Do I have grounds for a refund?

[L&M]

Sorry I have not followed the whole thread, but if it was me I would sell the horse on and find a more suitable height replacement, ensuring a measurement is taken at any pre purchase vetting.

I think you, the seller, and the pony, are all victims here and wouldn't place the blame on either side - find a nice home for the horse a and just mark it down to experience.

Good luck!

 

[spacefaer]

Sorry I have not followed the whole thread, but if it was me I would sell the horse on and find a more suitable height replacement, ensuring a measurement is taken at any pre purchase vetting.

I think you, the seller, and the pony, are all victims here and wouldn't place the blame on either side - find a nice home for the horse a and just mark it down to experience.

Good luck!

The trouble with this advice is the significant price difference between a 148 jumping pony and a nice 151cm small horse.

 

[Upthecreek]

Sorry I have not followed the whole thread, but if it was me I would sell the horse on and find a more suitable height replacement, ensuring a measurement is taken at any pre purchase vetting.

I think you, the seller, and the pony, are all victims here and wouldn't place the blame on either side - find a nice home for the horse a and just mark it down to experience.

Good luck!

But she paid a premium because it was supposedly a 148 pony and will lose a lot of money if she just sells it on. The seller is at fault because she sold a 148 pony that hasn’t measured in. The buyer is at fault because the size of the pony was critical & she didn’t buy one with a LHC. I think the buyer will be successful legally because she has proof of the seller stating that the pony would measure in. It hasn’t, therefore it was miss-sold.

No vet would measure a pony at a pre-purchase vetting and guarantee the measurement to be 100% accurate for the purposes of measuring in for height classes.

 

[Jenko109]

Sorry I have not followed the whole thread, but if it was me I would sell the horse on and find a more suitable height replacement, ensuring a measurement is taken at any pre purchase vetting.

I think you, the seller, and the pony, are all victims here and wouldn't place the blame on either side - find a nice home for the horse a and just mark it down to experience.

Good luck!

So just suck it up and lose a few thousand pounds?

I hardly think so.

 

[Melody Grey]

So just suck it up and lose a few thousand pounds?

I hardly think so.

A good few thousand and then some no doubt in this crazy market. ?

Good luck OP, my fingers are crossed for a good outcome for you.

 

[criso]

The seller refused to take the horse back because she has measured out which gives an indication of how much the value has changed.

 

[SO1]

You only have to look on horsequest SJ to see the potential difference in price. 6 year SJ 148 around 25k and a 15.1 around 10k.

The seller refused to take the horse back because she has measured out which gives an indication of how much the value has changed.

 

[L&M]

So just suck it up and lose a few thousand pounds?

I hardly think so.

As a lot of people have had to do when 'mis-sold' horses, (this forum is littered with them - I lost a lot of money on a Hoy's level show cob that had a nasty bolting habit) - it is a bitter, bitter pill but plenty of us have been there and done it.

Obviously if the buyer can prove the discrepancy and win a legal case then great, and wish her all the luck.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Hi Lexie01, are you able to tell us how this was resolved please? I hope things have worked out.

 

[Lexie01]

Hi Lexie01, are you able to tell us how this was resolved please? I hope things have worked out.

Hi, I can happily report that we still have the 'horse'.
We did engage the services of an experienced equine solicitor. She confirmed that we had a very strong case against the seller. We spent about 2 months exchanging letters between solicitors - but the seller simply refused to have the pony back and refund me the purchase price. Because the amount in question was above the small claims limit the next step would have been full court proceedings. Whilst we had a strong case and there was every likelihood we would have won because of Covid it would have taken about 12-18mths for the case to come to court.
Waiting this long just wasn't an option for us so we decided to pull out, buy an additional pony (that measured in) and keep the small horse to compete in seniors for a year - a sort of transition horse.
SO we basically lost about 2k in solicitors fees plus the purchase price but gained a lovely mare!

 

[ycbm]

Can you name and shame the dealer, since the pony not measuring in was an undisputable matter of fact?
.

 

[Lexie01]

Can you name and shame the dealer, since the pony not measuring in was an undisputable matter of fact?
.

No - sorry. I went down the legal route because I didn't want to get into a social media slanging match and that still remains the case. I can say that she isn't named on any dodgy dealer websites.

 

[ycbm]

It was shameful behaviour on her part.
.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Thank you for the update. I'm glad you have found another pony. The horse sounds like she is a lovely addition to your family and will pay you back by keeping you all safe and giving you lots of fun.

 

[Lexie01]

It was shameful behaviour on her part.
.

Yes and a massive learning curve for us - never to buy a pony without a LHC!
We basically spent nearly 20k on the original pony plus the price of another pony with a LHC plus 2k solicitors fees plus livery costs for 2 rather than the original 1. An expensive mistake.
However I am a optimist/glass half full type of person and there are positives. The pony is a delight - lovely in everyday. She has a gentle soul - so we have also gained - just not financially!






A very gentle soul

 

[millikins]

I am sorry you've had such a grim and expensive experience. This may be a daft suggestion but would she event? There seem to be a lot more small horses/large ponies at high level eventing than pure SJ.

 

[Lexie01]

I am sorry you've had such a grim and expensive experience. This may be a daft suggestion but would she event? There seem to be a lot more small horses/large ponies at high level eventing than pure SJ.

Hi, yes she can event. My daughter hates dressage and XC so ultimately I think she will probably go to an eventing home. She does a lovely dressage test.

 

[millikins]

Hi, yes she can event. My daughter hates dressage and XC so ultimately I think she will probably go to an eventing home. She does a lovely dressage test.

Maybe you've inadvertently bought the next Little Tiger

 

[Fred66]

The limit for small claims is now £10k, rather than claiming full purchase price could you have claimed the loss in value ?

 

[Lois Lame]

Maybe you've inadvertently bought the next Little Tiger

I don't know Little Tiger, but it would be lovely if this little big mare goes onto great things.

 

[ponynutz]

I've had 2 that grew on in 2 years. One did 4.5cm and the other just over 5. It happens.

Mine did too. 13hh when we bought her at 4 and is now 13.3hh bordering on 14hh - it does happen.

- Sorry just read the update! Glad it worked out semi-well for you OP.