Horse purchase legal query

I'm is the same (ish) area as Santa and although we do have some very good specialist vets around, many - especially those on farms - still use whatever vet they always have. If you have a horse vetted , it can't be by a vet that has treated it so if Santa was to buy mine or vice versa, it would be difficult to find an equine vet easily because chances are we have used the same vet at some point.
 
When selling Jacada a non horsey vet came out and claimed she had a problem that she didnt have!

I would definitely get an equine vet to check the horse, as the horse would have signs of wear and tear after this degree of weaving.

Even a solictors letter might show the ex owner that your friend means business!
 
I was always told to ask those questions in front of a witness. Otherwise it is your word against theirs. If you have it vetted you ask when the vet is present and answers are logged.

I was also told to be specific...does it box walk, does it weave etc as well as does it have any vices.
 
exactly. I could easily see if someone wanted a horse vetted from our yard that if they wanted an equine specialist the vet would have to travel 50miles to do so, so nice big fee for the vetting for the potential purchaser!

Although I do believe that my practice will with permission from both parties vet the horse still as they have about 5 or 6 vets at the practice and where possible with exceptions of emergencies there is a tendency for the same vet to treat one horse (to maintain consistency of treatment) and so there should be a vet at the practice who has no prior knowledge of the horse.
 
One of mine in particular has probably seem all of them!! The last one I had vetted, I had to get a vet 100 miles because the horse had been at 3 homes (of the same family) in the area and they'd all used different vets
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The travelling cost almost as much as the vetting! I could see why less experienced people would just use the closest vet prepared to do it.

CC, I think Santa took the pics so it probably wasn't her! Hope the rider was alright also.
 
The vetting almost doubled the cost of the horse though! it was only because she'd been passed around the family and had seen so many different vets that I bothered at all tbh.
 
Don't think that's entirely true, though possible depends on the judge.

Friend sold a pony that was quiet. Pony reared with new child owner. Friend offered to take pony back and reimburse full purchase price. Buyers refused, wanted to make an example of her or something so took friend to court.

Buyers had witness of pony rearing with child during a lesson.

Judge ruled in favour of buyers, making my friend buy pony back at same price she had sold it for, plus costs.
 
So can we say in short, that when buying a horse, it is better to get in writing that the horse is being sold vice-free?

Am looking to buy soon (long story re Boo) and I really want all angles covered!!!
 
Yup, get anything they've stated included in the receipt or get the vet to ask these questions at the vetting and record them on the vetting certificate, if possible.

Most sellers, would only prefer to write "sold as seen" on a receipt though, so it might be harder in practice to get them to do it than you'd imagine. Your head should say, walk away if they refuse, but it's not always that easy if you have you heart set on the horse and they've passed a vetting anyway.
 
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Was the horse vetted? On the back of the vetting certificate now the vet asks if it has any vices and the owner has to sign it.

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Excellent!!!! About time things like that are done. It saves the vets backside too if people are to later attempt to make a claim against the vet who did the vetting. Been a while since I had a vetting done.

I wonder how it was missed though, before purchase, if the horse is so bad? The first part of any vetting is usually conducted in the stable - checking the heart, lungs and looking in the eyes and a general running the hands of limbs and back etc. You'd expect this horse to be weaving in the stable when the vet approached, if it suffers so terribly from this vice, wouldn't you?
 
I always understood that for AGES a vice had to be declared when selling. Then the new buyer can decide whether or not to buy. If you buy a horse at a sale and it turns out to have an undeclared vice (which includes weaving) you can return it.

Some horses weave in a new home and take a couple of weeks to settle down. Some weave "a bit" (one of mine was like that) when anxious, in a new stable, at feed time, etc.

Other are just chronic though, and it enough to drive anyone mad.

I suppose it depends on how the horse will be kept and what the new owner wants it for. If it is top competition horse then "what it does in its spare time" doesn't much matter. If it is just an owner wanting to have a nice horse to ride and have fun with, and has to live on a livery yard with limited turnout, then a confirmed weaver would be awkward
 
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I used to ride a horse that box walked though, and as long as you were with her she was fine - when you left she went a bit mental with it. But I have also seen a lot of weavers, and never seen one that wont do it in front of you.

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The two bad weavers I have known well, have done it more when they've had an audience.
The thing that puzzles me in this case, is that if this horses weaving is so bad, why wasn't it picked up on when viewed / tried / vetted?
However, I imagine vices are still supposed to be declared aren't they?
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Tbh, the law regarding horse purchase and legal obligations still appears to be hit and miss. It was supposed to have been tightened up, but I see no real evidence of this, and private sellers seem to get away with a lot more than dealers when it come to any sort of misrepresentation.
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It will be interesting to find out the outcome of this.
 
Patches - sounds like your friend was unlucky, that judge sounds like a c*ck!

Did the person buy it from a dealer or privately? You have a hell of a lot more recourse if you bought it from a dealer. Also, if it was a private sale, did they give any kind of receipt? If they used those magic words "sold as seen" and there was no mention anywhere along the line of vices, I think you have little recourse I'm afraid.

I agree with Katy and Weezy though, I thought any vices HAD to be disclosed? I guess they could always say they never knew though.....? Good luck.
 
I agree with SC. Unless things have changed over the last few years only a dealer HAS to reveal vices. A private sale can basically get away with it. Also didnt like the idea of "discuss after holidays" I think that is the old trick of leaving it with the new purchaser longer, therefore no proof of when vice started, or when notified.
Good Luck
 
i bought a horse this year, when we got it home after having it vetted i put it in stable and of it went. it made me dizzy watching it. weaving like a poledancer, i phoned up the seller who kindly told me that as he was selling it "on behalf of clients" it is nothing to do with him. he got the client to ring me and after a lot of back and forth i told her i would sell it to a dealer. she homebred this horse 5y ago and then broke down and offered me my money back and i pushed her for the vetting money.it is a cop out when they sell on behalf of client i would not look at anything advertised like this again.
 
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it is a cop out when they sell on behalf of client i would not look at anything advertised like this again.

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which is a shame as i sell horses for people and tell the absolute truth about anything i sell. people like yours captain and weezy, make honest peoples jobs a lot harder! you think we are all crooked, lol.

at the same time though, with the take to court / sueing culture, im not sure i would sign something though.
ive known horses to weave for a while while they settle into a new home.

unless i very carefully worded my letter i would be skeptical to sign something. some buyers are just as bad as some sellers after all ( take patches friends story!)
 
i had this problem with my horse, although he rears not weaves. We bought him from a dealer, so there was never an advert, but we asked about vices and were told he had none. I was told he hacked alone and they had taken him out show jumping and he'd been fine. However, got him home and he was rearing just around the yard alone from the 1st week, and was worse away at shows. 6 months on he's not really any better, except i have learnt how to deal with it.
We contacted Trading Standards and they said that it was her responsibility as a seller to advertise the horse correctly and she hadn't, so if we had taken her to court we would have a good case. However we didn't want to go to court. We tried to sell back to her, however were offered a stupid price (nearly half) as she 'took off the amount she would have got if she loaned him'! so we've kept him, and he's slowly improving.

I think you would have a good case if you go to court, if you have the nerve! The horse obviously has had this vice for a long time and hopefully you'll be able to prove it
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I think its a very hard one! The seller will likely say she told the buyer about the issue so she was aware. There's no proof to say otherwise so its simply their word against your friends. Do you have an advert of the horse? Id search around on the internet and in horse sale magazines to see if its advertised in any of those with "no vices" in it! If so, then Id definately say the buyer has a good case.
 
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