Date: 10/31/00 8:11:48 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: [email protected] (diana beuchert)
Reply-to: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Yes, I contacted Zeke's previous owner and asked a few questions about
Zeke's driving training. I said I didn't want to hitch him up confidently, and
regret it later. :-) She was very nice, and now I'm quite at ease about the
first time I go to drive Zeke.
We got around to talking about Zeke's vet exam, and how he had the broken
coffin bone, etc. She said she never saw him have an accident, but that he was
out with other babies for a time, and probably in goofing around with them,
someone stepped on him, or he was otherwise impacted on that hoof, which broke
the bone. She did say, however, that Zeke was lame from time to time, and that
her vet had said he didn't see any problem with Zeke, but that you were
horrified when your vet (after the sale, I gather) looked at the x-rays, or took
new ones, I'm not sure which. Then she said you became upset, but had no
recourse?! That's why I always have a pre-purchase exam, even on horses I take
into training. I just got a 12 year old TB gelding into training, to sell for
$10,000, and I'm not touching him until the vet sees him on Thursday. Years ago,
I had a very nice TB in training, and put six month's worth of work into him,
sold him, and then he didn't pass the vetting. Turned out he had an old
suspensory ligament injury which would probably lay dormant the rest of his
life, but COULD have flared up at any time. He was worthless, from a buyer's
perspective! I ended up giving him away for $500 to a nice home. :-(
Speaking of which, I'm having my vet look at Zeke again on Thursday, to see
if he passes his flexion tests behind this time. He's been in those new shoes
for two weeks now, and ought to feel better by now, and go sound. Plus, he's
been in light work and should be starting to feel more like a fit horse than a
stiff one. :-) I'll let you know what the outcome is.
Diana
Comment: She had actually contacted his breeder, who had taken Zeke on consignment - NOT his previous owner. I'm sure his breeder hadn't seen him in years before she took him back on consignment. I had actually spoken to his breeder several times before and after I bought Zeke and she said she had NEVER seen Zeke lame when he was with her. As I explained in the beginning of the story, the problem he had with me only occurred when he lost a shoe. I also emailed his breeder shortly after Diana had contacted her and felt like a fool when she said that someone had contacted her (Diana) and I didn't know anything about it. I had given Diana a copy of Zeke's registration papers when I originally sent him to MD and I'm assuming she obtained his breeder's name from his papers. She certainly could have asked me for this information; I would have gladly given it to her. And I'm not sure where she got the idea that I had not had a prepurchase examination performed on Zeke before I bought him (I am NOT an idiot - he had a FULL prepurchase exam, including x-rays). I found this whole email very strange.