CLOSING THE SALE

I'm going to say it again. This guide was designed with two purposes in mind. First, I want to assure you that a prospective purchase is safe and sound. Secondly, I want to save you money.

I hope this book so far has been interesting background reading for anyone interested in horses. But, for the buyer, it is not enough to memorize a few terms, and then try an deal with a seller — who if typical, will claim anything and everything to sell the horse. Go by the checklist. Don't be bashful about what you are doing. The system works! Recently I had to use it myself.

What happened was that I had a couple of Dutch journalists call on me to outfit them with two riding horses, and two pack horses, to travel a good portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. They had little money to work with, and less time. I had them on their way inside of a week, complete from boots to hats, sleeping bags to saddle bags. Their string of four averaged a cost of $250 apiece, or less per horse, at this writing, than they would have brought for dog food. Afterwards, when they had to sell, they ended up dollars ahead.

It was a good opportunity to experience some of the happenings I have been writing about. By chance I ended up looking at a horse for sale while wearing my going to town suit and tie. By mistake, the seller thought we all were foreigners. Listening to this ''expert" a while, I began to play along with questions asked in the dumbest accent ever recorded. "Vat you meed? Yah? Goot thing your explain, now I knows that Amerikan horses are all — how you say — cow hocked as because they are cow ponies."

That was fun. What tickled my funny bone further was an invitation from the next horse trader we visited to, ''Heh, heh, hop aboard." The horse was advertised as needing an experienced rider. It just happened that the doctor had advised the seller not to ride for a week or two, and he sure was sorry we wouldn't be able to see how well the horse ran the barrels, poles, etc., ''You name it. He can do it."

I did the last thing he expected and took him up on his offer. Found out that what he really meant to advertise for was an experienced "trainer." And surprise, by the time I had marked up the check list, I was able to knock the selling price down. Ironically, what really deflated this windbag was my statement that the horse, "Just possibly, might, maybe, would work out for packing." What he didn't know, contrary to popular belief, is that good pack animals are hard to find, and worth much more than regular saddle horses.

Does all this sound a bit unscrupulous on my part? Should I be ashamed of myself? No. The buying and selling of horse-flesh, from the beginnings of time, has been a battle of one upsmanship. All is fair in love, war, and dealing in horses.

However, my main reason for methodically following the examination was to find any faults that might have developed into big trouble on the trail. On the other hand, I let a few items pass — after letting the seller know what, but not why, for it is extremely difficult to find a perfect animal.

One thing I have wanted to bring up, but am afraid will be misinterpreted, is that when confronted with a long list of determinations, it is difficult to be exact. When using this guide, those that call a doctor for a runny nose, remember that a horse is a hardy animal. For others, who believe in letting nature take it's course, remember that the ultimate cure of any illness is death.