Re: [RC] buying endurance horses over the Internet....thoughts and questions. - Typef
I'll bite.
I have purchased three horses over the
internet and currently have one for sale that way.
The first was a horse for my daughter as a
replacement for her old Arabian mare that passed away. We couldn't find anything
local that fit the bill and she started looking online. Still couldn't find what
she wanted at the price we could afford so I started looking at the endurance
pages. We found Wendy Lumpert at CoolDownUnder.com and saw two horses we were
interested in. Luckily, Wendy at that time, was only an 1.5 away from us in
Cool, CA, so we went up to look. The one my daughter was interested in, wasn't
interested in her (something important to a teenage girl) and the other horse
just wouldn't leave her alone, following her everywhere. So she never even rode
the first horse. The horse she ended up buying, James Dean, came home with us
and spent a year and a half with my daughter. Unfortunately, he turned out to be
too green for her, even though he is an absolute love and a puppy dog
extraordinaire. She got dumped a couple of times because she doesn't have the
best seat in the world, concussion, fractured tailbone, etc. Needless to say,
she decided he was too much for her. James now lives with me and I love him!
We're just now starting our conditioning on him and yes, he's green (Wendy had
only had him three months before they had to thin the herd to move to Oregon, so
she didn't really know him that well) but he's got what it takes, I think, to
make a good endurance horse. We'll find out this year. He wasn't the right
purchase for my daughter since it's almost impossible to get her more than a
mile away from the stables. That just wasn't Jame's thing. He likes to go the
distance! Forget about little Quarter Horse pleasure rides ...
The second horse I purchased on the internet was
Tank the Wonder Horse. I had a stable full of non-endurance type mounts and was
working on one with issues and getting hurt, so again, I ventured out onto the
web. I hit the classified ads at endurance.net and found Tank and Brett and
Katey Gies. Many emails later, half with the Gies' checking me out to make sure
I would make a good Mommy for Tank and the other half me finding out everything
I could, I was on a plane to Idaho to spend three days with Brett and Katey to
check Tank out.
In looking at Tank's pictures on endurance.net I
didn't think he was the shiniest tool in the shed, but I was at that point where
I was more interested in a safe, sound, seasoned mount that I could just pay my
entry fee and RIDE. Tank fit that bill. When I got there, I discovered Tank was
everything Katey said he was and more. He was beautiful! I walked into the barn
and there was this horse, prancing in place in the stall, neck arched, looking
like a million dollars. Katey said "That's Tank." I said, "THAT'S Tank???"
He'd just had a bath, (not his favorite thing) and she'd locked him up
in a stall so he wouldn't get dirty. Wasn't sitting too well with him so he was
all drama.
Three days later and three rides later, one of them
in the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains, I wrote a check and bought a horse. Tank is
still everything I ever wanted in a horse and more. He'd already done eight
50's the year before I bought him and it didn't take much to get him up and
running. So far, this year, we've done 3 50's and it's only February. Not only
is he my bestest buddy, but anyone can ride him and they do. He's taken my
beginner husband on many lovely rides, my 70-year-old ex-endurance Dad is in
love with him and my daughter rides him also. Of course, this leaves ME with
whatever else I think I can stay on that day LOL ... however, now with James
Dean in the barn, I think I'm set.
The third horse purchased through the internet is
my daughter's new love of her life ... a Percheron Cross PMU foal named
Maverick. Now I think she's on the right track ... something big and slow and
safe. He's 7 months old and a doll.
My take on buying and selling horses on the
internet ... a darn good thing. Without it, I wouldn't have had the opportunity
to purchase the horse of my dreams. It probably wouldn't work for everyone, but
in my case, it worked great. I find myself at fault for initially letting my
daughter choose a horse that wasn't totally suited to her. But hey ... he's mine
now and I was secretly hoping he could be my endurance horse anyway!!! Gee,
maybe I DID do that right!!!
:) Jackie and Tank and James Dean
P.S. If anyone knows of anyone who is looking for a
kind, gentle Mustang for a teenage girl or somebody who just wants to trail
ride, you can look at MC's bio at the Wild Horse and Mustang site. She's seven
this year and she needs her own person who will spend some quality time with
her. She's just being a pasture pet right now and she deserves better. She
didn't work out for me for endurance (not her thing) but she's just a great
horse. I just have too many in my yard now and only time to ride two. http://www.kbrhorse.net/mgal/munch.html
