Warning about Casey Palmer DBA Rockin P Quarter Horses

This is a warning for anyone looking to purchase a horse from Casey Palmer or Jodi Bagwell of Porum, Oklahoma. They also list themselves out of Dallas, Texas and even occasionally in California. They are d.b.a. (doing business as) Rockin P Quarter Horses, sometimes Rockin P Ranch or www.rockinpquarterhorses.com.

Casey Palmer advertised a 12 year old kid safe horse on the www.Dreamhorse.com website and also on www.agdirect.com (unsure of any other websites he may have used also). I contacted him and spoke with him about the mare. I let him know that this was going to be the first pony for a 7 year old child. He assured me that the pony was bomb proof (bombproof), completely safe, anyone can ride, could be used as lesson horse, etc., etc. I specifically asked him if the horse had ANY health issues and if she was sound. He assured me that she was "completely healthy and sound" and that he would not be able to find one this nice again for a couple of years. He also told me several times "You will not be disappointed in this horse". After several very believable conversations with Mr. Palmer, I agreed to pay him $1000 for the pony and he assured me that he would be able to have her shipped to my home for approximately $200 within 1 to 5 days.

Each time I phoned Casey asking what the status was for shipping the mare - it was difficult to get a hold of him and when I finally did he always had a story. He told me that his fiancee (Jodi Bagwell) had found transportation and he would get back to me with the details. After not hearing from him again, I called Jodi only to find out that she had no idea what he was talking about and had not made any such arrangement with anyone (red flag). Finally, after several weeks of this, I resorted to arranging my own transportation, which was substantially higher than he indicated it would be (hmm... another red flag?).

The transportation company arranged to pick up the horse, but had to wait for several hours (past the agreed pick up time) for Mr. Palmer to finally bring the horse to them putting them behind schedule for their other clients (gosh, not another red flag!).

When the pony finally arrived at my location (less than 24 hours later), she was not even completely off the trailer when I noticed a horribly inflamed, running, swollen eye oozing yellow pus. Her entire nose and muzzle were also completely covered in a blistered, scabby sort of rash, bleeding in some spots. I immediately phoned my veterinarian (who arrived in less than an hour) and informed me that the ponies left eye had CANCER and that the right eye was not far behind. He indicated that this had been going on for at least a year - possibly longer. She was also running a fever, very underweight and had a slightly clubbed foot. Now, mind you, he had a couple of photos of her that I had seen but all conveniently taken at a distance impossible to discern the issue with her eyes.

I immediately phoned Mr. Palmer to let him know about my shock in seeing her in this condition and asked him to contact me so that we might resolve this. He refused to answer his phone or return my call. I sent him an email that evening with a photo of the pony's eye and asked how this could have possibly been overlooked when I had specifically asked if she had ANY health conditions. He again refused to reply, not even to express surprise or concern of any sort for the pony.

The following morning the pony was severely ill with pneumonia. It took extensive care and intravenous antibiotics to bring her through. Her eye tissue was biopsied and confirmed that it was cancer. She will most likely lose her left eye to the cancer in the very near future at a cost of upwards of $2,000 to me (this will in the end be closer to approximately $4,000 with the additional vet expenses). Her right eye is also exhibiting similar symptoms, so we are unsure what her prognosis will be. Of course, if her right eye continues to follow the same course as her left eye, we will be forced to humanely euthanize her. Imagine the horror to a young child just receiving their first pony.

As far as the pony being labeled completely sound, I have already indicated that vet said she had a clubbed foot. She has also required special trimming on all four of her feet (my farrier said it was one of the worst cases she had seen and immediately moved the pony to her list of priorities for fear of her suffering permanent leg damage). She has had to trim the pony in several separate appointments to avoid doing too much at once. The pony is still showing signs of considerable heel pain in both front feet (possibly navicular???) I have not had her X-rayed yet (due to the other extensive health issues that we are already dealing with). Mr. Palmer had also told me that he was a farrier (or as he spells it "ferrier") and that her feet were in "perfect" condition. My complaint, however, is regarding the eyes. This is just additional information indicative of her overall condition.

I had opted not to do an additional vet check due to the fact that my own vet told me that it really doesn't do me any good. If the vet is a friend of the seller, or just plain incompetent, my only recourse would be to sue the veterinarian in the state it was done. I also see vet checks as a tool to uncover UNOBVIOUS or hidden issues or conditions that cannot be observed without the expertise of a vet. I had concluded (due to Mr. Palmer's untruths about the mare's condition) that there were no obvious conditions observed by Mr. Palmer that needed to be further examined by a vet. Had Mr. Palmer or Ms. Bagwell indicated that there was ANY sort of inflammation or issue with her eyes, I would have either requested a vet to do a further evaluation of her eyes or (most likely) terminated the transaction altogether.

Now, as to Mr. Palmer's claims of the pony being bombproof, kid safe and a perfect beginner or lesson horse. This also appears to be untrue. I have been riding horses for 25 years and the mare was wanting to take off with me. Mind you, this is NOT asking her to canter or run barrels, but just at a walk. She spins, throws her head, and had to be held tight in the bridle just to keep her at a walk. I have not even attempted to trot and canter her - as she was barely responding to me at a walk. Hardly appropriate for a kid's horse. But then again, should I be surprised at this point? She also pins her ears and gets extremely pissy when being tacked up. Even when cinching her slowly, she turns her head towards me as if she wants to bite - but has not as of yet. I am not comfortable putting ANY child on this horse, experienced or not. At this point, I would not put a beginner adult on her either.

After the pony's arrival, I phoned an equine attorney who informed me that a seller MUST inform a buyer of a pre-existing condition and make no effort to conceal it or it is fraud, regardless if an additional vet check is done or not. I have 5 years to put together a lawsuit should I choose to do so. I will happily email photos of this pony's eye if you are curious if there is any possible way that Mr. Palmer could have overlooked her condition. I believe that even the most novice horse person would be able to easily identify a problem. Mr. Palmer allegedly trains and sells horses for a living. How could he possibly have missed this?

During my discussion with the equine attorney, she asked for the name of the seller. When I informed her that it was Casey Palmer out of Porum Oklahoma, she immediately indicated that she was familiar with his name, as she has another client that also recently had a fraudulent sale with him. I have personally spoken with this other individual and I am sure that she would be happy to relay her unfortunate dealings with Mr. Palmer also. She essentially informed me that Mr. Palmer sold her a horse that was also supposed to be guaranteed to be safe, no buck, etc., etc. (it appears that most of their horses that are posted all have similar descriptions). Anyway, apparently this horse was dangerous and bucked every time he was asked to canter. This person lost a great deal of money trying to resolve the horse's issues (vets, chiropractors, equine massage therapists and even a professional trainer). After the horse broke the back cinch of the trainer (bucking) the trainer recommended that she get rid of him, as the trainer did not believe the horse would ever be safe. She lost a great deal of money because of this transaction with Rockin P Quarter Horses, and was disturbed and infuriated to hear that I was now also in a difficult situation.

To reiterate, I feel that there is no possible way that the conditions of this pony's eyes could have possibly been overlooked. When Mr. Palmer delivered the pony up to be transported, he specifically told the driver to "leave this fly mask on." The driver obeyed these orders and did not see the condition of the pony's eyes until just shortly before delivering her to me - and was appalled at her condition. The driver indicated that he had only seen horses in this poor of condition being hauled to slaughter.

Mr. Palmer and Ms. Bagwell knew fully well that this pony was to be a childs first horse. If she survives, she will be a one eyed horse which can be dangerous for an experienced rider, and certainly not ideal for a young rider just learning to ride, although after riding her, I find that she is an unsuitable mount for a child - even with BOTH eyes. Again, with both eyes exhibiting the same symptoms, we are unsure of her prognosis.

I feel that the lack of ethics and professionalism exhibited by Rockin P Quarter horses is deplorable and unforgivable. There were absolutely no attempts to contact me, offers to exchange the horse, offer for a full or partial refund, to simply apologize, express any sort of surprise at the news, or even check the welfare of the pony.

It is irrelevant whether Mr. Palmer and Ms. Bagwell knew fully well of the condition of the horse or they were too uneducated about horses to know that a horse with an eye condition as severe as this needs immediate medical treatment. Either way, I find it very disturbing that they continue to advertise and sell horses that are not as they are represented to be. I would hope that this should be enough to deter anyone from purchasing a horse from them. Obviously, I feel that this horse was grossly misrepresented as does the other buyer that I have spoken with. And, if an equine attorney immediately recognizes this seller's name I don't see that as a positive indication of their business transactions, do you? In sum, if any one is looking to purchase a horse from this business, I highly recommend that you take the facts of my situation (and the other persons) into consideration and make a wise decision about whether you should purchase or not. I would hate to see yet another person in the same difficult emotional and financial situation that our family has been put into.

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SHUT IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why don't you go get a life and quit writing about people you don't know!!!!!You guys are sooo annoying.

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To the law enforcement officer who found a good horse at the Rockin P.

Good for you....glad you had a great experience.

In your work, have you ever come across an individual who did good works by day and had a criminal history by night? Say a priest that abuses kids, or a teacher who does drugs?....does their good deeds negate the bad ones?

No one has said that every horse Palmer sells is bad.....but just because you had a good experience doesn't mean that our experiences are false. Yours is a moot arguement. Please don't take issue with folks who have really been hurt by this guy, just because you were not.

I once met a lady in an airport. We were both stuck waiting for a connection. We had lunch and enjoyed a great conversation. Found out later that she had been convicted of swindling hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly patients in several nursing facilities...but she bought my lunch, and I had a good experience with her so I guess all that conviction stuff was just a bunch of whiners....doesn't make sense does it?

Do you see the same in your response to the complaint.

Palmer is able and willing to screw people....period. Your experience does not negate that fact.

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I have read several of the complaints about Mr. Palmer on this site and others. I had a similar experience with him.

He misrepresented the horse entirely. I was told the hores was bombproof, brokest horse on the place. I was also told that the horse had been roped off of, and had worked cattle.

I too went to see another horse that was "ready for me" 45 minutes before my arrival and sold when I got to the "ranch".

I was shown a horse that was pigeon toed and limping and told that if wouldn't affect his performance. I was shown a horse with strangles which had open running sores, and told that the horse was no longer contagious.

After passing on these two, I was shown a reasonbly healthy looking sorrel. I asked Casey to ride him first, which he did, in a little circle in front of the barn. I then rode the horse, down the road and up the rocky hill. The horse was fine at a walk and trot. A lope was not feasible on that terrain, especially on someone else's horse.

I asked several pertinent questions regarding the horses history, and more importantly health. I was told that this horse was completely sound and had not had a health issue in the 2 years that Mr. Palmer had owned him. I was told that this horse had been his "personal" horse.

I decided to take the horse, with some reservations, as I had seem some pretty sad looking specimens there. But I took a chance, as this was a nice looking horse with good breeding.

We agreed on a price for the horse and a price for delivery.

I had to make no less than 14 phone calls to get the horse delivered, some three weeks after purchasing him.

Upon delivery, the horse was very jumpy. It had only been a hour and a half haul, and supposedly this horse had been hauled alot, so I was concerned by his demeanor. I mentioned this to Mr. Palmer and he said that the horse wasn't used to dogs. I distinctly recall seeing dogs on the Rockin P, so this didn't make any sense either.

At any rate, this sound horse has severe arthritis in both hocks as evidenced by Xray. I had notice a much shortened stride once he was at my place. I had the Xrays done and discovered the arthritis.

I knew that I would have seen this in the initial inspection, so I buted the horse, and sure enough....his stride returned to a more normal parameter. The horse was on bute when I first looked at him and Mr. Palmer lied to me about his soundness.

This horse is also laminitic on grass and grain...another fact that Mr. Palmer lied about...I asked if he had ever had hoof or foot trouble. The horse also colics easily...and is extremely headshy. After reading comments about Mr. Palmer bragging that he "turned a 2x4 into sawdust" on a horses head, I think I understand a lot more about my horse.

I know that there are folks out there who got a good horse from Mr. Palmer. I emailed all of his references and recieved only positive replies. However, I must conclude that those people were just lucky in their dealings with Mr. Palmer, or he happened to know them or their family and provided a suitable mount.

In my opinion, Casey Palmer will say anything to sell a horse. He is not to be trusted at all. He is a horse trader in the worst sense of the word and has no regard for the safety of his clients.

I have spent a lot of money, rehabilitating my gelding, and I have finally gotten him into a lightly useable condition.

I suppose I could have sold him, but I would have had to tell the same lies, and use the same tricks that Mr. Palmer did, to find a buyer. I refuse to play that game, and risk my reputation and the horse's well being in that way.

My only consolation is that this horse, who was so obviously misused is now in a good place where he can be used in a manner commensurate with his limited abilities.

Casey Palmer is a brash little redneck who know less about horses and horse people than he thinks. He may know the unscrupulous world of horse trading, but he is not a horseman in any sense of the word. He preys upon those who are just learning, and lies to make a sale, even when the most obvious result of his lies compromises safety.

Post your complaints as I now am, and lets see if we can't hit him where it hurts...in the pocket book!

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You sound like the man with the plan! Better watch,it just might come back to bite you in the ass!

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Everyone who has been scammed by those people should get together get a Lawyer, give her/him your proof and file a class action lawsuit worth multimillions..ask for pain and suffering, return of all money paid to them as well as Vet bills, lawyever fees and court fees and anything else your Lawyer can think of..hit them where it hurts in the pockets!! Don't let them hurt/endanger another horse! Good Luck!

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For anyone doubting the original complaint. Here are some photos;

http://s408.photobucket.com/albums/pp169/DFWM45R/

I also have all vet invoices, statements, letters from transport company, etc. I have documented everything.

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I'm not quite sure why anyone would think I would make up a story like this (as evidenced by the comment that says "Quite a story...if true")?

If you are so inclined, and you doubt the story, you can see photos of this horse at the link provided. I also have EVERYTHING else documented too (letters from the transport company, trainers, vet statements, invoices, etc.).

Here are just a few pictures. Please bear in mind that these photos were taken AFTER the vet had already cleaned the eyes (and around the eyes). You can see that the hair around the eye is completely gone from being so severely sunburned and the constant draining of the eye. The eyes already appeared much better in these photos - than when she stepped off the trailer and they hadn't been cleaned off yet.

http://s408.photobucket.com/albums/pp169/DFWM45R/

What possibly would I have to GAIN from this? Absolutely nothing! I am simply sharing my horrible story, so someone else might learn from it and make better decisions than I did.

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But yet,YOU AGAIN!!!!!! unbeleivable!!

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Sounds like Casey has a friend adding obnoxious comments to all of the complaints that have been listed about him (or hmmmm...could it possibly be himself????).

He has had the opportunity to explain his side of the story here, but has chosen not to. Instead, he chooses to make up a variety of inconsistent lies to tell to potential buyers, and then have these ridiculous comments added in an attempt to verbally "attack" those that have had the bad experiences with him.

It comes across as weak, pathetic and desperate - and only makes him look worse!

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OH MY GOODNESS,who in the HELL wants to see MORE of this B.S.!!! Sounds like a bunch of cats with their tail caught in the door! You people need to get together and get up a Bridge Game or something! Maybe that will satisfy your free time! I make my living through the horse industry and am so sick of seeing your B.S. I could vomit! We've all seen your kind at one time or another and you couldn't be satisfied even if the horse was lined in gold! If you can't take the heat stay out of the barn!!!!

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I'm wondering why this website removed my comments regarding Casey Palmer and Jodi Bagwell. Apparently this web site only allows a one sided view of things. Can someone from Complaints.com explain this to me....

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Quite the story......

I actually read your complaint prior to calling and making arrangements to meet Casey Palmer personally. My work as a mounted enforcement officer for a major department in Los Angeles prompted me to do some research. I found your complaint and thought it was an awful story, if true.

Prior to meeting with Casey and Jodi, I admit I had my guard up. Any person qualified enough to call themself a "Horseman" takes nothing for granted. I heard his side of the story which was quite different. I found Casey and Jodi not to be the "uneducated horse traders" that some have labeled them. I found them to be kind, hard working people. I bought my 5 year old daughter a "Casey Palmer Horse". He had some bumps and bruises from the long ride from Oklahoma however, after approx. 4 hours, I too purchased my horse without a vet check. I've relied on my experience and common sense to be my guide through the years.

I would NEVER make any deal or arrangement to purchase a horse by mail. If you do, you're a fool. If you don't have the eye, go find someone that does. I will be posting my picture of "Little Joe" in uniform on Casey's web site soon (www.rockinpquarterhorses.com)

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Go to www.complaintsboard.com and run a search on Casey Palmer. You will see other complaints also.

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I purchased a horse from Casey Palmer

that was delivered to me in Texas July of 07. Although my situation was not nearly as extreme as yours I have information that may assist should you (or others) decide to follow a lawsuit.

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Since posting this original post, there are now several of us that have posted complaints about Casey Palmer and Jodi Bagwell DBA Rockin P Quarter Horses or www.rockinpquarterhorses.com . We have since had numerous other individuals contact us. Unfortunately, we have discovered some of these inquiries had been sent mistakenly to our spam folders. If you are attempting to contact any of the original posters on these complaints, please be sure to check your spam folder for any replies from us. We don't want anyone to think we are not replying! Thanks!