In February Katina Morrow aka Katina Johnson advertised a horse on DreamHorse.com for $1500.00. She is located on Riley Road in Celina Ohio, but has been in Illinois as well. Much to my regret, I bought it, and it manifested tripping problems and lameness immediately afterwards and I could not ride the animal for as long as 10 minutes without tripping, stumbling and front lameness. Her health problems turned out to be collapsed cartilege in her front pastern, recurring abcesses from her hooves, EPM, as well as excessive urination, and low kidney function. The horse was 5 1/2 years old. Why would a relatively young horse have collapsed cartilege in her front pastern?! Katina's statement regarding the horse stated that she had it since it was a baby, as offspring from her black stud on the premises. Right after purchase, I emailed her to ask her if she ever noticed problems with tripping and lameness on the horse and I wanted my money back and to return the horse. Her emails, which are a matter of record on file, stated that she could not refund my money, as she was building a "barn" and she already put that money into her barn building, but she could help me re-sell it. Which I could, quite frankly, do for myself. Her email responses to the health questions about the horse were one liners "She was fine when she left here".
Three veterinarians examined the horse I bought, with the conclusion that the conditions had been progressing long before my purchase, and the horse had to have expensive EPM meds, as well as pain management for her pastern, with her only positive long term resolving treatment being an expensive surgery called "Arthrodesis of the Pastern" at Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital to fuse her joint together. We liked the horse, but ultimately had to give it away for nothing after spending lots of money on trying to maintain its health.
In summary, I would recommend passing this seller by. There are other opportunities to purchase fine animals from genuinely good people elsewhere. It is likely that she uses various medications to mask a horse's symptoms at the time of viewing and sale. The living conditions of the horses are not favorable with no shelther and can be harsh in extreme heat, ice and wind/thunderstorms with no natural tree line or anything to seek refuge... Just wide open space. They had been outside with no shelter, in outdoor tube gate type stalls in ice and mud. There was no place to store hay, which would make one wonder, where in fact was hay stored? One of the livestock trailers where they hauled exotic animals for their exotic animal business?
I looked at the horse in February when snow and ice were on the grass. Looking back, I could not really get a good feel for the horse, (I would do things differently now!) as I could only walk it due to weather conditions, and they limited the area I could ride to snow drifts, as ice was on other parts of the property. She was telling me at the time that she had upwards of "twenty or more people interested in that horse, and that there was no guarantee it would be there tomorrow".
The update on this situation, is that her "barn" is fairly small. Possibly only large enough to put feed/hay in, and maybe a couple horses. She cannot provide adequate shelter to the number of horses she has on her property.
It is also a matter of record and fact that she looks for horses advertised "free". It is likely that she then fluffs her ads and sells them for more than they are worth. She uses dream horse, horsetopia, etc to list her horses. Watch out.
I noticed other usacomplaints.com on her, which show a clear pattern of incidents, not to mention the verbal reports on her over time, and I am sure there are many many more... I saw a rebuttal to a complaint on her from a "Kelly" supporting Katina, which was most likey Kathina herself, as the level of intellect and language patterns used in the rebuttal seemed to parallel how she talks and how she words her ads... Very poorly. As if her repeating banner of " Horses are fat, feet are trimmed every six weeks and up to date on coggins" is sufficient to label her reputable! Horse care goes well beyond those basics, gee whiz...! My favorite is as she comically stated in the Illinois rebuttal... And this happened in 2003 and "your" (wrong usage) just now bringing this up...? Hmmm says a lot about you."
This is generally the best she can muster, as her ineptness speaks for itself after you give her an opportunity to open her mouth or watch her responses. They have a clearly negative reputation in Mercer County Ohio, and we were warned about her, unfortunately after we bought the horse... Time passage does not erase a wrong act committed against people. Yes, it does say a lot about us people that she scammed. It says we do NOT forget, and what happened HAPPENED. Everything is a matter of record and her silly comebacks are no match for evidence. And I have every email in a file, with that horse's xrays and medical records, vet assessments, and each and every piece of paper and communication from her that proves it. Some people like myself, never thought of usacomplaints.com, until recently to use as a source of warning to others against this person. She will eventually shoot her own foot off. Her dealings can be monitored, and enough people coming forward will be a good foundation for a class action if warranted. Actions speak louder than words, Katina. Each year that ticks by does not erase what you've done to people and animals.
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