So I asked Jane Smiley about Waterwheel

[Cammie]

@JustTheTicket

I read the ad (if I were the current owner, I would be pissed that someone posted it here to rip on me, btw).

I didn’t post the ad in order for anyone to rip on the current owner, nor did I say anything that could be construed that way. I said the mare looked to be in good shape and was at a safe price point.

The original thread had a lot of discussion when it first was posted, and I thought people might be interested to see the mare was still around and seemingly doing well. I recognized her name even before the Jane Smiley mention in the ad.

Do do I have a quibble with the “loving, forever home” line? Yes, but it’s a stupid line to use in any ad. It’s even more off-putting when people use it in ads for older animals.

Otherwise the ad is fine, and hopefully WW’s “fame” will make it easier to find a buyer.

[Texarkana]

Eleven years later and people are STILL digging on Jane Smiley about this?!?

I stand by every word I typed in 2008.

Not to sound hypocritical, but while I have no problem with Smiley’s actions last decade, I do think it is unfortunate when people sell 19 year old horses via sale or advertisement. I understand situations change and you can’t keep them all. But at 19, there are so many age-related questions. It’s a riskier time in a horse’s life. How much longer will the horse be useful? 10 years? 5 years? Less than a year? What is the new purchaser going to do if it’s the latter? An aged horse whom no one is attached to doesn’t have a lot of options. I hope WW has many useful years left!

[Peggy]

@vxf111

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Where is “Island Empire?”

The ad says she is in Norco, which is a part of the inland empire, or IE as it’s known locally. I don’t know enough about Craigslist to know if the approximate address is accurate for the poster or just for Norco generally. Norco is known as a horse-friendly city that refers to itself as HorseTown USA.

[vxf111]

I was thinking a little bit of a c-r-a-z-y thought if the mare was in the Mid-Atlantic area but California (regardless of which part) is a long ways from NJ for sure.