This horse had a sprained ankle… and now is 100% sound?
http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/grd/1529843778.html
He sounds great besides the healed injury. I emailed them and they said that he is guaranteed 100% sound for even heavy jumping. They sound so sure… usually I don’t even give horses that have had a previous injury a second thought (because of the discipline I’m pursuing), but they are assuring me that he is completely sound now.
So he really sounds pretty friggin awesome, especially since he is free… not to mention (although I am not color biased!) my dream color. (Chestnut with a big blaze and socks).
I also asked for pictures and they said "No". I was caught off guard, but I asked why not, and they said they don’t have access to a camera, but I’m welcome to come out and see him whenever I feel like it in person. If he wasn’t free I would just walk away because he’s sort of far away to be driving ALL the way there with no pictures to even support his conformation or anything.
No offense… but who in this day and age doesn’t have access to a camera? I mean almost all cell phones have cameras… or couldn’t he borrow one??
What do you think? Do you really think he could be that sound??
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Djembe: http://equibase.com/premium/eqbHorseInfo.cfm?refno=6794364®istry=T
This horse last raced in October. If he sprained his ankle before that, they had him racing again. If he sprained it after that, he hasn’t had long to heal. Really, it all depends how bad it was, just as with humans. I’d be willing to give him a try, or at least get THEIR vet report before I’d rule him out.
They’re giving away a horse who sounds pretty good. There’s probably a good bit of interest. They just don’t feel any need to go take pictures in order to get more interest! That wouldn’t put me off either. If he’s good, they’ll be able to pick and choose his new home. I’d also like to point out…. THEY told you about the sprained ankle. They didn’t have to. That speaks well for them.
But here’s an option for you: If you go to his race record above, a number of his races are available on video. It’ll cost you like $5.50 to see 40 plays of them. Take a look; you may see enough to rule him out or to really wow you.
Edit: I love looking up horses… here’s a vid of one of his races:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjYPzi_TCLc
Edit2: I live near this area. We have access to freshly off the track thoroughbreds from several nearby tracks. They’re often free. They used to go to the killer auction in SugarCreek, but now the trainers get suspended if the horse goes to slaughter, so they give them away. They’re used to being led with the chain, cuz that’s how it’s done, and that’s their signal to behave – it doesn’t mean they’re crazy. The only red flag I see is "off the track 7 months" when his racing record says he raced in October, but that’s an easy slip.
Edit 3: Something happened to this horse in 2007. He got 9 months off, and went from Allowance races at Churchill Downs to claimers at Mountaineer/Thistledown/Beulah… that’s a HUGE step down in class. Maybe that’s when he got the "sprain." If so, I really wouldn’t worry. He’s durable.
It could be a scam =/
Try it out, have someone ride him and you watch! Then you ride and feel it, maybe he is the perfect horse for you.
On the sound part.. He may sometimes be perfectly sound I don’t think he will be 100% though.
he could. no one thought my horse would EVER be sound and he is 100% sound. i believe in miracles after my horse. actually i get it from a lot of people believe it or not that they do not have a camera but whatever. i would ask them if they will allow a vet to come with you to check to make sure the horse is 100% sound. if they say no i wouldn’t even think twice. if they say yes obviously they are darn well sure he will come up fine and i would go for it.
Only seven months off the track, and just a /prospect/ for jumping. I would skip. Even if you did go and see him, and he had nice confo, and you brought him home, he might end up with zero talent for jumping. And that’s if he is 100% sound, like they say.
Then, there’s the fact that he’s seven, and has only been off for seven months. That’s a long time to race. And when did the vet give him an okay, and has he had xrays on his legs, to make sure they’re all held up well?
Plus, I just looked at a map, and that is a really long way to drive to see a horse that you haven’t even seen a picture of.
And yes, I love chestnut with four big socks, though I prefer a smaller blaze, if I have to get picky.
It’s a little bit strange – especially the camera thing. It may be a scam or they could possibly be hiding something. Sometimes you have to remember the whole "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" idea, unfortunately.
If you are able to go look at him, do so. But if you do end up having a further interest – do the pre-purchase exam – from a vet other than theirs. Have them do a drug test and go see/ride him several times (the distance sucks, but unfortunately is something you sometimes have to deal with when trying to find the perfect horse – I drove 8 hours to go to and from the horse I was going to buy about four times before I brought him home)
The ad seems a tad suspicious – some of the things just don’t seem to fit together – they are most likely exaggerating with some things (but a lot of people do that to an extent). With the injury – it really depends on the severity of the injury, my current eventer had a previous injury and I got the opinions of several different vets (if they thought he would be sound for heavier jumping) before I bought him – (he’s an OTTB too) and he has showed no signs of stress.
You have the right to be suspicious about any ad, really do your research and go see the horse as many times as necessary.
I know it’s crazy but lots of people are not internet savvy and wouldn’t know how to load pictures on Craig’s list. Embarrassed to admit that I am one of them. I cannot figure out how to upload download whatever load a picture onto Craig’s list. I’ve tried numerous times and just can’t figure it out and I even have the pictures. My boyfriend doesn’t even know how to use a computer and certainly doesn’t own a digital camera so as far as that goes it is certainly believable to me. I don’t know how far away he is but I think it would be fun to go look at him, make a day of it with a friend, and you never know could be a dream come true.
Read between the lines. There’s a reason this horse is free. Registered, 7 months off the track, and he’s free?
Here’s a good saying, "There is no such thing as a free horse."
A few things I wonder about:
1.) Guaranteed sound for any discipline. I’ve never heard of anyone doing this. You will want to find out exactly what the guarantee entails. What if you get him home and find out he’s not? Will they take him back? How long a guarantee?
2.) Sprained ankle. I’ve never heard any knowledgeable horseperson use that term to describe a horse’s injury. Did he sprain a tendon? Tear a check ligament? What exactly did he do, and when. Maybe you can even get the name of the vet that diagnosed the injury and discuss it directly with him/her.
3.) "driving ALL the way there". Unless I missed it, you didn’t say how far away he is. But most people shop Craig’s list in there localarea, so it’s probably not all that far. If it is, take your trailer when you go to see him so you don’t have to go back if you like him.
4.) Expect this horse to be green as grass. He will be. That’s MY guarantee! If you can handle this it is not necessarily a problem, but be sure you can.
No one can or should ‘guarantee’ a horse 100% sound for anything. Even if you get a vet check done, the vet will not guarantee a horse’s soundness. They will say things like ‘based on what I see in this limited evaluation, there are no indications that the horse is unable to perform the required tasks ‘ or something similar.
A ’100% sound’ horse would be for sale for some price – not given away. That makes me smell something fishy.
"Djembe is an angel when he is lead with a chain over the nose"= if you don’t have a chain on hand, he will eat you.
"He has a very nice collected trot and canter, he walks quietly"= lazy as hell
"I am working on getting a nicer headset"= he throws his head in the air like a lunatic
"He is up for FREE because he is not being put to any use and has to much potential to sit around the barn" = he’s sitting around the barn because I’m too scared to touch him. But I swear, he COULD totally be a good horse to ride, you know, if he weren’t insane. But if some insane person wanted this insane horse they’d be awesome together!
This whole thing doesn’t seem right. How can they not get pictures? Even old ones, from years ago, would be better than nothing. Are they saying this horse has never been photographed before, ever, in his entire life?
If you really want photos, what I’d say is, "if I like him and wind up buying him I’ll give you $250 for him" to encourage them to find a way to get those photos. Honestly though, this doesn’t sound good. I’m not so worried about the ankle (a sprained ankle can fully heal) as I am about the ad, and the fact that this lady sounds insane.
I don’t know about the whole "7 months off the track" and "has a nice collected trot and canter. … Working on a nicer headset." Already? Really?
If he raced that long, he must have been winning quite a bit, so then he wouldn’t be free. And probably not ever castrated. So, I don’t would stay weary of this ad.
If he’s close, go ahead and look at him, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for this one.