Please help, advice about sold horse

[appylass]

A good friend of mine sold a horse about a month ago. The horse is a 6yo ISH, she was originally bought for very little from a woman who had bought her for her daughter. To cut a long story short, daughter had problems with horse rearing and basically lost interest. When the horse came to my friends she was underweight, with a sore back and very sharp, sore teeth. We worked through the problems and mare turned into a delightful little horse, she has never reared or done anything 'bad' since my friend has had her. She is a saint on the ground and although not a novice ride she doesn't do anything nasty at all. Sadly she has grown rather bigger than my friend wanted and the decision was made to sell her. A great deal of time was spent finding the 'right' person for this mare, she flew through a 5 stage vetting with the vet commenting what a lovely mare she was and that she was 'perfect' for what new owner wanted.

Fast forward to now, new owner has just texted my friend saying she has been in touch with previous owner and now 'knows the whole history' and feels that she has been taken for a ride and that my friend has been dishonest. She says she will be taking legal advice unless my friend 'does the decent thing' which we assume means taking the mare back.

My friend was completely honest about the horse, new owner tried her out several times and mare didn't put a foot wrong. She has tried to phone the new owner but she is not answering the phone or responding to texts asking her to call.

My friend is in bits, she really thought she had found a great home, she has found herself another horse so the money is 'spent' and she cannot afford to keep two anyway.

So my questions (on her behalf) are really what can the new owner do? Can she make her take the horse back, and what should my friend do in the mean time?

Sorry for the long post, this has all come as rather a shock given that we have heard nothing negative for nearly a month and assumed all was well.

 

[merlinsquest]

I can see where the new owner is coming from..... especially as she may now be having the problems that the first owner had.

Its a bit like not mentioning the horse has a history of laminitis just coz you have managed it well...... the horse is still prone to it, just as a horse is still a rearer if it has a history, even if it hasnt done it for a while.

But if she isnt a dealer, and she wasnt asked specifically if it reared, then she may be ok....... Caviat emptor.... or whatever the saying is

(buyer beware).....

Was there any bill or receipt, or was the horse sold as a novice ride...... were the 'is it a rearer' specific questions asked???

 

[scotsmare]

I don't think woman has leg to stand on, she tried the horse several times, got it vetted - what else could she have done?? Also, without knowing what previous owner said or if she did say anything you're in a difficult position. At the end of the day a month has gone by and if there was a problem it should / would have come to light by now. Maybe they've realised that the horse is more commitment than they wanted or their financial circumstances have changed.

 

[appylass]

Thanks for your reply, my friend was honest about the fact that the mare had been too much for previous owner and that she had apparently reared with them. She was also told that the mare has never reared here and that the back/teeth problems were, in dentist/vet/back person's opinions severe enough to cause the ridden problems. She was not sold as a novice ride at all, the mare is still quite green and the new owner rode her fine and wanted her to hunt and event.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Your friend was honest with her dealings with the buyers. She is a private seller & therefore the new owners have very limited redress against her as she is not a dealer. They can threaten that they are seeking legal advice but that means nothing.

Regarding what ever the old owners may have said, that matters little. You can buy a car without an MOT, you can do the work required & then the vehicle passes the MOT. The vehicle has been repaired & is fit for purpose again. Your friend has put in the work & got the horse right. They tried the horse out a couple of times & were happy & it also passed vetting......what is their problem? Tell your friend not to worry, she's been honest with them, they have a good horse so lord knows why they want to cause trouble. Two things spring to mind, possibly they now know the price your friend purchased the animal for & they don't like the idea of someone making a profit. Also they may have over rated their ability as riders & have purchased a horse that is too much for them? Either way your friend has nothing to worry about.

 

[appylass]

Thanks scotsmare, I did wonder if circumstances had changed for new owner and she was looking for an 'easy' way to get rid of the horse.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

I don't think your friend has anything to worry about. She appears to have been totally honest about the mares history. Plus if it every got to court (which I very much doubt), your friend could call on her vet and dentist to prove that these issues were sorted.

 

[appylass]

[ QUOTE ]
Tell your friend not to worry, she's been honest with them, they have a good horse so lord knows why they want to cause trouble. Two things spring to mind, possibly they now know the price your friend purchased the animal for & they don't like the idea of someone making a profit. Also they may have over rated their ability as riders & have purchased a horse that is too much for them? Either way your friend has nothing to worry about.

[/ QUOTE ]

TobyZapod, thank you for your input. I think you may well be right about the money side of things, on paper it would look as if my friend made a good profit but when you take into account the amount she has spent on vets, dentists, saddle fitters etc not to mention livery etc I doubt she made a single penny! Thank you again, I'm sure my friend will be very reassured by your words.

 

[vennessa]

To me it sounds like your friend took on a horse that needed some work. The work was done and a much improved horse was sold that passed the vetting. I cannot see the problem at all. I agree with above, i think they have found out how much your friend paid for the horse and are not happy. What about the time, effort and work your friend has put into giveing this horse a better future?
Some people are strange.

 

[appylass]

Thanks PiebaldSparkle, that's a good point about the vets etc, I'd not thought of that. It's all just so sad, my friend tried so hard to make sure this was the right home.

 

[appylass]

Thank you Silver_Florin, I think you are probably right about the money. And definitely right about some people being strange!

 

[saskia295]

Don't worry appy, the woman hasn't goit a leg to stand on. Horse passed vetting, she tried the horse several times.

It's a case of caviar emptor - buyer beware, although your friend has done nothing wrong. I'm afraid it's the new owner's tough sh*t, as they say.

Please please don't worry about this. It's not your or your friends' fault.

 

[appylass]

Thank you Saskia for your kind words. My friend is so upset and me too, this horse is so lovely and will be a star in the right hands. If I won the lottery I'd have her back in an instant, as it seems we made a very wrong decision letting this person have her.

And thank you again to everyone who has replied, it is so good to have sensible advice from people on here at times of crisis, it is very much appreciated.

 

[merlinsquest]

Re reading along this post, it is obvious that your friend has done nothing wrong and that the new owners are being silly.....

The worst thing about all of this is that your friend has wasted her time bettering the horse, for some numpty to undo all the good work

and now it will more likely go to another home...... hopefully a good one this time

 

[ladyt25]

Honestly, people like this REALLY annoy me. A similar thing happened to us. We boughta 4 yr old years ago for my sister. we should ahev sent him back within the first few weeks when it became apparent he wasn't really entirely suitable (decided broncking was fun!) and we got him from a dealer who would have been more than happy to take him back and find something else. Anyway, we persisted for 4 years be he developed a rearing issue and when my sister went to college we sold him. We were extremely open about what he did and that he needed an experienced rider and no competing (the pressure of showjumping etc was what caused his rearing)

To cut a long story short, a lady bought him (I think she overestimated her abilities rather) but sold him within a month or so after he threw a wobbler when she tried to take him showjumping! She never came back to us complaining but told the next lady who bought him that we'd lied about it! It was a load of rubbish.

If this person had tried the horse out a couple of times and liked him and he passed a vetting what more can you do?! Horses are horses and although a problem may have been 'fixed' with one person doesn't mean the horse may develop a new problem or revert back to old vices with someone else. It's an animal at the end of the day and I do wish more people realised this sometimes!!! Sorry, it just annoys me when people try blame someone else when the decision to buy the horse was theirs at the end of the day!