I purchased Bagheera, an 11 year old Shire mare who was sold to me as "bomb proof". I paid what I feel is an extreme amount for a horse than turned out to be green and very unused to more advanced riding. She's scared of dogs, cars, trucks, mud, etc. She has zero knowledge on leg commands and does not know how to move her rear. Anytime someone puts leg pressure she begins to act out by throwing her head. If you use your boot heels lightly or have light spurs on and gently use them to get her attention, she rears and kicks.
In thick brush of a creek bed she began to buck and kick about 6 feet into the air because of the brush hitting her (at least that's what I think happened because there wasn't any other issue I could see). She bucked and kicked quite a ways and rubbed me against a tree where I lost a stirrup and went down. I'm a widow who lost my husband in January. I have two teenage boys who are terrified of being orphaned. My son now has ptsd from seeing her come out of the thicket kicking about 6 feet into the air (his words) without me and having to run to find me thinking I was gone too. They knew my story and sold me a green inappropriately handled mare anyway. I gave them a chance to make the situation right but all they offered was to bring her back on my dime and get no refund. When I declined because my boys were attached to her already (this was before she went rodeo on me) I asked about a second at a discount price. That way I wouldn't feel taken advantage of with what I paid. Thus far they've declined. This doesn't even cover the fact that there's a good chance she has cushings because she's lactating NOR the fact that I asked for a vet health check and all they did was a coggins test and lied about getting a vet health clearance. So I have one mare I'm going to have to spend a lot of money on testing her for hormone issues, plus have to spend months for a professional trainer.
I purchased my second from another place in hopes of more honesty and professionalism. I do not recommend. read more