Help- I need to get my horses back from rescue centre!

[sgcoolchick]

please can anyone assist?

i gave a rescue centre two of my horses back in january, the rescue centre claimed to rehabilibtate and retire horses, i was pleased with the yard and agreed to deliver them- a retired tb, and a coloured with some issues which meant he was to retire / or can do some gentle hacking. it has come to light that theand tb is fine, however the coloured boy is being ridden by a novice who is the posting videos of himself jumping him (this horse is almost 18) and i wanted a quiet retirement home, he is also unsound on his left shoulder and my vet previously advised no jumping and only light schooling. this novice very large man is now jumping him and photos and videos of him being bounced on and his mouth being jerked around have appeared. to say im disgusted is an understatement. someone who lives close to the centre has informed me he is going in the school almost every day and they have never even hacked him out, so in reality my boy is being used to teach novices to jump rather than being ridden gently! other things have also happened which i do not at this point want to bring to peoples attention but believe me they will be once this situation is sorted! the rescue centre owner said i could visit my horses and ride my coloured boy whenever i was free to pop down- she is now saying he has a bad back and lots of other things so he can only be ridden by one certain rider (supposedly the sack of potatoes i have seen in the photos) who has been taught by the back specialist to ride him in a "certain" way- what a load of tosh! even more so what an insult saying i cant ride him yet the sack of potatoes can?! im furious! she has now also blocked me from seeing any activity on her facebook. now tell me if i am in the wrong, but if she has nothing to hide why would she refuse to let me ride him and why would she hide him from me on her facebook? i trusted this girl and it seems she is doing everything she can to prevent me from having any contact with a horse i adored and it was a hard choice to give him up along with his best friend the tb! so she has both their passports, but i never signed any form of document or signed them over to her, i have a reciept for the purchase of both the horses and the people i purchased them from will also vouch for this, and their proof of from when they owned them! now i need to know, how do i go about getting them back? please please help or advise me if you have had a similiar situation, im kicking myself and feel totally mislead and disgusted with how i have been treated! i will not turn a blind eye and i want my horses back in a safe home where they are not being messed around with!
sorry for rant! thanks for reading

 

[AmyMay]

Where is this place based? Have you spoken to the BHS legal line (if you are a gold member)? And is this place a registered charity?

 

[guido16]

Sorry to ask, but if you can give them a home now, why did you give them away in the first place?

 

[Mongoose11]

Sorry to ask, but if you can give them a home now, why did you give them away in the first place?

Is it really the right time to be asking this kind of question? Perhaps advice for a worried owner should come before the accusatory back biting. Yes, we might have all thought it but it isn't a very helpful approach.....


OP, after you have found out what your legal position re ownership is, you need to go and talk to them face to face. Perhaps write down your concerns in a list so that you can refer to them as you go along. This will help you to remain calm and address everything that you wanted to.

x

 

[*Maddy&Occhi*]

Sorry to ask, but if you can give them a home now, why did you give them away in the first place?

If this were to happen to my retired mare, I would, regardless of my situation have her back...even it meant her living in my garden.

So sorry to hear about this, is the charity registered? as someone said below, contact the BHS legal line.

 

[sgcoolchick]

it was not a case of giving them away i had 4 horses at the time and i was looking for a retirement home for them- they had to go together as best friends but the coloured is still ok to be ridden by an experienced rider hence he does not need full retirement but was only for hacking. no they are not reistered. i just need to know how to get them back.

 

[Hippona]

Sorry to ask, but if you can give them a home now, why did you give them away in the first place?

Exactly....unless of course you are paying for livery retirement?

Are these horses still yours or have you gifted them to the centre owner?

If its the latter then ....I doub't very much theres anything you can do

 

[pixiebee]

was going to ask the same thing? also, i dont agree with the charity but you should have stipulated in writing what the horses could/couldnt be used for. as it is, the charity can do what they like with them! also this highlights the risk of passing on unsound/companion horses.

 

[Tammytoo]

If you have signed no agreement there is nothing to stop you from turning up and taking your horses back. First thing though is that I would check with the passport office that you are still named as the owner and make them aware that the horses are on loan and not sold.

 

[moandben]

IF the horses still belong to you, you need to go and collect them. If they don't, and you gave them away it will be a bit more difficult and you will need legal advice, like amymay said BHS are very helpful... good luck

 

[guido16]

God some of you lot are prickly.

I wasnt being nasty or vicious. I was asking a genuine question.

I will ask what I want!

OP - I am afraid that unless you have something in writing that stipulates T`s & C`s, they are the new owners now.

 

[sgcoolchick]

sorry to the people who think i gave them away and its tough luck, but i advertised my coloured as looking for a home for life so he can retire but still be ridden by an experienced rider and hacked, my TB was part of the deal as he is now 24 and they are both very much best friends. the rescue centre saw my advert and got in touch and said she would take them both. i never signed anything or gifted them etc, all she has is the passports. if she was not being so strange and stopping me from riding him when i visit and blocking me on facebook i would not have reason to be suspicious, there are also photos of 15 stone riders backing 10hh ponies. i see that this is not a rescue centre but a complete state of ignorance, and it could be that this sack of potatoes who is riding my boy- who looks like a total brute if im perfectly honest could infact be paying for lessons on him? its totally unfair he is unsound and its breaking my heart to see him being bounced around on and his mouth being jerked around! i will call the bhs line, i have been told by people that because i have proof of ownership i can just go and collect him, she has no paperwork for them apart from the passport. at the end of the day its my fault- it was too good to be true hey? a rescue centre that retires two of your horses and they live happily ever after?

 

[Mongoose11]

Guido16, I guess I was prickly about the 'Sorry to ask, but....'

I hate thinly veiled confrontation. You clearly weren't sorry to ask, otherwise you probably wouldn't have asked....

Sorry + but = no apology.

Fair question but then don't hide it?

 

[OWLIE185]

The fact that you have stated that you have 'given' them your horses means that you have passed over ownership to them. Therefore title of of your horses is with the people you have given your horse to and I regret that you will be unable to reclaim them.

However, if there is a welfare issue then I would suggest you contact WHW World Horse Welfare who will be pleased to investigate the matter for you. Please see their contact details below:

If you would like to report a horse welfare concern in the UK, please call our Welfare Line for free on 08000 480180. We encourage people to call rather than email in order to gain as much information as possible.

The Welfare Line is open from 8am - 5.30pm, Monday - Friday, with a voicemail system to take calls outside of these hours.

We endeavour to answer as many calls as possible but, unfortunately, some will go through to voicemail. We aim to return all welfare calls within the same working day so please do leave a message, clearly stating a daytime contact number, and we will return the call as soon as possible.

All calls to this number are strictly confidential and are dealt with by trained members of staff who have a knowledge of horses as well as an understanding of the relevant legislation.

When you call to report a concern, we will ask you some questions about the situation so that we can establish whether we need to pass the details to a field officer for investigation.

Once the field officer has been out to look at the horses and taken any action necessary, we always try to report back to the caller so they know we have attended and what we have been able to do.

 

[AmyMay]

So, just in case you missed them - I'll repeat my questions for you:

Where is this place based?
Have you spoken to the BHS legal line (if you are a gold member)?
And is this place a registered charity?

 

[sgcoolchick]

sorry amy i dont want to say where as it may get back to them that i want to take them back and im worried she will move them in the meantime if she finds out, as i dont trust her! its not registered no- and i will call the bhs line today x

 

[guido16]

Guido16, I guess I was prickly about the 'Sorry to ask, but....'

I hate thinly veiled confrontation. You clearly weren't sorry to ask, otherwise you probably wouldn't have asked....

Sorry + but = no apology.

Fair question but then don't hide it?

Actually I was sorry to ask. I wasnt confronting the OP, I was curious.

However, you obviously know my thoughts and mind better than I do.

Here is a thing, stop hijacking the OP`s thread and trying to cause an argument with me.

 

[eatonbraynat]

I am not sure if this is correct, just what i have heard along the way. If you 'give' your horse away, there is something somewhere thats states you should get something in return however small ie £1, so that it is deemed a sale and there is then no question of ownership. In my opinion having a horses passport does not qualify you as the owner as the passport is suppossed to stay with the horse at all times, hence why some yards like all the horses passports even for livery horses in there keep, as they are on their premises. So if it was me and there was nothing in writing to confirm they had left my ownership, i would bloody well get two headcollars and go get them back, like PRONTO!!! (Even if i did get in trouble id still do it!)

 

[Mongoose11]

Actually I was sorry to ask. I wasnt confronting the OP, I was curious.

However, you obviously know my thoughts and mind better than I do.

Here is a thing, stop hijacking the OP`s thread and trying to cause an argument with me.

No argument, fair comments to your early, generally unhelpful (in terms of what OP was after) post.

Consider myself told. Apologies!

 

[Arizahn]

I rather hope that this gets sorted quickly...poor horses!

 

[quirky]

So, as you wanted them in retirement livery, I assume you pay them to look after their needs.
If this is the case, terminate the contract and remove them.

 

[sgcoolchick]

no payment is made- its not a retirement livery its a rescue centre but they contacted me saying they had space available. on their website they state they take on horses if the owners circumstances change. i am not able to use the bhs line as i am not a gold member. i guess i will speak to a solictior.

 

[Puppy]

at the end of the day its my fault- it was too good to be true hey? a rescue centre that retires two of your horses and they live happily ever after?

I'm afraid that's pretty much what I was thinking when I read your OP.

 

[pixiebee]

this is what I dont understand, you wanted retirement livery, had them advertised for free to another home, gave them to an unregistered charity presumably with no background checks, otherwise you would have known about the 10hh ponies being broken in by large adults, you did not put anything in writing and made no written demand to say that they should/shouldnt do certain things, have not paid a penny towards their keep and now want them back because you dont like what they are doing with them??? Im sorry to be blunt but thats how I read it?

 

[AmyMay]

no payment is made- its not a retirement livery its a rescue centre but they contacted me saying they had space available. on their website they state they take on horses if the owners circumstances change. i am not able to use the bhs line as i am not a gold member. i guess i will speak to a solictior.

It will cost you £50 or thereabouts to join the BHS and become a gold member.

Good luck.

 

[Phoebe]

Ok, whilst it obviously wasn't ideal to take them there they haven't honoured their side regarding what they said they would do with your horses. I wonder if there is a case for fraud, or deception...

I think I would write a letter stating the terms and agreement of you placing your horses there have been broken and to avoid legal action being taken you will collect your horses on such and such a date. Is she receiving money for using your coloured do you think? Defo take legal advice though

 

[quirky]

no payment is made- its not a retirement livery its a rescue centre but they contacted me saying they had space available. on their website they state they take on horses if the owners circumstances change. i am not able to use the bhs line as i am not a gold member. i guess i will speak to a solictior.

Oh I am sorry, it doesn't sound good .
I do hope you have success in removing them.

 

[sgcoolchick]

i did not want retirement "livery" i wanted a quiet retirement home, they contacted me remember offering a home for life for both of them, the issue im having is they are using my unsound horse to teach idiots to jump! if i knew he would end up being used for this would i have let them go there? i dont think so! they have completley pulled the wool over my eyes, i did background checks, visited the yard and there were no issues, it has come to light there is a serious staffing issue and these new members of staff are ignorant and not treating the horses correctly. i am more than happy to pay a livery bill for the time they have been there, i am not after something for nothing!

 

[AmyMay]

Ok, whilst it obviously wasn't ideal to take them there they haven't honoured their side regarding what they said they would do with your horses. I wonder if there is a case for fraud, or deception...

There was a case about this sort of thing quite recently I think.....

 

[guido16]

Ok, whilst it obviously wasn't ideal to take them there they haven't honoured their side regarding what they said they would do with your horses. I wonder if there is a case for fraud, or deception...

I think I would write a letter stating the terms and agreement of you placing your horses there have been broken and to avoid legal action being taken you will collect your horses on such and such a date. Is she receiving money for using your coloured do you think? Defo take legal advice though

But surely it is the same as giving a horse free to a good home that is a "private" home. New owner might tell you they want your companion horse as a "companion", but if you later hear that your "companion" is competing at the local RC XC, there is nothing you can do about it.

Happy to be told I am wrong, would make it easier for OP!