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Too bad the site is mostly gone…FYI, the $500 is non-refundable on a horse you have never seen before, payable BEFORE you get to see it.
And if one calls $5,000 to $ 20,000 cheap for a mostly untrained, perhaps “exposed” (to one of her stallions, which on occassions run free, because someone forgets to close a gate, per HER words on HER PUBLIC website) PMU horse (which she claims to be Canadian Warmbloods), then more power to that person.
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Well I don’t know how high volume they are since most of the horses seem to hang around awhile, well before they are liquidated… As for selling low all I saw were ridiculously overpriced low quality horses that seem to be barely broke much less Grand Prix, jumping, hunting, whatever prospects.
While some people may buy cheap horses (notice the CHEAP part) without vetting this is the first time in 40 years of reading horse ads or dealing with sellers that I ever saw one that REFUSED to do a pre-purchase exam. And the first one who charged you a huge non refundable sum just to LOOK at their horses.
Their customers have got to be either other dealers or very gullible people. I’ve been to TB farms just to GAWK for free and those horses are worth oh about 100X what these are, in some cases about 10,000 or more X what these are worth! And I wasn’t even a customer, just a fan! Never ever have I been to a place who WANTS to sell their horses to GOOD homes that would charge you for visiting and well practically every breathe you take and every move you make on their property.
But hey, its certainly been fun reading on a dull weekend.
There is no such thing as a hypoallergic horse or dog or cat. The dander is what you are allergic to, it just happens to be carried mostly on hair. But it is still there. You can get lower allergy types but your best bet is a good antihistamine!
So those of you saying her policy is fine would send $500 that is non refundable before even setting foot on the property, pay thousands of dollars for a halter broke cross bred, pay the seller to load the horse on your trailer, forgo vetting and here is the best one. Recieve an altered government document (the coggins).
No, I think the best “policy” was where she threatened to “block” the importation of a horse purchased by anyone who had seen it on her website. Really? And how would one go about doing that legally?
O the polices are back up.
I must say I would not put down a non-refundable deposit to see any horse espically if I could not vet it. A refundable one maybe to hold the horse or something, but thats it.
I also have problems with some of her other polices, but I guess if she can run a successful buisness in this manner. Well good for her. She is making a whole lot more money than everyone else selling horses of the same level and breeding.
(edited to say sorry for the mispellings. I am even to tired to remember how they are really spelled)
It’s not the kind of deposit I think you’re thinking of – you know, the kind that can get refunded. Here you’re either making a huge down payment on a complete unknown (if you do buy), or paying the seller $500 for the honor of looking at their “product” (if you don’t). What a racket!
If you’re trying to weed out tire kickers, I can maybe see asking a reasonable, refundable deposit. (Most tire-kickers wouldn’t be comfortable forking over anything, even a refundable $20, just to go sight-seeing.) But putting down an amount that’s fully half the asking price of some of their horses, then forfeiting that 50% if you decide for any reason not to buy, is looney-toons. (Would meeting a flesh-and-blood, crossrail-leaping Grand Prix prospect be worth $500 to you?)
It’s their prerogative, of course; I just don’t understand how they’d get any business that way. Interestingly none of the posters that have done business with VSH seem to have paid this visiting fee.
BTW this isn’t “placing” PMUs, it’s selling them at marked-up prices and obscuring their origins.
My brain is mush at 1am. The big picture is too much for me to grasp at this hour. But there is a niggling aspect of this dealey-bop that I need to get straight:.
Loading the horse on your trailer.
OK. You buy a horse from this woman. It might be a weanling or an old horse. Chances are decent that all the buyer has done is see pictures of it, because that’s all you get for the first $500, right? If you want to actually clap eyes on it in person, you have to pay more, right? And it you want to SIT on the sucker, there is an additional surcharge?
Let’s assume 
I have limited my initial non-refundable investment to $500, looked at a picture of my future beloved and shelled out the rest of the thousands of $$.
OK. Now, while waiting for dobbin to head toward my farm, I get to pay for:
A Stall ($?/day)
Grooming ($35 each time brush is put to my new darling, IIRC)
Trimming ($85 :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: )
Feeding (N/A it seems. Feeding was not mentioned on the price list. OOPS!)
But my FAVE is the loading fee. Was it $100 per man hour? For loading a horse that you have never seen, never touched, and that THEY have handled and have had the opportunity to have taught to lead, stand for the farrier, crosstie, load in the trailer, etc.
Now, I may have a devious mind… but if I wanted to make a couple of extra hundred $$ on each horse, I just MIGHT be tempted to make sure that each horse sure didn’t want to walk right on the old trailer-oo. Why miss out on the opportunity for earning an easy $200 – $400, if the horse self loads in 30 seconds?
“DAMN that critter! Haul his sorry ass off that van! Who taught him to load like that! That’s not the way we load horses around here This horse needs to learn OUR way of getting on a trailer! I estimate it should take about 4 of us 2 hours to work with this sucka.”
NB: The above is a purely fictional account of an imaginary event. :yes:
In the 1980’s I trained with a BNT who charged me for everything (he charged for the shampoo with which he bathed the horse). But loading the horse on the van to go to the horse shows was definitely a missed financial opportunity. I’m glad no one told him about it.:lol:
Nothing really to do with this topic, but it just occurred to me a little while ago that a couple years ago when the first PMU cuts were made, one rancher here that lost his contract was sending horses to Virginia–he sent at least two full trailer loads of them and was pleased to be getting $600 to $800 each. I wonder if the buyer was VSH? I do recall that the fellow said the lady had homes for the horses by the time he sent them down there. That being the case, the horses were obviously selling via internet, sight unseen. As an extra note, Ayerst was paying for the transport. The rancher would get a trailer load together & ship it, and Ayerst paid the trucker directly. After making the cuts it was the company’s way of helping to make up for the lost revenue.
There are a few breeds which are proported to be hypoallergenic - which doesn’t really meant ‘not allergic’ simply ‘against’ or maybe ‘below allergic’. 
(??)
In the equine catagory the American Curly Horse is hypoallergenic. I looked at the ad for that hypoallergenic warmblood… and saw references to a soft curly coat or mane or somesuch. Made me think that horse was at least part Curly.
So - that’s where the hypoallergenic claim comes from.
Kinda right on par w/the ‘ponies kids’ statement made just 'cause some dufus family mistook this half-broke young pony and (while unsupervised can you imagine) led their 4yo around on him instead of the dead-broke darling they intended. sylvia
:: CarrieK, not yet significantly slimmer despite rigorous adherence to Halfkins, peeks out from under her rock and is satisfied that the trainwreck is not her doing ::
Observations from an outsider
This is my first COTH post. I have read with increasing amazement this entire 34 page thread. (Damn the friend who sent me the link on Friday.) It was so long ago that I originally registered for the COTH forums, I forgot both my user name and password. I had to re-register. Any of you remember the FIRST RULE you agreed to when you registered?
Rule #1: Be nice, be respectful, be polite.
I guess the rules really don’t matter, huh?
(No, Erin - I’m not trying to take your place as moderator, just making an observation.)
I am not defending VSH policies, but if her wacky business model works for her, then fine. If others don’t like it, then go buy a horse somewhere else. It is her right to do business the way she chooses. Just as it is the right of the people on this forum to discuss what she publicly posted on her website. There’s not much left to say about the policies, so I won’t comment on them any further except to say that she might need professional help to get her message across in a friendlier manner.
As an “outsider” reading this thread, I’ve come away with stronger opinions about this group than of VSH. I am stunned at the degree of invective that has been expressed toward VSH and toward the few people who have tried to restore a little sanity to the subject. (J. Swan and X, to name 2.)
I do not like to stereotype or generalize, but I think that 679 posts have provided way more information than necessary to do so.
I’m not going to quote specific comments from all the posts I have read. But I will stick my neck out and make some observations.
I foxhunt. Although I do not have first hand experience with VSH, I actually had the site bookmarked in my “horses for sale” folder. VSH has a fairly good reputation as a source for foxhunt prospects. (Can’t comment on their reputation as a source for Grand Prix horses as I don’t run in those rarefied circles. For those of you who don’t recognize it - that was a bit of sarcasm.) I’ll admit that I had never even looked at the Policies page because I haven’t seen any horses on the site that I wished to pursue. If I had found something I wanted, and gone on to the policies page, I would have backed away quickly. But it would not occur to me to find a public forum on which I could begin a smear campaign. (And although this is my first - and probably last - COTH post, I am very vocal on other equine related lists and do not shy away from controversy. And, yes, I recognize some of you from other cyber-worlds.)
I kept trying to put a finger on what was so disturbing to me about this whole thread. Others had mentioned “mean-spirited”, slanderous, etc…
But I finally figured out what was getting to me - that people were ENJOYING the bashing of this business. A number of posters are having FUN with this. They may try to justify their complaints as protecting green, unsuspecting buyers, but the bottom line is that you’re having fun trashing this woman and her business. The word “GLEEFUL” comes to mind. As does BULLIES. And both are sickening.
The VSH website policies made me queasy. This thread has made me puke.
Fire suit on, ready for the flames. Bring it on.
Here’s something interesting, from page 2 of the VSH “sold horses” section (note the unusual name):
####################
Dagan - 1993 Freisian/Percheron Cross BOMBPROOF, Anyone can ride, traffic safe (SOLD)
“About the head of a truly great horse, there is an air of freedom unconquerable. The eyes seem to look on heights beyond our gaze. It is the look of a spirit that can soar. It is the birthright of eagles.”
Dagan is a big gelding with a very expressive eye. He’s a12 year old Freisian/Percheron cross, black with a perfect small star on his forehead. Sane and quiet under saddle.
Dagan baths, clips, ties and loads. He loves attention and is gentle around people.
This is a very stately horse that looks like he should have a knight. Would make a great horse for a re-enactment troupe.
We have enjoyed having him here and have made great use of this gelding in the training of our young horses as well as a guest horse as he can be ridden and enjoyed by anyone, large, small, young or old, experienced or novice!!!
A massive easy keeper that is docile, well mannered and easy to handle…
Click here for a video of Dagan under saddle.
Click here for a video of Dagan being ridden by 8yr oldbeginner Carolina.
####################
Link is here:
http://www.virginiasporthorses.com/product_info.php/cPath/37/products_id/452?osCsid=d60846814e92f9bbae277102997f7181
Neat video clip of Dagan, the horse. Nice WP jog (unusual for a draftie). The rider’s position leaves much to be desired but we’ll leave that one alone for GM to rip apart. Sure wish he had been shown at more than just the walk, jog and halt but that’s just my desire when I see a video of a prospect.
HOWEVER, the clip with the 8 y/o beginner riding him, again, shows their tendency towards unsafe practices by what is reputed to be a good horse dealer (just going by the few positives we’ve read about).
I have 17.3 Percheron who is gentle as a lamb. However, there is NO WAY I’d put a child up on her, alone, with sneakers and NO HELMET!!! It’s great that this horse has a temperment that is gentle and calm. Just the kind of horse a lot of people would like to have but to advertise said calm horse using unsafe practices is just not good business sense. No horse is 100% safe 100% of the time.
If I were to see that clip, either before or after reading about their accidental breedings from unsafe Stallion confinement and/or foolish people who leave gates open, I would find another place to do business.
I think the reason that this site has brought up so much :eek: is because the site creator (whoever he or she may be) has done VSH such a great dis-service. I was always taught that First Impressions Are Lasting, You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression and that to Always Put Your Best Foot Forward (sorry for the cliche’ fest). This just wasn’t done for VSH with their site.
Just think, if VSH could do good business with the way things are, how much more GREAT business could they do by changing the tone of their site and policies?
As Dr. Phil would say "How’s That Workin’ For Ya?" 
I see that they’ve updated their site. While most of their policies are what they want them to be, albeit IMO, they are quirky, this one in particular bothers me - copy/pasted directly from their Horses Priced Under $5000 section re- PPE:
Many veterinarians are schooled in malpractice avoidance techniques and may render vet exams in an attempt to avoid any liability, or in an effort to cover any possible difficulties in the future development of a young horse. People who do not purchase horses often are not able to interpret the results of such exams.
If I were an equine veterinarian located within a 500 mile radius of this farm, I would be furious.
No, but I’m originally from Louisa County…so I went to school with alot of Bumpassians.
Oops! Sorry, I didn’t know I could offend WTD! Meant to be taken lightly and with humor, not the other way around. My apologies!
From VSH “sold horses” page 5, I give you Little Mister – be sure to watch the clip!
But to be fair, Otto, from “sold horses” page 6, is pretty damned appealing:
We will be moving to Louisa, right near the power plant. My suggestion of the name “Glow in the Dark Farm” didn’t go over very well. Alas, our address will be Mineral, not Cucko or Bumpass.
Oy vey :rolleyes:
Poor pony 
I like to poke fun as much as the next guy - and the tortilla interference jab at me had me in stitches - but I think COTH has officially become a BB in which rule No 1 no longer applies. Reinforced by the moderators if you dare to alert them to a possible violation of the rules.
God forbid you alert a moderator, too - can’t even do that with any expectation of discretion - she’ll just post back to the entire BB and join the fray. So much for moderation. Hopefully COTH has a bit more sense when it comes to privacy/confidentiality polices for subscribers and advertisers.
Laugh it up guys - get it all out. I got some good laughs too - nothing like typos to show your a**. Like I said - the funny parts were where you made fun of me - but then again - I have nothing to lose or gain by defending someone who’s being kicked when she’s down.
If y’all knew what you are doing, and continue to do and how far you have gone - you would be ashamed.
Or would you? Perhaps not.
Bye bye
:lol:
In high school Lake Anna was the place everyone “partied” and went bridge jumping. I’m sure that explains alot! :lol:
edited to add: I was referring to myself, jokingly (well, halfway ) lest someone think I’m poking fun at anyone else!
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