Since this is a MOSTLY horse themed blog, I decided I had better spiral off of the relationship red flag post from before. This blog will focus on red flags in horse ads - horses to just keep scrolling past or at least be buyer beware. Most of these will be situations that either I learned the hard way or someone close to me learned the hard way.
Red Flag #1: Broodmares that are "left open by choice".
Hmmm... left open by choice or are such hard work or expensive to get and keep in foal that you left them open. Those are two very different things in my mind. Yes, option B is still "by choice" so there is no lie being told there, but the implication is that you just didn't choose to breed the soggy, easy breeder because you're cutting back. If you're buying a broodmare - MAKE SURE you clarify this one or the price is dirt cheap, ie darn near free. Uterine infections can be expensive to treat (eyes the $800 vet bill from earlier this summer), regumate isn't free, multiple breedings to outside stallions add up the $$$, and so forth.
Red Flag #2: Horses that are described as "energetic" or "will make good game horse".
In our experience, this is the nicest way people can sugar coat the fact that their horse or pony is bat shit crazy. Yes, said horse may make a game horse if you can direct that energy in any sort of ....well... direction besides leaping fences and/or twisting in a million different ways above the ground. Add to this one when they say, "just needs lunging". AKA - be prepared to spend 4 hours before you want to get on watching old Rocket go around in a circle. Hard pass for me. Maybe you like the challenge.
Red Flag #3: "Potential jumping prospect"
I'm only teasing a little when I say that this one screams to me "won't stay in any fence you try to corral it in"; unless you're searching on a hunter/jumper pony for sale page of course. If you're searching for a western pleasure horse or something of that nature and they describe it as such....ask questions. (Goes to delete that part of Sundae's ad....)
Red Flag #4: "Can't get current pictures or videos"
Depending on the reasons, it always makes me nervous when people say they can't get current pictures or videos. I get that not everyone has an indoor riding arena so conditions may not be appropriate outside to take riding videos. But I don't think it is too much to ask to get a couple of pictures of the current health state of a horse you are seriously interested in and/or a video of them to check for soundness issues. Especially in this day and age of everyone having a pretty darn nice camera attached to their phone. It takes seconds to take a few pics and send them to someone these days. It's not the 1900's (omg it hurts to even type that) when you would have had to get the camera, load the film, snap the pictures, wait for doubles on Tuesday, send it off, wait for the envelope of pics to come back, only to realize you had your thumb over the lens the entire time. Take the pics. Send the videos or I'm moving on.
Red Flag #5: Lots of previous owners
I'm not sure about all breeds, but POA puts all the previous owners right on the paperwork. If there is a long list of owners on a pony that isn't older than dirt, I get suspicious. We have had one pony where he was a complete gem despite that long list in his short life. The rest of the time it has been a general sign of a pony that didn't work out for pretty much everyone in its lifetime. If a pony is getting passed around, there is usually a pretty darn good reason. Bonus - feel free to contact those previous owners. Some will be brutally honest.
Red Flag #6: Always in a halter
I think every horse person worth a damn knows that ponies shouldn't live in halters. It's extremely dangerous to leave halters on during turnout. Considering that horses seem to be able to hurt themselves in a padded stall, why would anyone tempt fate by turning their horse out in a halter? Horses can literally, not figuratively, break their necks, a leg, you name it. Even IF they don't kill themselves or permanently injure themselves, halters leave rub and wear marks all over your pretty pony's face. The only reason to leave halters on all the time is if said pony is not catchable. There are few things that annoy me more than wasting the little time I have to ride or work with my horses by chasing them down around their pasture or pen. If I see an ad for a horse or pony that always has a halter on... I'm playing like that pony and heading the other direction.
Red Flag #7 Does not post the 5 (or better yet 6) panel status
In this day and age, for the cost, people should know the disease panel status of their horses or ponies. Yes, sometimes you find out things you may not want to know. However, as the saying goes, knowledge is power. Knowing that your horse has a genetic disease allows you feed and maintain that horse properly. If you haven't tested your pony or know the disease panel status based off parentage, people will move on. I'm not about finding out that my horse or pony is HYPP positive when it has an episode, crashes to the ground and lands on a child or breeding two HERDA positive ponies together. Knowledge is power.
What are some of your horse buying red flags? I know I'm forgetting some!
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