We purchased a registered quarter horse at the National Western Stock Show in 2011 that was consigned by Amy's late fiancee, Tom Brannon. The horse was described ast "extremely gentle... Very smooth to ride and always stays gentle... 100% sound." The auction guide also stated that the horse had been ridden by Tom's 9 year old neighbor. Amy Heitland was listed as the contact for questionsl. When we picked up the horse, we discovered that he had been handled with a twitch and was a basket of nerves. We emailed Amy repeatedly and tracked her down on the internet, but she refused to respond, even months later after Tom passed away. All we wanted were answers about the horse's training. We weren't asking for our money back.
At the 2012 Stock Show, we tracked Amy down and introduced ourselves. At first she was friendly until we asked why she wouldn't return our emails and how she and Tom could list the horse we bought as calm when he obviously had been handled with a twitch and beaten from the saddle. The friendliness vanished. Amy said that she relies on prior owners' claims about the horses she consigns and that she has no way to verify their demeanor for herself. When I told her that the registration certificate showed Devon Heitland in Sheffield as the previous owner, she stomped off and refused to talk further. Busted!
We stayed for the Rocky Mountain Quarterhorse auction later that evening, and watched Amy and her helper try for 30 minutes or so to calm down a horse they had difficulty saddling. It was the last horse sold, and we almost fell off our seats when the announcer stated that this was the perfect horse for a leisurely picnic ride. (I suppose that's if you can saddle it and get on.)
Horsetraders like Amy should be stopped before someone gets hurt.
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