horse on Loan

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jan66hob

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I took a horse on loan for my daughter for a week with a view to buy . The owner brought the mare over but she fell down 3 times in the trailer on the way over she had cuts to her head and legs which the owner assured me would be ok and no vet needed as I suggested . She sent down a farrier the next day as her feet were very long and suggested this was why the horse went down . The farrier said she had an old injury to her back leg . My daughter tried to sit on her the next day and she kept leaning right back as if she was going to fall. I phoned the owner who said this was due to her going down and to give her danolin for a few days but she didnt fully recover so I called in a vet who said the horse was lame and to send her back and asked did i not question why the horse came down 3 times I told the owner this and now 12 days later she still hasnt picked the horse up at first I was getting texts phone calls etc saying she was coming then no transport , no money ,unwell etc etc . Now I have sent her a recorded letter which she signed for today stating that she must pick her up by Wed 17th Oct at 14.00
which I was advised to do but after that I am at a total loss as the sspca say its a civil matter and I really dont know what to do . I have no passport and no contract and am left with a mare that was meant to be a fun horse for my daughter that she is frightened to ride incase she is hurting it . Any advice would be very much appreciated thanks Jan .:confused:
 
You took her on trial and should really have had a contract in place, the passport should also stay with her, it sounds to me as if the owner knew there was a problem and just wanted her gone, hoping that you would get attached and keep her.

I would arrange transport, send a message saying what time you are delivering and send her back, if there is no one there just put her in a secure stable or the field she was in and leave her. If you are travelling her you should have the passport but in the unlikely situation of getting stopped and asked for it just give her owners name and they have a few hours to take it in, probably not a correct answer but it is what I would do.
 
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I think someone may have dumped a pony on you so they don't have to PTS. Obviously you don't want these costs either, but I'm not sure what you can do. Maybe hire transport and deliver back to sellers home address?
 
poor horse and poor you. I don't have any advice,just feel sorry for horse and you, that owner must know what's up with the poor thing
 
That makes it difficult if there is nowhere to return her to, I would contact the owner if she does not respond to the recent letter and say that as she has not collected her you will charge livery at x amount per day until she collects her.
If she really does not want her back you are looking at being stuck with her, having to claim ownership as she has been abandoned, getting a new passport and then arranging for her to be moved on or pts, it could take a few months but is possible to do.
 
poor animal :D If she was in that sorry a state then I don't think I would have the heart to send her back. Don't you have an address for this person? I think by now I would have been banging down their door.
 
jan66hob said:
Sorry what is pts ? I said in the letter that I am due deposit , farrier fees and if she doesn't pick her up livery charges but to be honest she doesn't seem to care .
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pts is put to sleep, it sounds harsh but if the mare is unsound, unwanted, not your fault but it is the most likely scenario, the kindest thing would be to do this rather than have her passed from pillar to post, which is what tends to happen to many in her situation.
Until the deadline has passed live in hope, she may be trying to arrange things and genuinely be unwell.
 
sadly the law when it comes to horse is a proverbial ASS... there is another thread on here at the moment of a horse taken in payment for a loanee's debt that one is worth a read.
 
What a knightmare for you, there are some awful people out there. Did the vet give any advice on what could be wrong with her? Please keep us posted as to what's happening.
 
It does seem hard but look at it from another perspective, you were "given" a horse that you thought would suit your daughter, the owner says now that it is a gift, she has given the horse to you, signs over the passport and keeps the deposit as payment in full. Owner relieved of her problem, you are now the owner of a worthless horse, so many are being abandoned around the country that it is hard for councils in some areas to deal with the situation.
 
If the horse is in pain and you can't pay the bill to sort it out (which is fair enough why should you when its not your horse) then maybe try calling welfare people out to this horse which has been dumped on you? I'd say you've got no chance of getting any money back that you've paid out, unless you'll take the owner to court, so the longer this goes on for the more you lose. I'd be taking the horse and leaving it in the owners garden. Not nice for the horse to be given back to someone who doesn't care, but the alternative is to lose hundreds in livery feed bedding vets etc until you can legally claim ownership then lose more money having it PTS.
 
I would rather it went to welfare or SSPCA etc as she clearly doesnt care for the horse as thats what she does buys and sell as she would probably try and sell her on again or worse still not be nice to her . I would hate to have that on my concience .
 
Having had several ponies dumped on my land by a non paying livery I have been although this.
I know it seems wrong headed but the quickest way to get rid of this legally is to be nice( no matter how much it sticks in your throat) say you will buy her for a nominal fee then you will at least be able to dispose of her.
To claim abandonment takes months, and if she has no money no use in taking her to small claims for costs and you have the duty of care at the moment.
http://www.redwings.org.uk/welfare-horse-care-advice-abandonment.php
I've tried it charities are not intereested as you are looking after it and they would have the legal costs.
 
Is there any chance that if you put the horse to sleep or hand it over to a rescue service that she could then charge you the price of the horse?

If technically the horse is on trial with a view to buy, that would be a vat of hot water that I wouldn't want to get myself into, maybe worth speaking to the police before you take any action and get a reference number??
 
I think she's seen you coming :( Buys and sells? Takes a deposit for a loan horse? More likely she can't sell it because its lame so has dumped it on the first person who'd take it and I think she'll claim she sold it to you if you try to go the legal route to make her pay you. Poor horse and poor you. I don't fancy your chances of getting her to take the horse back. The quickest way out of this mess may be to phone or visit and ask if owner will sell horse to you for deposit price. Chances are she will agree. Then when its official you can try to get welfare to take her (which they may not, they don't like having horses that need PTS dumped on them either) or PTS yourself. You've got more chance of welfare taking horse on if it doesn't legally belong to you so I'd try that first. Good luck.
 
How awful! I can't believe some people. Why don't they sell the horses for meat if they're not bothered? Obv not what I would do but I just don't understand it!

If you have to keep the horse, poor thing, then could you find grass livery and have it live out? Or is it on box rest/too ill?
 
OP I think you might be wise to have a chat with a solicitor/legal beagle who has proven experience in equine matters; OK so this might be pricey in the first instance but TBH there are all sorts of legal issues involved here and you really would benefit from getting an expert opinion as to exactly where you stand.

My thoughts are that the "owner" has the passport - you don't; so that is one issue.

The other thing is that (sorry to be wise in hindsight) - you were regrettably remiss, which I'm sure you realise now, in (a) not having a contract in place and (b) not getting the vet out when it was apparent the mare had been "injured" in transit. If that had been done you would then have had something in writing plus an expert opinion to back you up. As the mare was obviously not sound on arrival you would then have had better grounds to be able to say to the owner - look, sorry the mare was unsound when she arrived, here's the veterinary proof of it, am sending her back, etc etc.

But I would deffo consult a legal opinion. In the meantime, keep records of costings for your keep of her, i.e. livery bills/feed bills, shoeing, vets bills etc..
 
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