Tough Times in a Desperate Horse Market

I dipped my toes into the horse market recently and found the waters to be cold and uninviting.

Many of the online advertisements make me feel wary and I'm reminded of this icon from my childhood:



A couple weeks ago I came upon an ad that didn't conjure up images of the Lost in Space robot.  My trainer and I went to see the horse and ride him.  We both liked him and the seller suggested I take him on trial.   The ideal situation was to take him to the training stable where my trainer could evaluate him and give me lessons on him. But the training stable required a rabies vaccination, which this horse did not have.  I offered to pay for the vaccination and the seller agreed to get the vaccination and draw up a pre-purchase trial contract.  A couple of days went by.  I left a voice message for the seller.  Then at 8:30 that night the seller called in a panic, in need of money because of an ugly divorce situation, and said I had to buy the horse tomorrow or the horse would be sold to a cattle rancher with cash in hand.  Wow!  I was stunned.  I was disappointed.  But I will not be pressured into a rapid purchase like that.

I summoned up some courage and looked at more ads today and it was sickening.  I saw ads placed by desperate people trying to unload their horses "ASAP".  I feel sorry for the horses because the most likely person to respond to these ads is the kill-buyer.

Let me tell you about a couple I just read.  I don't want to copy and paste them here, so I'll just give you the gist of them.

Ad #1 offered a "FREE" 2 year old "Polomino" quarter horse stallion. The seller pleaded, "Please rehome him ASAP...he is FREE."   While the horse is free, his tack costs $300.00 and has to go with him.  The free "Polomino" horse and tack is $300.00 today only.  If you wait until tomorrow "the re-homing fee becomes $500.00" for horse and tack.

What the heck is a "re-homing fee" on a FREE horse?  Now, doesn't that make you want to rush out to the nearest ATM? 

Ad #2 offered another free horse.  A 16 year old, "broke to ride" quarter horse that is "not a push button horse, but is a good horse."  The horse "hasn't been ridden in awhile", but the seller put her kids on it and they survived "are fine".  Seller needs to re-home the horse "ASAP" because the power has been shut off at their vacated farm.  Her rotten husband is in jail and she moved out and is raising their 6 children and didn't have the money to pay the utility bill at the farm.  You can have this horse for free under one condition...when you pick up your free horse, you need to pick up its pasture mate and return that horse to its owner in another town.  The seller can't return the pasture mate to its owner because her husband did not renew the registration on their truck & trailer before he became incarcerated.  Lace up your track shoes, you lucky horse shoppers, because the race is on.  The seller says "preference goes to whoever can get to my place first."

Too bad my horse trailer is in the shop for repairs right now.  I lose again.

Times are tough and I feel badly for people who are in difficult & desperate situations.

I feel most sorry for the horses who are the innocent victims.  Those two "free" horses probably ended up on a truck bound for a slaughter plant south of the boarder.

I don't think I'll look at any more ads today.

Finally a Truck Purchase

My old Ford truck failed me and I was grounded for a couple of months while Mr. OnceUpon and I considered repair/replacement options and test drove several used trucks.

We chose to replace the old Ford F250 diesel with a new 2010 GMC Sierra 2500 HD SLE Z71 4x4 with the 6.0L gas engine. (If that isn't gibberish to you, then you know trucks and I'm impressed.)

I've never had such a difficult time narrowing down a vehicle choice. Ford, Dodge, Chevy, GMC...then there are the different engine options and trim levels and this and that. It was becoming overwhelming so one Saturday we decided to get in the old Ford, drive to a dealership, and "Get 'er Done!" Eight long hours later, we drove home in the GMC.

We went back and forth about gas vs. diesel and everyone we talked to had a strong opinion one way or the other. We decided on the gasoline engine for a couple of reasons.

1. The diesel engine is a $7,000.00 option. Ouch.


2. A diesel engine is overkill for the amount of towing I do, which is less than 2,000 miles a year (3,219 km).

This new truck has the power to haul two horses anywhere I want to go. Sure, it will be less fuel efficient hauling a trailer up a mountain pass, but I can buy a lot of gasoline for many years to come before I'd reach the break-even point on a diesel purchase.

The new truck is a pleasure to drive and it is nice to have a positive occurrence after the recent string of truck & horse issues.

LESSON LEARNED: Get the facts - the Carfax (or AutoCheck report) when you buy a used vehicle.

When someone wants to make their problem your problem...buyer beware! (That goes for horses too.) We got ripped off on the old Ford which we bought based on the seller's word and a pre-purchase check at a local diesel specialty shop; both of which turned out to be a bit unreliable.

We spent a lot of money repairing that truck, but kept finding more and more problems. It was time to be rid of it. We received a clean title when we purchased it, but when we went to trade it in, we discovered it had been salvaged early in its existence. It originally came from Canada (the tire pressure info on the inside of the driver's door was in French). Apparently it was wrecked at 15,000 miles, rebuilt, sold, and the title got washed as it passed through several states in the U.S. If we'd pulled a Carfax or AutoCheck, we would have known better because all the details showed up in the report. We didn't get much in trade at the dealership because of the salvage history. As they say, "Live and learn."

In the meantime, I'm finally getting out & about with Misty; taking riding lessons and getting training help.

Misty is faring well as a lonely-only, but I do want her to have another stablemate one of these days.

I heard from Marley's owner that "he is happy and doing well."

I'm shopping for a 2nd horse now and I wish I could pull a Horsefax on prospective ponies. I hope I can be smart about this next purchase. I'll be sharing some thoughts on that in an upcoming post.

Horse shopping is even more portentous than truck shopping!