Here are a few thoughts regarding my experience purchasing Madam/Maddie… I did something that most people would think was crazy. I bought a horse, sight unseen, 2500 miles away, from an on-line auction. I am not a financially careless person. Nor am I a horse trainer or a horse trader. I am a middle aged woman who likes to trail ride on well trained, safe horses. I am acquainted with Pete and Jill Houck through a friend who purchased a horse that they had consigned to the Diamond-McNabb Sale in 2020. That horse has been everything, and more, that the Houck’s promised. When I saw this mare offered in the June 2023 Hot Summer Sale from Designer Horse Sales, she looked and sounded perfect. But don’t they all? Jill told me that she knows the owner of the horse personally, says she thinks this horse would be a good fit, and encouraged me to call the owner of the horse. After talking with the owner throughout the afternoon, I felt like I wanted to bid on this horse. I have been to a number of auctions, auctions of all kinds, but never an On-Line ONLY auction except eBay. Seemed risky and potentially disappointing. If you’ve ever purchased something on eBay, or tried to, you know how someone out there can wait until the last second to post a bid, thereby not allowing you any time to bid again before the auction ends. Designer Horse Sales has addressed that. If you are outbid in the last moments, 2 more minutes are added, giving you time to think about it, and increase your bid if you so desire. I was successful in purchasing this mare, and I cannot say enough good things about her. She is everything the owner said she was, even better. I have not discovered one thing about her that was misrepresented. I would have no reservation, no hesitation, in purchasing a horse from Designer Horse Sales. Nancy White Idaho
Becca Jensen purchased Blondie but as every kid tends to do, Becca renamed her Milkshake! Becca’s Mom purchased Milkshake off the ONLINE Auction, site unseen, she talked to the consigner and watched the videos. The sale ended on Thursday, (Milkshake was in the May Super Select Sale) and they went and picked up Milkshake on Friday. Becca enjoys riding at WSCA shows and Barrel Racing Jackpots. They took Milkshake to a show that weekend and won ribbons on her. This team has won money at barrel races this summer and they qualified for the WSCA Championship Show. At the WSCA Championship show they WON ribbons in 2 classes, a HUGE accomplishment. We wish Becca and Milkshake good luck this weekend as they are headed to the Sherry Cervi Youth Championships.
Thanks again for all your help selling our horse!
We had a great experience selling our horse with Designer Horse Sales. It made the difficult process of selling very easy! I just had to send some pictures and video clips and Designer Horse Sales took care of the rest. They put together a beautiful profile picture and a heart-warming video of our horse. They did an amazing job of advertising to find him the best home! We received calls from Wisconsin, Iowa, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Minnesota – honestly, it felt like our horse became a celebrity overnight. Everywhere we went people were talking and asking about our horse. The last night of the sale was filled with excitement and suspense as we watched the final bids come in and our phones blow-up from family and trail riding friends that were also watching the end of the auction. It truly was an experience I’ll never forget. Designer Horse sales assisted from beginning to end; putting together information/pictures, to advertising, to selling and even after the sale helping with money collection and arranging transportation of our horse to his new home– they helped us every step of the way! We couldn’t be happier with the outcome of the sale and the process couldn’t have went any smoother. We would definitely recommend Designer Horse Sales to anyone looking to buy or sell a horse! ~JoAnn~
Although I can’t attest to the quality of every pony sold through designer horse sales I can definitely say we lucked out with both of ours! And if you know ponies you know finding one unicorn is hard enough but 2 is just plain rare! We first bought Splash in the spring of 2022. He is pure gold! Our 9 year old uses him for jr rodeo, roping, 4h and every horse related activity she can come up with. He’s a fire breathing dragon when she asks for it and keeps her competitive against the big horses. He’s also the pony I put my 3 year old boy with Down syndrome on and let him ride around the arena solo! Splash will walk around with Eli on his back and babysit him for as long as Eli wants then lope off with our 5 year old and quench her need for speed! We never once took for granted how lucky we got with him and against our better judgment decide to bank on winning the same lottery twice when we purchased another pony from Designer horse sales. We were warned that splash was one in a million but we had such a good experience with the Houck family we trusted them and figured they would come through again! In 2023 we bought Matilda and luck struck us again. My 3 year old boy walks into the pasture and pats his legs and she comes running. My 5 year old catches her and tacks her up solo then hops on and rides around with the big kids. Matilda and her clocked some hours this summer rolling around the grounds where we board. On rodeo days they roll into the warm up arena with the rest of the rodeo horses like they own the place, loping circles like old pros. We are so happy we stumbled across designer horse sales and that we get to call the amazing family behind it our friends! I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another horse from them and with all the confidence these pony’s have given my kids we are going to need a whole herd of bigger horses before long. I highly recommend Designer Horse Sales, they’re good people and genuinely want to find good horses good homes. We are forever thankful for them and the ponies they brought into our lives! Megan Riutta Kodiak Island, Alaska
Designer Horse Sales did a fantastic job promoting my horse for the auction. They were fantastic to work with and made the whole process easy for both the seller and buyer. I would absolutely recommend them for anyone looking to sell/buy a horse.
~Katie Thompson
We are very pleased to work with Designer Horse Sale for our horses that are on auction! They definitely give it there all when it comes to a sale. They are great people to work with and always being helpful!!
~Kassandra Rose
HAPPY CUSTOMERSHi Designer Horse Sales, I wanted to share these with you
. Our girls are in love with Gus Gus and we are thrilled to have him!
~ Helen Horn Colorado
Let me tell you about my guy Jackpot. When my trainer and I started looking at horses for me, I knew I wanted to feel good about what I was getting, and from a trusted source. We found Jackpot through Designer Horse Sales, and I could not be happier! He is such a a amazing guy, and we make a great team. He’s exactly as advertised! I was so nervous to buy my first horse! It’s a big step, but I felt so confident dealing with DHS. It was really nice to be able to message the consigner, and ask as many questions as I needed to. It gave me peace of mind knowing that DHS is meticulous in choosing the horses they consign. If you are at all in the market for a horse, please do yourself a favor and look at purchasing through DHS. It was seamless, from beginning to end….and I loved getting the “Congratulations!!!” phone call, when I was the winning bid. Thank you for making my first horse purchase, as a new horse owner…so great! ~Janessa Zenzan
Designer Horse Sales does an excellent job of promoting and advertising their consignors horses!
~Marcey Lysaker
I purchased this big, beautiful horse through Designer Horse Sales online auction. I went out and rode Cecil before I purchased. David Raucher was easy to work with and helped me after I purchased Cecil. I have enjoyed Cecil.
Daniel Marsh Montana
