Unpopular Opinion: Once you sell a horse, you’ve sold the horse
When you sell a horse, you no longer get a say. Some new owners are incredible and will keep you updated, some will ask for advice, but most of the time once the lead rope changes hands that’s it.
My opinion is this, I want the best for every horse I own and sometimes I’m not what’s best for them, and that’s okay. Sometimes they need more from life than what I have to offer and sometimes they need less. I’ve had some rockstars come through that I don’t have the time to give them, some workaholics that want more to do than what I have to offer, and some that just weren’t going to work because they were given too much freedom and took advantage of it.
When I buy a horse from someone I can gauge the level of involvement they want from the first few messages. I have some owners I still share pictures with five years later, some I’ve never sent an update on since the horse arrived. I let the seller dictate this.
I pride myself on not being a horse trader. Some come for a better opportunity, some come because we can afford the vetting they need, some go because I want more for them than I can give them, but very few leave here for negative reasons (I’ve only sold 2 solely because I couldn’t catch them and wanted to murder them for their marathon skills). I breed for my future goals and I’m intuitive enough to know between foaling and halter breaking if the foal is going to work for me or not, and I find them the best opportunity if I do sell them. I also know when a 2yo isn’t going to thrive with me pre-colt starting, when a futurity-aged horse won’t be the one to make me make the futurity jump, and when one needs a different direction than what I had hoped we’d accomplish together.
When I do sell one, I base my continued communication up to the buyer. I of course want only the best and hope they succeed, but that doesn’t mean I am entitled to updates. They are appreciated and I love them, but once I make the decision to sell I believe I’ve waived any “right” to know. It’s a luxury to have a continued relationship beyond buyer and seller, one I cherish with those I share that relationship with still to this day, but it will never be an expectation on my end.
