I had a great summer with Odie. He really is a terrific horse and a really quiet and willing 3 year old. Odie competed in two team penning events, went on several trail rides and even went swimming! He never put a foot wrong and was always willing to try whatever was asked of him.
Unfortuntely, in May, I found out that Odie is a bilateral cryptorchid. That means that even though he was sold to me as a gelding and appeared to be a gelding, he was actually a stallion who had undecended testicles. This is a problem that can be rectified with surgery, but a very costly surgery with a 6 month recovery time. It really was not something that I could afford to take on and it really limited my options on where he could live.
I contacted his previous owners who own a horse business and breed horses, hoping that they would work something out with me, or take him back for the same money that I paid for him. The conversations did NOT go well, to say the very least. After talking to Greg and a few other professionals, I found myself submitting paperwork for a small claims trial.
The situation was quite tense and I was really nervous about going to court. Overall, it went really well. In the court, I told my story, submitted verterinary paperwork, bills and the original bill of sale. The previous owners spoke a lot about his registration papers (really a moot point since registration papers can be filled out by anyone, education and horse knowledge not required) and the fact that they didn't know he was a cryptorchid.
In the end, I won the case. The previous owners had to reimburse me for the cost of the horse, the vet bills and the court fees. They also had to take Odie back, which was the hardest part.
You are greatly missed Odie. I hope you are showing someone else what a great little horse you are!
I am really sad and sorry about this. He seemed like such a great little horse. I wish the judge had made them pay for the surgery, so you could have kept him.
ReplyDelete