I purchased a bred paint mare from Jill Johnston-Yoder (Nov. Of 2006) that I feel was misrepresented. Jill stated the horse was a well-broke riding horse that, "neck-reins, backs up, she will lope little circles, has a really nice slow jog, etc. That anyone that can sit in a saddle can ride." I reasoned she must be reputable as she advertises as selling 4-H and family horses.
Jill delivered this horse to my residence with a swollen leg caused from a terrible hoof crack and infection. (I have her admission of the swollen leg in an email as "swelling up a couple of days before we delivered her") She was totally unrideable and now that the hoof has healed, is still (at best) broodmare sound, but not riding horse sound.
I traced her "travels" back and discovered that Jill purchased her at an auction in Iowa earlier last fall. At this sale she was described in the written sale bill as "broodmare sound only" and sold for $400. Jill inflated both her description and price and sold her to me for $2500 plus $300 to deliver her.
When I contacted Jill for any help in defraying medical expense for the hoof injury, she was totally defiant and uncooperative. She even refused to give me the name of her vet so that I could check for medicine allergies. I had to inject her with massive doses of penecillin (30cc) both morning and night for weeks and keep the hoof totally wrapped and clean at all times. My vet tried to prepare me for the strong possibility that I would have to nurse her through her pregnancy long enough for her to foal and then put her down, should the infection reach the bone.
I attempted to take Jill to court but she succeeded in getting the venue changed and then falsely accused me of threatening phone calls and emails and swayed the judge against me at our status conference (where she appeared in person and I was appeared telephonically). I could see no point in traveling there and proceeding with the trial when the judge was biased.
I see that since my transaction with her she now uses a contract. We had no written contract and I had to request she write me a crude bill of sale to include a live foal guarantee. Also on her web-site she now has added a disclaimer not previously stated before our dealings. She learned a lesson too. Maybe.
I am sure Jill sells a lot of good, accurately represented horses. I wasn't one of the lucky ones. Use caution and don't do as I did and rely solely on her description. And a pre-purchase vet exam would definitely be a good idea.
0 comments