Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Why can't I let it go?

Everyday I find myself thinking about the little black mare of Randy's in Riverton that ended up going blind in one eye due to the alleged Pink Eye.

The fact that none of my horses have ever got sick with it, tells me that it isn't my fault, but I can't stop thinking about that mare and about what Randy said to me the last time we talked about it.

He had originally planned on putting her down, but when she started to recover in all other areas he decided against that.  He said that he has about a thousand dollars worth of training into her and had planned on selling her all along, but now with only one eye she isn't worth anything. (All horses are worth something!)  His plan now is to take her to the sale barn and let the slaughter house buyer have her. 

I couldn't believe this!!!!  Why would he do that?  She is still a perfectly good horse!  Why wouldn't he just continue to work with her, to get her adjusted to the handicap and then sell her.  She may have to go for less money than he planned but he could still get more out of her than slaughter price. 

I haven't spoken to him about it since he told me that.  I can't.  I don't trust myself.  I know I will end up offering to buy her from him just to keep this from happening.  In Wyoming you are only allowed one horse per acre.  I have 3 acres and 4 horses.  I could get in trouble for bringing her home. I doubt too many people would complain, as I take care of my horses and maintain their living areas, but I can't really afford to feed another one.  I believe that I could find her a good home, but what if I can't?
Then there is that other issue.....the bots and the parasites.  His horses are loaded with bots and I am working diligently to get rid of the infestation that I now have thanks to his horses.  If I bring her to my house I will have to start all over again.  I can keep her quarantined which would help, and winter is coming which will really help, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But still, can I afford another....not really.

Then there is the reality that he could just be saying this to get me to buy the mare from him (because he knows how I am) so that he doesn't have to put any work into finding her a good home. Heck, for all I know, his vet never told him this was contagious, or that they got it from my horse.  Maybe that is why he doesn't want me to call his vet and talk to him about what they were tested for.  I am a trusting person, but even I am smart enough to realize that it is possible he is trying to play me.  Although when I offered to help pay some of his vet bill he refused, so.......I don't know.

Maybe the right answer ( to help me feel okay with "my part") is to offer to help him sell her. When he has a horse for sale he does not advertise, he only uses word of mouth.  If he got me some good pictures I could use my accounts on horseclicks, and equinenow, and perhaps help find her a home.  The problem there is that I don't totally trust what he has to say about his horses.  He told me that Bricks was kid safe, and she was far from it.  Sassy isn't even broke and she is more kid safe than Brickster was.  So if he gives me false information and I post it on my page, well then what.  Someone goes and buys her under false assumptions.  Not only could someone get hurt, (which would be terrible) but it could ruin my ratings as a seller on those sites.  I work hard to maintain that.  Not that I sell alot of horses, but I believe in selling honestly.   I do help others sell their horses on my page.  But only people I trust.  I don't know if I can trust him.

So maybe the right thing for me to do is accept that I cannot save every horse.  I saved Danny, and put a lot of money into doing that. I saved Trax, because he was considered to be a problem horse, that not many could work with. 

I am trying hard to just let this go.....but I don't really know what the "right" thing is this time.

2 comments:

  1. I'd be thinking the same things if I were you. I've had a few horses offered to me recently that I really had to think hard about. I finally decided to say no to any horse that I wasn't sure was going to be a keeper. I hate having to sell them, and not knowing where they're going. And it's not fair to the ones I already have, to take on the time investment necessary for training a new horse. I only have so much energy.

    But, that said, I don't think there's any reason to reject a horse for being blind in one eye. I'm sure all cases aren't the same but my Scout does fine with his limited vision in one eye.

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