PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP??????

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toya

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My friend brought her 1st horse 2 months ago advertised as a quiet novice ride good in all ways!! How ever the horse has bucked her off every time she has ridden it since we got it home ! She has had the back looked at and there are some large problems that can't really be fixed so horse can no longer be ridden! The horse was 5* vetted and passed.The girl she brought her off said she had owned the mare for 5 years and the person on the passport was her sister,none of which was true the previous owner sold her 4 weeks prior to a dealer (not the girl we brought her off) for £600 as a problem horse NOT novice ride BAD bucker !! My friend saved for just over a year to buy a horse and she's scared stiff of this mare can anyone help point us in the right direction please ???? she doesn't have loss of use in her insurance .
 
Get in touch with trading standards. Do you have the original advert? If so you stand a better chance as it says in writing that the horse was a novice ride etc.
 
She bought from a dealer or from a private seller (the girl?)? If she bought from the dealer then had she gone back within a decent timeline then she would have been able to get her money back if she had contacted the Office of Fair Trading. Having bought it 2 months ago......I'm not really sure whether she has a leg to stand on now. Contact the above and they will be able to advise you.

If she bought privately then she will have a harder case on her hands to get any money back. She needs to have the advert to hand and have proof that the horse has never been as stated. There may also be question marks raised as to why she hasn't said anything sooner though. The implication could be that your friend has ruined/damaged the horse
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I'm not certain but if this girl had the horse 5 stage vetted before purchase then surely she has some recourse with the vets that did the vetting as if the horse had major back damage meaning she isn't rideable and she was vetted as a riding horse then they have failed in their job as she wasn't suitable for the job in hand.
 
It does really depend on what use she was vetted for. Another thing with a 5* vetting is a blood sample should have been taken and stored - it is worth getting the vet to send it off to be looked at for evidence that the horse was doped.

Also if vetting was arranged by seller was the horse actually vetted? From what you said about this in Latest News seller doesn't sound the most honest person.
 
If your friend has sufficient evidence to prove that the horse was not as stated then her cheapest route would be to take the seller to the smalls claims court. You can do this on line now. If you can prove that the seller has sold more than 7 horses in the past year then you could claim that they where a dealer which would make it easier. I would suggest in the first instance to get some legal advise from a specialist equine solicitor.
 
this is a classic case of why "useless" animals should be PTS.

Then they wouldn't end up in the selling loop for unscrupulous types to sell on, and on, and on.

as for answering the OP...you need to contact Trading Standards ASAP as there is a certain timelimit to adhere to.
the point about small claims is sound advice, but you do need to fill everything out, and keep all relevent paperwork.

Does your friend have the original Ad?? that would be a good start as it would say on there what the horse is fit for.

good luck.
 
If the horse as 5 stage vetted, the first thing I would do is be on to my vet and asking why this was not spotted? The horse should be worked hard, so surely some lameness or tweaking would show up if there was something quite badly wrong with her back.

Will the problem in her back not be resolved with treatment? If so, then I would advise your find finding a professional rider she trusts and get them to bring the horse on for her for a couple of weeks, more or less rebacking her.

Failing that, if the horse is rideable but still bucking, I would contact Richard Maxwell as he is taking in 'problem horses' and I strongly recommend him.
 
[ QUOTE ]
She has had the back looked at and there are some large problems that can't really be fixed so horse can no longer be ridden!

[/ QUOTE ]
Massive sweeping statement - and obviously your friend needs to get this checked out professionally with an equine vet.

My advice would be:

No. 1 get horse thoroughly checked out by an equine vet;
No. 2 get the horse properly assessed by an experienced instructor.

You don't say how experienced your friend is - but it could be possible that she has a saddle on that doesn't fit. Or that the horse may be a little high spirited and she is comming off through the horse pronking a bit - or a lot(?). Is the horse stabled, or turned out? What is she feeding it? Did she have someone experienced go and look at the horse with her?
 
I agree with Amymay here-I am a bit confised here-if the horse has passed the vetting by your vet how can the horse now be deemed unrideable?

Have you have a scintigraphy and MRI done to show what is wrong with the back?

Personally I would go to your insurance company that you are insured with and give them your vets 5 stage vetting (if they haven't already asked for it before insuring your horse. Maybe they can take somekind of legal action especially if you tick the 'do you consider someone else is at fault' bit!

There are 2 things at fault here-if you are able to prove it!

The vetting (albeit the 5 stage vetting is as only good as they day it was done) but you would not have this amount of problems less than 8 weeks down the line unless the horse has had some kind of trauma since.

The sellers advert (if indeed the horse was wrong from the start) which would be a trading standards but being a private sale I am not sure what would happen here as its not a dealer or a sale.

Sorry I can't be more helpful but I think certainly you need legal advice asap and a different vet out.
 
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