Seth Chase Western Outfitters Dishonest sale - misrepresentation - illegal behaviour. Taos New Mexico

 I am the "pay by the month trainer" Mr. Chase refers to. Of course I get paid by the month. That is my job. That is what people pay me to do. I am also the person who has treated the severe girth galls that she arrived with. They were treated by the purchaser before the molly was sent to me. I continued the treatment until she healed. The injuries were originally right down through the flesh. I also know rope scars when I see them. I actually called Mr. Chase in person. He advised me he had owned the molly for 7-8 years. Told me she was 10. Confirmed there was no way you could ever touch her ears. I asked what kind of saddle and bit he used on her... He said whatever was laying around. I asked how she was done by the farrier... He replied that the easiest was to rope her by the legs and do her on the ground. When I mentioned the girth galls, he said she had just come in from a long hard hunting trip. When I asked why he sold the purchaser this mule knowing it would be for a beginner rider, he stated the purchaser asked for a ranch mule, a hard core trail mule. But then added that anyone who could hold the reins could ride this molly. The molly was with me for 60 days. She had many severe issues. Mostly fear of being handled. Much of it concerning the hind end and her head. This mule is not and probably will never be a beginner mule. She has some good training on her from prior times, but much has been ruined from what seems to be harsh treatment. You have to be an exceptional rider, a very calm and patient person to just handle her...I have owned her for a year now, and we get on pretty good. But I know if she were to end up with someone that does not 0 understand mules, she would end up hurting someone. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She desperately wants to be a good sweet mule. Sadly her fear from her past situation keeps her hesitant. This mule was definitely misrepresented. And this whole situation could have been a lot worse, with some getting badly hurt or the molly ending up euthanized. Luckily, the purchaser is a kind person, a DVM with the utmost regard for an animal's welfare. And one last thing... Mr Chase stopped answering my calls when I started asking more questions regarding why the molly was so thin and poorly taken care of when she had such bad sores.

 Hello, I was just made aware of the above complaint. I wasnt going to respond but due to the huge number of inaccuracies I felt I had no choice. I take a lot of pride in the quality of my mules. They are very well cared for. I wont sell one of my mules to anyone who cant afford to feed amd care for them in this same way. I have hundreds of pictures of this molly mule that show just how beautiful and well treated she was under my care. I have pictures of her in all sorts of country riding and packing mountain lions. The pictures speak volumes concerning her health as well as her gentleness. I would love to add some pictures to this report but it doesnt appear they jave this option. This mule was bought for $4500 from me and the buyer sent an extra $2k for transport and coggins and health to Kentucky. The buyer had arranged for the appropriate quarantine and paperwork to transport across the border into Canada. The mule left my property with the hauler Rick with all appropriate paperwork. We also supplied the hauler two bales of alfalfa for the 2 day journey to Kentucky. The hauler had shavings and buckets for water along the way. The haulers truck and trailer were not the fanciest we have seen but he always took extremely good care of our stock and after a bad experiance with a hauler we knew that food and water is more important than fancy rigs. Apparently the hauler had some trouble along the way with his trailer which we had no idea about at the time. We no longer use this hauler because he also shortly after this incident he had a stroke.

It is not even possible to send a horse/mule into Canada without the appropriate paperwork. We did not know anything about who cared for or handled the transition from Kentucky into Canada. It became known to us after the mule arrived in Canada that the trainer who a assessed the mule also sells mules and is paid to train by the month. While I have no knowledge of what happened to my mule after she was delivered to Kentucky I can assure you she was never mistreated in any way while in our care. She was a beautiful, well broke gentle mule that anyone could easily ride. We did tell the buyer that she could be a bit hard to catch if she was in a pasture or large pen unless you had a bucket of feed. Once caught, she was easy to be around. The buyer was also given the option of trading her for a different mule if she didnt love this mule. We were never told anything that has been reported on this site by this buyer. This mule was sold over a year ago and this is the first we have ever heard any of this. If she had shown up in such bad shape amd without the papers she left with, we would have really appreciated knowing about it so we could make sure any hauler or facility responsible would be held accountable and never used again by any client. We in no way would ever tolerate or participate in such horrible treatment of any animal. We would be happy to provide pictures of this mule to anyone who asked.