Trainer was dishonest

[LilDunFilly]

@McGurk

I’m trying to imagine any vet any where saying “If this horse passed the vet 3 - 4 years ago, you were lied to.”

That happened to a friend of mine, her first horse actually. She purchased a gelding on Trainer’s recommendation. He was a 7-9 year old OTTB who’d already been restarted as a jumper and was currently doing some low-level showing. Horse wasn’t suitable for her for a variety of reasons, but they had a tough time keeping him sound within a year.

My friend wound up temporarily moving her gelding while they were dealing with some hoof issues. The horse wound up needing special shoes and was later diagnosed with navicular. They moved back to the original property (different barn) and trainer for a bit. After that relationship fizzled out, she got a new trainer but the gelding was still not that ridable. She wound up having to retire him within under 3 years because his navicular was so bad. Her new vet looked at the PPE x-rays and pointed out several glaring issues; said he should never have been cleared to be someone’s potential showjumper.

[LCDR]

Are you prepared to return your horse, that you have come to love, as part of any settlement? I can envision this scenario with a vindictive seller/trainer who’d ship her off for slaughter.

Are you venting, or do you intend to engage in legal action?

[Joanne]

@AOHunter_s

I’m purposing trying to stay a bit vague in case anyone I know or even my trainer is on these boards so I won’t get into specifics, but I can fill anyone in via PM

Are you still working with this trainer?

[OverandOnward]

@2DogsFarm

Following year, BNT gives a clinic at my barn, offers 10X my purchase price.
Again, through trainer, so cha-ching! on that commission
I consider the offer, then decide my chances of getting another like him are slim.
I had the horse 20yrs.

That is a great story. IMO you did very well to enjoy your 10x purchase price horse that you got for 1/10th of his true market value.

That’s what everyone dreams of, National Velvet style. Find a cheap no-hoper and it turns out to be a unicorn.

Selling the unicorn just misses the chance to enjoy the unicorn life! Keep the unicorn and enjoy!

[SpicyPRE]

This thread should be sent to every 1st time horse purchaser. Trainers who take advantage of their novice clients infuriate me.

[Mara]

Or dishonest seller/trainer pulls the same trick again, taking advantage of the beginner market to sell horse for considerably more than $/lb.

There is no shortage of people willing to trust “experts”.

A tip of the hat to OP for putting the mare first and seeing to her retirement needs.

[skydy]

I hope you have moved on from this dishonest fraud of a “trainer”, or are planning to do so in the very near future.

That sort of behavior is inexcusable.

[SillyHorse]

I’m sorry so many people blamed you for this, OP. I don’t have any idea what your options are at this point, but you have my sympathy. I echo those who tipped their hats to you for doing right by this mare.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Wow, that’s an absolutely terrible thing to say to the OP. Should she feel guilty about being tricked into buying an unsound horse, that the vet didn’t think should be purchased?

OP, honestly, I would love it if you sued and shamed this trainer. I don’t know what the legal or financial hurdles would be for you to do so, but I think it’s just awful what they did. Sadly, I personally know one person who I suspect was in a similar situation but it wasn’t so clear-cut in terms of the actual proof.

[LCDR]

I am just pointing out possible negative repercussions to a lawsuit. If the OP is serious about seeking a legal settlement and not just stopping in to vent she needs to hear these things. Whether or not you think it is horrible is not germane to me. There are vindictive people in the equine business, just like any other businesses.

[mfglickman]

Just to look at the other side, I agree with this to a point. If OP could share what was “clearly foreshadowed” and what the “red flags” were, it would help. Also lameness…was the horse 1/5 on a tight circle and a hard surface? Or was there a clear and consistent lameness noted several times?

As someone stated above, even sometimes people present at a vetting can have vastly different takeaways from the results.

No horse is perfect. Vets are paid to evaluate a specific animal for a specific job and report findings; it’s up to the buyer/buyer’s agent to decide if that’s a “pass or fail”.

At any rate, OP, I’m sorry that this happened to you and am so pleased to hear you’re doing right by the horse. I hope your future with horse ownership is more positive than this experience has been.

[SillyHorse]

The vet PPE vet said the horse was 3/5 lame. What more do you need?

[mfglickman]

Thank you, I hadn’t seen that far along the thread.

[3PB]

A lot can be answered by reading the whole thread or just reading the update from OP— they said the horse was 3/5 lame and did not want to get into specifics for privacy reasons but would would be willing to discuss it via PM

[skydy]

@mfglickman

Just to look at the other side, I agree with this to a point. If OP could share what was “clearly foreshadowed” and what the “red flags” were, it would help. Also lameness…was the horse 1/5 on a tight circle and a hard surface? Or was there a clear and consistent lameness noted several times?

As someone stated above, even sometimes people present at a vetting can have vastly different takeaways from the results.

No horse is perfect. Vets are paid to evaluate a specific animal for a specific job and report findings; it’s up to the buyer/buyer’s agent to decide if that’s a “pass or fail”.

At any rate, OP, I’m sorry that this happened to you and am so pleased to hear you’re doing right by the horse. I hope your future with horse ownership is more positive than this experience has been.

I agree with the other posters who believe there is a lot to be said for reading the thread before giving advice.

[Bogie]

@AOHunter_s

He said he recommended against purchase when he spoke to my trainer.

Wow. That’s appalling. And dishonest.

[Horsegirl_s_Mom]

@AOHunter_s

After that I obtained the written report from the vetting, which confirmed that and also stated the horse was 3/5 lame during the exam.

After you bought the horse, did you immediately notice it was lame? I’m wondering how this went unnoticed when you began riding her.

[trubandloki]

@Horsegirl_s_Mom

@AOHunter_s

After that I obtained the written report from the vetting, which confirmed that and also stated the horse was 3/5 lame during the exam.

After you bought the horse, did you immediately notice it was lame? I’m wondering how this went unnoticed when you began riding her.

Because when you are a beginner, or you are buying your first horse, and your trainer says the horse is fine, you believe them and assume you are not feeling what you think you are feeling.

[2DogsFarm]

THIS!

Same trainer that thought she could doubledip through me had another client who went through the upgrade process.
& Ended up with a lame horse.
He took trainer to court.
Unfortunately, at this time (early 90s) it was mostly He Said, She Said type of hearing before a judge & he lost the case.
He was also blackballed by the cadre of local Pros.
I don’t recall if that ended his showing career, but trainer sued continued Business as Usual for many years. Last I heard she’d gone back to Ammy status for a while, then back to Pro.
Like a snake sheds skin

[AOHunter_s]

No, I recently moved my horse to a retirement facility. Needless to say if I ever get another horse it would not be through that trainer or boarded at her facility.