Wednesday, January 9, 2008

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?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm... interesting. I will have to look into it. Thanks for the heads up!

Trail Riding Cowgirl said...

yes I too have had the displeasure of hearing that line... It is not our problem. I bought a mare bred very nice and the stallion owner never filed the breeding report. After much ado and heartache we finally just conceded and had the best bred grade mare you every saw.

Twisted Oaks Quarter Horses said...

I'm glad you enjoy your mare. Papers don't change what they are or how much we love them. My first horse was out of a riding stable horse. They didn't even realize she was in foal until the last month. I bought it as a baby. It's too bad about my friends colt, he was bought to show.

Rising Rainbow said...

I don't know anything about AQHA, but it makes me wonder where the Arabian Horse Assc stands on this issue as well. I know they issue pending numbers but not papers. But if a pending number is issued when DNA is still needed on the mare, it would be the same problem.

I'm going to have to find out.