New purchase gone wrong - advice and anyone else had similar?

C

cluedo

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 August 2007
Messages
668
Visit site
I brought my horse for a lot of moneyas a potential top class event horse from a dealer, passed a 5 stage vetting and xrays. Two weeks later he appears to be a headshaker, and now is rearing and napping. The dealer offers on his website 'a fantastic aftersales service' where he will exchange unsuitable horses with something else of similar value. On Saturday he said he would take horse back and refund money, on sunday he goes to see horses and says in front of witnesses that he will take horse back, yet today he has changed his mind and said he thinks I should sue vet, and that horse didn't do it with him, and so he doesn't think its his problem.

What does everyone think of that scenario??
 
Sue him. You have rights buying from a dealer which you don't have buying privately. Under the Sale Of Goods Act the horse must be "fit for purpose". A headshaker, rearer and napper isn't. The bloods won't have been tested at this stage, but I guess you could always ask for them to be tested in case the horse was doped?

Stand your ground, I reckon this bloke is trying it on.
 
Under the Sale Of Goods Act the horse must be "fit for purpose" - speak to trading standards send a letter registered to that effect - hes trying to fob you off. good luck.
 
I would speak to the vet - how on earth headshaking can be covered up though I don't know.
Sorry to say this but are you sure he's not just trying it on with you? Surely you tried this horse adequately - therefore I would assume it showed no signs of this beforehand - I dont know a great deal about horses but vices like that cant be covered up even by a dodgy dealer - so maybe he's just trying his luck - and winning by the sounds of it!
 
I am surprised the head shaking was not more pronounced when you tried the horse two weeks ago - unless it is an allergy to something in your area that is not present in the dealers' area.

I think the issue is did the dealer know it was a head shaker or not before if so then he has missold the horse at is it is not fit for purpose.

As for the rearing and napping could these be caused by whatever is irritating the horse so much that it is causing the head shaking.

What has the dealer said about the behavioural issues?

I think you need to speak to the vet to find out why he thinks this has only just started to manifest itself before sueing the dealer as if it is an allergy that is linked to your area then you probably do not have much come back.
 
Unfortunately some horses will only demonstrate headshaking behaviour under certain conditions e.g climatic, local environmental factors and time of year therefore the horse could have been apparently normal at the dealers yard. That being said if you have bought a headshaker from someone who sells horses as part of their business then you are probably entitled to a full refund, but you must take legal advice on this and be prepared to follow it all the way to the courtroom (with the possibility of losing). In some circumstances suing the vet is the correct course of action but if neither you (presumably had you noted headshaking when you tried him you would not have instructed a veterinary surgeon) nor the vet noted this prior to purchase then such action, in my opinion, is unlikely to be successful.

Owning a headshaker is a nightmare and therefore you should act quickly: be sure in your mind you are prepared to go to court, be sure doing so will not cripple you financially, get an accurate and as definitive diagnosis as possible, inform your vet that this may turn "legal" and check that they are comfortable with all that this entails, pay for legal advice rather than doing it on the cheap.
 
It is entirely possible that the horse did not headshake with the dealer or any last owner - as has been mentioned, some horses are sensitive to things that are locally grown.
 
Tricky one because headshaking can be a seasonal thing and it can vary in different circumstances with different triggers. The horse may genuinely not have done it with the dealer. A good dealer will accept the horse isn't suitable and offer an exchange anyway, but not all dealers are good... some are evil
mad.gif
grin.gif
I'd just persist in trying to swap it, otherwise hope the headshaking goes away in the winter and sell it on then.
 
Go for the dealer, his website say's everything you need, irrespective of whether the dealer knew it was a headshaker or not. That is why you pay an inflated price from a dealer, you have some comeback

The dealer offers on his website 'a fantastic aftersales service' where he will exchange unsuitable horses with something else of similar value.
 
Call the dealer's bluff. As others have said, you have paid an inflated price because he offers an excellent after sales service and will exchange the horse or refund your money. Do not be fobbed off. Seek legal advice if you need to, but clearly you have had this horse for a very short period of time and it has displayed declarable vices - i.e rearing, and is therefore not suitable for the purpose for which it was bought. Headshaking is rather a grey area.
 
have you looked at possible back problem? I have come across one horse who had headshaking as a result of back trauma - a neurological problem which only became apparant under saddle. and only when using the dressage saddle - not the same make jumping saddle. As the headshaking has started at the same time as the napping and rearing I would be tempted to eliminate other possible options.
 
Not exactly the same as your situation but possibly relates a little bit to your headshaking concerns.

When I first tried and vetted my new horse in January, everything was fine. I didn't actually collect him from the seller until the end of March. The day I drove down to pick him up I'd arranged to go for a hack with the seller just to double check everything. This time the seller went to put a standing martingale on him (which he hadn't worn when I first tried him), she said that she'd only been using it lately because he had recently started throwing his head up. I took it off for the hack to see if he had a problem but saw nothing so I just asked her to assure me he wasn't a headshaker and brought him home.

The first few weeks at home in April he was throwing his head around a lot and I really started worrying that he might be a headshaker. I had the vet double check him but she said he wasn't and that it might just be an allergy. My instructor said it might just be an evasion. I had his saddle, back and teeth checked for good measure. Then a couple of weeks later he just stopped doing it and has been fine ever since. I suspect it was a pollen allergy so next spring I'm going to keep a diary just in case it starts again.

Anyway.........the point of my story is just to say that I think "Headshaking" is a fairly specific condition and your vet could probably check your horse for it. Either way though if the horse is not 'fit for purpose' you should be able to return it to the dealer, especially if that's what they promise on their site.
 
I had exactly the same thing.

Went to try a TB & he was 100% fine. Didn't have him vetted. Took him home & all was fine for about 2 weeks, then he started having the odd stamp while being ridden. It took about 2 months for it to develop into headshaking & I only had a month's warranty.

The horse turned into a completely unrideable psychotic lunatic, but he was genuinely distressed. He used to get runny eyes & make his nose bleed by trying to scratch it on the ground while he was being ridden.

I've always thought it v strange that he was totally okay when I tried him & for several weeks afterwards. The other strange thing was that the dealer insisted on delivering him v quickly, saying something like, it's always the ones that are sold that injure themselves. I thought it was odd at the time, but I don't know how he could have suppressed headshaking that was so bad.

In the end, the horse was such a nutcase that I lost my nerve, & was seriously thinking about giving up riding, so BE CAREFUL!! I px'ed him with a different dealer, having been honest about his issues & taking a huge loss on him, & got a very safe ID mare to plod about on til I got my nerve back.
 
Go for the dealer. He is calling your bluff. His website states he will exchange an unsuitable horse for something of similar value - that's part of the contract between you and therefore if he refuses he's in breach of contract. Tell him that. And tell him if he still refuses you will be referring the matter to a solicitor.

If he still refuses do exactly that - get in touch with a solicitor, preferably one that specialises in equine disputes (eg. Stephensons.co.uk). Tell them the details, get them to send a letter detailing the basis of your claim and demanding satisfaction of the contract. Once he knows you're serious he may fold at this stage or he may call your bluff hoping you won't have the money to take him to court.

Call his bluff - start legal proceedings. 99 times out of 100 they'll fold before it gets to court - no dealer, especially ones selling expensive horses, wants to risk their reputation and therefore their business by having disputes like this brought up in public court.

Don't back down - these cases are winnable if you stick to your guns. The only reason we generally don't get to hear of the individuals winning cases against big name dealers is that the out of court settlement usually involves a confidentiality agreement. The individual gets their money back but the dealer's reputation is protected allowing them to keep selling unsuitable horses. That's justice I guess....
 
The vet this week checked the horses teeth, back etc and said he can find no physical obvious reason for the problem. Have taken some blood to see if its viral but vet doesn't think so as horse is so well. Have also asked the vetting vet to check bloods but he said all they will show up is mainly bute, steroids etc. If he was given something then it wouldn't have taken two weeks to show would it?
 
Headshaking is not a specific condition and can range from a horse rubbing its nose on you after a hack right up to a horse shaking its head so violently that it cannot be ridden. Headshaking is actullay an outcome nto a condition. There are over 300 conditions that can lead to headshaking.
If my vet diagnosed my horse as a headshaker I would not be happy with the diagnosis and would be encouraging the vet to get to the bottom of the problem.
Also as others have said if it is an allergy it may be that the horse is all;ergic to something near to where you keep it and that this is not present at thew dealers yard so therefore the dealer wouldn't know anyway. I would continue trying to get your money back as obviously a headshaker of any form isn't fit for purpose but in the meantime have you vet do some allergy tests etc as it could be something verys imple. Good Luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top