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Gee – I am sorry that happened. I had such high hopes for him.

It it clear that this seller is an idiot as well as a poor rider and trainer. It sounds like she has been coddling this horse. Most horses do better with a bold rider. They WANT to be told what to do. But she let’s him run the show so he does. She may have been trying to hide something. It could be a medical problem or some really bad training. One of those is fixable, and one is not.

I did think that he was under priced. I guess now you know at least partially why.

Oh my I am soo sorry to hear!
I know you were really excited about that. And what a rude lady! I think she was definitely trying to hide something. From what you said it sounds like she was not really that interested in selling him or just really didn’t like you! I would have been really upset too, and yes I think he was drugged.
I’m sorry to hear, and maybe better luck next time!

Oh. My. God.

I am soooooo sorry that this went so sh*tty for you. I really thought he looked like he’d be great.

It’s not your fault at all that he was being all weird, it is purely the owner’s fault. She seriously just did not train him properly AT ALL.

I can’t say whether or not she drugged him, but it sort of seems like she did…and she is obviously a complete freaking moron. Lunging him and getting him hot against your wishes – someone who is interested in buying him? What an idiot! Also, wanting to sell a horse without expecting the potential buyer to test ride him? And being all nervous about it…? What a complete dumb***.

I’m really disappointed that he didn’t turn out well for you. That horse clearly just has not been trained the right way, and she pretty much ruined him. What a shame…

Oh, AND, how could she say that "he needs someone who will be more laid back and only ride for pleasure" – when she has been trying to make it seem like he’ll be a jumper and all this stuff? Ughh…

His next owner will need to be HIGHLY experienced and willing to basically re-train him. What a pain.

There’s another horse out there for you, don’t give up. I know this was a real low-blow, but Wow’s owner is just a…psycho…and a complete liar!

Again, I’m really sorry he didn’t turn out well. I was really hoping he’d be the one :’(

Just put this big step backward behind you, and shake it off. I know it might be hard, but you can do it. You’re tough

Edit — A thumbs down…? Mmmk. ‘Cause that makes sense…

wow, i’m so sorry it went so horribly, i know you really liked that horse. it’s impossible to tell if he was drugged, but i bet a lot of the feet dragging had to do with him being longed so hard. he was probably really tired…which i’m sure was her intention. to tire him out so he could be more mellow. it’s horrible of her to hide all of that from you, what an awful person to be okay with tricking someone. she obviously made most everything up all along. what a bitch.

anyways, we all go through this. i fell in love with this awesome horse, i was about to buy him…when i found out he had laminitis. there went that. then there was an absolutely gorgeous appaloosa who looked incredible and perfect online. got there and he was stubborn as can be. bad ground manners too. he seemed perfect. both situations made me cry. i came home wondering if i would ever find that perfect horse. then i found dallas. he looked quite boring online. i went to see him simply to pity my mom. he turned out to be perfect, you know how good of a match we are. moral of the story, we all go through this. you have to find a few clunkers to get to the great one. this one wasn’t right. someone posted an analogy on here to one of your questions a while back, i can’t remember who. something about "if you miss one bus, another is coming in 30 minutes.". that’s too true. another horse is on its way. don’t get to upset about it. shit happens! it sucks, but we learn from everything.

i’m really sorry this didn’t turn out, but keep your hopes up. don’t give up on your search, you’ll find another, better horse.

hope you’re okay from your fall

I definitely think she could have drugged him to hide the bucking. That explains why she lunged him too.

Maybe the last time a foreign rider (her daughter) tried to canter him he bucked like that, so that’s why she lunged him and possibly drugged him.

Try not to take this situation personally. Your search can only get better now.

Sorry that you are disappointed but really that woman was totally out of order and obviously had a lot to hide that she should lunge the horse into the ground before you arrived.

My suspicions are: this horse is too young – hence the mouthiness.
is not good to catch.
has dodgy hooves.
Is not good to tack up or you should have been allowed to tack him up yourself.
Either has a back problem or a behavioural problem, bucking.
Is very unbalanced hence the cantering problems. Which is not too surprising if he is a baby.
This woman is very, very dishonest.

You have had a lucky escape (apart from the bruising) as if you had bought this horse you might have found worse about him.

I hope you find a more suitable horse.

Ugh, that’s awful I think it sounds as if she told you he was a lot more than he was.

If his legs were dragging that might be a sign of EPM, not necessarily being drugged.

I’ve seen him in several videos looking like crap with a crappy rider. What kind of idiot only asks for the canter in the two point? That is screaming "back pain", which would also explain the bucking.

He doesn’t need a laid back rider, he needs a rider that is going to discipline him and kick his butt. He was having a temper tantrum because OMG you were asking him to work.

This tells me two things. One, he very likely has something like EPM or he has a REALLY bad temperament. Two, he has really, really crappy training that he won’t be able to overcome without some serious training – if ever.

There is a gorgeous horse where I board my yearling. He’s got great gaits when he feels like it but he’s temperamental. He’s been allowed to get away with murder since he was a yearling so he requires a professional rider and may never sell because of his bad personality.

I’m sorry it was a bust, what about the other horses you were looking into?

It sounds like he’s had extremelly inconsistant training. I bet with work he’d be a fine horse, but it would take a lot of work. That’s such a bummer. I bet the owner doesn’t even know how to train, but assumed she could do it. And then assumed she did it right, although she obviously didn’t.

This is what my friend’s mom always tells me: "There are many more fish in the sea. But forget about the fish and find your whale."

I hope you find your whale

Meagan, I’m so sorry! I know you were excited about him! I thought he was cute. He’s still green but I knew you could handle him. I could tell how badly you wanted it to work out.

It sounds to me like he was drugged. When they give them sedatives, the horse’s feet draggging, is not uncommon. And he seems very stubborn. I think she was also trying to hide something. She said no one else rode him, but there was a picture of her daughter, and when you asked to ride, she got nervous. And she always asks for canter in two point? Something isn’t right here. i suspect poor training. Of course the horse will be more used to her riding him, but that still doesn’t explain why he bucked you off. When I go to buy a horse, I want to see the owner ride, and then I want them to ask me if I want to ride! I shouldn’t have to ask. It should be assumed that the person buying the horse to ride, is going to want to ride the horse before they bought it. She knew you were doing cross country so she isn’t trying to sell him as a pleasure horse. I think shes just trying to sell him period. And she doesn’t care to who, or how she sells him, she just wants him gone. But no one will take him behaving like that, which explains why she didn’t offer for you to ride.

So I think she drugged him, because she had something to hide. And people like that, don’t need to be owning or selling horses.

Again, I’m terribly sorry. I really thought this one was going to work out for you.

Just remember, one door closes, another one opens. So hopefully, that means you’ve got another beautiful, loving, caring, gentle, amazing, talented horse, waiting for you to find them!

Keep looking! You’ll find one!

Thanks for keeping us informed!

Hope I helped! Best of luck!
~Hannah

EDIT — I forgot to mention the lunging! what an idiot! If she did that AGAINST your wishes, obviously something was up. She probably did it to wear him out because maybe he does have a serious bucking problem. If he did it after lunging, hes bound to do it without lunging. That right there shows that she doesn’t care about your wishes, she just wants to sell the horse. This lady was trying to make this horse look like an awesome horse, then you would’ve bought him and spent all that money, and he would be horrible, and she would be happy. What a b****! I guess its a good thing the whole plan backfired or you may have been stuck with a very unpleasant horse! I feel bad for Wow. He’s stuck with this psycho!

Glad you weren’t badly hurt. He sounds like he’s a bit spoiled, and the fact that she longed him so much BEFORE you got there is a huge red flag. Using the dressage whip should not elicit a big buck, if it’s been used on him properly in the past. Don’t feel so bad, you’ll find a good, athletic, forward horse for your eventing career. I’m not a big warmblood fan, myself. Just my opinion and personal taste.

Just chalk it up to experience and don’t waste another moment of your time feeling bad about it.

That REALLY sucks. He looked perfect in the videos… I was looking forward to you updating us very triumphantly that you’ve brought him home.

I think that by lunging him a ton before anyone got on him, before you even got there, she was trying to get the bucks and sh*t out of him before he could act up with a rider.
By him dragging his feet, I think you’re right. They tried drugging him.

A bold rider won’t have a horse that likes to be lazy ditched like that. He’s a naughty horse that needs a trainer.
I’m a bold rider and my horse is lazy and all he does is make me work to make him work.

I hope you can feel better about this soon and find a NICE horse that won’t try to kill you when you try him out.

I wondered how it went… I’m sorry it went so badly, and I hope you have plenty of good pain killers for tomorrow morning, because I find that the next morning after a fall is always the most painful. And if the helmet hit, you need to replace it. But if it’s cracked internally, it won’t do it’s job right next time.

I must say. I moved to Kentucky, from Arizona. From extremely dry, to fairly wet and humid. Neither of the two horses that I brought have had any feet problems at all. No odd peeling, or
anything. Both are, and have been barefoot. So…how could what, it’s really wet in Oregon, to a little less wet kill his hooves?

Oh, im so sorry to hear that Meagan! I know how much you were looking forwards to this and how sad you must be! The only thing i can say is keep looking. Maybe go take a look at that other TB you had in mind that your instructor liked. Or perhaps you can try this horse again when he isnt lunged. Maybe the reason he wouldnt canter is because he was so tired! Otherwise just log back onto to equine.com and keep looking. Im sorry but thats how life is, even though it sucks. Good luck!

danget! i was hoping to hear about this. next time when you go to check out the horse, look for a red speck along his neck, to see if the drugged him. thats ussually where they insert it. also yes i think he was drugged. im sorry… there are plenty of horses out there, just continue your search!

good luck next time!

Oh no, and now you’ll have to face a possible "I told you so" from your trainer!

If he was that bad, I doubt he was drugged. He’s probably just a natural hoof dragger. Sounds like a very strange situation, though. Why wouldn’t she expect that you’d want to ride him? Why would she say he needs a laid back rider to ride for pleasure when you’d obviously told her you wanted to event? Can you imagine how badly this horse would take advantage of a more timid rider?

I think the only thing she was trying to hide is that the horse is difficult to ride and she’s a little scared of him. I think it’s a case of an owner with not enough skills/experience having a horse that’s too much for her. I think she realizes this, and that’s why he’s for sale.

I’m sorry it turned out so badly, but at least you found out before buying him or even having him vetted. Back to your search…

It happens unfortunately, it can take a looong time to find the right horse. But it’s well worth the wait when you find the right one.

I think they were definitely hiding something. It sounds like he probably isn’t trained correctly anyway. I two point to make him canter? Bull crap, you did that in a dressage test you’d get no better than a 4 on your transition.

Sure it was a disappointment. But now you know he wasn’t right and you won’t have to wonder, should I have just gone and seen him?

So sorry this went badly. I know how much you were hoping he would be the one. Truly it sounds like the owner was hiding something, and did something (possible drugging) to try to keep it from being noticed. It also really sounds like this horse was improperly trained. If you weren’t even able to get a canter out of him after FOUR times around, it really sounds like training issues. Even my 3 year old went through a phase like that, she would trot about 3 times around before cantering, but that was from inexperience of the horse – we were able to fix it in about a week and a half. If the owner know that was going to happen, she should have said something. So I think that the owner of this horse maybe just doesn’t know what she’s doing, ultimately screwing up the horse. It also sounds like this horse might be in some sort of pain, based on him not wanting to stay in the trot and the bucking.

At least you tried, and sometimes it just doesn’t work. Maybe you should try that horse your trainer liked. I also recommend trying more horses that are closer to where you live. Try horses that your trainer knows, or horses that are trained/owned by people you know or your trainer knows. One thing that can be tricky about buying a horse is not knowing the full story of the horse, since the owner might conceal important information. So knowing ahead of time the reputation of the owner or trainer, seeing or knowing of other horses from them can help a lot. Then you won’t feel so blind to what you’re going to, hopefully keeping you from wasting time. Sorry everything was so crappy, but keep looking, and don’t get discouraged!

Sorry that it didn’t work out. This is why we wear helmets

I’ve just been trying out horses as well, and had a couple that weren’t great, but nothing that bad. I found that after a few disappointments, you really have to detach yourself from the horse you’re trying out. You got really attached to this horse before you knew how it would go, and then you wind up getting let down.

The tail wringing under saddle really worried me, you can see it in the videos she posted before. Something going on there. Especially because she did all that stuff against your wishes, and didn’t expect you to ride.

Red flags for me:

-lunging before you got there
-not cantering him much herself (probably not HER back, but the fact that he didn’t want to do it)
-dragging feet (I’m guessing either drug related, or he has a lameness issue)
-needs shoes (again, makes me wonder what’s going on with him)
-mouthy, and lots of other issues related to bad training.

It just wasn’t meant to be, you’ll find something else. New horses are always coming up for sale, just keep your eyes open.

Good luck, keep updating us