Larry Trocha here.

I'd like to share something with you that may prove valuable... Especially if you are in the market to buy a horse.

Once in a blue moon, something will take place that is so unusual that you can hardly believe it.

Such is the case concerning my last horse sale deal.

Let me tell you what happened.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Mid-Winter Cow Horse sale held in Orland, California. (A good sale by the way).

I went there with the purpose of selling a couple of good geldings that I no longer needed.

Anyway, while I was at this sale, I spotted a 3 year-old cutting futurity prospect that I really liked. I saw him work on cattle in the preview and he was really something.

I was looking for a good futurity horse and I felt this one could be a real contender.

When the bidding was over, the horse was mine.

I couldn't wait to get him home.

I wrote the check, put my new horse in the trailer and away we went.

The following day, I threw a saddle on my new horse and while I was warming him up, I noticed he seemed sore. I couldn't pin-point where. He kinda felt sore all over.

I figured no big deal. He was probably just body sore from being prepared for the sale. Maybe worked a little too hard. Give him a few days to recuperate and he'd be fine.

Unfortunately, he WAS NOT fine. He was actually WORSE.

Now it was plain to see what was bothering the horse. He was lame on his right front leg.

I had my vet come out to examine the problem. Sure enough, an ultra-sound scan revealed the gelding had a strained suspensory ligament. Not torn but darn sure stretched.

The horse would heal alright but it would take a minimum of a three-month lay-off.

Losing that much time, would mean the horse would NOT be ready for the fall futurities.

Bummer.

All that money spent and no futurity horse.

I was going to have to bite the bullet and absorb the loss.

What really bothered me is that this was the SECOND time in the last two years something like this happened to me.

The previous year, I purchased a futurity prospect at a different sale.

Paid a ton of money for him too.

Got him home and found he was lame. With that horse, it was a badly torn suspensory. And yes, the horse was on bute or I might have spotted it.

That horse took almost a YEAR to heal.

He missed all the important shows... the futurities, the derbies and everything else.

And now, it looked like that same scenario was happening all over again.

I was sick.

In case you don't know, when you buy a horse at a sale or auction, the rules are "buyer beware".

If you buy a horse that has a problem, there is usually NO recourse.

Oh, you can call the sale company and you can call the seller but if they don't want to help you, you're toast.

With that first lame horse I bought, I called EVERYBODY involved.

I was politely told to go take a flying leap off a tall building.

I will NEVER do business with those people again. EVER.

Anyway, after thinking about it, I decided to go ahead and call the seller of this new horse.

I figured the worst that could happen was I'd be told to jump off a building again.

The seller of this horse was a big cutting horse breeder, Atwood Ranch owned by Tom Atwood.

I had heard they were an honest outfit but you never really know about a ranch until you actually do business with them.

So, I called the ranch and got the manager, Jodi Elliot on the phone.

I explained to her the problem.

Her reply was... "DON'T WORRY LARRY, WE'LL MAKE IT RIGHT... I'll talk to Tom Atwood and see what we can do".

My reaction... I almost fell out of my chair.

I quickly came to my senses though because let's face it, talk is cheap. I wasn't going to get too hopeful. Not yet.

Jodi said she'd get back to me and let me know.

Several days went by with no word.

I started to get nervous.

Finally, on the sixth day, I got the call.

It was Jodi and here is what she said...

"I TALKED TO TOM AND HE SAID YOU CAN BRING THE HORSE BACK AND SWAP HIM FOR ANOTHER ONE".

Man, I was absolutely thrilled to hear that.

Next morning at 5 AM, I'm loaded up and on my way to Atwood Ranch with the horse.

When I arrived, they gave me a warm welcome. There were no weird looks or sideways accusations and they seemed genuinely happy to see me.

They showed me several of the futurity horses they had for sale and offered to let me work them on cattle. I rode a couple fillies and really liked both of them.

It was a very difficult choice to make.

I finally picked a well-bred filly that was a full sister to two NCHA money winners.

I've had this filly home for a week now and she is everything they represented her to be.

Needless to say, I'm a very happy camper.

I'm lucky these are honest people. They could have easily blown me off.

But they didn't.

They treated me right and because of that, I want to let people know about it.

If you are in the market to buy a horse... I want to make you a special offer.

HERE'S THE OFFER...

If you purchase a horse from Atwood Ranch during the months of March or April and would like to have the horse trained, I'll give you a 50% DISCOUNT on the first month of training (3-month minimum).

It doesn't matter if you put the horse in training for dry work or cattle. You'll get the discount either way.

I'm dead serious about this so give them a call now and find out about the horses they have for sale.

While I was up there at Atwood Ranch, I saw a bunch of really nice 2-year-olds. Some of them are already started.

In the pasture, I saw a 2-year-old paint stud colt that had a huge hip and nice short head. I don't know how he's bred but I loved his looks).

And don't forget, they still have a couple more good 3-year-old futurity horses for sale.

One is a filly that I'd just love to get my hands on.

Her name is AR Smart Little Glow.

I rode this filly and she really IS smart. She's also very accurate on a cow and shows a lot of brightness and expression. My guess is she'll do very well in her show career.

Okay, give Atwood Ranch a call and talk to the manager, Jodi Elliot.

Here is the office phone #... 530-865-2233.

Here is their website: www.StonyCreekStation.com

Let me know as soon as possible which horse you purchased and what kind of training you'd like it to have.

There is a limit to the number of horses I can take so availability will be on a "first come, first served" basis.

Take care,

Larry Trocha
707-665-0833
Larry Trocha Training Stable
www.HorseTrainingVideos.com



Larry Trocha Training Stable

P.O. Box 986
Penngrove, CA
94951
US