I contacted this woman about trading my 10 yr old well broke QH for her 2 yr old filly. She decided she wanted it to be a fair trade and threw in a 4 yr old filly that is green broke. So my family did all the hauling 3 1/2 hours to her home got there at 10:30 on Friday night and made the swap and drove most the night to get home. Apparently they tried riding my old horse Saturday bareback and she bucked... she NEVER bucked the entire time I owned her and I contacted the previous owner to us and she never bucked then.... we are accounting for well over a year if not 2 yrs of owners. This mare was used for beginners and children to ride when both of us owned her. So this was just this past Friday night until today. Yesterday they decide they want their horses back and are bringing my old mare back. What? I'm happy with the 2 I have to train. I've had to move them to another location because I'm afraid (due to their statements) that they are just going to show up and swap them out without me being there. What would you do? I'm open to suggestions. They have to be doing something wrong with my mare or maybe just as simple as not having given her enough time to settle in with strangers.
Thank you!

Unfortunately without something in writing, sale contract, lease agreement, exchange agreement, etc.
It turns into a he said/she said.
Without something in writing, a gentlemans agreement usually ends up in court or close to it, depending on the people involved.
Most likely nothing will develope further due to the distance-3 hours.
But, certainly use this as a lesson learned and do paperwork, lots of it, even to friends/relatives.
And don't give them the previous owners info, they have nothing to do with it and don't need to be dragged in the middle.

I agree make sure there is a contract of some sort. I have owned 4 horses in my life. One was my first horse. A sweet little dead broke mare that was great but ended up being closer to 20 than the 12 I was told. I had to sell her due to my lack of time while I was in college, but I got two more two years ago. One was a 12 year old quarter horse the other a 12 year old appaloosa. They were both sold to me as again beginners horses. I got them home gave them a couple weeks to settle in and I couldn't do anything with the appaloosa. She bucked and stove up on every ride and eventually bucked me off. I called the seller and he said if I didn't like her then take her to an auction. I couldn't do anything about it and he had no reprecussions because there were no contracts. I found a home for her taking a big loss and found a paint that I liked. I went tried her out and again no contract. She ended up being a descent horse but you could not touch her back feet and she was again much older than I was told. I can't say I didn't enjoy these horses because I enjoyed them all and the experience they gave me but the main lesson I've learned is that there needs to be a contract, you don't need to buy without testing the horse thouroughly, and its ok to put a deposit down and go home and think about it a day or so. I lost both my horses back at the beggining of winter (one to colic and one to a tobacco barn colapsing in the snow) and I miss them dearly. I hope to look for something soon because I can't imagine my life without a horse but I will definitely be one the defense this time when I start looking. There are just too many horse traders out there to not be on defense.