Corrections and an apology are in order.

Those of you that have been reading for a while will remember the 2 year old colt that was in his owners back yard, and the owners stated on the ad that they were unable to get a halter on him. 


That colt's story sparked a fury of mail and his story is much larger and way more complicated than what I would ever have expected it to be. 


I've stated before that my goal with this blog is to educate, inform, and upgrade horses that need it. However, to a certain extent, it is also to entertain. 


Entertainment value mixed with the serious topics I present here can sometimes be a very uncomfortable mix. Uncomfortable for me, because 'entertainment' leaves a lot of open room for 'inaccuracies'. 


When I originally broke the story of the colt, it was because the ad was sent to me by a reader that couldn't understand why the owners couldn't get a halter on him. 


That colt came from one of the slimiest places I've ever known about - and trust me, you don't want to know some of the stuff I know about that place. I've even been asked not to speak about it publicly due to the legalities of leaking information. I will NOT be held responsible for leaking information that could end that investigation, so I'm not. When and if I get the ok, I will do so then. 


My mistakes occurred when I made the fatal mistake of assuming things from what little information was on the ad. We all know the saying about the word assume, so I won't repeat it here. Its very true though, I'll admit that red faced and sheepish. 


So what did I say that was wrong? The owner sent me an email this morning after reading my posts on the subject because of a few things I 'assumed' incorrectly. My own words:


"New owners have their vet come check out the new arrivals, and vet states they are NOT two, they are 16-18 months - but that info came out a bit sketchy with the question being asked if the vet can get close enough to check age - again the inconsistencies are showing - why can't the chestnut be caught? "


Turns out that their vet wasn't able to get that close either, and the age was a guesstimate on her part while looking at him from the other side of the fence while the colt was eating. 


She also made the observation that when she went out to the rescue (and I hope she doesn't mind if I quote her directly here.... her words are better than mine) 


 The place that the colt came from had him in a small round pen with a very long lead rope on him. For all we know they could have spent hours and hours trying to get that halter on him. They obviously kept the halter on him all the time because it was night when we looked at them and all the horses in that pen had a halter on. They just dumped them in a 4-acre pasture and that is a lot of space for one person to catch him.


There are also other factors involved here as to why at that time the owners hadn't been able to catch him, ones that aren't my place to say. 4 acres is a very large area to try to catch any horse that doesn't want to be caught, and now that I'm a bit more aware of what's going on, I completely understand why things happened the way they did. 


At any rate, I've said it before, and I'll happily say it again, I really feel that this couple, who was just looking for a couple of horses to have for their own enjoyment, got taken in a HUGE way. In no way is it on their shoulders that this colt is the way he is. They just inherited a problem without even realizing it, and then got blindsided by everything else. 


So, for anything I have said that upset them, and for my incorrect assumptions, I sincerely apologize to the owners of this colt.


I have said this same thing to them, and will admit it publicly as well... If I wasn't 16.283 states away from FL, that first weekend I would have been down to their house, cash in hand, because this colt is just my kind of project. As the case stands, I'm not in their neck of the woods, and I've done just about all I can do in regards to assisting when and where I can. 


Now that I've eaten my portion of crow for the day, I've a laundry basket calling my name, an empty fridge to fill, and a whole other list of things to get done. Everyone have a great monday, and I'll see you all back here tomorrow!