In January I found the J. Walker Ranch website and contacted Ms. Johnson telling her I was starting to look for a beginner/family horse. I visited J. Walker Ranch in Temecula and met with her and her associate on Friday February 16, with my brother and a friend and Saturday with my husband and 3 kids. I talked with other people there that had purchased from her and were temporarily boarding horses with her. They seemed happy with their experience.
Ms. Johnsons place was very clean and horses appeared well cared for. I told Ms. Johnson all about myself and my daughter, that we were completely new to horses (having only a few months of riding lessons), looking for a horse that would be patient and calm while we learned to ride. It needed to be good in the arena, since that is were we would be spending most of our time initially. She said it would be no problem to find such horse. I asked if it was a problem that I lived so far away (near Oregon) and may not be able to check the horse out myself. She said no because she was very good at matching horses with riders and could do that based on what she new about me and my daughter.
Also said she was very good at finding the perfect horse for the new horse owner (as her website claims also). Based on the information I gathered during my visit to J. Walker Ranch and after talking with her, I felt Ms. Johnson was trustworthy.
In March I saw Key Way for sale on the website and inquired in a March 18 email whether he would be suitable for a beginner. She emailed me March 20 and said Key Way is an awesome beginner horse. Very mellow and gentle. My friend was going to be in area in March so I asked her to look at the horse. She and her son rode him (in what I now realize was a very controlled environment where the horses are saddled and lead for you). She and her son liked Key Way, but I was making my decisions based on what Jennifer said about him and his suitability for us. I decided based on what Jennifer said, that I would buy this horse.
I bought him in April 3 and boarded him with Jennifer until April 29 when transport with one of the people she recommended was available. Funny that Key Way was boarded with Ms. Johnson for 26 days of the sales contract 30 day refund period.
From Key Way's arrival here, we (my daughter, my friend mentioned above who also rode him, and myself) struggled with him because he was pushy on the ground and spooky but figured this was the settling in period and things would get better. They did to some degree as we all got to know each other, there was a little less spooking. He is a very affectionate horse, when there's not something scaring him. But it was apparent that it was unsafe for my daughter to lead/handle him because he was too pushy and walked right through her.
And the spooking persisted around a lot of things. The tractor at the boarding stable (which goes by his corral everyday), hay trucks making deliveries, large trucks driving down the road these things happen at least one on a daily basis but usually more and it's difficult to time your activities with Key Way to avoid these things.
We noticed he stumbled with some frequency since the first week he wash here but again, because we were new to horses, we didn't know how much we should be concerned with it. Riding him was a challenge too because of his spooking, and stubborn behavior (he walks you into corners, goes the opposite direction of the way he's asked to go, gets defiant when asked to do something).
We had a trainer working with us all this time and made some headway on some of his riding issues. But the degree and consistency of his spooking, stumbling and pushy behavior became more apparent over time. A few months into it I realized that, contrary to what Ms. Johnson said, this is not a beginner horse. I thought about the option to trade him for another horse, as the sales contract allows for up to a year. But, given how Ms. Johnson had assessed this horse as a beginner horse, I did not have much faith in her abilities to determine the suitability of a horse for us. I hoped that with time and training, things might change. I did not contact her with my problems after July because she seemed disinclined to answer my correspondence.
She failed to answer a July 27 email which contained unanswered questions raised in my June 14 email. She was very good at corresponding when the sale of the horse and saddle were going through, but after that I never heard from her, which I thought was odd because she gave the appearance of caring about clients and her horses.
Continual spooking, tripping and disrespectful behavior, (including 11/07 Key Way fell to his knees during a riding lesson, 1/7/07 he kicked at my head during feeding) led me to the realization that the situation was not improving no matter how much time or training I threw at it and this horse was not going to work out for us. I did not want to trade him for another horse for the reasons mentioned above, so I decided to sell him on my own.
Jan. 8, I emailed Ms. Johnson a very heart felt message letting her know I was planning to sell Key Way and listed all the problems I was having, including the fact that he stumbles and was unsafe. I didn't ask her for anything, just wanted to let her know my plans and how sad I was about the whole thing. But I thought if she cares as much about her horses and her customers as she claims to, she might offer to help me. No such offer.
In her January 8, reply, she basically said sorry things didn't work out and COMPLETLEY avoided commenting on the stumbling. I emailed back Jan 14, specifically questioning his tripping and how I might work that into my sales ad. NO reply.
I did not put Key Way up for sale until February because I was trying to give him another chance (I kept thinking somehow some good might come out of it) but then he charged me during lunging, charged me on the ground and pulled out of my hands and ran off nearly taking out a section of fence and a woman (February 7), and spooked violently under saddle during a lesson (February 8) and I thought that eventually I or someone else was going to get hurt.
I listed him for sale on DreamHorse.com (Feb 7) but didn't feel right about the description. I couldn't say anything about his gaits because I've never been able to get him above a walk. Didn't know what to say about his stumbling, so left that out. I realized that, unfortunately, I needed Ms. Johnsons help to sell him because she's in a much better position to know about him and his strengths and what to do about his weaknesses (as her website claims).
I appealed to her in an email dated February 8, to either buy him back or sell him for me. Nothing came of this appeal because on Feb 13, out of the blue, I was contacted by the last registered owner (Susan in South Carolina) who had seen the DreamHorse.com ad and was curious how Key Way (known as Rebel to her) ended up in California. I told her I bought him from a horse trader in Temecula who buys horses back East.
Susan went on, unprompted, to tell me she was surprised he had been sold to me as a beginners horse because he's so spooky, has dominance issues, is disrespectful on the ground, and STUMBLES. She had gone to great effort (X-Rays, had him flexed) to determine the cause of his stumbling but there was no medical reason found. A final bad stumble and fall that Key Way took while under saddle (resulting with him flat on his back) led Susan to take him to an auction barn in TN in Feb to be sold.
I was knocking myself out with this horse and I find out he has a KNOWN HISTORY of spooking, bad ground manners and especially STUMBLING. I was surprised to learn that Ms. Johnson hadn't bought Key Way from the last registered owner and that Ms. Johnson had NEVER contacted Susan as part of the careful evaluation and screening process she claims she does to ensure excellent health, gentle dispositions. (website quote).
Further, I was very disappointed that my horse was an auction horse, especially because of all the Ms. Johnsons claims of how she takes great pride in hand selecting quality horses from Tennessee, Utah, Kentucky and Alabama (quote from her website).
Had I not attempted to sell Key Way on my own, Susan never would have seen my ad and contacted me and I never would have known the truth about this horse and the dishonestly that surrounded Ms. Johnsons dealings with me.
This new information (i.E. That Key Way had a known history of stumbling, spooking, etc.) led me to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (labbb.org search under J. Walker Ranch) February 14. Ms. Johnson's rebuttal to this complaint was that I had the horse 8 months and I decided I don't have time for a horse and so am trying to pass my problems onto someone else and that I never mentioned the stumbling.
As to the not having time for a horse, she was referring to a line from my 1/8/08 email (mentioned above) where after a lengthy description as to why I have to sell him (including spooking, pushy ground behavior, and STUMBLING, he seems unhappy in the arena), I said that, in addition to these problems him, I find it difficult with 3 kids and that any horse would be difficult. There are a couple reasons why I said this.
At this point I was still thinking that somehow I had failed at horse ownership and thought that any horse would be difficult. But, with the help of Susan's phone call, it became infinitely clear that my problems had nothing to do with me but with the unsuitable horse that Ms. Johnson had sold me.
Also, in my 1//8/08 email I was trying not accuse Ms. Johnson of anything (i.E. Poor horse assessment and matching abilities, selling a horse that stumbles) and I did not elaborate on the any horse point in the email but given my bad experiences with Ms. Johnsons matching ability I did not want her to exchange Key Way for another of her horses, so by any horse I also meant any one of HER horses. My experiences with Key Way alone (not the time commitment) have shattered my confidence with him and with Ms. J's matching abilities.
Further, the 8 months that I have owned Key Way is a testament to my effort to try to make an unsuitable situation work.
I really thought I was buying from someone reputable that I had a relationship with, that was looking out for my and my daughters best interests, that cares about placing her horses in the right situation. I find out, that at least in my case, Ms. Johnson is no better than the unethical horse traders you hear about, the ones that she goes to great length to distinguish herself from and I quote from her website:
What makes us different than the rest? Because we care about our customer's satisfaction; Because we love and care for our horses health and well being; Because we know how important the purchase of a new horse it to you! ; Because of our extensive experience with gaited horses; Because we have a knack for matching horse and rider; Because we are there for you after the sale; Because our customer service is outstanding; Because we are dedicated to our spotless reputation. She knows her horses inside and out... Knows their personalities, gaits, strengths and areas needing improvement.
When you spend 8 - 10 hours a day, 7 days a week with the horses, it is easy to see how and why Jen knows and understands the horses she represents. Others in the business of horse sales will try to tell you that they 'know all about the horses' that they are representing. However, if they aren't spending the time necessary and horses aren't their full time job, do they really know the many horses they have for sale? Are you sure? Hmmmm?
The truth is, Ms. Johnson misrepresented Key Way as a sound beginner horse either by withholding information she had a duty to disclose or by falsely claiming a full knowledge of Key Way. I was sold a horse whose behavior alone does not make him a suitable beginner horse (just 2 days ago Key Way kicked through the corral at my daughter and her friend nearly missing her head - as they sieved hay out of his water barrel) and his stumbling, makes him down right unsafe. The sales contract is not binding due to misrepresentation of facts regarding this horse. A full refund with Ms. Johnson paying transport is the ethical resolution.
Key Way is receiving great care but deserves to be in a home with an experienced rider to guide him, someone who can help him with his stumbling. Surely Ms. Johnson wants the same thing for one of her horses and should do what she can to make that happen.
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