Complaint Review: Katina Morrow - Celine Ohio

I have been working with Katina for a couple of months now.  I am 52 years old and a beginner with horses.  My husband contacted Katina in answer to a mare she had for sale in Nov. of 2009.  I have had very little interaction with horses but had always wanted a horse.  We were looking for a calm beginner horse.  Katina went out of her way to teach me the basics of saddleing, bridleing and handleing a mare she had for sale.  I fell in love with this mare, bought her and Katina delivered her the next week-end.  I am not a very assertive person and this beautiful mare knew it.  She tended to push me around and being new to the horse field I didn't have the experience or the self confidence to handle her.  I contacted Katina explained what the problem was and she came right away to pick the mare up and returned my money.  I kissed my beautiful mare good-bye and went to have a good cry.  As she was leaving Katina told me not to give up, that she would find me a beginner horse that world work for me.  She explained that not all horses click with their new owners and that sometimes it can take several tries to get a match that works.  Yesterday Katina brought me my beautiful new guilding.  He is a wonderful puppy in horses clothing!  This boy is so gentle and patient that he will let this novice do anything to him.  He follows us around like a very large puppy and is more gentle than I had ever imagined a horse could be.  Yesterday as Katina left she told me to call with any problems or questions and assured me that she would come after him if it didn't work out.  Thankfully that will not be the case this time.  My wonderful boy and I are a perfect match.  I can not thank Katina enough for the help and compassion she has shown my family.  We are so pleased with the care and help she has shown us and the quality of her horses that we are awaiting her to find us a companion for our beautiful boy.  This is the Katina that I know and trust.  A caring, loving woman that has made a 52 year old woman's dream come true.  Thank -you Katina.  Lorraine, Lewistown, Ohio

People often put up ads for other people- it's what you call "being an agent" and many people such as Katina who know lots of people in the horse industry do this. Apparently, this is the type of ad you answered- the biggest tip being that the horse was not at her house- which you admit. If is wasn't at her house then it wasn't under her care, and if it wasn't under her care how can you hold her responsible for the long-term care the horse recieved in the past? that just doesn't make any sense. Some horses pee more than others, even more so if they are on alfalfa hay, as alfalfa is known to cause horses to urinate more. And I would consider getting a new vet if they said it was nothing to worry about and then later referred the horse to the U of I because of liver failure. Shame on them for not recoginzing that there was a problem brewing. I am sorry for your loss.

With the filly and the mare. Ticks are very common and they are hard to see when they are in the ear, even more so when horses don't like their ears touched. Also, it does not take very long for a tick to become engorged. The pnuemonia was probably caused by a change in weather, and strangles?, do you not vaccinate your horses? Strangles could have been prevented by proper vaccination, anytime your horse travels they are at risk for strangles because even the wind can carry it pretty far, it is a highly highly highly contagious disease, hence a vaccine is available. I take it the skin rot is what is better known as "rain rot"  which is a fungus of the skin due to water getting trapped in the hair. Also very common.

Also, shame on you for thinking only of yourself and your situation and having no compassion for another human being. Surgery is serious, no matter the situation. Although I think you are a very brave person for going and getting your horses as soon as you could. Good job on that.

And so what if the horses were fed grain from one bucket? Horses are pseudoruminents, which means they are made to survive on forage (grass). Grain is simply a treat and a supplement for working horses, and it sounds like your mare couldn't have done too much work with foot problems. And as for the horse that broke it's neck being tied- it happens all the time. It doesn't take much for a horse to break it's neck while being tied, because if they are tied properly, their nose doesn't have much room to move. There was a horse that broke it's neck and died at my university.

Anyway, I think you are a brave person and continue to stand up for your horses, but I definately would not use that vet anymore, and once again I am sorry for your loss.

I have known Katina for many years, and also have bought and boarded horses with her over those years. My horses have always come back to me fatter then when I left them. When dropped off at Katina's they would be about 1000 - 1100 pounds and would come back about 100 pounds heavier. And all of her horses are healthy. Katina has her horses feet done every 6 weeks. The ad that you responded to was not a horse that was Katina's but a friend of hers who had asked her to help him sell the horse. She had told you (I was there that day) to call him and set up everything with him. You asked her to meet you there with you. you stated that the gelding had been poisened over a long period of time. 1. the gelding wasn't Katina's so never was in his care. 2. he had been in your care for several months before he got sick. So Katina had nothing to do with it. Your just upset and had to point a finger at someone. Makes me suspisious of who was taking care of the animal those last several months....I personally would be looking at everyone he had contact with.....not someone that never cared for him. What you have also neclected to say is that prior to you gelding that you had lost, you also told Katina that you had 3 other horses die before you ever got him. Yes her stallion had an infected testicale and was under a vet's care and had to eventually have surgery because everything else the vet was doing wasn't working. The horse that needed stitches did already have stiches. And about your mare....you failed to tell her she never been on pasture before. You also told her that she was navicular, and she had her vet check her out and said that who ever and trimed her did a bad job and thats why she was lame. The horse did not have navicular. Katina is the most honest horse person that I have ever come across....She always tries her best to do right. I had a mare that was hard to get in foal and stick...it took 6 years and 2 other mares.... I got a refund on my stud fee and was never charged for the multiple years in trying. She didn't even charge me for mare care, but I always paid for the mare care. She deserved something out of her time and return on what my horses were eating. And this happened in 2003 and your just now bringing this up.....? hmmmm says a lot about you.