[SAcres]

Hope this is allowed. I saw this ad on Craigslist and thought I'd post in here incase anyone has seen this horse.

Ad

[FormerShowHunter]

So sad...why don't buyers honor their word and contact the old owners? It seems to happen A LOT.

[red mares]

...uh because the old owners are no longer the owners and the new owners can sell it to whomever they'd like?

[erniewalker]

I'm constantly the unpopular minority, but here's my thought process:

Let's say I bought a horse.
The former owner says to me, "and if it doesn't work out, please contact me."
It doesn't work out.
A: I could potentially invest a few minutes of my time to place a phone call or send a quick email to the former owner- "Hey, it's not working out. Do you want this thing back?"
OR
B: I could figure out a way to get it hauled to the auction which either costs gas money and my personal time or a hauling fee, probably have to pay for at least a Coggins (I don't know this particular auction house and what they require- some around here require health checks), auction fee to get it entered, and maybe get a few bucks out of it at the end of the day but doubtfully enough to cover the expense of getting it to the auction in the first place.

I'm kinda lazy and obsessed with the well-being of my animals, so I think I'd go with option A. At least to start. If the former owner turned out to be a total clown or said "no, thanks," I'd probably think of a way to sell the offending beasty. But if someone gives me an escape door, I tend to check the escape door before I try the messier option.

[FormerShowHunter]

I'm constantly the unpopular minority, but here's my thought process:

Let's say I bought a horse.
The former owner says to me, "and if it doesn't work out, please contact me."
It doesn't work out.
A: I could potentially invest a few minutes of my time to place a phone call or send a quick email to the former owner- "Hey, it's not working out. Do you want this thing back?"
OR
B: I could figure out a way to get it hauled to the auction which either costs gas money and my personal time or a hauling fee, probably have to pay for at least a Coggins (I don't know this particular auction house and what they require- some around here require health checks), auction fee to get it entered, and maybe get a few bucks out of it at the end of the day but doubtfully enough to cover the expense of getting it to the auction in the first place.

I'm kinda lazy and obsessed with the well-being of my animals, so I think I'd go with option A. At least to start. If the former owner turned out to be a total clown or said "no, thanks," I'd probably think of a way to sell the offending beasty. But if someone gives me an escape door, I tend to check the escape door before I try the messier option.

Yup. It seems pretty simple to me; a 30 second phone call or email is all it would take. I don't know, it just seems like the right thing to do.

[Halt Near X]

So sad...why don't buyers honor their word and contact the old owners? It seems to happen A LOT.

Not specific to the ad in question, but because:

1 - They always intended to flip the horse and were lying about contacting the owner.

2 - They got weird/bad vibes from the owner and never want to talk to them again. They said what they had to to get the horse.

3 - They intended to keep the horse but it didn't work out. They feel the owner misrepresented the horse's skills/abilities and are afraid the owner will misrepresent it again if they send the horse back.

4 - They need the horse gone ASAP and are afraid there will be too much back and forth with the seller, too much judgement about why they need/want the horse gone, etc, and prefer a clean sale to a stranger.

5 - They lost the seller's phone number, email, address, whatever contact info they had on hand.

6 - They forgot the seller asked for first refusal or that it was in the bill of sale.

7 - They thought the seller was "doing the right thing" by saying they wanted to be called but didn't know it was a sincere request.

8 - They didn't like the situation the horse came out of and think anything is better ("everything is a rescue" mentality).

9 - They just don't care.

And on and on and on. The reasons are as varied as the people.

[GotGait]

It happened to me. I sold my first mare to a vet I had worked for and his wife. I told them if they ever had to sell her to please call me. I would buy her back - guaranteed.
Several years later, they divorced, wife took the horse and unbeknownst to me, sold her without her papers. I was easy to find and I would have bought her back. I had even run into them a couple years before and had asked about her. I restated that she would always hold a special place in my heart and to please call me first. No phone call.
The only horse I've ever lost track of. The no papers thing still enrages me 20 years later. The wife pretty much doomed my old horse. I tried to find her for decades - until I was sure she must be dead - but without the internet, it was an impossible task. I had one lead and a dead end in all that time.

I'm just venting... Ugh.
The lesson: Don't expect people to do what they say even if it's the easiest choice.