Checking out potential horses for a student & ridiculous sellers

Yesterday I went with a lesson family to look at a potential horse for their grandson. On paper, this gelding sounded like a real good possibility. Plenty of show miles, quiet, well mannered, perfect for a kid ready to step up to breed shows, price tag that said he should have been at least a decent ride. Well, not hardly close.

Drove 2 1/2 hours to check him out. We get there, as we are walking in the arena, I see the horse nip the owner as he untied him from the wall. He then sees us and heads our way. Horse was tacked up and dripping wet. Guess my showing up 30 minutes early put a kink in his plans.

I couldn't contain myself and said "Well, I'd planned to ride him but I see you already worked the piss out of him and took that option away." Then the guy's face turns red and he says "well, he's cold backed and will buck if you don't lunge him hard until he's tired." Really, REALLY? You couldn't have told me this when I told you I was looking at him for a 10 year old kid?

I was fairly courteous and did walk around the horse and pretend I was halfway looking at him. His feet looked like they hadn't been done in several months, toes for miles and a golf ball size chunk missing on one front. Went to give the horse a pet on the neck (not his fault owner was shady) and the sob went to grab ahold of me.

So, I tell the guy I don't need to ride him, he isn't what we are looking for. So the guy says "OH, so you want a half dead packer?" and I said, "Nope, it's just that for that price I expect some darn ground manners and that it doesn't need lunged for an hour before someone can get on it."

So if anyone has a youth all-around near the hoosier state, let me know

Good on ya - I absolutely detest that kind of crap, especially when they know you are looking to put a CHILD on the horse.

Familiar situation... I went to look at the horse for myself several years back. Nice, calm, done-it-all gelding (and of course 2 hour drive). That s*** (hmmm) nice horse ripped my hands off. And the seller was pushy telling me someone else is looking so you better get him fast. No, thank you. Exactly a year later I saw this horse in sale section (by different owner/location).

P.S. What is pissing me off the most is when they try to rip off with the horse that will be bought for the kid.

Thanks ladies. It really irked me too that he knew I was looking for a kid. Had we been shopping for my own kid, I'd have probably had my hubby take her to the car and told the guy exactly what I thought.

It never fails to amaze me what people will say and lie about to unload one.

I know when I sold my mare and put that she rode doubles they wanted me to show them that she actually could. Said they meant no offense but they'd like to see that I wasn't a liar. Buyers beware!

Isn't it terrible? We were also looking for a nice babysitter type mare or gelding for our lesson program to replace Pudding, and we've looked all over the place too. The first that we looked at was a supposively 7 year old that knew his stuff. Flying lead changes, nice comfy canter, the works. So we trek out to the middle of no where to see this guy about 2 hours away and I'm met with this ill tempered couldn't-be-more-than-4 year old colt. I went ahead and got on him since we were there, and he did a flying lead change already...MID BUCK. >.> its amazing what people will do these days to sell their horse. We were far better off with the little guy that we bought a few weeks ago, a no-name $200 gelding who was a bit rusty (hadn't been ridden in over two years) but capable of just about anything I ask of him! Goodness.

Why are these bad horses always a two hour drive? LOL. I was lucky with my horse. But I knew a lady who was a victim of a tranqued horse. Dead quiet until they got it home...raging maniac.
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So annoying...I do my best to tell the truth about horses I'm selling, and kind of expect others to be truthful as well, I have to keep reminding myself that not everyone is honest in this game.

I think this is why my mom is brutely honest with her horses, she does what she would want a seller to do if she were the one looking to buy. They show up, then you show off how wonderful they are by catching them, brushing, picking out their feet, etc. With one mare, my mom even jumped on bareback right after catching the her to show how well she behaved with just a halter and lead. They were looking for their child and my mom had no problems showing off an 11 year old purebred Arabian, and letting them ride to test her out.

When my mom was a young teen, she and some friends were invited out to ride someone's horses. Horses were slow and not very responsive at the beginning of the ride... until the drugs started to wear off The ride quickly turned into breaking the horses in. Nice and honest of the owner, don't you think?

It's sad, but while I was horse shopping I met more dishonest sellers than honest. I finally handed my search over to my trainer, who found me the right horse as I was quickly becoming frustrated and fed up with the whole horse shopping experience.