HELP! sold our pony - they want to send her back! - sweet itch developed?!!

T

tinker88

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 January 2007
Messages
422
Location
South Yorkshire
Visit site
Hi,

my 16yr old step daughter sold her pony 5 weeks ago, (she was a fab 1st/2nd pony) she had had her for just over a year and did a bit of everything, SJ, XC, PC, etc, and due to her going to back to live at her mums for a few months after xmas we put her out on loan - we went to see her whilst out on loan and she didnt look in as good condition as we sent her in - she wasnt bad - but just not the same, they had hunted her, but not clipped her, and she looked a bit "tired" even thou she was only 8yrs old. When she returned home to us we clipped her and she had TERRIBLE mites all over her, it took a good 2 months to get her skin back to normal.

Anyway my step daughter decided with her GSCE's coming up, and the fact she wants to go to racing college and that she had outgrown her 13.2hh pony to sell her.

We found a great home for her, they tried her, 5* vetted her by the BEST vets as poss (even though she wasnt expensive), etc and she went to her new home 5 weeks ago. We sent everything the pony owned, and it was a distressing sale.

Weve had a few emails about how well shes settled in and we were over the moon we found a great home for our loved pony. They were having lessons on her, rode her down the busiest roads in heavy traffic etc. and we generally pleased with her.
My step daughter has since spent her money from the pony on a scooter, and lessons, and getting her license along with new things for college - (racing wear etc)

and on friday i had a phone call saying the pony has developed sweet itch. We were shocked - can a pony just "get" sweet itch?????

So after a lengthy phone call she said she wanted us to have the pony back, I had been as understanding as poss on the phone but i said we couldnt take the pony back. They never why we were selling her, and knew everything about the ponies mites, and all her history

then today the lady has been calling and texting me saying i should re-consider taking the pony back (ie - refund them) because they were sold a
"safe and sound" pony and the sweet itch that has developed is an "un-soundness" so they deserve there money back! apparently the pony was itchy so when there child was riding her she went to lie down, so the child climbed off, and the pony nibbled her itch - but the said she was dangerous!!! she has never ever been a dangerous pony, and has never in her life bucked, kicked, reared, bolted etc.

they said they would take legal action but the pony never ever ever ever had sweet itch, she did loads of competitions last year, she lived out , we are still in contact with her old owner and she insists that she never had sweet itch. Our friends and instructors would verify this.

Now i dont want to fall out with the ponies new owners but obviously they dont believe us. (which i can kind of understand why) but if she did have sweet itch and was trying to hide it we would have sold her in winter - not in may! and we would have sold her for cheaper in the hope she wouldnt asked to be vetted - we have only been very open and honest - in belief we were finding a fab home her our pony!

Anyway - we can not take the pony back,
A, it was my step daughters pony so she had all the money from teh pony to buy what i mentioned above - so she has no money to buy her back (nore do I. As mentioned she is my step daughter)
B, she was sold so i didnt have to look after a pony whilst she is moving away to college
C, she was outgrown
D, We have recently moved yards to our own private yard where i have my yearling COLT (the pony we sold was a mare) and my other gelding

If it was possible we would let the pony come home, but the next thing is we sold her without a sweet itch allergy! The fact she had developed this now has baffled us all!

I must say that we live high up near the pennines so maybe the flies/wind/ climate helped this situation but at camp in the stabled last year she never itched! Ive googled it and apparently horses can just develop this at any time, - which im shocked by. I spoke to the sweet itch centre and its not un-common.

So where do i stand - or should i say where does my step daughter stand?

p.s - the ponys passport and receipt was all in my step daughters name. and the receipt said sold as seen, tried , tested and vetted!
 
quoted from the National sweet itch centre website........

"There is anecdotal evidence that stress (e.g moving to a new home, sickness, or severe injury) can be a factor when mature animals develop Sweet Itch"
 
I don't know where you stand legally. Morally, you have done nothing wrong and it's a condition that has developed under their ownership, unfortunately. I would direct her to the sweetitch website to understand the condition more. I would also check to see if a vet has verified it as sweetitch - there are a myriad of skin conditions that can affect horses.
 
sweetitch can start at any time in a horses life. i had a fell gelding who i had for years without any problem, he then suddenly, shortly after having a general anesetic for an op developed it.

we were shocked as we were at the same yard we had been for years. the vet told us that the stress of the operation putting pressure on the immune system was the only reason he could imagine why he may have started having it but it was definately sweetitch. he then had it until the day he died, every summer.

it may be the yard they have taken him to having more midges, do they have a water source near his field ? or it could just be the stress of the move.

there is no way you should be expected to take the horse back, horse was vetted with no signs evident in may when most sweetitch horses would be way into their scratching season (mine strated in march each year !)

I wouldnt worry about legal action, its a private sale with a vetting. sadly sometimes these things jsut happen.

good luck
 
tinker88 said:
and the receipt said sold as seen, tried , tested and vetted!
Click to expand...

this i would say will mean the buyer wouldnt be able to return the pony even if court proceedings were taken. If the pony was sold as seen with 5 stage vetting then the sweet itch development is unfortunate for them but outside of your control and liability.
 
Are you a gold member of the bhs by any chance? They have a free legal helpline for members, which can be quite useful.

I have no idea about the legal implications of this situation, but surely they would have to prove the pony had sweet itch? A pony with an itch, isn't necessarily a pony with sweet itch!

Did the vet see your mare when it had mites? If so, you will be able to prove that the pony had mites and that you were not trying to cover up sweet itch. Preseumably you would also be able to prove you have never consulted your vet for sweet itch related symptoms.
 
thankyou for your replies - I do feel for them, but she is an amazing pony - and apparently the National sweet itch centre does capsules that are good.

Im just sad they thought we would lie to them (i know alot of sellers do - but we genuinely sold our pony, with the best intentions of getting a good home)

Maybe there are a lot of ponds etc near them, or the stress of moving, or even the mites maybe did something to her immune system?

As i mentioned, if i thought she had sweet itch then we would have sold her in winter if we were being sneaky and also not be open to a vet.

Should i call them up or email them and explain more - or just sit quiet for a while?
 
i would be inclined to go over and see what they class as sweet itch. Horses can develop sweet itch. sometimes it can depend on the area where the yard is. I have know horses move a few miles to a different yard and sweet itch has much improved.
 
IMO the pony was sold with a full 5 stage vetting certificate, and the vet obviously did not find any evidence of the sweetich, and accepted the pony. Then they have no chance in winning...

Do you no the vets that vetted the pony? If so contact them and explain the situation. Im sure they would be more than happy to help out..

Good luck
 
lowerfarmstables said:
Are you a gold member of the bhs by any chance? They have a free legal helpline for members, which can be quite useful.

I have no idea about the legal implications of this situation, but surely they would have to prove the pony had sweet itch? A pony with an itch, isn't necessarily a pony with sweet itch!

Did the vet see your mare when it had mites? If so, you will be able to prove that the pony had mites and that you were not trying to cover up sweet itch. Preseumably you would also be able to prove you have never consulted your vet for sweet itch related symptoms.
Click to expand...

no we didnt use the vet for the mites, we did speak to them and we were told to use dermoline insecticidal shampoo which worked well, and we just did her every few days and used bio-oil to help her skin after, She did have faint lighter marks on her hair where the mites had been and you could see this a bit when they came to view/vet her. So obviously i told them exactly what had happened, these lighter patches had completely gone by the time they collected her - she was in amazing condition and very shiney (and a bit fat)
i explain the there vet about the mites (and she agreed with the treatment we gave her) and she said has she ever had sweet itch - i said no.

She had rubbed the top of her mane (a tiny patch of shorter hair) from when she had been stealing grass through the barbed wire fence into the farmers field (she was in a starvation paddock) but the vet even saw her doing this and laughed about it! but she defo did not have sweet itch, she was stabled at night until 2 weeks before they collected her and she never itched once.
 
Email her and tell her she is welcome to view the vet records of said pony when you owned it, to prove that he has not had treatment for that particular condition. I suspect she will be like a terrier on a rat with this, so do reply to any further communication from her and only state the facts.:)
 
pastie2 said:
Sold a horse through Brightwells, never had sweet itch before, she went to North Wales and developed it. Because she had gone through a registered sale we had to take her back, pay for 6 weeks full livery and transport back. I think if this pony was sold privately and was vetted I dont think the present owners have a leg to stand on. Did this pony have a full mane and tail when you sold it?
Click to expand...

yes a lush long mane and tail, shiney coat, (apart from the small shorter bit behind her ears where she had been sticking her head through the fence to steal grass from the other field)
 
Can you email some pics of her in previous summers where it is obvious she hasn't got sweet itch?

I have bought two horses that have shown signs of sweet itch after I got them, and I know it is because we live near woodlands, so it is not the fault of previous owners. If you live in a hilly, windy area, then probably the pony has not been exposed to many midges before. And maybe the mites have made the pony hypersensitive to other insect bites.

I would keep the lines of communication open for now by reiterating everything you have already said. Can you get your vet/instructor/someone important to also back you up?

Better for all if they realise sooner rather than later that the pony has genuinely not had it before and save everyone the stress of this dragging on with all the associated unpleasantness.
 
My Mother in law has had her horse for about 5 weeks also, he is 12 and has developed sweetitch, I do believe it is to do with stress of moving and they are by a river, but he is a good horse and she is moving to my yard which is much better on the midge front and she will manage it. It's just one of those things.

I appreciate that it can be a bit of a pain but if the pony is great for them and safe for their child in every other way then I think they are being a bit rash (scuse the pun) in sending her back, I certainly wouldnt, I'd rather have a good horse in a bowet and some lotion on hand!!! I think maybe you should get them to talk to a vet or as someone mentioned direct them to the website. I think its probably a bit of panic on their part, I'm a panicer too! LOL

Good luck xxx
 
i have emailed the lady explaining everything that i have wrote in here, and put everything nicely.

I hope this all goes ok. Poor pony. Wish we didnt have to sell her
 
Perhaps she does have sweet itch, but it can develop just like that. Plus its been 5 weeks and it may just be a convenient excuse as the novelty of the pony has worn off (always the sceptic, me). You have no obligation to take the pony back whatsoever.
 
If I read you right she's been with the new owner 5 weeks after 2 months of intensive skin treatment.
The active ingredient in Dermoline shampoo is pyrethrine which can cause allergic reactions in animals such as itchy rashes. Dermoline also do a lotion for sweetitch which contains benzyl benzoate, also effective on lice and often causes more itching than the lice!
Sounds as though they've picked up on the fact that Dermoline was mentioned and are trying to pull a fast one.
 
The problem here is that sweet itch is a reportable condition and must be declared at a vetting. It can be regarded as an unsoundness.
I suspect IF the new owners could prove the pony had the condition prior to purchase, then they would have a claim against the seller. The vet could absolve himself of any blame if there were no symptoms at the time of the vetting. May is still fairly early on in the sweet itch season, so it could be argued that the symtoms had not yet begun this year.

I really think you should get some legal advice on this, as I don't think you should rely on the fact he passed a vetting, and that "sold as seen" was written on the receipt.
 
Have they checked for mites or lice? My boy is hypersensitive to lice, got them in January and was maddened with itch. I used deosect on him, which irritated him, but did the trick and after a couple of weeks he had stopped itching, but was still all scurfy and flaky in his mane.
 
If pony has sweet itch, the only sign will not be just that it has an itch and goes to lie down when being worked! It'll have rubbed its skin off in places if bad enough, mane and tail will be going - even a day after developing the condition there would be obvious signs. In addition to these, usually there is scurfy skin and mane/tail. I'd go and see pony and poss as well get a vet not known to the owner to meet me there to confirm if there is/isn't sweet itch now. I doubt it. They would first have noticed itching and asked you if the mites could have come back and tried to treat for that. Sounds a funny sequence of events.

While it is poss pony developed this, is just as likely they've got cold feet. If pony has got sweet itch, your vet records should prove she hasn't had it before.
 
Its perfectly possible that this isn't sweet-itch at all but an allergic reaction to them using a different flyspray or even washing powder. Be helpful but stand your ground.
 
I know a lady who sold a horse and when she sold it it developed sweet itch. The horse was about 10.
It can develop in different conditions, i.e if your on top of a hill with no real flies and the pony moves near a river with loads of flies.
 
mites what mites are we talking about here?

They need a vet to diagnose the exact condition the pony has and then take it from there. If the pony has mites which is usually leg mites its treatable, lice are treatable, sweet-itch is managable.
 
You had her on a starvation paddock. Have they been allowing her more grass. Some horses get sweet itch when they have too much grass and reducing the grass can reduce or remove the sweetitch.
 
I really wouldn't worry she really doesn't have a leg to stand on legally as Sweet itch as others have said can just start. new home, stress different crops and insects in different areas can trigger these things off, we have horse that has never had wind problems, we moved yards only three miles away but surrounded by rapeseed fields and for serveral weeks in the spring he is now on ventimpomin (sp?).

These things happen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top