Horse Haulers from Hell "Wellington Equine Express"

[Gayle_in_Oregon]

[QUOTE=Daventry;7775910]
Yep, that’s what I would have done…and was thinking that as I read her story. Although, I totally understand that everybody’s circumstances are different, not everyone has that luxury to risk losing a sale or can act quickly in a difficult situation and stand up for themselves. Most people don’t like conflict and want to try and give the other person the benefit of the doubt. I always listen to my gut. If you’re uncomfortable and questioning whether it is the right thing to do, your gut is probably right and there is something wrong with the situation.

As a breeder, I feel 100% responsible for my stock and am fully committed to making sure they are happy and healthy. I realize that once they leave my property, their care and training is out of my hands…but until then, they are still my babies. I brought them into this world, so it is my responsibility to make sure they are well cared for.

This time, she can feel free to yell at me! ;)[/QUOTE]

Blame the victim?

[stoicfish]

I believe the horse was the victim.

[Donella]

[QUOTE=stoicfish;7776036]
I believe the horse was the victim.[/QUOTE]

Bingo.

[siegi_b]

Gayle in Oregon - this is not a story about you and how the client/transporter “screwed” you. It’s a story about allowing a freshly weaned foal to spend five days on a completely unsafe trailer, a ride that apparently had dire consequences for said foal.

And yes, the shipper in question should be outed in order to prevent other folks from even contacting him, so thank you for that.

[stoicfish]

There is two things this thread can help with. One is outing the company and I am glad you are doing that.
But the second is the example of the scenario it self.
Everyone is different in handling these situations and conflict. I too had the thought of offering the money back or helping them pick another transporter, but that is me and I do not think someone a terrible person because they handled it different.
However, your idea of asking for transporter pictures and such and refusing them is not that different than refusing them when they show up. Timing and inconvenience, of course but you still have to make a call about the quality of the transport. For this to be a learning thread, maybe as Daventry stated, you make suggestions of transports you are willing to use prior to the sale. You are not responsible for the transaction it self but you set the standard as part of the sale.

I think it must have been horrible for you, and for that I feel bad. But this can serve as more of a lesson then just outing one hauler. It may make people think about how to prevent this or what they would do.
It isn’t a easy subject. What if the buyers themselves show up with a garbage wagon? Or you meet the buyers and they are clueless people? These are all very tough questions that people must answer for themselves when selling horses.

[stoicfish]

There is two things this thread can help with. One is outing the company and I am glad you are doing that.
But the second is the example of the scenario it self.
Everyone is different in handling these situations and conflict. I too had the thought of offering the money back or helping them pick another transporter, but that is me and I do not think someone a terrible person because they handled it different.
However, your idea of asking for transporter pictures and such and refusing them is not that different than refusing them when they show up. Timing and inconvenience, of course but you still have to make a call about the quality of the transport. For this to be a learning thread, maybe as Daventry stated, you make suggestion of transports you are willing to use prior to the sale. You are not responsible for the transaction it self but you set the standard as part of the sale.

I think it must have been horrible for you, and for that I feel bad. But this can serve as more of a lesson then just outing one hauler. It may make people think about how to prevent this or what they would do.
It isn’t a easy subject. What if the buyers themselves show up with a garbage wagon? Or you meet the buyers and they are clueless people? These are all very tough questions that people must answer for themselves when selling horses.

[dkcbr]

:yes:

may make people think about how to prevent this or what they would do.
It isn’t a easy subject. What if the buyers themselves show up with a garbage wagon? Or you meet the buyers and they are clueless people? These are all very tough questions that people must answer for themselves when selling horses.

Great point.

[Gayle_in_Oregon]

For any of you who are ‘supportive’ and not already a member you are invited to join Sport Horse Breeders on facebook. Just apply. We are a fast growing group of breeders including international.

[crosscreeksh]

In 5 decades of horse business I have refused to ship three horses that had been sold. The last one was on a trailer worse than OP describes for a TB mare shipping 12 hours. I called the buyer and told them I was NOT sending the horse on “that” rig and they would have to find another shipper…buyer thanked me. Another buyer was coming from 12 hours away with an open topped/pipe sided cattle trailer in mid winter to pick up another TB mare…I returned their check. Third one was someone in upstate NY in mid winter coming to buy a pony and put it in the back of an open pick-up…no racks or roof. I refused their check. Sometimes you have to do what is “right” no matter how pissed off the buyer is!!

[Gayle_in_Oregon]

[QUOTE=crosscreeksh;7776973]
In 5 decades of horse business I have refused to ship three horses that had been sold. The last one was on a trailer worse than OP describes for a TB mare shipping 12 hours. I called the buyer and told them I was NOT sending the horse on “that” rig and they would have to find another shipper…buyer thanked me. Another buyer was coming from 12 hours away with an open topped/pipe sided cattle trailer in mid winter to pick up another TB mare…I returned their check. Third one was someone in upstate NY in mid winter coming to buy a pony and put it in the back of an open pick-up…no racks or roof. I refused their check. Sometimes you have to do what is “right” no matter how pissed off the buyer is!![/QUOTE]

In my case the horse was sold for cash a month before the shipper arrived. I had signed a sale contract and it was complete. The owner signed a contract with the shipper and I was not a party to it so I had no legal say. I had no legal right to hold someone else’s horse. Last I heard we are a Nation of Laws, not Men or Women. Its very easy to judge in hind sight and many have enjoyed that liberty in this forum. Few have offered help in identifying low quality shippers “ahead of time” which was the point. Thank you to those who did. What we need is help and support, not second guessing and ‘bragging’ about how much better one “may” have handled a very difficult situation.

[Zu_Zu]

Thank You for posting this important warning !

Thank you for posting this important warning !

I am sorry you and your colt were in this incredible situation :eek:

Please know your hands were tied by the ‘buyer’

Thank goodness the colt arrived safely !

** Again thank you for taking the time and (inappropriate bashing) to post this warning to horse people !

I, for one, am grateful ~

[Old_Faithful]

Chapter 2 Horse Haulers from Hell/WELLINGTON EQUINE EXPRESS

Unfortunately, I didn’t read the original thread regarding WELLINGTON EQUINE EXPRESS. I contacted their office to arrange a transport for our horse. Dawn referred us to a link that showed a nice rig and trailer. Everything looked fine. I had great communication with Dawn concerning transport dates, quote for the transport, contract, etc. it all seemed great…until I made the payment for the transport. At that point, the only communication between with Dawn was by my or my daughter’s instigation. We had arranged pick-up for September 21, 2014. We didn’t receive any calls letting us know what day or time they would pick up our horse. It became obvious on the 21st, that we were going to have problems. They missed the original pick-up date and also the following day. By September 23, we were becoming frustrated with the lack of communication and waiting for transport. Finally, on September 23, Dawn was pleased to tell me that they had a driver in Fort Collins, Colorado who would pick up our horse. The only problem was that Fort Collins is 450 miles from our barn. The driver arrived at our barn at 8:30 pm. The rig that arrived was nothing like the truck and trailer pictured on their site. It was a basic slant load, old, but looked ok inside since our horse only had a 10 hour haul. What a mistake! It took them 29 hours from pick-up to delivery. Our horse arrived at the destination after midnight. The driver actually wanted to overnight somewhere before dropping off our horse but the destination barn manager told them that our horse had been on the trailer long enough and just needed to be delivered. Actually, the driver and his wife were nice enough. They apologized and mentioned that they were unaware of our pick-up until 6 hours before picking up our horse. They were delayed, after picking up our horse, because they picked up a young horse that hadn’t ever loaded in a trailer nor had been tied and had picked up another explosive horse that wouldn’t load. Throughout this entire mess, Dawn never called us. When we called her, she would tell us all the problems they were having with sick horses, etc. nothing but excuses. I understand that the contract we signed gave them a time frame for delivery so they fulfilled their legal obligation. However, their communication and customer service is unacceptable. I will never use WELLINGTON EQUINE EXPRESS again.

[jdeboer01]

Time to start putting minimum shipping standards into sales contracts, I HATE to say.

SUCKS

[back_in_the_saddle]

I think ALL of us have gotten stuck between a rock and a hard place when least expected and then proceeded to talk ourselves into a situation we knew was trouble hoping it would turn out ok in the end. HAD we had more time to react, we may have done something completely different to resolve the problem. Sometimes the best solution isn’t obvious at a moments notice, especially in a stressful situation. This clearly was a sudden unexpected situation. WHO in their right mind would have the nerve to show up at someone’s door to haul a horse in a deathtrap???

I’m glad it was brought to our attention. It may be years to never before faced with anything close, but at least we know how to try and prevent it via contract (or whatever) now.

[CrowneDragon]

Thank you for spreading the word about this ramshackle operation, and I’m glad the little guy made it to his destination none the worse for wear!

[jdeboer01]

“WHO in their right mind would have the nerve to show up at someone’s door to haul a horse in a deathtrap???”

This can be echoed a million times over, which only makes the warning from the OP that much more poignant.

Apparently, some very unqualified “haulers” can and will show up under current legal circumstances. This could all be clarified with a sales agreement that includes minimum shipping standards for all sales horses.

[Gayle_in_Oregon]

[QUOTE=Zu Zu;7777329]

Thank you for posting this important warning !

I am sorry you and your colt were in this incredible situation :eek:

Please know your hands were tied by the ‘buyer’

Thank goodness the colt arrived safely !

** Again thank you for taking the time and (inappropriate bashing) to post this warning to horse people !

I, for one, am grateful ~

[COLOR="#0000FF"]I am so grateful for this and other supportive posts THANK YOU!! It was very hard to “drop my pants” and “out” this hauler and face possible retaliation from his company. I have to say I was shocked so many in the community I was trying to protect attack and criticize me as you well can see. Its been a very tough time. Yes, the purpose of this expose’ was to get the conversation going to help other people and horses avoid similar misery.

[alexandra]

Gayle - i am sorry that this happend and a thank you for warning others.
But I want to give you also a head up that others may not armchair quaterback you bad as you may be feeling it. (Note to myself: new word in my repertoire for knowing a lot).
Even to ask and share what other people may have done is a point for others to learn. While reading you and other’s posts they may think through the situation and when it happens to them they are able to act in a way that they have already “experienced”. Some may change something in their sales contract, some may find out what the legal situation is for that in their state ( in Germany or full Europe e.g. There are laws for transport standards for longtime shipping of animals - which means one can stop and/or report immediatley report to authorities - call the police.
Please do not feel bashed even though it feels like this- please look at some posts from this perspective !
Thank you all to what was posted !

[crosscreeksh]

[QUOTE=Gayle in Oregon;7777027]
In my case the horse was sold for cash a month before the shipper arrived. I had signed a sale contract and it was complete. The owner signed a contract with the shipper and I was not a party to it so I had no legal say. I had no legal right to hold someone else’s horse. Last I heard we are a Nation of Laws, not Men or Women. Its very easy to judge in hind sight and many have enjoyed that liberty in this forum. Few have offered help in identifying low quality shippers “ahead of time” which was the point. Thank you to those who did. What we need is help and support, not second guessing and ‘bragging’ about how much better one “may” have handled a very difficult situation.[/QUOTE]

I was not criticizing your actions…just stating what I did when faced with a bad shipper. Everyone has to do what they feel is the best for the circumstances. Glad your colt survived his ordeal. His new owner must be a bit of an a$$ to ship him that way, though.

[Gayle_in_Oregon]

I just hope that others who have stories to share (often they just say something happened to a ‘friend’ you may note), are not discouraged from sharing due to fear of ‘harsh’ and hard hearted comments and yes mean, poorly timed criticism. It stifles all and especially the meek ones from telling such stories. So, for those who feel they have to criticize and show your ‘superior’ ‘alfa’ intellect and practices, think of the long haul and how you may be scaring people from honestly sharing difficult but educational stories on this, what can be, helpful forum. You can win the battle and lose the war.