Bought a horse with sweet Itch have i any come back

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alfietb

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Hi All

I am looking for some advice regarding a horse purchase I made 7 weeks ago
I purchased a 6 year old gelding cob horse through done deal when I went to view the horse from the buyer
all went well and I rode the horse and was happy.

I agreed a price with the seller and paid a deposit of a €100 and agreed to
collect the horse the following week.

I collected the horse the following week.

It is now 7 weeks on and I noticed the horse has bald patches and is itching and scratching constantly against anything and everything
I called the vet and she diagnosed him with having "Sweet Itch" which is manageable bust costly. The vet informed me that the
seller would have almost surly have known that the horse had this condition prior to sale and that I should of been made aware
of it at the time of sale.

I am trying to find out if there is any such obligation or law that exists that would enforce the seller to inform me of the horse’s condition
before buying?

Or do I have a leg to stand on if I contact the seller and ask for a refund?

We did not sign any contract nor did I ask if the horse had any existing conditions as i trusted the seller.

Would really appreciate any advice or any similar experiences anyone has had.

Thank you all
 
Tough one, but if this was a private sale and you did not ask about pre existing conditions, I am sorry but I don't think you have a leg to stand on :( I could be completely wrong though!
 
I thought by law it was a notifiable condition but cant find anything to back this up. I ould invest in a sweet itch rug asap - even if you do manage to get a refund and send the horse back you can probably sell the rug second hand or even send it back with him. Make sure you go for one that is specifically for sweet itch as it will cover more of the horse including belly unlike most fly rugs.

I have also heard people say that some horses are really bad with it at one yard but when they have moved it has calmed right down - I may be wrong but I think you need to steer clear of water (esp. reans etc) - if you can find a yard on coast with a good breeze through all day they are usually better for midges.
 
Also it may have only developed following the move.

I would try feeding brewers yeast, stay off sugary feeds. BY helps my pony a huge amount.


I am thinking the op is in Ireland buying off donedeal.
 
alfietb said:
We did not sign any contract nor did I ask if the horse had any existing conditions as i trusted the seller.

Would really appreciate any advice or any similar experiences anyone has had.

Thank you all
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One of the first things I ask before even going to see the horse is if it has any medical conditions/vices/issues.

Hopefully you'll know to ask next time.
 
Did you buy from a dealer or a private individual?

If you bought from an individual you probably wont have much come back as you have to prove that the horse had sweet itch before you bought it, it probably did but sweet itch can develop at any time.

It's not costly to control, I have one with it and she wears a fly rug/mask and is fine.
 
There is no guarantee that horse had it prior to you buying him. My pony started with it randomly after i owned him 5 years and still on same yard. Some years a New midge comes and starts some horses off.
The only way you could maybe find out if had it previously is via his insurance that he had with old owner not sure how u do it or if u can. But if it was private seller you have no come back anyway. Buy a rug keep inside when really midgey. Avoid yards with ponds or streams on or near them. Buy supplements and it can be managed- marmite is good. But also be aware it does worsen overtime no matter how its managed.
 
Doubt u got any come back, sweetitch is a nightmare. I also brought a horse which unknown to me had sweetitch. Iv spent a fortune on rugs which have been trashed and I feel so sorry for the little guy and tbh now he's not worth a lot because off it but not once did I think " can I give him back" as I can provide a good home and I will manage it. It's such a shame that any problems a horse has people want to give it back.
Yes u may not have been told but if he's right in every other way, cope with it.
 
I don't think you will have much chance of getting your money back. Frankly if it showed no sign of it 7 weeks ago then it is entirely possible that the horse has only just developed the problem, and you can bet that is what the seller will claim too!:(

My mare has SI - but she is perfect in every other way - and it is just a case of getting a good management routine going and sticking to it right through to the winter and beyond in some circumstances. I am in Ireland too and we were still plagued with midges on and off through this past winter - but keeping her in an ordinary combo rain sheet was enough to get her through the winter months. But I have her wrapped up in a SI rug the moment she comes out of the winter and she will stay like this until winter.

I also feed BY all year round and treat her every 2/3 weeks with the cattle pour on for lice and flys. Some dont agree with doing this but it works for mine.

If the horse suits you in every way why not just knuckle down and deal with it?:)
 
meesha said:
I thought by law it was a notifiable condition but cant find anything to back this up. I ould invest in a sweet itch rug asap - even if you do manage to get a refund and send the horse back you can probably sell the rug second hand or even send it back with him. Make sure you go for one that is specifically for sweet itch as it will cover more of the horse including belly unlike most fly rugs.

I have also heard people say that some horses are really bad with it at one yard but when they have moved it has calmed right down - I may be wrong but I think you need to steer clear of water (esp. reans etc) - if you can find a yard on coast with a good breeze through all day they are usually better for midges.
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You are correct it is a disclosable condition and if it is pre exsisting and not disclosed it is grounds for return.

What you need to do if possible is get your vet to speak with the sellers vet (presume you will know who this is so you did not use them for your vetting) the horses previous veterinary records are a legal document and it is the one way you would find out if it was pre existing - there are probably other legal remidies to obtain these records.

Sometimes vet to vet is a useful tac to take

Good luck
 
You would have to prove that the horse had sweet-itch as a pre-existing condition when you bought it.

Regarding management, ours costs us almost nothing more than any of the others. She has a Rambo sweet-itch hoody that we replace every 3 or 4 years, and is fly sprayed when this comes off to ride - just as we fly spray them all before riding. £100 for the rug every 4 years is an extra £25 per year - not a lot!
 
thatsmygirl said:
Doubt u got any come back, sweetitch is a nightmare. I also brought a horse which unknown to me had sweetitch. Iv spent a fortune on rugs which have been trashed and I feel so sorry for the little guy and tbh now he's not worth a lot because off it but not once did I think " can I give him back" as I can provide a good home and I will manage it. It's such a shame that any problems a horse has people want to give it back.
Yes u may not have been told but if he's right in every other way, cope with it.
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I agree with this - horse's aren't cars which should be chucked back just because they have a problem.

Sweet itch, whilst reasonably costly, can be managed effectively.

OP it sounds like you have been quite naive when buying this horse by not enquiring about any conditions. I don't think you have any come back whatsoever unfortunately.

I would start to try and manage the condition as best you can.:)
 
Cobweb's stable mate Mac has quite bad sweetitch and has a rambo sweetitch hoody rug which seems to work a treat and he's kept in a valley with a stream running down it and the midges are aweful , but with the rug on he's fine.
 
Not sure about being able to ask for a refund etc but I don't think sweet itch is expensive to manage - my pony has it but it's manageable by keeping her mane hogged, plenty of fly spray, sudocrem in existing bites/sore bits, and a fly mask/sweet itch rug depending on how bad it is. i've had two other ponies that also suffered from it and scrubbed their tails horrifically, but again it was manageable. depends on how bad it is for the individual horse though. it's not ideal but no horse is perfect and another one you buy might have a worse vice. x
 
Sweet itch can develope at anytime in a horses life, also if you bought off a dealer they maynot of even been aware as they like to turn around the sales quickly, so it highly unlikely they had the cob last spring. I am not sure a vetting would pick up sweet itch during the "non itchy time", not unless they have scarred themselves from previous bouts of it. :(
 
Dont think there is any comeback for an unvetted private sale unless you specifically asked about any medical conditions as 'vices' is generally take to mean ridden vice or stable vices eg bucking, rearing, bolting and windsucking, crib biting etc. And unlike some other conditions it is something that can just suddenly develop (not that this is what has happened here but seller can claim it and it would be hard to disprove).

If its something you want to avoid, you buy horses in the summertime...as it isnt something you can easily hide completely if it is bad. Or from a good dealer who will take the horse back.

But this is based on English/Welsh law and practices..
 
Never trust anyone ;-) tbf, the horse could have developed after moving, different environments affect every horse differently. Mine has started head shaking after 7 years of ownership!
 
Thanks everyone for your advice and experiences.
Unfortunately i didn't have him vetted prior to purchase, in high and sight i
should of!! and consider it a lesson learned.

Each day he is getting worse and worse and my vet believes that
he had suffered sweet itch before as she found some old scar tissue on the
main and tail area from pulled out hair and scratching till he's raw.

I am more annoyed at myself for not asking the previous owner
but she assured me that the horse was vice free.

If they had of informed me i don't think i would of gone ahead with the
sale and it would of also reflected in the selling price.

I was thinking of phoning the previous owner but firstly i wanted to know
if there was any law or obligation that would require a seller to inform the buyer of Sweet itch?

Thanks again for all your advice ;-(
 
Sorry I don't know about Ireland. In England it is buyer beware and you wouldn't be able to return her by law.

Boett rug, decent fly spray and sudocrem.
 
I know at auction, there is always some blurb at the front of the catelogure about vices inc. sweet itch, having to be declared, I think the auctioneer says it before the sales start too (Brightwells).

However, my aunt bought a pony through brightwells, who I knew had sweetitch from the moment I looked at her because her neck has that hardened lumpy look and her tail was all white from rubbing. I told my aunt, but she was adamant that the woman had told her the white hairs on her tail were from a bandage being on too tight once-upon-a-time. Her mane was also oiled. My advice wasn't taken, and sure enough she bought the horse, and what does it do, rub itself all over the shop! Thankfully she bought it a boett this year which has helped the poor thing no end, and she doesn't mind that she has sweetitch. Not sure what would happen if she had have complained to brightwells about it, I guess if it was proven by a vet, they would have to have taken the horse back, as it wasn't as described.

I'm not sure how it applies to private sellers. Really sorry to hear about it though. :(
 
Sweetitch isnt really a big deal, when i bought my gelding he had terrible sweetitch, would rub himself raw and was on steroids.
Ive had him 8 years and he shows no signs of it now with correct management. Make sure you buy a decent fly rug and keep the mane and tail nice and clean!
 
I am more annoyed at myself for not asking the previous owner
but she assured me that the horse was vice free.
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Sweet itch is not a vice, and in most cases perfectly manageable.
 
alfietb said:
I was thinking of phoning the previous owner but firstly i wanted to know
if there was any law or obligation that would require a seller to inform the buyer of Sweet itch?

Thanks again for all your advice ;-(
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I would want to ask someone who has legal equestrian knowledge these questions, not rely on the opinions of people who dont really know for certain on a forum :)

Not exactly sure where you are, but we over here have the BHS who have a legal helpline for members, is there something similar where you are that you can ring for free advice?
 
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