In September I bought a horse from Kathryn and Mike Smith who had advertised a horse on equine.com as a perfect trail horse for a child or beginner. This horse was supposedly born and raised on their farm 8 years ago. The horse had been their daughter's horse. When the horse was delivered, she was thin, sick with strangles and had an unreadable photocopy of a fraudulent coggins test. The horse had very little training—no brakes whatsoever and appeared to have never been trail riding.
I have since discovered that the Smiths have been advertising perfect children's and beginner's horses on the internet since at least 2002. They go under many different names, farm names, phone numbers, and town names in western NC. These horses are bought from auctions at $200-$400 and resold a few weeks later at $$3500. When the horses are delivered to the customers, the horses may be thin or emaciated, sick, much older or younger than advertised, not docile or as trained (trail horse) as advertised.
Some of the farm names used were HV Cutting Horses, 7 Eagles Performance Horses, Wildwood Cove Contractors, Wilderness Mtn Timber Company, Dixie Horseman Transport, Dragon Myst Stables, Daisy Lane Stables, Daisy Stable, Blue Ridge Outfitters, Blue Ridge Riders, Celtic Crest Farm, Shire Farms and just plain Trail Horses.
Some of the towns names used in western NC were Cherryville, Vale, Crouse, Spruce Pine, Hickory, Knob Creek, Northbrook, Valdese, Shelby, Connelly Springs, Kings Mountain, South Mountain, Lincolnton, Charlotte, Johnstown, Laurel Grove, and Burnsville.
At times they have had multiple horse listings weekly on such sites as equine.com. The horse for sale websites say that it is hard to stop them from making a listing because they use different names and credit card numbers. They have had lawsuits filed against them in the past, but it doesn't stop them from selling these untrained horses for children. They have had a house foreclosed upon and they have both attemped to file bankruptcies and been turned down. Kathryn is currently being sued for fraud by her bankruptcy lawyer.
When dealing with these horse traders, be very careful. They are true con artists, with very smooth lines.
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