FREE TB Gelding Pa/MD line

[Acertainsmile]

I "found" a 9 yr old Chestnut OTTB, I eyeballed him at at least 16.2 ... he is sound, gentle and overall seems to be in good health, just needs a little plumping up. The owner needs to find him a good home ASAP.

I have pics, pm me if interested.

[vanheimrhorses]

very interested and will give great home immediately call me 302-365-1089

[horselover4]

Is he rideable for my 4 daughters? UTD on any shots? Sound enough for beginners? Lancaster, PA area

[Instant Karma]

horselover4- You seem to be up to no good, or you are just COMPLETLY clueless???? Sound enough for beginners? What kind of question is that? How about you stop trying to pick up OTTBs for your "4 beginner daughters".

Something just doesn't add up here:rolleyes: You've responded to about 20 listings now.

[eventertblover]

sent you a pm =]

[dreamriders]

Sent you a PM

[PalominoMorgan]

Is he rideable for my 4 daughters? UTD on any shots? Sound enough for beginners? Lancaster, PA area

Maybe you didn't get the PM I sent you. Here is a suitable horse for your 4 daughters.
http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/furreal-pony-4.jpg

[Acertainsmile]

Sorry guys, this post was from February...I believe the owner still has this horse (long story)... I will try to contact him again and let him know that people are still interested in him.

[Acertainsmile]

Maybe you didn't get the PM I sent you. Here is a suitable horse for your 4 daughters.
http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/furreal-pony-4.jpg


Thats about right....:lol:

[ChristieNCritters]

Maybe you didn't get the PM I sent you. Here is a suitable horse for your 4 daughters.
http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/furreal-pony-4.jpg

That IS right!:lol:

[Ajierene]

Why is everyone being so mean to Horselover4?

I have known several OTTB that have been great beginner horses.

First - quit stereotyping the breed

Second - quit being mean to someone who is looking for a suitable mount for her children. She is obviously not just taking the first free horse she sees, but at least she is not discriminating against horse breeds like some uneducated people.

Your actions are rude - what is this a bunch of children on this forum? I thought there were adults here.

[JSWiley]

People are being rude to this Horselover because they are being very questionable. If you look back at recent posts on the giveaways section, they have responded to almost every single ad for a free horse whether it be a yearling, TB or anything else! People aren't discriminating against TB's, this ad just happens to be about one. Horselover is asking if the horse (yearlings included) would be suitable for their daughters to learn to ride on. They are just acting very fishy and I personally would just ignore them and definitely not send a horse their way. JMO.:)

[Ajierene]

horselover4- You seem to be up to no good, or you are just COMPLETLY clueless???? Sound enough for beginners? What kind of question is that? How about you stop trying to pick up OTTBs for your "4 beginner daughters".

This sounds discriminating. No one knows this 'person's' history. She may be a former horse trainer that has moved on. She may have a trainer set up. She may be looking for a yearling as a future mount for her daughter's, not a current one. She may be a shister - but anyone replying to these threads may be a shyster. I may be a shyster.....

It does not excuse the behavior. She is not saying anything rude to anyone, so there is no call for anyone being rude to her. I have seen people 'reject' her inquiries in a very polite manner - and that is all that is needed. It is up to the horse owner to determine if they want to entertain or reject an offer.

Bianca offered sound advice on the 'Free Yearling Filly' thread - ALWAYS check references, meet people in person, visit their farm, etc. - no matter if they post on on thread or all. It is NOT the place of other posters to ridicule and condemn someone just for replying to a post.

[Norcrest]

Ajierene my feeling is that you are horselover4's alter ego

[Ajierene]

You are entitled your opinion, Norcrest.

[spurgirl]

Ajierene,horselover4's postings-asking about almost 20 or so horses are suspicious because,1.She is asking about unsuitable horses,in general,for beginner children-the oldest being age 10,2.She is NOT a trainer,"but has one next door" (????),which she stated in another giveaway post,3.She frequently asks how much $$$$ to deal with anything to do with an animals' rehab,4.She has also asked for free brushes and equipment, etc., etc.,which to me all together adds up to a person who can ill afford most of these horses.horselover4 SHOULD post a "HORSE/PONY WANTED" looking for a retiring (read-older/well trained) large pony/small horse,servicably sound,with low upkeep,perhaps light meds,suitable for beginners.That way,maybe she will find an older easy keeper that will (hopefully) keep her kids safe.As it is now,she sounds like someone who wants to pick up horses and turn them over quickly for a buck,using children as a front,or getting horses to send to auction.JMHO

[Ajierene]

spurgirl-

My problem isn't in people being suspicious of her - it is their right. But people being all out rude to her is not right. They are belittling what she is saying. She may look suspicious, but if you do not like what she is saying, you have the choice to ignore it - not ridicule her and demean her.

Caution should always be used when being a responsible owner, much like a responsible parent. Would you belittle someone else's parent for something that might look suspicious our would you wonder what their home life is like, etc.?

Like I said before - yeah, she may be a shyster - but then again she may not. I have seen words of caution used on other threads that horselover4 was on, but these people were much more polite than the ones on this thread.

I have known people that did not know that horses do not 'come' already trained - this could be her issue.

Like I said before, she could be a former trainer that is looking for a horse that could also be a future mount.

She could also be a shyster just looking for free horses to take to the auction.

People say 'look at the soldier out west and what happened to him'. First - this is far from the first time someone has been conned out of their horse and second, just because it happened there does not mean everyone who posts to more than one thread is a shyster.

Besides all that, ridiculing and demeaning are not excusable - the US is an 'innocent until proven guilty' society. Everyone will be fine with ridiculing this woman - until they do something and are ridiculed and demeaned, then THEY are being persecuted. So, slip someone a PM word of caution, or put up a polite post, but do not ridicule and demean.

If she is a shyster and finds that no one is letting her see the horses, she will depart. If she is not a shyster and leaves because the posters on this board have emotional hurt her, then the posters on this board have hurt another person's feelings for no good reason.

[PalominoMorgan]

Why do YOU care? No... seriously. Why do you care if somebody's feelings got hurt?

Secondly, horseloverz has posted almost 30 times in the course of a few days looking for anything somebody will give her. IF... IF she does indeed live next door to a trainer, don't you think the trainer could help her find something FREE and suitable for her 4 children? There is a reason everybody's "radar" has gone up over this one. Having taken a horse back from a lease gone bad I really don't give a rat's ass if somebody's feelings on the internet get hurt. The lady claims to live next door to a trainer. Walk your arse over there, ask for input, and go about finding a horse that way. There is a reason she is not taking advantage of the supposed resources right next door.

(Cranky rant over. Oh, and feel free to get in to it with me. I haven't slept well for months and I need somebody or something to vent at. ;))

[Ajierene]

It is horselover4 - you might want to get the user correct. There may be a horseloverz out there that you just slammed for no good reason.

This is the issue with the internet - no face to look at and say mean things to. Like gossipy little cliques that talk about people only behind others backs and act all polite face to face.

Caution is not what is the issue here - politeness is.

Why do I care? Because I do not want to see the world go to hell in a hand basket. I prefer civilized adults act like civilized adults. Do the research before making accusing someone of a crime. Innocent until proven guilty. Treat other as you would like to be treated.

You do not know what situation she is in - maybe her trainer is looking for a horse for her as well.

Maybe the trainer does not have time to look for a horse, but will be willing to help out if she has a horse already.

Maybe she is a shyster.

Maybe she is a former horse trainer that may just need the other trainer to 'help out' since she has been out of the horse world for a while.

Maybe her husband is a former horse trainer.

Maybe she has a cousin or an aunt or uncle that is or was a horse trainer that is only willing to give a hand once she actually has a horse.

Maybe she is just so excited to finally have the property to own horses that she can't wait to get some - she is in a situation where she can pay the feed bills but not a few thousand for a good horse.

Just think for a moment - how would you like it if you went on a forum as a new member to ask advice and got ridiculed? No matter if you posted on one thread or twenty in a two day span - it does not excuse this behavior.

[mustangtrailrider]

:lol:

This is absolutely crazy. If you feel that people should be more polite, ignore them and let people hash it themselves. Issues like this will die quickly if people on both sides of the fence would let it go. It is when someone jumps in to ad fuel to the proverbial fire that feeds these topics.

I have seen Horselover4 post on many threads to inquire about horses that might be appropriated for her situation when most people feel it is obviously not so.

I am glad that other Cothers on this board are watching out for "suspicious" behaviours and letting the OP know that they should be careful about Horselover4. People here are one big family. I have made a few neat friendships here. I have adopted a horse here. I absolutely love him.

Cothers tend to band together to defend their own. Anything too weird seems to arouse suspiscion.

Think about this. Don't get angry. We care about ourselves, our horses, and other's safety.

[Ajierene]

First: My initial post actually suggested that people ignore what they do not like, instead of being rude. What keyed me up, as I stated before, was not the polite cautionary posts, but the rude comments, such as the following:


"horselover4- You seem to be up to no good, or you are just COMPLETLY clueless???? Sound enough for beginners? What kind of question is that? How about you stop trying to pick up OTTBs for your "4 beginner daughters".

Something just doesn't add up here You've responded to about 20 listings now."

"Maybe you didn't get the PM I sent you. Here is a suitable horse for your 4 daughters.
http://www.thegreenhead.com/imgs/furreal-pony-4.jpg"

This one is followed by several 'agreement' posts. These posts are not cautionary posts, they are rude, condescending posts. These are not posts of people 'banding together as a family' but cliquish people ganging up on an outsider that does not fit their profile.

These are polite, cautionary statements that are not the subject of my ire, but the type of statements that are appropriate:

"He is still available, but don't think he'd be suitable for 4 novice girls. Actually, I know he wouldn't... I don't want your girls hurt, or my horse in a bad situation. Thanks anyway."

"agree-please check references when giving away horses!!! A good way to check someones real intrest in a horse is to meet them in person.Most people won't spend the time to drive to your farm(without a trailer attached) and see the horse,watch him move etc. and talk to the owner about their requirements if they are intending to send them to auction IMMEDIATELY!
Although,this is never a fail safe as there are definetely some ill intentioned people out there! Just do your research on the potential new owners before sending your horse away.These type of people give the rest of us bad names.
I have taken in several "giveaways" and have been very honest about my intentions with them(some are broodmares-others are re-sale etc.). I have a contract that states the basics : horse always comes back to me if ever injured etc.,can not be taken to auction,and I have the right to monitor horses health. I also always make sure that I get the address(name) of the barn where the horse will be going ahead of time.I even do this with horses that I sell just to be sure that I have an extra set of people taking info for me!
Best of luck finding your horse a new home-there are good,genuine horse people out there...you just have to do your research!"

Yes, some of you do truly care - and some just like to gang up on a new person, apparently.

A few noted differences between horselover4 and the lady on the west coast. She used Craigslist - where you are in contact with one person and not a number of people. She posed as a business - so not having the horse in the future could be explained. She targeted someone who needed to be rid of the horses because he was moving out of state (going to the desert to be more specific - but someone leaving the area is less likely to be able to check on the horse in the future). It was chance that he had a friend at the auction that day that recognized his horse. It was only because he was a soon-to-be deployed soldier that this ended up on TV. FuglyHorseoftheDay.com author noted that 'finally, this woman is being shown for who she really is', indicating that she has a long history of this and will likely at least try to continue, news coverage surely has hampered her game.

Some information on spotting a con artist:

Con artists, like burglars, work in the shadows. They corner people and prefer to work 'under the radar' so that it takes much longer for them to be noticed. Someone posting on a ton of threads in a few days, first - probably has a lot of time with the holiday weekend and second - most likely is really what they say they are. A con artist would not do this because if suspicions are not aroused early, they are likely to be found out very quickly and this would be bad for business. Most con artists have legitimate aspects as well and usually pose themselves as business people, not private owners (being part of a business helps explain why they do not have a particular horse anymore). Bianca (quoted above) is very correct - check everyone out. Someone could be on this forum and be a shyster that you have allowed in your group for a long time without knowing it. Sociopaths are the worst, though - hardest to detect because they blend in so well.

Most likely this person really is the mother of 4 and the biggest concern is that she does not know proper horse care and may do harm to her horses out of ignorance than lack of concern.

Some more information on con artists and how to spot them:

http://www.nasaa.org/investor_education/nasaa_fraud_center/436.cfm
http://www.straightshooter.net/Beware_of_the_Con_Artist.htm


But this is just my take on some members of the forum. Anyone can be construed as 'bad'. It is about what you want to see things as - glass half full or half empty. Seeing an 'outsider' or 'new member' as immediately bad while you have a ton of old members that are actually bad (this is just an example). It just seems to me that the herd is ganging up on this new member and judging before knowing. Like Bianca said - be cautious at all times. I could construe a few owners of giveaways as people just trying to get rid of their horses because they are 'unusable' rather than out of need and wanting them to be in a suitable home.

I hope this makes my stance clear - it is not the caution that offends me, but the way the woman is attacked and ruled guilty before the trial even has a chance to start.

[Well_Worn_Bridle]

Why are you so bent on defending this person? Don't you think someone capable of raising four daughters is capable of defending herself if she sees fit?

[Ajierene]

It is a free country....I can defend who I want.

People seem to be ganging up on her, so why can't she have another person in her corner to illustrate the other side of the coin?

Or are only 'Cothers' allowed to form in groups and go after people?

[Well_Worn_Bridle]

Not sure what you mean by "Cothers"? And you're right- it's a free country- feel free to make an ass out of yourself. :winkgrin:

[Ajierene]

'Cothers' is what mustangtrailrider used to describe people who post on this forum - apparently not all people on this forum, just certain people since horselover4 and I are not apparently included in this group.

It is either akin to a familyconcerned for their other members, or a clique that likes to pick on new people. The original poster did not further define the term.

[PalominoMorgan]

It is horselover4 - you might want to get the user correct. There may be a horseloverz out there that you just slammed for no good reason.

....

I think we all know which user we are referring to in this case.

Just think for a moment - how would you like it if you went on a forum as a new member to ask advice and got ridiculed? No matter if you posted on one thread or twenty in a two day span - it does not excuse this behavior.

This is exactly the problem. This poster hasn't joined us asking for advice, just posting on every single thread she can find looking for free horses no matter the suitability for her situation which she described as mother to 4 beginner daughters.

As for the internet being anonymous. My picture is on my profile, as is my general location. If a person had ANY amount of resourcefulness they could easily figure out who I am. That is not my concern here.

Us "meanies" are just looking out for the horses in this case.... and the 4 daughters if they really exist since most of the horses Horseloverz4 (or whatever the exact user name is) wouldn't be the best choice for her situation as she described it.

(I still don't care what you think. I know I'm such a bitch.)

[Friesiancross]

I too have noticed the multiple threads regarding Horselover4 desire for a kid safe horse but the red flag went up when they stated their location to be Lancaster PA, the location of New Holland Auctions. If New Holland is in their backyard, perhaps finding a 'cost effective' horse their would be their best option (and save them from possible deadly end).
Now my big concern is that these yearlings and OTTB's may be headed to New Holland if they do not work out for a 4 year old. Sorry for me thinking that something is just not adding up but I have yet to see anyone even consider these people as a possible option due to the lack of clear information and logical post for kid safe horses (yearlings, OTTB fresh off the track,etc).

[Ajierene]

I haven't seen anyone consider her as a viable new owner either.

I also haven't seen any reason to excuse anyone being mean to her.

I also haven't seen anyone address excuses for the afformentioned rudeness.

As I have mentioned, it is not the caution or rejection of horselover4's offer of a home - it is the calling her crazy, telling her she must be stupid, showing her pictures of a stuffed animal and basically laughing at her. I just found this forum and my immediate impression is that, at least this board, seems to have a clique in it that beats up on newcomers for no good reason.

Yeah, a red flag goes up - she doesn't seem to know what she is doing. I do not think she would immediately send a horse to auction, since she does not follow the general profile of a con artist - but of course that doesn't rule it out. It doesn't rule anyone on this form out of being a con artist.

The red flag that goes up for me is that she doesn't know as much about horses as maybe she should before she buys a horse. Then again, she would be far from the first person to own a horse without knowing anything about them before hand. I can see your concern that she may send a horse to New Holland...eventually - possibly on the 'advice' of someone else or just not being sure what to do with it. But, like you said - no one has taken her up on her offer. Why is she posting to unsuitable horses? How many dead broke giveaways do you see?

So why the judgment before trial? Everyone says 'we are just taking care of our own', but they are not addressing the mean comments. How are mean comments taking care of your own? They aren't, they are just mean comments to a person that did nothing to you.

I would not suggest her go to New Holland - if you don't know what you are doing, you can end up with a real mess of a horse from there and she doesn't seem to know what she is doing.

[Acertainsmile]

I'm getting a kick out of this thread...

I DO a complete backgroud check on prospective owners... and will also need financial statements, personal and professional references... credit card accounts w/ account numbers and those three little numbers on the back of the card.....LOL. :winkgrin:

[Ajierene]

Wow, you ARE extensive!

I surely wouldn't pass your test right now - unemployed after getting laid off a few months ago, tight budget and credit card bills starting to climb a bit....then again - I KNOW I don't need another horse right now!

Credit checks are a good idea. My brother sublet his apartment (I think he charged half rent since all his stuff was in there and his room was off limits) while he was on orders in Bosnia for several months. It was a friend of a close friend (so you know they wouldn't mention someone that couldn't pay the bill) and he still insisted on a credit check. I'm not sure I could have done that (to a stranger yes, a friend it might seem rude) - but now that I think about it, it is a great idea.

I put a clause in my contract that they have to offer the horse back to me at the price they paid for it before they can offer the horse for general sale. I was upset that the one horse I sold, a cute 14.3 pony/horse, (after leasing her out for a year to the same girl and doing a lot of soul searching) was being sold because the girl turned teenager lost interest in horses, but I did not have the $1500 they paid for it, nor did I really have the time or money to take her back and board her. It turned out well, she went to a family who trail rides. The family also bought another horse in her field and a third horse from the same farm.

I do drive by and check on her occasionally and she is doing well. I at least like that and know that the owners where I board know these people so I will know if the people want to sell her and may be able to intervene before she goes somewhere that is not suitable for her.

[Calamber]

Perhaps the reason people on this board are being so defensive out of the box is that there are some really sneaky people out there who collect horses for sale to an auction all of which unless they are specialty horse sales carry the very high risk of ending up on the ride to the meat house or being starved.

There have been those who function here on this board and they are often times complete newbies who "show up" to defend their at best iffy practices, such a one had just been outed and ended up taking an entire group of horses from a sale at a well known killer auction, and since many if not most of the people who this individual is targetting for the dough are indiscriminating or clueless inviduals they end up helping someone take in a herd of 160 plus horses from a distant location back to an area which still has alot of money flowing in the local economy but certainly is not an area that is without horses to save closer to the "rescue".

That is why the seemingly hostile reaction at first, we are as a group very outspoken and have seen a number of very filthy so called rescue operations who are in fact horse dealers or brokers, call it what you will, count up the amount of money it would take to buy a herd like that at $400 a pop or more and then all of the veterinary and related costs and we are talking serious fraud.

Not something I want to be a party to and I am sure many other do not as well. It is called aiding and abetting, but in this case it is because this is an internet board and it seems like the laws have not caught up with most of this criminals yet so we have to somewhat police our own ranks for the safety of our horses and protection of ourselves, friends and the unsuspecting public.

[JSWiley]

I am even more suspicious about Horselover 4 now because they are not even responding in any way to the rude posts- not trying to even defend themselves. Could it be that they really are up to no good?

I do agree that we should not be rude to whoever this person is, but just ignore them and allow the person giving the horse away make the call on how to respond to a person interested in giving their horse a home. I know we are all looking out for each other, but could do it a little more tactfully such a sending the OP a PM warning about a suspicious person interested in their horse.

I do hope this TB finds the right home!:)

[mustangtrailrider]

Thank you to all who care about other people and their horses. I am glad that we tend to watch out for each other so to speak.

I have adopted a horse through here. He is the neatest thing on 4 hooves. He is really neat. I didn't go to every "free" horse poster and ask if I could have it. I asked questions and offered hope and bumps so that the horse wouldn't be fogotten about. I finally saw a gaited horse available for adoption that I felt suited my needs. I wasn't begging. I simply inquired and the rescue said he was a neat boy that would probably suit my needs. He is perfect for me.

If someone wants to know what a suitable home for a mother of 4 beginning daughters, she should have asked on the Off course section and narrowed down what she wanted. Then she should have come to the give away section posting for a horse wanted. Her actions raised red flags for everyone. After a few posts, I can understand why someone would be rude. There still in no excuse for rudeness, but she I don't believe ever defended herself or asked others for help, other than a free horse.

On an off note, I hope this horse gets a good home.

[Sabovee]

Anywayyyyyy....

Is this horse still available?

[Instant Karma]

So Horselover doesn't care enough to defend yourself, but you continue to ramble on and on... and on and on and on... to defend somene who has been posting in a shady manner?

When it comes to horses, and keeping them safe, I'm not concerned about hurting anyone's feelings.

[creseida]

While you are busy defending "horselover4", why don't you do a little deductive reasoning here. HL4 claims to have 4 horse crazy daughters who are beginners. They will need something to learn to ride on since their pony is allegedly foundered.

Ask yourself why HL4 is only responding to ads for horses that are NOT appropriate for beginners and clearly state this in the ads? They have only posted in the ads for the younger horses. They have ignored all the "older bombproof gelding"-type ads.

They live near New Holland. Lots of nearly free horses go through there. If she really has a trainer, why doesn't she go find an old horse in need of a new home right there in her own back yard?

Ask yourself why that may be the case? Think about it: things aren't adding up. There's something fishy in Lancaster.

Based on everything HL4 has posted, I would seriously question their ability to properly care for a horse, from both a knowledge standpoint and a financial one.

[ChristieNCritters]

Okay, I am just now coming back and reading all of this. Whew! However, as I am a fairly new member of this board, and intend to be an ethical and upstanding individual, I apologize to you, Horselover4, for my rude "agreement" post about the stuffed pony.

My radar went off because of the multitude of posts inquiring about free horses that are obviously not suitable for 4 daughters, and because many of the posts, including this one, were ferreted out from months ago! Why not PM the OP about a horse that was posted about in February with no updates since then?

[Ajierene]

So Horselover doesn't care enough to defend yourself, but you continue to ramble on and on... and on and on and on... to defend somene who has been posting in a shady manner?

When it comes to horses, and keeping them safe, I'm not concerned about hurting anyone's feelings.

Hope you still feel the same way when someone hurts your feelings over a misunderstanding. In case you didn't notice, I had 'stopped rambling' two days ago - apparently you can't let it go.

As I have said before, being cautious is not the issue that got me riled. Being rude was.

Thank you ChristiandCritters, mustangtrailrider and JSWiley for acknowledging that while the caution and the 'red flags' are definitely appropriate - rudeness never is.

[Instant Karma]

LOL... I can't let it go? How many times have you posted in this thread? I don't check the board every day which is why I responded after the fact.

Sometimes rudeness is warranted, as I am fairly certain this is not a misunderstanding;)

[RosehillRanch39]

After all the time and energy everyone put into your horse on this site I hope a home has been found. If not let me know if I can help. Tricia

[vanheimrhorses]

is this horse still available

[Acertainsmile]

Nope, sorry.

[horselover4]

Hello to everyone. I see, after having been off for months, that I've really taken a hit. Some saying that I don't have 4 girls, some saying that I live to close to New Holland, some that I can't afford a horse, don't know how to tend to one, that I live beside a trainer who should be able to get me one.....
Well, I do exist with 4 young girls, we do live beside a very well known buyer/trainer/seller/trader (mostly for amish, and he's amish, too)...and we've already purchased 2 mini mares from him, one of which was green when we got her, and both have been broke to ride and drive. Our neighbor helped us to break them to drive, since that's his specialty. He goes to Mel's Stables all the time and brings back about 20-25 Standardbreds to resell. We have had our 2 mini's for a few months now, still have them, and plan on keeping them until they pass on. We even are boarding one of the neighbor's 16h Standardbred mares because she went "road foundered." He was hoping to sell her and get more than he paid for her, which was $2500, but was afraid he'd have to put her down. My husband told him of when I was younger and had my 15h pinto, she had gone grain foundered, and my grandfather figured she would have to go down (and we had gotten her off the farm in Spring Garden, which had gotten her from New Holland Stables), but I was able to keep her feet in cold buckets of water, keep her off the grain, keep walking her slowly but surely, and she was up and running, cantering through the fields once again the following spring. So, she's in our field now, trying to heal. We had a friend from Honey Brook come over and check her. The mare just needs plenty of time off. But, once she's recovered, the neighbor will be training her again to sell. We just would like a 15h horse for my oldest daughter especially. Of course I'd rather have one "child safe" for her and the others, but I'm willing to work on one to become "safe". So, I would just like to share that cutting in on someone isn't always the best choice to do right away. I have no problem if someone has a horse out there, in the near area, look for a good home, for the people to check my out, just as I would be checking out the horse. As far as defending myself, I have no problem. I feel everyone should have a fair chance. Obviously, if someone posted back to me that they have a horse with the description I'm looking for, I should hope they would want to come out and make sure my place would suite where they would like their horse to go, for a good new home. I do understand those looking out for people who are out to buy and turn around and resell. I have always remembered going to New Holland sales with my grandfather, when I was pretty young, and I remember seeing a bunch of foals together in one stable area, and their feet were turned way up. I asked my grandfather what was the matter with them. And when he told me that they wouldn't be able to be sold, that their feet were to far past the point of being healed, I remember crying, just wanting to take them home. I've always been a horse lover, and all of my 4 girls are, too! My oldest loves going out every morning, even before school, to take care of the ponies and standardbred. she loves even mucking the stalls when they're in. And so do I.
So, anyway, glad to here there people who are concerned, and also glad to hear that there are people who are out there looking for just what they say.
I know this was a lengthy message, but just wanted to get some points across. Take care!

[gloriginger]

holy crap Paragraphs!!!!

[WWGeorgeMorrisD]

Please just tell us you're not homeschooling! Hard returns are your friend. Capital letters too!!

[<3myTBlivesINmySOUL<3]

I dont often comment on these boards, but would like to mention that although you may have no negative intentions horselover4, and you may not even be aware of some of the things going on in nearby stables, but Mel's Stables is not as innocent as you may think. I do a lot of research on OTTBs being sent to slaughter, and have been researching New Holland a lot as I have rescued several OTTBs myself, and will be opening my own OTTB rescue after college. Mel's Stables is largely connected to the Thoroughbred slaughter farms in Canada. In fact, he still continues to send SEVERAL loads of OTTBs to slaughter on a weekly basis. Mostly though, he gets the OTTBs directly from trainers on the track to avoid the legality risk of going through auction. So I just want to say that I have a lot of faith in the honesty of ppl and believe you when you say you mean no harm to the horses you are looking for, but I hope what you are saying is the truth. Id also like to ask that you do not support the aweful horse slaughter business by "donating" any unwanted horses to them in hopes that they will resell. They will resell, dead, as meat, to kil buyers in Canada for a few hundred dollars. Sorry if anyone's been offended. I do not mean to attack or accuse, just to send awareness. <3