Scammed in the Saddle: A Horse Trader's Lies - Part 1

This episode dives into the emotional manipulation and shady tactics of a horse trader who knew exactly how to hit where it hurt. My client thought she was buying a sweet, solid horse, but with a promise of a certain age and temperament. What she got was a horse with serious behavioral issues, a completely different age, and a seller who tugged at her heartstrings by using the name of a beloved horse she had recently lost. The worst part? It was never about the horse. It was about taking the money and getting her “horse off my property.” This is Part 1 of a two-part series exposing how easily people can be taken advantage of in the horse world.

This program may include real names, places, and events when shared with consent, as well as stories that have been anonymized or fictionalized to protect the identity and safety of individuals. The content of this podcast is intended for entertainment and informational purposes only. Views expressed by the host and guests are personal opinions and conjecture and should not be interpreted as fact or as professional advice. While some episodes may include educational insights or expert commentary, listeners are encouraged to use their own judgment and consult appropriate professionals when needed.

Got a wild horse, dog, or cat story of what not to do? Breeding gone wrong? Buyer beware? A riding mishap with a lesson? I want to hear it! If you’re in the holistic or horse world and want to share your story—or even promote your biz—head to RoslynThePetPsychic.com and text or email me. You might be featured on the podcast.

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Transcript

Roslyn (00:00)
Welcome to Roslyn the Pet Psychic's podcast, the show where animal intuition meets untold stories. I'm Roslyn, your host and pet psychic. Each week we dive into the unbelievable, the heartwarming and sometimes the downright haunting tales from the animal world told by the people who live them, whether it's a horse who knew too much and spilled the tea, a trainer who crossed the line or a pet with a message from beyond.

We're here to explore the deeper truths behind the stories that leave us wondering, what do our animals know that we don't?

This program may include real names, places and events when shared with consent, as well as stories that have been anonymized or fictionalized to protect the identity and safety of individuals. The content of this podcast is intended for entertainment and informational purposes only.

Views expressed by the host and guest are personal opinions and conjecture and should not be interpreted as fact or as professional advice. With some episodes may include educational insights or expert commentary, listeners are encouraged to use their own judgment and consult appropriate professionals when needed. Got a wild horse, dog or cat story Breeding gone wrong? Buyer beware? A riding mishap with a lesson?

I want to hear it. If you're in the holistic or horse world and want to share your story or even promote your biz, head to RoslynThePetPsychic.com and text or email me. You might be featured on the podcast.

Roslyn (01:30)
Hi guys, welcome to horse stories and psychic endings. So I have my guest here today and we have a doozy for you. This horse person experienced what so many of us have experienced and she's going to educate us on what happened and backstory of dealing with a horse trader that did not give her what she asked for or thought she was purchasing. And I just want y'all to

A (01:42)
Okay.

Roslyn (01:56)
ride this ride with us and learn from this experience where we're not vets, we're not claiming anything,

I'm a psychic, so I'm just giving my readings off of these horses and I just want you to enjoy the story. So welcome, miss. You're welcome. Welcome into, I want to keep a lot of us anonymous because this situation has not gone as expected. These people have, well, you know, my guest is just going to tell you how these people are.

A (02:10)
Thank you.

Roslyn (02:24)
what were you looking for? Like what made you decide to get a horse? Like how did this start?

A (02:28)
Well, it was actually a very difficult time. I had unfortunately had a bad experience with my heart horse. We had noticed he had been having a lot of health issues and behavioral changes for about six months, and then he ended up unexpectedly passing. So when that happened, it was just heartbreaking, and I felt the need to immediately

start looking for a new friend. know that all horses, we all know that, you you cannot find another heart horse, but it just felt to me what I needed to heal. So I started my search pretty quickly. I would say within 30 days or so of my horse's passing So yeah, and that's why I started.

looking and I was very open about it and I stayed local. I stayed local.

Roslyn (03:18)
How did you find this horse trader?

A (03:21)
Yes, so she actually had sent me a friend request on social media months prior. I did not know this person and it's the first thing that I would like to just let everyone know. There is a lot of truth in friending people you don't know on Facebook and seeing that this person was local, I felt comfortable because of mutual friends. So I went with it and I actually had watched.

This person, you know, sell horses. I loved watching the videos. I liked watching how each horse rode, the descriptions. And I thought to myself, you know, if one day I ever needed a horse, maybe that would be a place I could look.

Roslyn (03:58)
very good. What made her seem trustworthy?

A (04:01)
didn't really know her until after Royal died. I ended up sending her a message and said, know, I'm looking for, you know, a gelding, younger, I'm looking to help me heal and find a barrel horse. Royal was in his own right, a barrel horse. I would say, you know,

We had fun with it. I'm not a competition rider by any means, but he gave me so much confidence in my heart and I needed to find that again. She said that she didn't have any gray geldings at the time, but to come on out to the farm and check out some of the horses that were there. I decided that that was an okay thing. You have to start somewhere. So I did. And when I first met her, I felt very trusting of her. I'm a trusting person. I always like to put

my best foot forward for people and I always in my mind think the same of others. I got nothing but just a lot of support from her. So at first I didn't really see anything wrong but just someone trying to help me. It wasn't until into our conversation into looking at some of the horses I started seeing some red flags.

Roslyn (05:11)
that's great. Because that was my next question. What were the red flags? Did you know? Did you know in the beginning? Like, did you know that that was a red flag or were you or did you feel like some of those were hindsight?

A (05:16)
Sure.

This is something I also want other people to recognize. It felt like a car sale gone wrong. It felt like I had, it went from super friendly and nice to someone trying to sell me a car and making it like sound like the best car you've ever driven, but it's like a 1989 something with a hundred thousand miles. know, and the horse that she brought out, you know, and no disrespect to the horse.

But for example, this was an older horse. They did ride this horse. And she said that it could take me anywhere that I wanted. It would go as fast as I wanted to go. This horse, you can't go wrong. It's gonna take me places. And I thought to myself, looking at the confirmation of the horse and how it moved, its body, you know, it just didn't look healthy.

For its age, I can see that, but it was an overall. And I'm thinking to myself, how is that horse gonna take me wherever I wanna go? But you don't know people real well and you just kinda, you listen to what they have to say. And then you kinda make as a customer your own undivided opinions. And you don't always buy a car right off the bat. So I was willing to listen and learn, but that felt odd to me.

Roslyn (06:40)
Was that the horse that you purchased or was that the first time you went in?

A (06:43)
No,

no, In fact, we decided after seeing several horses that we weren't finding anything we liked and there were other horses that were not even desensitized around people. I was shocked. The one horse that I thought was beautiful when I went to go walk up to it, it actually backed away from me. And I thought that that was odd. And it was a horse that I had seen riding.

in a video that looked very well broke, and then to walk into the stall with it, it was a completely different story. So I thought that that was very odd. And I was told simply when I inquired about it that this horse was a ranch horse, it knows nothing but work, it is what it is. Like it's just, it does not know love from people, it just knows work. And I'm like, okay. Like, you know, again, I'm just taking their word for it and making my own.

informed opinions about what I'm seeing. But no, I did not purchase a horse that day.

Roslyn (07:36)
It sounds like you went to see them and you met different horses and all of the horses you saw and the experiences you had read flags and could almost question what they were saying compared to what you were seeing.

A (07:48)
They were vague. They weren't so clear cut that I was like, that's really not good. But it just, made me just think further about if that was the choice I wanted to make. And they didn't have the horse I wanted. So I wasn't super concerned. We got in the truck. That was really nice of them to show us all the horses. They spent their morning with us. I'm talking to my husband like, you they didn't have to do that. Like that was really nice, you know? And he's like, yeah, it was.

I felt like it was a good step forward for us for the day. Well, the story will continue.

Roslyn (08:20)
Let's

hear the story then what happened?

A (08:22)
Okay, so it was two days later, I received a message from one of the traders who was very excited and said, I just have to share with you, my friend has a gray gelding, five years old, I grew up with, or not grew up, let me reframe, I know this.

person selling this horse on consignment. And I think it would be the perfect fit for you. think with having lost Royal, this is exactly what you're looking for. And I was just like, wow, this is great. Let me send him up here. I will get him on a trailer. If you wanna meet him, he'll be here. At that point, it would have been like within 30 hours, like really quick. And I'm like, well,

That was a, and everyone that's, I want everyone to know that's a red flag. That was a red flag because I asked, you know, how much is that going to cost? Like I wasn't ready to commit to paying a couple hundred dollars to have a horse brought up from somewhere, which was North Carolina, quote unquote. So, you know, she said, don't worry about it, girl. I pay haulers to do that.

You'll have them here Wednesday morning. This was Monday night at 10 o'clock, nine, 10 o'clock.

Roslyn (09:31)
Did this feel like she was trying to get you to commit to purchasing this horse before you ever saw it?

A (09:36)
It did. Thank you for bringing that up because there was a sense of commitment to me that I wasn't sure I was ready for. But if you have someone willing to just, you know, ship a horse for you, that sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? You know, and if it was, you know, the right horse for me, then how many horses in my area am I going to find that fit the exact mold of what I want?

a gray gelding, you know, five years old, you know, maybe it was meant to be. This is the thoughts that I'm thinking in my head, you know. So I went for it. I went for it. said, sure, go ahead and send him up. I'd be happy to meet him.

Roslyn (10:10)
So when you said that, so it sounds good and I have to say this for the other people that are listening, it sounds great, but it also sounds like you have to get some more clarification and what I would say is you can send it up. I would love to look at it. I'm not committing to anything or any payments of this transaction or this, you sending it or transportation. You're doing this on your own free will.

A (10:16)
Sure, it does.

Correct.

Correct.

Correct. And I think people need to be, I think people get, I was, I almost felt, what's the word? I was not forced because I agreed, but it was just so easy. And then all of sudden I have this 1200 pound animal horse that's being sent from somewhere I don't know that someone's doing for me. And then it's gonna be here in like a day and a half.

and I've never met it, what is the seller's or the trader's obligation? Like are they gonna, you if I say no, like how does that go? So it's very important that if you ever feel pushed to buy a horse in any situation that you are clear. The one thing that I missed as, you know, a customer is I asked for more photos of my horse before they sent him up. I said,

Do you have any more photos? Do you have any more videos? She sent me one photo and one 12 second video of my horse Prince cantering. And she said, no, no more pictures of him. But don't worry girl, he'll be here and he'll be here Wednesday morning. He'll be here soon enough, don't worry. And I'm like, again, on my fault, I said, okay.

And that was so wrong because everyone listening, if you are buying a horse and this horse is a good horse that you want, that you're putting your hard earned dollars into, no one is just going to say, sorry, there's no more pictures or videos for you, but you can just come see him. There should have been a plethora of information on that animal. But I already felt kind of like committed because she was gonna send the horse up. So.

What do you do? So you just kind of like, felt kind of like just, well, I'm in this boat now. So yes, you need lots of photos, lots of videos, and if they do not provide them to you, there is a very good reason why. The stories do not line up.

Roslyn (12:24)
It feels like that also love it. The stories don't line up. That also means that they haven't had the horse. They haven't had it under saddle. They haven't, worked with it for 30 days. They are literally purchasing to flip this. These are evidences of a flip, but there's a part of this cause I already know a good bit of this story and I'm going to learn more today, but I have to ask you cause I know this part. Did she pull on any heartstrings before he even got there?

A (12:28)
WAH!

Absolutely. My heart horse's name was Royal. And I told her that before the sale, before she brought on this gray gelding from North Carolina to bring up to me.

And in our conversation after she sent the pictures and the photos and the video, the 12 second video, sorry, I said that wrong. One picture and one video, my apologies. There was only one of each. I asked, what's this horse's name? my gosh, that's the best part. I can't believe I didn't tell you, his name is And I, being in the emotional state that I was from losing my heart horse.

was floored. I almost just, I cried, like, but there were no tears, because I was just, I just felt this, like, wave over me, like this is meant to be. I was so enamored of the emotion that I was going through, that I didn't think. And you guys are, I want you guys to hear this through me, someone that's gone through this, because you're going to learn from me, don't make my mistakes. But that should have been the biggest red flag.

This is a grade horse with no solid information that I can go on just from what she's telling me. And I believed it. I believed it. And that's my fault that I wasn't more diligent. So do not buy a horse on your emotions. Do not, because chances are you're not thinking clearly. I wasn't. But there are people out there that will just...

take advantage of you. And I do give myself a little grace because it was a very difficult time in my life and I try not to be too hard on myself. But that's why I'm sharing this story with you. So yeah, I have no exact proof that his name truly was a prince. However, I have very, very good information suggesting that he was a flip horse and that he did not come from a friends down in North Carolina.

So, you know.

Roslyn (14:49)
So

I have to ask you this because we're kind of getting into some of like the fallout of how did you know this wasn't true? what happened from you going to her saying he'll be here going to get him and then starting to realize

You've been lied to.

A (15:05)
Okay, I'm gonna try and that's a lot of information and I'm gonna try and make this clear and very short and to the point. I got there, I saw Prince and I fell in love with him. He was exactly what I had envisioned. I cried. We have that on video. Like I was just over the moon, so happy because, you know, these great people found me my horse, his name's Prince, where are the odds?

And then it was, ahead, let's go ahead and get payment and we'll sign the bill of sale. It was that quick. There was no opportunity for a PPE. There was no opportunity for me riding the horse. I should have done that. I should have said that, but I just wanted to buy this horse. And here's why, because the horse trader said to me, well, if you don't buy this horse, I'm going to buy this horse.

So if you don't buy him, I really like him and he's one heck of a horse. So I'm still thinking about it. Red flag. That put the pressure on me. Cause here I am, like, now wait. And I was very hurt by that, by the way, for the record. I was like, why is she saying that she would buy the horse when she brought him up for me anyway? So I wrote the check for $5,000 right then and there and handed it to them.

And just like that, we signed the paperwork and they brought me back up to Prince who, everything felt off at that point. He was standing in cross ties by himself. They just left him there. I didn't know that no one was with him because they brought me back to the office to sign my paperwork. And then I come back and he's like by himself in cross ties. And I'm like, I wouldn't have done that. Like that's.

That's odd, everything just started to feel very pushed. And she goes, well, he's yours now, girl. Well, I've gotta go get to a lesson. And she just like left, gone. This is the horse trader. Yeah, there's two of them. There's two of them. This is the woman who I've been in contact with through messaging, getting the horse held up here to my state and everything. So same person, there's two.

Roslyn (16:50)
And this was the horse trader? Okay.

Okay.

A (17:04)
But I will say I worked with one more than the other.

Roslyn (17:08)
Did the other one

support, did they support each other to help influence you to purchase?

A (17:14)
Yes.

Yes.

We were not able to take him right away. They said that he needed to be seen by a vet and that they would offer me a vet check. And I was like, wow, that's really nice. Again, red flag, do not let any horse trader person you are buying a horse from privately say that their vet will come out and do a horse check for you. That is their business with their vet.

and I am not calling out vets here. I don't want anyone to misconstrued what I'm saying. I do not believe that the vets are at fault. They are simply doing a job that they're asked to do by their client. But it is one way that these traders, I believe, can get another up on a sale. I'll even get you a free vet check for you. A vet check is not a PPE. I wanted a PPE.

But again, it's almost like they carried the sail for me. They had the steering wheel. I am a very sensitive and very quiet person, so it's hard for me to speak up at times. And I trusted them. So I just want you to try and see my frame of mind. So, you know, I want you to be aware of that. It's very, very easy to fall into that trap.

Anyways, so he stayed there for a few days to get his vet check and Coggins and all that good stuff, as far as I know. I got the vet to check him and I got an okay. It was a very awkward okay. I wasn't even there. They did not make sure I was there. In fact, I had to work that day and the vet was there. I couldn't be there, so it was my loss.

And I just heard from the vet that he was healthy. In my mind, I said, well, I really kind of wanted a PPE, but it was so rushed that I did not really have that opportunity. I wasn't even there. So I just said, okay, he's healthy. So we let that go. My husband and I said, we know the horse, we met the horse, he looked great. So, you we'll go pick him up here in a couple of days.

Roslyn (19:10)
So then how did that go?

A (19:11)
Not well. I bought a horse that was five years old. He was broke to ride, green broke, and he was able to load on trailers easily. In fact, when we picked him up, they expressed how happy they were with his loading on a trailer and it was a breeze. We loaded him on my trailer and it was a nightmare.

He would not load at all. He was terrified. My husband and I, first, we tried to load him up ourselves without the trader there. And he was able to maybe halfway up onto the trailer and then he'd back out. He was very scared, very scared. Once she arrived and saw that he wasn't loading, it became a major issue because I had already given her the money.

The check had already been cashed for the record. And now I have a horse that's not loading on a trailer that I was told could. Yes.

Roslyn (19:59)
Can I pause you a second?

At any time, was there any spoken word from you or anybody else or from them that if this doesn't work out, we'll give you your money back or if something, okay. No warranties, no tested out, no returns. Okay, was that said or in any paperwork? Okay, okay.

A (20:11)
No. No.

But as is. Yep. It's in the bill of sale as is.

Yep. So. They did. This is what they they told me. It's your ramp. He's never seen a ramp. It's his ramp. He hauled here perfectly. He's such a good boy. He's never seen a ramp and he's still he's still somewhat of a baby. So again.

Roslyn (20:24)
So they cover their behind is what, okay.

A (20:39)
Here now I'm really starting to feel the pressure because I know something's not right. I had all these little tiny red flags. This was a really big red flag. I was heartbroken. In fact, he reared up and ran off the back of the trailer and actually broke free and like just, he ran to the back of their property. He was so scared. He got loose. Yeah. And they didn't do anything. I went to go.

get them myself and I was like, okay, so what do you do? Like as you know, people, you guys, when you go load a horse on a trailer, this is my biggest recommendation to you is that you need, and you're probably thinking this already, you need to load that horse on that trailer yourself before you even write a check. It was too late for me. So at that point in my frame of mind, I just had to get my horse home.

because this was turning into a bad situation. So I asked if I could bring a cattle trailer out. That was not a slant load with a ramp, which I know, maybe he's not completely used to that. I was told no. I was told that he needs to leave this property today because I need that stall. That was the next red flag. Cause I'm like, you are putting that animal's safety ahead of your own.

That's enough that I, that's all I need to know. And at that point in my mind, I'm like, I got to get this horse home today. So she got very angry. I got, you know, very upset. And when I got upset, I was, I was crying. She actually yelled at me and yelled at my husband as well, that we were not suitable horse people, that we didn't know how to load horses on trailers.

Roslyn (22:06)
that is a crazy story. I want to preface and tell you that this horse trader knew her previous horse's name that had passed away and the new horse, she pretty much renamed it just to pull on my client's heartstrings. And she did that to manipulate the situation and to reel her in. She really found those, we call pain points.

to get in there and make it more emotional for her. And that was just not good. So we kind of talked about it, but we have taken the horse's names out of this because this is a sensitive subject and the trader has a history and want to educate y'all cause this could be any trader instead of

you know, telling you these people's names and starting a whole bunch of drama and mess that we need. None of us want to be in. We wouldn't want any of y'all to go through this either and have all of that kind of stuff resurface because this person has been incarcerated. So you will hear all about that. We're going to hear more about what she has gone through with this horse and how bad things have gotten. So see you next week on this next podcast for part two.