Conversation went sideways!

Oh my.  It’s been a while since I had good material to write any kind of story and this week I got not one … not two … BUT THREE adventures to write about.  Needless to say, I didn’t get anything else accomplished because I was too busy writing it all up for your reading pleasure!

This all started innocently enough.  I have played Miss Daizy’s new game “Catch Me If You Can” for the past four days in a row and I am not impressed … at all!  In fact, I am so disgusted by her game that I posted her for sale on Craigslist. Take that Miss Daizy.  Someone else can catch your silly ass.

A friend of mine saw that post and contacted me to let me know she had forwarded the ad to her friend.  She sent her an email which had a link to Miss Daizy’s ad and my cell phone number so she could contact me.  Her friend (we are changing names to protect me from further harassment) whom we’ll call Bertha, is hearing impaired so I was told that she would contact me via text to discuss Miss Daizy.  My friend really believed that Miss Daizy would suit Bertha.  I am looking to put her into an endurance home because she does so well at that sport, but “hey” … if she won’t get caught, how am I supposed to keep her ready to ride?

With that thought process, I was willing to talk to Bertha.  I can always say, “No!”

I have several ads up on Craigslist and I have them all linked so  you can click from one of my ads to another of my ads.  One ad, for Praire, has been up since June 2013 (and I renew it every now and again when I remember) and the other ad, for Lunar, has been up since November 2013 when we got our first snow storm .I have already turned away a couple prospective buyers for both these mares.  They are for sale mostly because they deserve a home where they can get more attention than I give them….

I was sitting at home bored on Christmas eve, playing on Facebook and looking at horsie ads on Craigslist and I saw that my two ads had expired.  I renewed all my ads and added some more – like 12 of them for miscellaneous stuff, not just horses – figuring people would be getting Christmas money and might go shopping.  Good for me!

The next day, Bertha contacted me via text.  It started out innocently enough.  When she looked at Miss Daizy’s ads, she also looked at the other horse ads I have on the Craigslist.  The text she sent me was about Lunar, not Miss Daizy. At first I was like, “Who is this?” because I was expecting a text about Miss Daizy.

This conversation QUICKLY went sideways and for amusement value only (I was recently the butt of SnarkyRider’s Facebook blog – I want to clearly state I am not  posting this to mean or nasty … I am posting this so you can laugh along with me!!!!)

– I am copying the conversation here verbatim – complete with spelling and grammatical errors … and I will enter my “to myself” comments in bold italics so you can follow along with my own thought process.

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(Bertha) Hi Dodie…I live near [insert friend’s name here] and saw her yesterday.  She told me about horses you have for sale and sent me your contact and link to ads.  I am interested in appy mare.  Can you tell me m ore about her?  Bertha PS:  I am hearing impaired so text is best.

[Ah, so she visited my other Craigslist ads, guess the price tag on Miss Daizy was too steep for her pocket – shrug]

(resp) The appy mare has an old injury that never healed properly.  She is okay for light riding w/t.  No pain for her.  She is in foal for April 2014.  She is a dear mare but is a low man in the pasture and will not defend herself.

(Bertha) Well I have a mellow group hehe…my own farm so that is not an issue.  I am seeking something I can teach my boyfriends 10 and 13 yr old on w/t and light trails around farm.  What is nature of injury? What leg?  What color would you call her…a few spot?

[That would be good fit for Lunar.  She loves to go out around the farm with me.  And she is VERY suitable for young people.  She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.]

(resp) She is a roan.  She has lots of red spots in the summer.  Her right rear leg suspensory ligament was injured.  If you look at the photos on Craigslist, you will see she has weak suspensories all around.

(Bertha) I have a retired Arab mare and her son gelding coming 4 that I raised and just started to ride,so could accomodate a foal no problem.  Hmmmm..and she was bred to?

[Guess she didn’t read the ad for Lunar well.  I clearly state Arabian stallion.  Maybe she is literacy impaired, too.]

(resp) Shrapnel … Arabian stallion.  Can see him on  my website.

(Bertha) Ok…can you send me linnk to website?  Thank you.

[Definitely did not read the ad thoroughly, or the email my friend sent to her, as my link is on there.]

(resp)  www.newpromisefarms.com click on the menu Arabian and choose Shrapnel.

[Now the below response she sent to me instead of to the person it was meant for.  She mocks a person at ARM as well]

(Bertha) If you go to the site it says she was not started undersaddle till this year..while pregnant WITH weak suspensories.  Asshat if I ever saw one…but shecan write incredibly well..as can Terry xxx…tell a great bs story.  What did she do..wake up Christmas morning and decided it was a great day todump prego mares on CL?

[Okay – first I called a name … then I get a compliment then I accudes of dumping horses.  WHO IS THIS PERSON?  Oops, she realizes her mistake in sending me the above text message]

(Bertha)  Yup..that is you dodie..sent by mistake but I have no regreats.. This is a porr economy..this is a mare with poor conformation that is likely to end up in a slaughter pen where she will either go forr meat or some already stressed rescue will take her in and a foal very likely to have poor conformation as well will be born.  Shame on you.  I tried to keep that stallion out of the hands of folks like you.  greedy short sighted individuals.  You aint going to heaven honey!

[WOW!  Point blank double barreled shotgun blast.  And really?  She tried to get Shrapnel?  Then why was I contacted two days before he was to be euthanized and begged to please please please give him a home?]

(resp) Oh my,  you have the entirely wrong impression of the situation.  Lunar was broke to ride before I got her.  She came to me pregnant with an injury.  I got her from the previous owner and paid thousands to have her injury diagnosed and treated.  She is not in pain and she loves to go on trail rides.  She needs to be able to have a stall during ice and snow so as not to reinjure herself and I do not have that here.  So, I am making every attempt to find her a home that can keep her inside during bad weather.  As for Shrapnel, I lost me lease in late 2011.  I made every attempt to find a new stable but ended up at my friend’s barn.  Her stallion went ballistic with me having a stallion, colts and gelding.  I was forced to place them all into new homes.  I “gave them away” for free.  Shrapnel went to a breeder where the app mare was and that’s where she was bred.  He died later that summer due to choke.  That was my main reason for saving her so his last baby would get registered and saved.  Sorry you feel so strongly about this situation.

(Bertha)  Dodie..nobody in their right mind is breeding.  Your website said she was broke this summer at 7.

[WOW, wonder how many people reading this know breeders that are not in their right mind???  So … not only can she NOT read Craigslist ads…she can’t read websites either.  Hmmmm.  I gently correct her.]

(resp)  She is 9 now.  She was broke by the previous owner at age 7.  I bought her at age 8.

(Bertha)  It also says waht great conformation she had…then you told me it is obvious from her cl pics that she was weak suspensories…which is it/  And we all know how story ends for most horses given away for free.  So shrapnel ended up given to a breeder that dumped her bred mares at nh?  You are crossing over your own lies now dodie…infamoouse, yes…but for all the wrong reasons.

[WOW AGAIN!  Now she’s calling me a liar.  AMAZING! I wonder if I have missed something here.  I am very open, honest, and forthright in my advertisements … and my website states things (sometimes confusingly) in the order of transpire – honestly and with great attention to detail. Time to go neutral]

(resp) Her overall conformation is correct.  After extensive vet work ups, her suspensories have actually come back up.  Apparently, this is a common occurance in broodmares (she has two previous foals and I bought her at weaning of her 2013 colt) The injury did not heal properly due to miscare…it will always be enlarged due to calcification.

(Bertha) So why not keep one horse and compete and stop bringing more unwanted horses into the world…sure maybe 2 or 3 of the 10 that were bred might get a decent home but what about the rest?  When someone places bred mares on CL on christmas day…all the red flags go up!  There is not a worse time of year…dealers are looking to make a quick buck..any horse under 1k is most likely to end up in wrong hands.

[Again, I am missing something here.  I bred one mare, Praire.  A very well bred mare that produces stunning foals and that foal already has a deposit on it.  Where is this person coming from on this “10 mares bred”?  And her other comments are totally whacko.  I decide it’s time to get out of this conversation and disengage completely before I get worked up and say something I will regret.]

(resp) Thank you for sharing your concerns and opinions on this situation.  I greatly appreciate your honest feedback.

(Bertha) What happened to the grey mate that came thru camelot from circus act? mare

[Oh?  Is she stalking me now?  Apparently she knows about this mare, so then she should know what happened to her as Ally posts pictures on my FB wall all the time]

(resp) She is now the constant “costume companion” to a young lady who is mentally challenged.  They took a summer of lessons on her and bought her at the end of the summer.  She gets posted on FB all the time in her costumes.  Ally loves to dress her up.  BTW, I spent $2200 to remove the tumor from her eye.  They saved her eyesight and the scarring was very minimal.

(Bertha) Well then that cloud had a silver lining.  look … I have been rescuing all my life..it gets old seeing how things end up.  I certainly did not need a stallion several years ago..but was in negotiation to bring shrapnel here to live out his days.  I was glad that someone stepped up for him..but then followed along occassionally reading about your goings on and when you told me that this mare was bred and assuming it was you because you have both mare and stallion…it did not match up at all what you purport on you website about breeding for sport.

[O M F G … She *IS* stalking me.  But she still can’t read.  And I REALLY need to get disengaged from the lunatic.  And was this her way of trying to say “Sorry, I was out of line?”]

(resp) I don’t breed for sport.  I breed to produce an excellent quality foal.  Thanks again for your input.

(Bertha) So they can end up on craigslist inutero on Christmas day …

[NOPE!  That was not an apology … what a terrible attitude this person has.]

I did NOT respond to her any more, and at the time of sharing this with you, she has not sent me any more emails or texts.  THANK YOU LORD!

And my poor friend is so embarrassed.  I told her not to worry about it.  I was thoroughly enjoying the amusement value of this conversation.  I got over it as soon as it happened.  My friend, however, may be scarred for life.

chuckle

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