I wanted Dakota to be the right horse for me, and that desire clouded my judgment in ways I refused to see. This was one of those cases that we are all warned about-when emotion and wishful thinking overwhelm rational decision making. The sheriff’s deputy stood by while I returned Dakota, and the barn owner agreed to give me my money back in full.
Mind you, I saw Dakota for the first time on Thursday, bought him on Friday evening and by Sunday morning, I was hauling him back to the boarding barn with a sheriff’s car behind me. I called the local sheriff’s office and was told that they didn’t have the legal authority to intervene but that a deputy could escort me back to the barn and write up an incident report so a record would be on file in the event of a lawsuit. After repeated unanswered calls to the previous owner, and an uncooperative barn owner, I began to wonder if my dream horse was dangerous or stolen or had been drugged. He was “chargey” on the trail and buddy sour-not at all the horse advertised or the behavior I had seen when I tried him out.
I discovered Dakota had other issues, too. Only then did I realize that the bill of sale in my hand could be invalid: It had been signed by the barn owner on behalf of the owner, whom I never met in person.