677 (no endless emails)
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Other ad, posted December 31: 3yr old Bay Gelding for sale. He is broke and does ride he is shoed need to sell quickly. $700 OBO.
I know nothing about horses, don’t ask
No I can NOT Deliver I have no trailer
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So they bought a three year old, most likely fresh off the track Thoroughbred for their four little girls, put him in the backyard with a wading pool for a water trough and it hasn’t worked out? NO, REALLY?
Oh, and they can’t AFFORD a horse either, as evidenced by another CL ad of theirs I found. I am NOT making this up. “Have you got a hog problem? I’m looking to fill my freezer with meat. I am not a trophy hunter I’m just trying to feed my kids. Please call 210-748-5677.”
(insert huge sigh)
The bad choices people make when it comes to horses never fail to amaze me — but then again, they admit they “know nothing about horses.” Why would you GET a horse when you know nothing about horses? Would you get a car if you did not have a driver’s license? It’s just nuts.
That said, let’s talk about how you do actually select a horse for your kid(s). First of all, if you know nothing about horses, you are not qualified to own a horse. Horses are large, complicated animals with touchy digestive tracts, among other issues. If you want your kid to have a horse and you intend to keep him at home, you need to take lessons – not necessarily riding lessons, but care and handling lessons. Many trainers will be happy to help you out, and you can use resources like Rate My Horse Pro as well as good old Google to get recommendations and find out something about the trainers in your area.
Next, don’t assume that horses naturally love kids. They are not Golden Retrievers (and heck, not even all of those love kids!) You need to find the right horse for your child’s experience level and your child’s disposition. For example, if your kid is confident and loves to go fast, a feisty and high-energy pony may be a perfect match, but that same pony would be a train wreck for a child who is less experienced or easily frightened. (If your kid doesn’t ride yet and you don’t know how he/she will be as a rider, discard the entire idea of buying a horse and get your kid into lessons!)
Don’t assume that small = good — there are many unsuitable ponies and extremely suitable 16-handers. Also don’t assume that senior horses are always quiet. I have owned 25 year old hot potatoes and so have many of my readers! The best way to find a great kid’s horse is to find one that has been successfully packing around a kid who is about your kid’s age and similar in riding ability, and some of the best places to find those horses are by talking to your local 4-H club, Pony Club, saddle clubs, or just hanging out at open shows, playdays, and local rodeos and talking to people. Most horsepeople really do want to welcome beginners into the sport, and want to give free advice, but just take it all with a grain of salt and double check things online, especially any advice that sounds like it MIGHT be shady/cheesy! Your instincts can help you out, even if you do not know much about horses yourself — most of us can smell b.s. unless we stubbornly ignore our feelings.
If your kid wants to show, and is with a trainer, you do need to involve your trainer in your horse-shopping. Otherwise you are very likely to come home with something cute but unsuitable and that is going to be hard on everybody, and hardest of all on your wallet! Now, if your kid just wants to trail ride or do low level playdays and stuff, then your best bet might be recruiting an experienced friend to help you shop.
Horses that are never, never, never suitable for your kid include:
a) Stallions
b) Horses freshly off the racetrack. Ex-racehorses can be great kids’ horses – but not until well after they have had a chance to “detox” and completed several months of retraining.
c) Horses that are not yet trained to ride. No, they cannot learn together. This includes baby horses that are too young to ride. Don’t do it. Ditto pregnant mares. You need a foal like you need a huge, bloody hole in your head. Trust me on this.
d) Horses that have a bad ground vice, such as biting, striking or kicking or a bad riding vice, such as rearing, bucking more than a little crow-hop, or bolting. Kids just aren’t (yes, there is an exception to every rule) capable of consistently disciplining these behaviors and avoiding injury while doing so. Most horses don’t do these things. Avoid horses that do.
Finally, before you even think about buying your kid a horse, ask yourself if the kid has demonstrated the necessary responsibility level. Has he/she consistently taken care of another, smaller pet, or have you had to help? If you don’t mind helping, fine, but realize that a horse is a 365 day a year commitment. That stall will need to be cleaned every single day. The horse will need to be fed at least twice a day every single day in the winter, even if you have enough pasture in the summer to avoid that. And horses have an amazing ability to get sick or hurt at the worst times – Christmas Day, your anniversary, your cousin’s wedding. In general, I think 99.9% of first time horse owners are better off boarding their horse for just these reasons. If you’re at a good barn, crises can be handled with little to no involvement on your part other than whipping out your credit card. Having a horse at home isn’t like having a dog at home — it is a heck of a lot of work and it can get old fast. Not to mention that most kids don’t even stick with riding if it’s not a social event with other kids, and that riding all alone isn’t safe, so if your horse is at home, you may spend a lot of time supervising horsey time.
All right, readers! What other advice would you give about how to pick out a horse for your child? What mistakes did you make, or did you hit the jackpot and get a wonderful babysitter horse on the first try?
Here is a fun video! Brandy and Katie were rescued out of the Enumclaw Sale’s kill pen a few weeks ago and are very kindly being fostered by Fox Creek Farm. This is only one week post-rescue and look how happy the girls are! They are classic examples of the kind of sweet, sound horses who go to kill all the time, so all I can say is STFU, Sue Walrus – YOU go to a slaughterhouse, heaven knows there is a surplus of loud-mouthed, unethical politicians with poor impulse control TOO.
Both of these mares are available for adoption through Second Chance Ranch, so just send an e-mail if you’d like to learn more!
