Excerpt
Excerpt from p. 175: Important Questions If you do reach the owner, the first thing to do is verify the information you saw in the ad. If it described the bucksin as a five-year-old gelding, make sure that's the horse you and the owner are both talking about. Ask all the questions on your list. One of the most important is, "Why are you selling this horse?" This question is particularly pertinent if you know the owner is a small breeder, because most breeders want their horses off their account books and out of their paddocks as soon as possible. Realistically, that means by the time the horse is three. Why has the gelding been hanging around for two additional years? Listen closely to the answer--is it believable? To me, an answer like "My daughter rode this horse but she's getting married and moving out of state," sounds believable. An answer like, "He did a lot of winning for us but now it's time for him to move on," does not. Why is it time to move on? Did the horse hurt himself? Did the horse hurt his rider? Some shoppers like to ask this question twice: once on the phone, and a second time when they ride the horse and their riding instructor or trainer is standing there listening.