Maquignons
There is a word in French to describe dodgy horse-dealers, a word for which there is no real equivalent in English: maquignons . This word suggests people who unscrupulously rip off buyers, selling old horses disguised as young, young horses as broken-in when they are not, lame horses so drugged up they appear sound, traumatised horses as safe for children… I unfortunately encountered one of them when buying my new horse Caoimhe. I have to say, I knew that buying a cheap horse unseen from the Internet could go wrong in a multitude of ways. I knew it was fifty-fifty whether I would get the horse described in the ad (spoiler alert, I didn’t!). I was ready to take a gamble and, in some ways, it worked out. But not thanks to the seller. That person, who shall remain unnamed (because I do not want to be accused of slander and because I am intending to make a full report to the relevant authorities), seemed to be reputable. I did some research on her, her name did not appear on the (very e...
