Carl C. Dooley, Jr. Sykes Place Plantation Buyer beware of purchasing horses from this place Tuscaloosa Alabama

     Do not purchase a Tennessee Walking Horse from this man!!!

     I recently purchased a horse from this person via an ad on Equinenow.com. They had several horses for sale at the time and on the strength of the video and talking to Mr. Carl C. Dooley, Jr., I purchased a 5 year old gelding who was supposed to be trail ready.

     The ad stated that his temperament was a 1 out of 10 (1 being the most laid back and 10 being higher than a kite) He was purported to have been around field trials, guns, dogs, ATV's, traffic. Well, I would say this horse was an 8 out of 10! According to Mr. Dooley, this horse was easy going with a great personality, stood for mounting/dismounting, all of the things one would expect in an easy going trail horse.

     I did have him vet checked which came back OK, but the vet felt that his body condition was about a 3.5 out of 10 (1 being starving, 10 being obese) When the horse arrived he was emaciated. By the time he arrived at my place, he looked more like 2.5, (which my own vet concurred with since I had to have her come out upon his arrival and check him out for a terrible cough)

    Needless to say, I found out that most of what I had been told was a lie. This horse was terrified of people, clamped his teeth tightly shut so as not to take a bit, threw his head up repeatedly while being ridden, reared, would not walk quietly, didn't have a clue what whoa meant and was soooo not the horse that had been described to me.

     It has been rumored that they use ACE on the horses they are selling and I have been contacted by one other person who's horse they bought through Carl Dooley is downright dangerous - rearing, falling down, going to it's knees and refusing to go forward. This one was sold as "Grandma and Granddaughter safe"!!!