Fear Memories in Horses

[Gabe Ayers]

Pirate Farmer,

I thought he said he took him to the Auction? This means let the buyer beware.. that nobody knows much about what they are buying….which is why I always recommend buying a horse through private treaty, from a private individual…even if you have to pay a little more, you have a better chance of getting what you pay for. If you buy it from someone privately they can at least have a chance of telling you any bad habits they have. If they don’t you can go back to them about what you experience. If you buy at an auction you should know you are taking a chance at buying someones culls.

I have only bought a horse from an auction about 40 years ago and they were such outlaws, and sick with shipping fever that came back to the farm with them…. that I never made that mistake again…. Since then I have always thought of an auction as just a place to dump horses…. and of course the killer market – so they may have some value as food for someone…

This is private opinion from me, again – not an HHFF post….

[whoamule]

Exellent philosophical and technical discussion, folks.
ed

[Robert MoonShadow]

Jason ~ I think that’s probably why auctions have their well-deserved reputation for a dumping ground, is all; personally, I would wait ’til the auctioning of the horse was complete, then make a point of looking up the new owner & letting them know. I’m not saying one way or the other is right or better… just my own way of doing things. In part, because I wouldn’t want the horse to injure a kid or some such because I held the information back. Plus, it just seems more likely to help the animal – if the new owner knows whatever the problem is, then they’ve got the option to arrange professional training, before it hurts someone. I have been accused of being stupid about ‘full disclosure’ as my way of doing business (by at least 2 ex-girlfriends, no less)… but I feel good about it, so I do it. I DO NOT expect anyone else to adhere to this belief – it’s my own personal belief; it makes sense to me.
Do you know what really impresses me about you, Jason? I mean, besides the fact that you are willing to share your hard-won knowledge with others? The fact that you feel it’s important to differentiate between your opinion & that of HHFF. Anyways, I am now way off subject of this thread; sorry.

[Carl Russell]

Thanks Robert for taking the final transition so seriously. I bought a horse that bit and kicked at me when I first bought her. I was green, and she had been allowed to run the show where she had been. She had even taken her stablemate into a corner and kicked the snot out of her. I had been shown the wounds on the other horse, and told about some of the adventures she had been through, but it wasn’t till I got her home that I got “full disclosure”.

Anyway, I bought her on a one month trial, and after the first month I was so mad at her that I swore she would never leave my farm (we were going to have to work it out). 21 years later I buried her up on the ledges, a darn good horse. I learned a lot from working through those things with her.

Although I believe that a good horse can have bad habits, and can unlearn them, I think Rob made the right decision, especially given the circumstances and environment where he works. There is no place for a horse like that on a living history farm. Talk about kids possibly getting hurt.

It seems like sending the horse to an auction would be the most expedient way for Rob to move on, given the situation.

Carl

[Robert MoonShadow]

I agree, Carl; sending that horse down the road (or into the freezer for the dogs to eat on) was probably the wisest choice. My only point was that if he bought it (whether at auction or private treaty) and was not told about something that basic, he brought a potentially dangerous animal to the farm – and wouldn’t have, if given an honest choice. I don’t know whether he did the same or not – he’s never said – but the point is that the trouble, hardship & pain of those bites shouldn’t be passed along {again, what if some neophyte bought it & took it home by their kids?}. I guess the decision lies along what’s most important to the individual: recouping the price paid for the animal or taking the chance of getting a lower price, due to making a concious choice not to perpetuate the practice of ‘caveat emptor’. Each person must make that choice – I was merely pointing out that by not making one choice, the other is made by default. It’s my (slightly twisted) version of the ‘golden rule’.

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