New Horse Lame 2 Weeks After 5 stage Vetting Where Does She Stand Legally?

coreteam1

coreteam1

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A friend of mine recently bought a horse which passed a five stage vetting. The horse has been with her for approx four weeks and two of that it has shown lameness.
The horse has barely been worked due to snow etc and has only been very lightly ridden.

It started to show back leg lameness/not trotting through etc and the vet was called. At the time the vet came to check it, the horse was also showing signs of lamness in front.
It's had it's back checked, saddle teeth and all other possiblities and is now about to have a full work up

Does anyone have a similar experience or have any legal knowledge of where my friend would stand in asking the previous owners to have this horse back?

She bought her from a dealer of dressage horses who is well known and has a good reputation
She paid £8,000

Any help appreciated (also in competing and training)
 
I guess you would need to find out what is causing the lameness and if it was a Pre existing condition or has developed as a result of an injury/condition since your friend has owned the horse before anyone could give advice.
 
The vetting is only good for the day on which it was carried out, but if you can prove she has a condition which must have been in existence at that time, you might have a case. It could be a very long and expensive road to go down - the first thing is to get a diagnosis and a written report stating the stage of develpment any condition is at and how long it must have taken to reach that stage.
Things can change dramatically in a relatively short period though, depending on work and management, it could well be something that didn't pre-exist that far back - the easiest thing might be to try and negotiate with the seller if she has a good reputation to protect.
 
First thing I'd do is get the bloods checked, then go from there...

If bloods have traces of bute etc then buyer has a very good case!
If blood come back clean then not much you can do really, 5 stage vetting is only valid on the day, whos to say the horse hasnt fallen or slipped in field, got cast in stable etc since being in new home
 
Were bloods taken at the time of vetting? If so and your friend suspects the seller was unscrupulous in anyway, the bloods can be tested.

Unfortunately, horses can go lame for any reason at any time. And it will be hard to prove that the condition causing the lameness was pre-existing. What a rotten situation to be in.
 
As those before have said get the bloods checked.
Find out what's wrong take advice on what if anything can be done when you know what's causing the issue.
 
Get bloods check out, I would be very suspicious. You have to state when getting this done what you want them to look for as it is quite hard to find. Ask the vet to look for NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatories) in other words bute or similar. Horse has been bought from a dealer so Sale of Goods Act comes into play. The horse must be fit for purpose. Get legal advice. Sorry to hear about this, your friend must be heart broken. Let us know how you get on.
 
I know someone that personally sued the agent she purchased her horse from, via small claims court, and she won! something about sales of goods act, wasn't fit for purpose. That horse also passed a 5 stage vetting when she bought him.

Edited: forgot to say, she didnt get bloods checked as cost a forture and you have to get it done twice of something she said. She still won! maximum amount small claims too. This was only few weeks ago. She also represented herself and didnt use solicitor.
 
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Cost for running bloods when I had it done was £264 which was the beginning of this year. If the horse has been given anything the result will come back as "a possible presence of" whatever has been used. A second test can be run if you require it and it will tell you the exact name of the drug used and how much dosage the horse has been given. The cost of this is £750 + VAT or that is what I was quoted, it may be different in other places.

The first test should be sufficient. If the test comes back positive your friend "should" be able to send the horse back and claim her costs from the dealer. It can be another thing though getting money out of these people. What has the dealer said to your friend about the situation?

You may need to go to a Small Claims Court. Get legal advice.
 
onemoretime said:
Cost for running bloods when I had it done was £264 which was the beginning of this year. If the horse has been given anything the result will come back as "a possible presence of" whatever has been used. A second test can be run if you require it and it will tell you the exact name of the drug used and how much dosage the horse has been given. The cost of this is £750 + VAT or that is what I was quoted, it may be different in other places.

The first test should be sufficient. If the test comes back positive your friend "should" be able to send the horse back and claim her costs from the dealer. It can be another thing though getting money out of these people. What has the dealer said to your friend about the situation?

You may need to go to a Small Claims Court. Get legal advice.
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I Think the the horse cost more than the limit for small claims court.
 
I had the same sued the vet and won never reached court this was going back sometime. Horse had serious hock issue later found out was friend of said people didnt even get her out of the stable. And gave her full pass:mad:
 
With a 5 stage vetting they usually take a blood sample aswell , ask the vet if they took this ! If they did ask for it to be tested in case horse was doped then you have every right to your money back , or she could just be really unfortunate and the horse has just went lame after buying .
 
Has the owner spoken to the previous owners?

How old is the horse? Is the horse being managed differently? Ie is it used to being worked every day and now because of the weather has stood in a box for a fortnight?

Also as others have said get the bloods checked!
 
Even with 2 stage I had don on new horse, the vet did bloods. I hope your friend has good result, on other end of spectrum, a lady I knew bought a 3 star event horse, and insured it( luckily) and second night at new home it tried jump out of stable, turned over onto stable yard and broke its neck!!! Insurance paid out as it was an accidental death.
 
ROMANY 1959 said:
Even with 2 stage I had don on new horse, the vet did bloods. I hope your friend has good result, on other end of spectrum, a lady I knew bought a 3 star event horse, and insured it( luckily) and second night at new home it tried jump out of stable, turned over onto stable yard and broke its neck!!! Insurance paid out as it was an accidental death.
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That is a very sad thing to happen with any horse but particularly with a new horse but a slightly different situation to OP's.
 
We have had this EXACT situation on our yard - £8500 dressage horse arrives having passed 5 stage, all hunky dory for 2 weeks then 2/10 lame in hind leg. Insurance insisted bloods run, which they were (clear) and then agreed to pay out for X-rays and scans after the results. The horse has hind suspensory problems (I think small tears but not 100% sure) . This can have occurred in the 2 week period so no fault can be blamed on the dressage yard the horse was purchased from. The owner approached sellers who said to take the horse to them for their vet to see who helpfully said the horse was lame! They said they would get the horse sound for her should she put it on livery there at massive expense and obviously she'd still have vets bills to pay on top of this. The owners vets recommended denerving or shock wave, and opted for the latter and a few months down the line, box rest, walk work etc completed she now has a sounder (but not 100%) horse who has a condition that will need to be carefully managed. I know I'd be GUTTED at that prognosis. Op I'd try really really hard to get some comeback from either the vets or the old owners as the person on our yard is now stuck with a lovely, slightly unsound dressage horse that may come back enough to do novice but no more. The horse is only 8, she rode it a handful of times in those first two weeks. Good luck and fight with all you've got. Hope the horse is ok too.
 
I think it also depends on what the horse was sold as? If in the add etc it stated sold as seen, then I cant imagine the dealer could be held up in court for selling an unsound horse. Equally, if nothing stated the horse is 100% sound, even if it stated the horse had competed up to XYZ, then I cant see any come back.

bexcy-bee x
 
is depends why horse is lame.
more investigations are needs.

Vettings usually count on the day.
unless there is something really obviouse and long term from before vetting.

But horses go lame unexpectedly.

Could horse have injured itself on those first weeks?
 
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