Well - all I can say is buyer beware. I bought a pretty little mare with a fantastic pedigree. This little mare was far away from me so I did not get an opportunity to see her "in person". I was told that she was thin - no problem - at my farm nobody stays thin for long!!!!! She had her first foal this spring and some mares do have a problem with keeping weight on during pregnancy and then afterwards when they are nursing their foal. Actually I bought 3 horses from this same place and one of them was a thin 2 year old that was not to the point of being emaciated - but could have been on her way there. Well - the horses were picked up by another mini person - her husband actually - and started on the long journey to our home. When the husband arrived at his farm that afternoon - his wife was horrified when she saw the horses and contacted me right away. She told me that if she had been on the truck that day - the one mare for sure - would never have been loaded in to the trailer. Now keep in mind - these horses had almost 2000 miles to travel. Well, now the horses were at another breeders farm and were heading out on an 8 or 10 hour journey the next day. Thank heavens that these horses were being transported by other mini breeders and not a commercial transport company. We did not know whether the one mare would even make the trip - she was in such poor shape. But I was not going to send the horses back - and you will see why. I am only going to post pictures of the one horses - that was in deplorable condition - she was actually emaciated. So the first picture is of the horse I thought I was buying and the others are of the poor little horse that got on to a trailer - and is now safely in her new home and doing well.
I was horrified when I saw this mare - and the last two photos don't even show just terrible she really looked. Not only is she in serious body condition - but her feet were horrendous - she had not been brushed for a long time - she had not had a bridle path clipped for at least a year - I could go on and on. As soon as I got her home - I took her to our veterinarian. Needless to say our vet was shocked at her condition - and she had been on good food for a week by that point in time. Our vet ran some blood tests and she was bordering on being anemic and the one really disturbing result from the blood work indicated that she was breaking down muscle - which is what happens when the body has used up all of its fat - and the body is just trying to stay alive.
We weighted her at the vet - she weighed 161 pounds - around 75 to 100 pounds under weight.
The good news is - she is eating well and doing well - so we know that she is well on her way to recovery. Oh - one other thing - she was running with a stallion - so my vet did an ultrasound and thank heavens she is not pregnant. So everything that she is eating is going to her - which will make recovery much quicker.
Now - would you be upset it you had this poor little thing arrive at your farm?
I was horrified when I saw this mare - and the last two photos don't even show just terrible she really looked. Not only is she in serious body condition - but her feet were horrendous - she had not been brushed for a long time - she had not had a bridle path clipped for at least a year - I could go on and on. As soon as I got her home - I took her to our veterinarian. Needless to say our vet was shocked at her condition - and she had been on good food for a week by that point in time. Our vet ran some blood tests and she was bordering on being anemic and the one really disturbing result from the blood work indicated that she was breaking down muscle - which is what happens when the body has used up all of its fat - and the body is just trying to stay alive.
We weighted her at the vet - she weighed 161 pounds - around 75 to 100 pounds under weight.
The good news is - she is eating well and doing well - so we know that she is well on her way to recovery. Oh - one other thing - she was running with a stallion - so my vet did an ultrasound and thank heavens she is not pregnant. So everything that she is eating is going to her - which will make recovery much quicker.
Now - would you be upset it you had this poor little thing arrive at your farm?