Sorry but I need to vent. I can not stand dishonest sellers! There are enough dumb things that can happen while riding a horse, but when a seller knows a horse has a bucking issue don't lie to sell the horse. This was a well priced horse too!

Yes it is wrong. I know a couple of people who do this & it sucks. Gives the reputable horse sellers a bad name. Anymore, one needs to drug test before buying unless you know for a fact your dealing with an honest person. I'm sorry you got a bad deal. Hopefully you can get the problem corrected may-be with a trainer who is reputable. 

This didn't happen to me but a close friend. Horse had injured the current owner a couple of times, but did not disclose this to potential buyer. I just don't understand why people need to be so careless. My friend now has a broken shoulder as the result. According to social media, this horse has a history of this. I just don't understand the thought process. 

 A horse that bucks is at least fixable.......it's soundness issues that often aren't.  Selling an unsound horse as sound is despicable.  We've purchased a couple from people who we considered reputable and even friends.  

Unfortunately these type of people will always exist in the horse world and will always find someone new to HANG a horse on.

There are dishonest Buyer as well.

Wether the horse is sound or not, does not excuse the seller from being honest about what the horse has done in the past. Yes I agree unsound horses can buck, and sometimes no matter how many tests are done, the problem may not be found. There is no reason to be so careless with someone's life.  If the horse bucks be honest about it. I've sold horses that have bucked before and it was disclosed in the sale. I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't even understand the thought process! 

It really is terrible! I bought an unsound horse that was sold as sound, and when they delivered him two days later he was three legged lame. I had to put him down in December

I learned a lot from it..but it was heartbreaking to put him down..I miss him everyday! 

It really gets my blood boiling. I bought a “kids” safe trail horse that bucked like a rodeo bronc. About killed me and they still denied it when I called them and told them. They wouldn’t buy it back or anything. And he was a “certified horse trainer” what a load of bs.  

Also I bought a nice ranch gelding that ended up dead lame . two vets verified it was an older injury and horse was sold to me that way!

Sorry but yes they are lots of liars out there. It’s horrible

I totally agree with everything you have said in all the posts.

Just asking some questions to get insight...

Did your friend ride the horse prior to buying?

Does she think now it was drugged if she did? You can’t always see drugging. I like to call and come unannounced... a second time to ride. 

Did she buy local or out of state?

I am so very, very sorry that your friend had this happen.  That is just awful.

My friend did go and ride the horse prior to buying. She rode him and ran a pattern on him. She did not know the horse, he was out of state. She flew in to try him out, then bought him. She wanted to ride him again with the owner, so flew in again to get some insight on how to ride him well around barrels. After the horse bucked her off, she found a bunch of things on facebook about what he had done to the current owner. All of the owners friends also know how this horse can be. She did get her money back after the horse bucked her off, but this person still has him for sale and has not disclosed any this. She did delete everything on facebook. Horse's barn name was 911.

Years ago, a friend had me go with her while she was horse shopping. One of the horses on her list was being sold by a shady trader. Seller got on the horse, started attempting some circles while giving us her usual trader spiel. Actually had the gall to say, "This horse doesn't have an ounce of buck in her!" as the horse was literally crowhopping around a circle. That was an entertaining afternoon...

Its all aboout money and people really don't give a da**....whether it bucks, or unsound it doesn't matter to them.......this horse is dangerous to me is even worse........

Happened to my nephew.. he purchased a finished rope horse for 10k .. he went and tried the horse 3 different times and all was well.. obviously the horse had been sedated those times because he was a mellow angel. He bought him and took him home. Went to a roping that weekend and the horse launched his butt right out the box... it happened over and over again ... after pain was ruled out thru a vet check and xrays horse was clean.. just a dirty bucker...  he began working with him at home.. when hed leave the box hed go to launch him my nephew would wear his butt out with his rope... after about 5 times,  the horse quit... now hes great and they are cleaning up at ropings.  So there is hope but it.stinks to have to find out the hard way! 

It is sad.......I see a horse advertised right now for good money that is dangerous!  The write up sounds wonderful and horse is priced high....Buyer beware!  I sold a true 1D horse (placed 5th out of 350+ horses our last competition) for less than I could have because I knew thenhorse was going to a great lady. I also wanted a vet check done so there was not issues that came along after.  It is too bad there are those dishonest people out there who only think of the money.......makes it tough for the honest sellers.

There are dishonest sellers.

A buyer needs to be a good judge of horse flesh.  If they aren’t they need to take someone with them who is.

Buyers also need to be honest with themselves about their skill level.

We have a head horse for sale.  He’s priced very reasonably for his talent because of maintenance.  If you don’t keep him worked and warm him up well, he will buck.  If you want to run all your steers 3/4 of the way down the pen before you rope them, he’s going to start to get ****y - he’s doing his job and giving you a shot out front and you’re not taking it.

As an honest seller I’m going to be upfront about this.  If you buy the horse, take him home and let him sit for 2 weeks and go straight to the roping pen and get bucked off - who’s fault is that?  And are you going to admit it’s your fault or are you going to go to social media and rip my and my husband’s program to shreds?  People’s tendency to do that this day in age make me nervous - there’s 2 sides to every story but so often the other side never gets a chance.

I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little nervous of selling him even though we need to and to the right home he’s a great horse.

I think as long as you are 100% upfront about this horses "quirks" its definitely the buyers responsibility to keep that horse rode and roping and taking his shots early on. Wouldn't be my cup of tea but I bet there is someone out there that likes that... if they let horse sit and he tosses them off, its buyers fault. In the case of my nephews debacle, they were dishonest sellers, he tried to call the sellers and they acted really surprised and then quit taking his calls about trying to bring the horse back, get a refund ... so he just decided to try and fix him... hes young and can still bounce lol! Now he can let this horse sit for months and hop on him and hes fine. Hes one of the lucky ones, I know that's not typical.  With so much on social media now it's pretty easy to do your research on horses and buyers, with a little effort. I'm not in the market but if I found something I just had to have , I'd be scouring the internet on the sellers, the jockeys that rode the horse and the horse itself. Unfortunately,  dishonest sellers will still find a way to cover up issues and move horses to unsuspecting people. I try to buy from people I know...last 3 horses we purchased was from our trainer.... so if I start having an issue or need help tuning, i go right back to him. In fact I bought a 3 yr old from him several years back and I tried for a year to get with this horse, we just couldn't get along... he ended up taking the horse back and let me ride another horse he had just finished for a few weeks I ended up buying him with the trade for the other. It worked out great so from now I try only to buy thru him. He stands behind his sales 100% 

Theres not only dishonest sellers but there is dishonest buyers too.. They buy a high caliber barrel horse and then they cant ride it and start blaming the seller for selling them a nice horse they cant ride and make up cra* about the sellers and horse saying they are going to sue them for selling them the horse..Seen it all on here..

oHHH YES, I remember that!

If this lady had been honest about the horse bucking, that would be one thing! My point of this whole post is being honest about what the horse is. All horses can buck, and ulcers just from traveling from old home to new home can make a horse buck. I'm not dumb to the fact that a horse can change when it sold.  This person had this horse break her femur and pelvis a couple years ago, then most recently she broke her back. These are things you need to be up front about!  This horse had not even left the owners hands yet, my friend got bucked off at her house while the horse was in a trot. This is wrong.

Threads/stories like this make me so nervous to buy when I go to purchase another. Mainly because I have kids, and they go to the barn with me daily. I keep a very close eye on them and will discipline them if they run off or go somewhere they're not supposed to be, or do something they're not supposed to do. But that said, crap happens when horses are spooky and flighty around kids. I need kid safe (on the ground) horses at my house and I'll be explicit about that expectation when I go to buy. If someone straight up lied to me in this area about a horse I purchased, I'd be livid. 

On the flip side, as far as buyers being honest about their abilities or experience - absolutely! I know I don't have a ton of time to school one, train one, I do good to ride 4x a week for 45 min, and I'll tell someone that. If the horse is going to be a bucking fool if I don't ride it 6x per week for an hr, I'm not the rider for that horse. If it's blown up, I don't have time, or the experience for that, and I know it. Regardless of how much money I do or don't have, I'm not going to go out and buy a quirky 1d/2d horse bc I KNOW I will end up in the dirt or frustrate the heck out of the horse at best. 

Two sides to that coin many times, as others have mentioned. I'm sorry your friend got hurt, OP :(

Yep that was really crazy to come on a public forum to trash someone like the girl that sold the horse, I'm sure it happens a lot more then we hear about.

I bought my first barrel horse in 1996 from his breeder. He was 8 yr's old. His breeder started him, gave him all the best training that I could ever ask for " took out on trails, ponied horses on the track, worked with cattle, etc. She told me everything about him. She knew him. She was his breeder. He was the best horse ever for me. I was 40 when I decided to learn to barrel race. This horse " he's the one in my avitar" taught me to barrel race. He was the best ever & he won alot for us. He was with me untill I had to say good-by to him 4 years ago. He was 27. My point is, is may-be people should be looking for horses they want from a breeder. There are many wonderful barrel breeders who have started horses to sell & they are more apt to be there for you if you run into problems. I'm not saying all sellers are evil, cause they aren't. I know many wonderful one, sellers who match the horse & rider, but there are those horrible ones, who drug, who lie, who scam just to make a buck. Anyway, just a thought. For your next horse, may-be consiter a reputable breeder. 

Seems like many in the horse trading business seem to expect you to know that dishonesty is part of the selling/buying game, and you should be away of that.

The Horse Trade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpYfPXA73Pw

I understand that there are dishonest sellers out there and buyers that do not come to terms with their riding ablility. I also understand that some buyers will throw the seller under the bus because of the buyers ability to ride the horse. In this case, this seller was well known and knowingly put this horse up forsale and misrepresented this horse. If he has a dangerous quirk, then disclose it! Buyers need to beware and I totally understand this, but doesn't mean this should be acceptable! I just don't know who people can live with themselves to sell horses like this. It's almost stealing money or fraud.

Very sorry for your friend, but I would never buy a horse without seeing the horse, esp for my kids. People are too crazy. My friend flew out and rode this horse once, when she got hurt this was the 2nd time riding him.

Could you message me who the seller was, I live near San Antoino too, in Seguin so kinda would like to see if I know this person..

Sometimes even bringing a "horse expert" doesn't help. I was selling my brother's horse many years ago and had a young-ish (probabaly late teens/early 20's) girl come out to try her. She really liked the horse, the horse did everything perfect (mind you, she was riding in a wide open pasture). So anyways, she wants to come try the horse again and bring her "horse" friend. So they both show up and this "expert" is instructing me on what she wants me to do (pick up all her feet, etc). She's really starting to get on my nerves because she's trying to flex her knowledge muscles and show me she knows her stuff

So the original girl is riding the horse, and the horse is her usual peppy self--I wouldn't call her hot, but she has a lot of go and has pep in her step. So the "expert" warns the other girl "She'll buck you!" That was it, I was done with her. I said she most certainly will NOT buck, she's never even THOUGHT about bucking one single time the whole time we've had her. I told her I've known the horse for years and you've only known her for a few minutes so you can't make accusations like that. She sure changed her tune after that and was suddenly super nice

It all worked out too because the girl ended up buying the horse :)

So while it is good to bring someone who knows more than you do, make sure they don't insult the seller, lol.

My friend only had her husband with. She had already purchased the horse, she was just there to get additional tips on what is the best way to ride the horse around barrels. 

I’ve been on the other end, where I sold a horse with complete honesty, and then the horses personality changed with the new rider. Yes I took the horse back and yes it made me look like a liar and I was sick over it. 

But as I’ve grown, I’ve  learned a lot. I do not think all people are dishonest. I think that some horses behave differently based on people’s demeanors. I have a friend who is truly gifted and he can make anything look like a dead broke finished horse. 

Horses are living things and its the riders responsibility to help the horse make the transition to new ownership. 

That's how my trainer is.. after reading this post it makes me even more grateful for him! The horse I returned to him, I had for a little over a year ... I truly tried to make it work but we just didnt click. He traded me for a much better suited horse for me... he still has the horse I returned back to him, hes actually one of his main roping horses now! He sold the horse, I think twice after I gave him back ... he ended up buying the horse back after the other people had some trouble with him too lol! So I think it's safe to say that's his horse because he has zero issue with him. He asks me if I want to ride him occasionally... NOPE NOPE NOPE!!! lol! 

Too funny! How amazing it would be to be as gifted as them! But sure do feel for them when a horse isn’t willing to workout for other people, lol! Horses can be very opinionated.

Well like I said theres dishonest buyers too. 

AMEN!!!

Buyers who over rate their abilities who are really not 1D riders, but they sure think they are and they try your horse, can't come close to sticking it then blame you for being hard to ride behind! LOLOLOL

Riding a truely broke horse, what EVERYONE claims they want, need, must have... isn't real easy for MOST people. They over ride, over handle the horse then the horse responds and well... it's the horses fault.