bit of a nightmare - advice for a friend...

My friend bought this horse a few weeks ago, it was sold as a sound, young horse (5) that hadn't done a lot, and was enough money for what it is. Anyway it went lame on a ride and since having the vet etc. turns out it has to have 6 months box rest and will only ever be good for hacking because of an old injury!!
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she didn't have it vetted - does she have a leg to stand on or has she just paid £6.5K for a knackered horse?
 
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kombikids

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was it private or a dealer? i dont know much but if it was from a dealer under the sale of goods act it has to be fit for the purpose it was sold for..not sure about private sales. poor friend tho.
 
As kombikids but they would have to be able to prove that it was an old injury - you can guarantee that if your friends vet says it was, her vet will say it wasn't. A bit silly to pay £6.5k and not have a vetting imo..but I guess she knows that now!
 
She should have had it vetted really, why didn't she?

My friend has had to retire her mare as she's only just found out she has lots of old injuries, although she was vetted. She consulted a solicitor who thinks she might have a good case and has advised her to go to court.
He has written to previous owner asking for a full refund and return of the horse, she has been owned for nearly a year.
 
don't know that much detail but can find out... I expect they asked a lot of questions though so about what shall I ask?
 
Mmm. That's tricky. It would be possible to file a claim with the small claims court but you would need to prove that the previous owner knew about the injury at the time of selling and therefore lied in order to sell the horse. That means contacting the previous vet - have a look in the passport for who did the annual flu jab and see if you can get in touch.
 
If it's a dealer, you would have a much better case as it is the dealer's responsibility to ensure that the horse is fit for use under the conditions of the sale. Was anything put in writing?
 
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She should have had it vetted really, why didn't she?

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I don't know. She's got plenty of money so it's not really the same drama as if it were say, me!

Interesting about the proving it's an old injury and vets thing... could all get a bit messy really couldn't it!
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Yes, if the seller lied, and it can be proved, then the purchaser would have a good case. Although whether they would get the money back is another problem.

The usual story is "I haven't got the money because I have spent it all on another horse."
 
Yup, my experience of these things suggests that the only person financially better off at the end is the solicitor!
 
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blimey which dealer was it, people might be able to help, cant believe people pull tricks like this still.

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It was quite a reputable dealer so I'm not sure they would have known about it? Not sure if that changes anything but I can't see why they would bother with something they knew was dodgy just for the sake of their reputation.
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I'd rather not say who it was from.
 
orangehorse - it was from a dealer who sells a lot of horses so I don't think they would get away with that..

Just got a text - apparently her vet said it probably wouldn't have been picked up in a vetting...
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If its a reputable dealer they will be more likely to take it back in order to protect their reputation- the other thing is that sometimes dealers move horses on soooo quickly, that they dont actually know what injuries the horse might of had if you see what i mean- for example if the horse was sound during the time dealer had it, and was not injured with the dealer then they may not have been aware of its injury meaning that your friend would not have a case against them .
 
If it wouldn't have been picked up in a vetting, who's to say that the dealer could have known about it? Horses can injure themselves out in the field and us owners can not even notice. I sold a horse that failed the vetting as they scanned it's tendons because he had been intermittently lame a few months previously. They found a hole in the tendon. The lady still bought him, but I had no idea about the injury. If a different vet had done the vetting they wouldn't have scanned the leg and no-one would have known about the tendon. It's a difficult one I think - I can't stand this litigation age we appear to be in
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Fit for purpose is a very ambiguous term. If sold as a riding horse - that could mean light hacking. If sold as an eventer, then she might have a case.

That's why when you get a vetting they ask you what you want to do with the horse so that they can assess whether it is healthy enough to do the job. I always say I want to event it (even though I dont) because the vet will test the horse to a higher standard. If I said I just wanted to hack it, then provided the thing could hobble round the block it would be fit as a hacking horse.
 
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