Legal advice...

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fredthoroughbred

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Hi there,

Some of you know my dead/alive horse situation but for those of you who don't. I bought my horse from a riding school, they bought him from a dealer, the dealer bought him from an abbitoir (sp) where he was supposed to be pts
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Obviously I didn't know any of this when I bought him but I have done quite a lot of detective work to try and get in touch with his previous owner to help me out in his veterinary investigations...

I managed to get in touch with his old owner through Farmkey but have never spoken to her myself so I wrote her a lovely (but very long) letter that Farmkey kindly forwarded to her and I have never heard anything back.

A few people have told me to get legal advice to find out where I stand with him because something has gone very wrong along the way. I have never thought his old owner has had anything to do with it but as the weeks/months go by with no word/letter from her I can't help but think she is trying to hide something.

Could she have claimed loss of use on her insurance policy when he was supposedly pts because he is fine to hack/school?? and if so, shouldn't there have been a vet present to sign a death certificate?? Also, on Freds new passport they have tried to make his freezemark, which should read 1E2M, 1B2M which is also very shady.

I can't help but think that I have been well and truly had (which in honesty I don't really mind about because I wouldn't actually change anything) and I don't like the thought of anyone else's horse (which hadn't been freezemarked) going through the same thing.

Should I take it further or forget it???

Sorry, another long one about the same boring old subject but I am soooooooooooooo annoyed at the moment
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I can't help but think if I was his last owner, I'd still be beating myself up for letting him go to an abattoir that didn't do what they said they would, ie PTS!!!! Thank God he found his way to you, not the continent or some other dreadfull fate.

She could quite possibly have claimed loss of use then sent him to be PTS. Strictly speaking she would be in the wrong since once the insurance co. have paid out, the horse becomes their property, however, I doubt she realised this or that they would take her to task over it.
 
Tricky one really, at the end of the day how much is it going to annoy you to just let it go? Have you spoken to your insurance company? Technically they shouldn't be insuring a presumed dead horse. I think you probably need to get a specialists advice really.
 
Loss of use does not necessarily mean the horse has to be put to sleep. The horse may not be suitable for certain types of work but may be fine with others. If I remember rightly they used to brand a circle around the freezemark to signify that ' the horse is an insurance write off'. Once this has happened the horse will never be covered by any insurance company but does not have to be pts.

You appear happy with your horse & wouldn't change anything..... seems pointless pursuing this, just get on & enjoy your horse.
 
As above does Fred have an L in a circle branded on him anywhere?? That would be a fairly sure way of knowing whether she had claimed LOU and then sold him on. If however, she claimed LOU and then sent him off to be PTS then that's a different story though.
 
Thanks everyone

He doesn't have anything on him other than his freezemark.

I know I should just forget about it but it REALLY annoys me because I just don't think what has happened is fair on any level. Not for me particularly but for Fred, his previous owners and the riding school that bought him in good faith. I know this kind of thing probably happens quite a lot but there are various unlawful things going on here and I just don't think it's right. When I get a bee in my bonnet i'm like a mad woman
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A scary, mad woman haha...

So am I right in thinking that he wouldn't actually have to be pts in order for his old owner to clain loss of use?? Very odd situation!! I think the oddest thing is that she hasn't contacted me
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That tells me that she is guilty of something...or maybe I am going a little mad
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Thankgod i'm going out tonight haha
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Oh Scotsmare,

I just read your siggy and I have a pair of Sportabac turnout boots in a size three. I think four is the largest but if you go on their website and check if they fit your horse, you can PM with your details and I can send them out to you
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FTB I'm ith you somethings not ringing true here unless the people who originally owned him have moved and not informed Farmkey? Are the old owners not in passport details? Or have you bought without a passport?
 
We have traced him back to the owner that had him (or thought she had him) pts and she only told Farmkey that she sent him away to be destroyed because he had a serious injury that resulted in him having the kissing spines operation and he never came fully sound. Since then she has gone cold.
As for the passport, because he was apparently dead he was issued with a new passport from the dealers with the Percheron Horse Society (random)...
Anyway, I completely agree, someone or some people are drastically in the wrong but I don't really know what to do next. Perhaps I will consult an expert??
 
So who was supposed to put him to sleep? I would have thought the lady paid them? I thought you or a representative had to be there? Even if they go for sorry about this dog meat they shoot them before they take them? If injected they can't go to a slaughter house? The only thing is if you persue this I suppose the horse could be taken away from you and pts and the people making money will be what! fined. But you may lose the horse. Worth thinking about? But I think I'd be chasing who ever was supposed to put it to sleep. Do you know who the woman's vet was or who he was registered with (What society) I think they may be interested and will know what was in original passport. I had to send mine in when mine was pts.
 
Lets get this right.

The original owner claims she sent her horse away to be put down.

The horse was sold by a dealer to your riding school

The riding school sold the horse to you.

So someone somewhere has sold a horse that should have been put down.

Or someone claims that they have sent their horse away to be put down because of a permanent injury but infact sold it on knowing the horse had a serious injury.

Do you know which slaughter house it was and when it was meant to be put down?
 
So you essentially have a "stolen" horse, as he was taken from his original owner without her consent or knowledge.

I would advise you to drop this completely, as digging could provoke his original owner to decide that she wants him back, and she would have every legal right to do so.

You would then have a lengthy legal battle to reclaim any financial losses from the riding school that you bought him from, quite apart from the fact that you will have lost Fred, perhaps for him to be PTS, as was originally intended.

I agree that someone along the line has done something very dodgy, but by pursuing it, you could be the one to come off worst.
 
I agree with the others - let it go and enjoy your horse. My horse was recently PTS. If I found out that in fact he hadn't been PTS but had been sold on I would be frothing at the mouth and would do everything in my power to get him back. This lady may have had him PTS if she thought he was never going to be sound and could not afford a lame horse and didn't want him going from pillar to post. She may have done this as she felt it was the kndest thing for the horse. If she knows he IS now sound she may want him back desperately which is not a position you want to be in if it turns out he is in effect 'stolen'. As regards to her not replying, she may have moved and never told Farmkey particularly if she no longer has a freezemarked horse.
 
Ok, I had an email basically saying that his old owner "sent him away to be destroyed in 2005" because of a serious injury. With regards to where he was taken, I have no idea. He came from the Farnham area of Surrey so i'm thinking that he went to an abbitoir and then got sold on from there to the dealer that sold him on to the riding school.

I think I will let it lie now because I had no idea that his old owner might want him back (he isn't fully sound at all)...and I guess that was my question really, what rights do Fred and I have in this situation? I just think it is so wrong because if it was me that this had happened to and my dead horse came up on the radar three years later in a happy home in Scotland I would be completely horrified, unless she actually knew what was going on
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It's all a bit odd but no matter what happens, there is no way I could let him get taken off me to be put down somewhere else
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so therefore, no more probing on my part
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Thanks everyone (this is the last you will hear of this topic, thankgod
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