Opinions is this a dealer or a 'rescue'

lottiepony

lottiepony

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If someone buys and then sells on (looking for a profit) I would class this as being a dealer. I'm talking more than the ocasional project pony as I've done that in the past myself.
Now if someone buys and then sells for a profit however is done publically under the guise of being a rescue centre and is taking donations of money from people is it right? :confused:
I know charities doing loan schemes and ask for a donation and feel this is fair as you are not paying the amount the horse would be worth. Do people think it is right for the second option, it just seems more business like than charity - if that makes sense. I dont know the facts but I imagine you have serious book keeping to prove you are a charity and up until that point are you classed as a business?

Dont get me wrong I all for helping needy equines just trying to get my head round this one.
 
joeanne said:
Unless its a registered charity, its dealing....and as such, subject to tax.....
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This.

As for the OP, I would say the example you give whereby a rescue is asking for donations, and then sells on would be one that the tax man and possibly the police would be interested in.
 
Sounds like a dealer to me, experienced recently with dogs a 'charity' that goes to Ireland once a week and brings back a van load of young/cute looking lab types and then 'rehomes' them (without any home check) for a minimum donation of £150.
It's just a business - pure and simple no matter what they say on website/ leaflets.

As long as people have their eyes wide open I;m not sure the dog one I've come across recently does much harm as they are still reducing the number put down in Ireland.

In your example if people are donating the horses and then they are being resold (presumably without prior owners knowledge!) then Amymay is spot on the police should be involved.
 
Polos Mum said:
Sounds like a dealer to me, experienced recently with dogs a 'charity' that goes to Ireland once a week and brings back a van load of young/cute looking lab types and then 'rehomes' them (without any home check) for a minimum donation of £150.
It's just a business - pure and simple no matter what they say on website/ leaflets.

As long as people have their eyes wide open I;m not sure the dog one I've come across recently does much harm as they are still reducing the number put down in Ireland.
In your example if people are donating the horses and then they are being resold (presumably without prior owners knowledge!) then Amymay is spot on the police should be involved.
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Wrong..!! What they are doing is funding the horrid business of illegal puppy farming in Ireland. It has nothing to do with reducing numbers put down in Ireland I'm sorry to say...
 
Polos Mum said:
I;m not sure the dog one I've come across recently does much harm as they are still reducing the number put down in Ireland.
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Hmm, sounds like they are directly or indirectly, supporting the puppy farming business though :-(

OP, sounds dodgy to me, not sure I'd want to get involved...
 
To be honest I have thought for many years that it would be a good idea for rescues to sell on the fit younger horses.

If a horse is rescued, treated, broken and schooled it has the best chance of finding a good home if sold. This would free up much needed funds and space for more rescues. Yes its possible the horse would end up in need at some time in its life, but that applies to any horse, even those charities rehome.

If a foal is born in a rescue centre is it really any different to any other one?

A lot of charities are using resources for horses which could have a useful and happy life elsewhere.

I am not hard, I would love to see enough money available for a better solution, but being realistic they are turning away horses in genuine need.

That said it would have to be done properly and openly. I doubt they would actually make a profit on these horses anyway.

At the moment I dont know of any reputable ones that do this, so I would be very careful.
 
Surely a horse rescue charity never sells the rescues! Or they could end up in a worse state than before, real resue places just loan there horses on the understanding they come back to them if the loaner does not want the horse anymore.
 
Even the Blue Cross asks for a donation from the loaner so I presume as long as the money they get is going purely towards looking after their other rescue horses then it must be ok.
 
A dealer I used to help would buy cheap problem or skinny horses at a sale, we would work on them, and then she would sell them. It gave these horses a second chance, BUT, she was still a dealer, not a rescue centre.
I also worked at a registered rescue centre, and they would not dream of selling their horses. The ones that could, went out on loan. the loan homes were approved before rehoming, and checked regularly afterwards.If there was a problem they always came back to the rescue centre. Their future was secured, as they always belonged to the centre.
 
The line gets blurred by the "rescues" that buy in specifically to loan out -often with an instant profit - and retain ownership of horses that get rehomed, for a fee, several times.
 
Legally a charity can sell things to make money if their articles allow it, what they spend that money on should again be in accordance with their articles which would set out their charitable aims etc. Charity shops can sell. Also you do not have to be registered to be a charity or have charitable aims. Whether a charity should sell an animal is a matter of opinion. Whether the situation in the op is a legitimate charity is not clear.
 
s4sugar said:
The line gets blurred by the "rescues" that buy in specifically to loan out -often with an instant profit - and retain ownership of horses that get rehomed, for a fee, several times.
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Yes - that could happen. Our horses were mainly RSPCA cases, and a lot were unrideable, and no fee was charged for them. Most of the horses had only one or two loan homes in their lifetime.
There is an 'animal rescue' a few miles from us, who have all sorts of animals including predator and prey, in very close quarters. They sell their animals and charge people to look round like a zoo. They have had many visits from the RSPCA, and had to get rid of a big cat, but they still class themselves as a charity.
 
I dont trust many 'charities'. I was involved with one and found the money donated was just used to pay large sums for small jobs to the fund raisers husband.. I see posh number plates on fund raising vehicles which seems strange and we found someone who was going round factories running blackouts and saying the money was for us, we never received a penny.
No horses should be sold when rescued only loaned out and visited regularly.
 
I can't remember how many it is to officially be a dealer but it is more than you'd think as I recall. Two a year would be a bit unfair I think.If you bought two unsuitable horses in a row you'd be unfortunate but it could easily happen.

I think I might know the 'rescue' you mean, to be honest I think it is fine to buy a sorry looking animal that needs vet treatment and care, then sell it on to cover those costs or even a small profit, as at least someone has given it a chance and I should think it is a big risk buying horses like that regularly - probably quite a few that need a lot more treatment than they are worth selling on, so maybe it all balances out.

It does depend where the money goes as if I did buy a poor sick horse from a sale and sell it on to cover the costs, I don't think I'd feel comfortable also asking for financial donations. The one I am thinking of are always asking for donations and do sell ponies on for about 300 quid. I was looking for a companion and they were all a lot more expensive than other private ads so it seemed a bit strange.
 
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