any advice for daughters friend ?

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Ottinmeg

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ash has a friend who a couple of years ago 'rescued' an unbroken 12 hh pony. its owner went abroad and just left it to rot in a field. i believe owner also said that ash's friend could have this pony.
friend broke the pony in ,schooled it ,kept it for 2 years etc etc.
owner turns up the other week saying he wanted pony back, police were called and told him he could take it which he did.
does ashes friend have a leg to stand on or is the best she can hope for is to slap him with a bill for breaking,schooling and full livery for previous 2 years of said pony? can she even do that ?
 
What did the owner show the police by way of evidence of ownership? They would have to have been able to prove that the pony did in fact belong to them before the police would intervene.
 
Unfortunately passports do not have anything to do with ownership, so are no proof by themselves.
 
has your daughters friend got vet bills or vaccination card then to prove that she has been the owner. or livery bills if it is in livery. it sounds to me if she has nothing to prove that she was given this pony they could say they let her have it on loan then she could not charge them for anything if it is not in writing
 
A Bill of Sale is the only thing which will show ownership and if your friend doesn't have this then sorry but she doesn't have a leg to stand on. Very unfortunate and sad situation though.
 
i always believed passports were NOT proof of ownership and a bill of sale can only be used as proof although not all private sellers give these!

the only possiable loop hole is if the previous owner has no proof of ownership at all and your friend can show proof such as costs for the horse ect...

very sad suituation
 
i dont know what proof the owner had to show the police if any,im sure the police arent to interested in cases like these.
im sure the friend has receipts etc for the pony but as you say captain they could say they just loaned him to her. i dont think anything was put in writing. guess she will just have to put it down to experience!
 
it is really sad for the friend who has looked after the pony for 2 yrs . perhaps they might get fed up again and give it back. no doubt you will see it up for sale somewhere soon.
 
The passport does not prove ownership of the horse in any way. The pony had been abandoned & had been looked after by your friend for 2 years & she had incurred a considerable amount of bills that she has paid.

The POlice were catagorically wrong in giving the horse back to the original owners. They had no power to do that & you could successfully take action against them regarding this.

What the attennding Police Officers should have done is issue your friend with a document issured under Section 66 of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act. This would ensure that your friend retained possession of the horse & was not allowed to dispose of it. They should then notify their solicitors of their issue of the said document & they would then complete an enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the possession of the horse & this file would be sent to their solicitors. The case would then be puy before local magistrates. The Magistrates would call the evidence & having heard from all parties then decide who should have lawful possession.

Advise your friend to get some legal advice & contact the Police again about this matter. As I say the actions of the police were wrong in this matter!
 
apparently the grandchildren are now old enough to ride him,now that all the hard work has been done...what the owner doesnt know is that the pony can and will buck like the proverbial i dont think the grandchildren can ride either...
i will pass on tobys post to her though.
 
i thaught passport was proof of ownership?? i have my ponies passport but his freezemark registred with famrkey is still in my mums name(previous owner) so are you saying that any horse baught without a receipt of sale legally could still belong to the old owners even if you have its passport in your name????
 
Yes that is exactly what we are saying. A passport does NOT prove ownership. For that you need a Bill of Sale or Registration Papers in your name as legal owner.
 
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