Dealers & refunds

W

whiteclover

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 March 2011
Messages
815
Visit site
What rights do you have if you bought a horse from a dealer/agent that a month down the line turns out to have an allergy? Hes good in every other way. Ive asked for a refund but she refused.
 
Hmm... Tricky did the dealers know it had an allergy? I think you would have to prove it was either not fit for purpose or deliberately misled. But I do believe that there are limits to refunds on horses like goods, as it was a dealer it comes under the sales of goods act. I would contact an equine solicitor for help.

Also if the horse is perfect in every way can you not just deal with the allergy? What kind of allergy is it?
 
Yes I thought it was up to me to prove he was like that when bought but he passed the vetting no problems. I think its a pollen allergy as it started 2 weeks ago. Vet thinks its not bad but theres rapeseed nearby & he was fine at the last yard. Im moving yards soon to see if it resolves itself.
 
Why ask for refund? Gets my goat this does, you brought him deal with it. Bloody glade I don't sell horses anymore with the crap that people try to come back with
 
2 of mine are sensitive to rapeseed. Both awesome horses. I'd deal with it. Other option get rid and probably end up with rubbish horse but at least not sensitive to rapeseed.
 
had owned my mare for 8 years and then suddenly she started head shaking . the surrounding fields were all filled with rape.(she had never shown ANY signs before) i found that she started headshaking when she got anywhere near rape these things can start at any time but i just use a nose net from equilibrium and she is much more comfortable....you may find this works with your horse and if all else is fine why get rid?
 
I'm afraid it doesn't sound like your horse is 'not fit for purpose'. I think an allergy is a small concern if the horse is otherwise great! My mare was allergic to bluebells and her friend to wild honeysuckle!! Mine finished when the bluebells finished and then her friend started!! We could tell when we were coming up to a honeysuckle a couple of minutes before we saw or smelt it! But both only lasted a few weeks - it wasn't the end of the world! :)
 
I understand your horse having an allergy can be very distressing, however they mostly can be easily managed.

What have you tried nose nets can help many horses, nasal sprays or vaseline around nostrils.

Some horses take piriton or even have full face masks, most severe headshaking lasts for a short time in the season that the horse is allergic to something.

If it is a lovely horse I really would stick with it and try and find out what is irritating the horse, I have had a couple and it usually can be managed.

It can seem really bad if you have never seen it before but usually does subside this is the worst time of year for most seasonal headshakers.
 
Why on earth would you expect a refund in this situation?! Get some NAF Respirator and that should help. Always sorts ours when the rape pollen is high
 
Personally id not ever want a horse with a summer allergy again. We had a lovely pony but it got to the point where come summer she was completely unrideable. The regular allergy symptoms over the years became severe asthma type symptoms.
It was heart wrenching to see her suffering like this.
Its easy to say use a nosenet/manage the problem but allergies can be VERY serious illnesses and we wouldnt BUY a horse with any other severe health problem.
I spent an absolute fortune on the usual dust free beddings/haylage etc but also on high daily doses of steroids and never ending bottles of ventipulmin to try and keep her comfy.
When the effects of these drugs started to lessen she was put to sleep in Spring 2 years ago.

I imagine the dealer may well genuinly not have known this horses problem- ours showed no signs at all between certain months.
I also doubt very much it would show up in a vetting (dependant again on time of year)
I dont know what you can do re refunds, no idea but id be certainly looking to move as you said to a yard away from rape. Its probably trial and error but i have heard about horses being ok by living in a different area. Open breezy fields would be best (by the sea!) I did huge amounts of research into this!
My story is extreme but people seem to think allergies are nothing to worry about and i disagree.
Good luck xx
 
I think you'd have to prove they knew. If you can't do that I don't think you'd have a leg to stand on re: getting a refund.
Sorry you are having such a rough time, life really is an expletive, sometimes.
 
You don't have to prove that they knew but you do have to prove that the horse is not fit for purpose. If a nose net, some antihistamines or a move of fields sorts it out then I don't think that you would not be able to prove this. I think you are just going to have to deal with it, sorry. I would be very annoyed in your shoes but I don't think the dealer is to blame unless he knew about it, when he should have told you - ethically - but not legally unless you asked.
 
McNally said:
Personally id not ever want a horse with a summer allergy again. We had a lovely pony but it got to the point where come summer she was completely unrideable. The regular allergy symptoms over the years became severe asthma type symptoms.
It was heart wrenching to see her suffering like this.
Its easy to say use a nosenet/manage the problem but allergies can be VERY serious illnesses and we wouldnt BUY a horse with any other severe health problem.
I spent an absolute fortune on the usual dust free beddings/haylage etc but also on high daily doses of steroids and never ending bottles of ventipulmin to try and keep her comfy.
When the effects of these drugs started to lessen she was put to sleep in Spring 2 years ago.

I imagine the dealer may well genuinly not have known this horses problem- ours showed no signs at all between certain months.
I also doubt very much it would show up in a vetting (dependant again on time of year)
I dont know what you can do re refunds, no idea but id be certainly looking to move as you said to a yard away from rape. Its probably trial and error but i have heard about horses being ok by living in a different area. Open breezy fields would be best (by the sea!) I did huge amounts of research into this!
My story is extreme but people seem to think allergies are nothing to worry about and i disagree.
Good luck xx
Click to expand...


It's bad luck when you get a horse with something like this and allergies are difficult to manage and some are awful but I still think its no reason for a refund .Most allergys ca be managed with work and all horses should have dust free bedding allergic or not it is simply bad pracise to keep all horses in dusty environments .
I had a summer allergic horse oilseed rape was the worse thing with him but it does not flower for long Wynergy ventilate really helped him.
One of mine at the mo seems to be effected by catkins . OP you just have to get on or even sell on to someone who is prepared to manage it.
 
its an allergy, he not going to die or have any long term health problems, if its to rape then its not around 12 months of the year and will prob only be an issue when its in bloom, why do u want a refund? i dont understand. its not like the day after you bought the horse it was hoping lame or bucked you off. if he perfect in everyother way i dont see a problem
 
So sorry that your horse has developed an allergy, sadly this is nothing to do with the seller,dealer or vet who vetted the horse, its just bad luck.
I rescued a horse with severe sweetitch but the change of climate and change of yard{ now living on the coast} has totally cleared her of all syptoms, I guess its the luck of the draw.
I would try and manage him the best you can and learn from this.
 
If the horse is pefect in every other way I would try taking they to the small claims court for the difference in the value between what it with the allergy which you have to treat and will lower its value. You have to get a vet to say it has an allergy and what the costs would be.
As someone has said the horse has to be fit for purpose and if it sneezing or headshaking all summer its not.
If the horse cost under £2500 you could go to small claims for the whole amount.If you go onthe trading standards website they will tell how to write the letter and waht to do. You do not need a lawyer and it cost about £40. Good luck.
 
I have just spotted that you said dealer/agent, and I recently read in a Q&A section in a horse magazine that if they are acting as Agents, i.e. they do not own the horse but are taking commission from the owner, then your action would have to be against the owner of the horse and not the dealer. And in that case you would have to establish misrepresentation by the dealer. Unless you asked the specific question about whether the horse had any issues like this, or the dealer told you that it didn't without you asking, then you would have no case at all.

In cases like this which succeed, the owner then has to sue the dealer to recover his money if it was the dealer's fault the horse was misrepresented.

Please do not waste any money on pursuing the legal avenue on this horse. I think that you will lose it, and a lot of sleep.
 
Last edited:
I think your argument would be with the vet because by having the horse vetted, you've shown that you didn't rely on the seller to sell you a horse with no health issues.

The vet wouldn't have known about an allergy like that if the horse wasn't showing signs so you'd be on shaky ground trying to get recompensation.

I think it's a shame that the horse is perfect for you in every other way yet you'd rather have your money back. Most people would try every option to work around the allergy if they've found their otherwise dream horse. I'd rather have an allergy than an unsound or bad to ride horse
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top