Buying/trading a horse-back than versus now.

A recent post about a trade gone bad got me thinking about how much things have changed from back in the day to now. I recall my Opa(grandpa) telling me about how when he was young a "buisness mans handshake" was all it took to seal the deal. For example breedings. These days there are contracts and written agreements and most of the time you now give your credit card number to insure the stallion owner gets their pay. Back in his day he explained now contracts were rarely used and it was the norm that people paid when they were suppose to without all the legal signings and what not.

Also with buying/trading horses. You never second guess the health of the horse you were getting nor the motives of the owner. No vet checks or reciepts were ever needed. If you found something wrong with the horse you got, most owners were more than happy to trade/giving money back.

What has happened these days? Now when buying or trading a horse you almost always have to have some sort of written receipt to prove your purchase and or the status of the horses health. Could it be that people have become so desperate due to hard times that they just don't care?

Just a random post. Feel free to share your thoughts or stories.