Poetin was of excellent bloodlines, sired by Sandro Hit, the Winner of 1999 six-year-old Dressage World Championships and German Bundeschampionate.
The bidding between 10 parties started at 100,000 Euros, and eventually resulted in a purchase by Peter and Patty van der Zwan of stable De Keizershoeve in Kessel, Netherlands, and the ING Bank, for use as a brood mare.
Combined efforts by a team of detectives and the Dutch federal police eventually found Poetin on August 25, 2005, at an equine clinic in Kerken, Germany, where she was being officially treated for 'irritation of the right front tendon sheath.'
Although she appeared tender at the walk, the mare still showed her brilliant trot and lovely canter work and flying changes.
The bidding included the likes of German Grand Prix rider Gina Capellmann Lutkemeier, who stopped her bidding at 700,000 euro, but the eight-year-old Brandenburger was finally purchased for 900,000 Euros by Xavier Marie, owner of Haras de Hus, a stud farm in France.
As soon as she arrived, however, it was clear that she was showing signs of severe laminitis in both front feet, as she was having trouble standing up due to the pain.
Aggressive treatment was begun by French and German veterinarians, including the use of a sling to hold the mare up and help relieve pressure on her feet.
Apparently, the mare's caretakers knew that she did not simply have a mild irritation to the sesamoid, as stated at the auction, but a tendon infection that was causing lameness.