Legal Advice Help!!!!!!!!

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Holidays_are_coming

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Brought my new girl on the 3rd of Oct, new she was going to take a bit of re-schooling which was fine, my instructor had been working with the mare and owner so I went to see her and fell in love asked all the normal questions and of course DOES SHE REAR, to which I got the answer no! and does she load and that was a yes!

Well Ive had her home for 6 weeks now and she is brillant in her box, but does not want to go to either school or go out on hacks normally I can make her with a few bunny hops, last week OI had to take the previous owners saddle back and I spoke to her about her stroppyness when ridden, then she told me that she did rear with her for the first few months then stopped she also told me that she put her on a magnesium Calmer (I have now too)!!

Well this morning she refused to leave the yard and started rearing properly, she wouldn't even follow the other horse in the end someone chased her out of the yard and we trotted a fair way but as so as we walked she started rearing again, Rearing really scares me, I ahve spoken to my instructor and he is going to try and come over tomorrow to help me with her, she would be fab if she was not so stubborn, it was a private sale do I have any come back????

I dont want to give up on her yet as she is great at jumping and on the flat any ideas

Sorry long and ranting just sitting her in tears my dream horse is just being sooooo naughty!
 
As a private seller you are not covered by the Sale of Goods Act, unles you can prove that the seller is in some way in the trade, i.e. sells horses for profit. But, you did ask, so if you have witnesses to the question and the resonse you do have a claim. Are you a member of the BHS? If you are, I believe you can approach them for help. Hope it works out for you.
 
As previously said you don't have so many rights with a private sale but the horse still has to be correctly described. Do you have the original advert you responded to? If so, was the horse accurately described. It does seem like the previous owner knew all along she reared so she was misrepresented to you and therefore you would have a claim under the Sale of Goods Act but you have to be able to prove it.
 
you do have rights. I also found myself in a similar situation last year. so know how stressful it can be.
write everything down with as much details as you can. start by writing to the previous owner demanding you return the horse for a full refund. if you get no response you may have to go to the small claims court which i had to do.
it took me 8 months of letters & ended in a legal hearing. but the horse was returned to the previous owner and i got my money back plus court fees. but of course this did cost me money in looking after the horse for the 8 months. Sellers should take resposiblity for what they say as it does put people at risk if they know a horse rears.

act now and send it back.
 
If you directly asked if it reared and they said no, and it does, it doesn't matter if it is a dealer or a private person, there are still laws to protect you.

Unless you are very very fond of this horse, I would demand my money back and send it back straight away.

How common is rearing? Most horses don't rear.
 
if you want to take it back then do as others said. We sold a horse once who did have a tendency to rear if put under pressure to do sich things as jumping. He was fine to hack out, handle etc but just needed a non-pressure existence really so we sold him to someone ho just wanted a nice hack which he was. She subsequently sold him as she tried taking him to a show to jump and of course he reared! I believe she also told the person she sold him to we HADN'T told her he behaved this way! (we visited him at the next purchaser's home).

Anyway, depending on the age of this mare and whether you like her that much and have time and patience (and there's no physical problem causing this behaviour) it may be fixable. It may be she lacks confidence and has learnt this way of behaving gets her out of it. It's difficult to say. If your instructor is experienced they should be able to offer advice. Some can be stopped by riding them in draw reins each time you go out until they learn when you ask them to go somewhere that is what they have to do. However, it depends how established her rear is. If you know she's going to do it practically everytime then try a trick of tying her tail to her girth (do this when you have someone with you). Without using her tail as a balancing aid she'll find it hard to go up.

I have heard this used by some old-school guy and I advised a friend of mine to try it on a anew horse he got that reared. he did do it and the rearing stopped. It may be worth giving it a whirl! Otherwise you could always try going down the Richard Maxwell route if all else fails. It really depends how much you want this horse though. There are plenty out there who don't rear. Personally I couldn't be putting up with an established rearer although i guess me being me I'd probably try if I felt the horse was worth it.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
 
Thanks im really upset about this asked the lady specifically if she reared, have my mum and instructor as witness to it! She is so lovely on the ground such a sweet nature but rearing is the one thing that scares me, so im going to see how tomorrow goes with my instructor as he is coming to try and help me (he recomended her to me and didnt have a clue she did this). She is insucure I know this but that is no excuse for her not following another horse out of the yard!

Depending on tomorrow the lady who sold her to me maybe getting recorded delivery letter asking for my money back!

Im insured with NFU they have a equine legal advise line would this be covered on it????
 
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