Date: 11/3/00 5:02:22 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: [email protected] (diana beuchert)
Reply-to: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Hi! I hope things are going well for you. Did you ever call the man who sold
Zeke to you? I was just curious.
Zeke had his re-evaluation yesterday, and was sound. :-) I put him on
Cortaflex a week ago, which is an herbal combination of Chondroitin Sulfate and
Glucosamine. He feels so good now, that today he actually squealed and threw in
a couple bucks on the lunge line! It was obviously an act of sheer joy and
feeling great, and I could only laugh with him. OXOXO He is black as night now,
and learning to do Spanish walk . . . at the speed of LIGHT! That boy is SO
smart! :-)
Well, now I need to get serious, and talk some business with you. :-( I've
been laboring heavily over whether or not I should buy Zeke. Oh - I love him to death, and want him more than words can say! The problem is, I'm just not
feeling that $15,000 is what I should pay for him, due to his x-rays and
slightly tenuous future ("No foot, no horse"). Today, as he started work on the
lungeline, he took a couple questionable steps, and my heart sank as I wondered
if he was going to come up lame. He was fine, but that one moment brought home
to me what I'm going to feel like if, a few years from now, Zeke does break
down, and I start kicking myself over what I paid for him. I will probably
always have that little fear creeping around the back of my mind, and I'm really
thinking hard about how much Zeke is really worth, given that potential trouble
in his future. Of course, he may never have another lame day, but then again -
the coffin bone could start hurting him, or his club foot could develop more
arthritis . . . which is something I'm going to have to watch carefully by not working him hard or on hard surfaces.
Fred and I have talked this over ad nauseum, and we've decided that,
considering that Zeke didn't actually pass his pre-purchase exam (especially if
we had been "normal" buyers), we're not comfortable spending $15,000 on him.
Zeke is sweet and beautiful, of course, but he can't be bred if he has to retire
from work, like a mare can, and we feel that there might be Friesians out there
cheaper, without Zeke's problems.
I hope you're not too upset with me for saying this, although I know you
must be devastated by it. I truly hate causing you any emotional trauma at all.
I want you to think about what I've said, and consider either a) going back to
my training Zeke for $500/month and finding a good home for him for a 15% sales
commission, or b) a much lower figure that would be easier for Fred and I to
feel good about spending on a horse with Zeke's medical conditions.
You know I like you, Patti, and wish you only happiness . . . I hope you can
put yourself in our shoes, and see this from our perspective. I truly hope you
can find it in your heart to weigh up the wonderful life Zeke would have with us
here, and the ease with which we can finalize this and you'd be done worrying
about selling him, against a reduction in income for you. Get back to me soon,
as I'm sure I won't be able to sleep for worrying about losing Zeke . . . I need
to know how you feel about this.
Diana
Comment: I had told her that she had spoken to his breeder, not his owner - she seems awfully curious about whether or not I called the owner. Perhaps she was wondering if he had x-rays? I had not contacted him - at this point, I was devastated by Zeke's "medical condition" and I didn't know what to do.