BUYER BEWARE

I have never been a fan of auction houses. Recently I helped my friends fill out paperwork to register some babies they bought at auction. It was one of those sales where a breeder brings in about 40 horses of various ages. All the weanlings were sold on the breeders certificate to register. They did not take the time or effort to paper these horses and of course the expense of each one would really add up. So now the burden is on the new owner to register and transfer the horse. Here is where the problem starts. One of the dam's did not have DNA on file, she died and it is not possible to get it. Guess what? They now have a GRADE horse. AQHA's answer, "It is not our responsibility to police the breeders." I asked why don't they request that before issuing a certificate and they said they catch it when the foal gets registered. Isn't that like closing the gate after the horse got out? They should not issue certificates without DNA or allow anything but official printed ones issued from their office. I myself have handwritten a few when misplaced. It is too easy to deceive someone. They still allow mares older then a 1984 model to have babies registered without DNA. So if you are considering buying a horse with "papers pending" you may want to check with AQHA before writing the check. You may be buying a grade horse. I used to defend AQHA when people would say they were only about the money, I now agree. Years ago they helped my friend with a registration issue with the breeder, now it is your problem. Has anyone else had similar experiences?