question for friend re horse sale gone a bit wrong..

charlie76

charlie76

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Friend of mine sold a horse about 4 months ago. Horse was sold for around £700 inc all tack and rugs because it would not pass a 5 stage vetting. This was stated in the advert. Reason being that she was only 99% sound. The horse had been in full work, xc rides, she had lessons on it, done some SJ'ing and in hand showing with the horse and generally was a fun allrounder.

Horse was sold, tried by purchaser ( who had read the advert) and was told why the horse was cheap and that the owner did not know why the horse was not 100% but was happy and managed.

The pruchaser bought the horse and did not have horse vetted although the original owner did say that they were welcome to have her vetter but she would not pass on the flexion test. Purchaser also had 'advisors' with her.
After a week in the new home the horse went VERY lame, horse had not ever been VERY lame in previous home. Purchaser got the vet who advised her to poultice horse. Purchaser did this and horse came sound.
Orginial owner said that if horse was no better after 2 weeks then she would take the horse back, the horse got better and the new purchaser cracked on with the horse.

Purchaser has since sent old owner vids, pics, emails stating how well horse was going, vids of horse jumping, out on xc fun rides ect and has been gushing about how well horse was going- all of this is on facebook as well.
Fast forward a few weeks, horse has gone lame again so new owner has vet. Vet states that the horse has an injury to its leg and now the new owner wants to send the horse back to the original owner. New owner is also stating to anyone who wants to listen that the reason the horse is lame is due to the original owner not looking after the horse properly, obviously, original owner is mortified at these statements as the horse was sold honestly.

any advice I can give her as I am at a loss.She is relaly upset about the whole situation IMO, the horse was sold as seen, was not vetted, the horse was cheap and it stated in the ad that the horse would not pass the vet therefore the original owner should not have to take back a horse that was sold as not 100% sound that is now very lame esp as there is plenty of evididnce that the horse was doing its job for the best part of 4 months after sale.
 
Ignore it. Rise above it. Your friend did nothing wrong and the same people who are now being told vindictive things about your friend by this idiot are probably also the same people who will have seen all the vids/pics etc taken by the idiot since the sale as evidence that the horse was up to the purpose for which it was bought.
 
tell them its tough.....what if the horse stayed sound for 5 years and then went lame??? would they expect your friend to take it back then??.....they sound like they thought they were getting a bargain and now its costing them vet bills they have changed their minds
 
Purchasing a horse is always emotional. However if the vendor has been 100% honest, and told the buyer everything, then I don't see the problem.

I know of a chap who paid £60,000 for this spectacular horse. Boxed it home and when it left the lorry, it cat jumped to the side, caught it's leg on the ramp in an awkward manner and broke it. Vet came and shot it 20 mins later. £60k gone just like that...

I guess what I'm saying is, Oh dear that's a shame, tough luck, that's horses. They didn't buy a car with a 12 month warranty, it's a living breathing creature. Sometimes it goes wrong, and there is nothing that could/can be done!
 
Vendor was as honest as she could have been IMO, she told them that the horse moved in an odd fashion hence she would not pass the vetting. My friend had been riding her everyday up until the day of sale, the horse only ever had 1 week off work in all the time she had her, for a punctured sole.
TBH, I have a horse myself for sale and it puts me off!
The horse was actually advertised for almost double what they paid for it ( even with the vet bit stated) and my friend accepted the offer as she felt it was a good home for the horse.
 
I have a feeling I know the horse you refer to, although I may be wrong. (Chestnut, tb type, pretty?)
If so it was sold to a very sweet, but fairly clueless girl, whose 'advisor' is also very sweet but again pretty clueless.

In your friends position - if she wants to and is able to then she might want to consider taking the horse back (at an even more reduced price!). But equally she would be under no obligation to do this at all and could wash her hands of them.
 
I have recently sold my mare and if there was a problem resulting in the lovely new owner wanting to bring her back (highly unlikely) I would have her back in a shot. I would hate to see her passed on and in the wrong hands. Depends on the feelings for the mare really, had I not have been so attached I would have told her to get ratted!!! :D
 
Sounds very like what happend to a friend of mine, only she had bred the pony, sold to a woman who said that she wanted it for her very experianced super star child rider to bring on and compeat, horse was sound, but had very bad scaring to its hind leg, this horse had not been broken in very long, but was happily schooling a few times a week, but by no means an experienced pony.

Fast forward 4 months, new owner after previously saying how wonderfull pony was going, was now changing her tune! saying the pony was badly napping, rearing, biteing, kicking, and had badly injured her show hack!in the field. She stated to old owner that she wanted her money back! and was to collect the horse, friend said no way! that 4 mnths had passed and said it was no longer her concern after seeking legal advice.

Then new owner said in an email to my friend that she had booked it in to go to potters to be destroyed!!!! and that if she didn't give her the full £500 purchase price back, this would be the ponies fate!!! and my friend, having bred the pony was reduced to tears, gave in to the BLACKMAIL!! and went and collected the horse.

Pony has now been back about five weeks, and after having its back checked, and back person saying that it had been ridden in a badly fitted saddle and, a heavy rider, is now schooling again and has started jumping, also absolutly no signs of bad behaviour!
so warning to anyone selling in the south west of devon, be carefull of a woman, who is also a dealer ringing to buy your horse at a greatly reduced price, is not what she seems!
if you want more details as to who, PM me...

You have no obligation to have the horse back or refund money, unless your are a dealer, then different rules apply, but also depends on how fond of the horse you were!
 
Well if she took it back I certainly wouldn't be expecting her to pay anything, its ridiculous, anything could have happened to the horse in 4 months, if its 4 months or 4 years its irrelevant.
 
All I can say is how stupid - if you buy a horse you know will fail a vetting then you are taking a risk and imo buying something for just light hacking. It should have been obvious that to start seriously jumping the horse could exasperate any unsoundness. Stupid people!!!
 
Your friend has nothing to worry about. She stated the horse wouldn't pass the vet in the advert. The buyers brought their own advisor and did not have the horse vetted as they knew it would fail. 4 months down the line, the horse is now lame. This is your friends fault how? Even a dealer wouldn't be responsible in that scenario, let alone a private seller.

IF they want to persue your friend through the Court, then they will be wasting their own time and money. Caveat Emptor - let the buyer beware - is applicable in this case!
 
I'd be more annoyed that they were making untrue comments on the web, and would advise them that if it continues and is not removed legal action will be taken.
 
It depends how your friend feels about the horse.

If friend feels the horse is in good hands and will be done right by, then she need do nothing. Perhaps gather evidence of how the sale was made and subsequent facebook records where the buyer states how well it is going.

If your friend is concerned about what will happen to the horse she has the option to take them back.
 
Is the recent lameness even anything to do with the original problem, it could be a whole new problem brought on by hard/fast work on hard ground??
 
Your friend has no obligation to the buyers. I too bought a horse that failed a vetting
on flexion, took the risk that it would not be a problem for what I wanted to do. Several months on horse has developed spavin. I accepted the risk and is has sadly not paid off for me. But I am keeping said horse.
 
Too much time between sale and lameness, you cannot be sure what they have done with the horse ridden it too hard, injured in stall or what. It may well come sound again with time and rest, vet treatment, it is her responsibility and not yours. Let it go.

I had a horse that was lame the day after I had brought it home, in 3 legs. I picked it up in the dark, I had a bit of a funny feeling about it, but it was walking and trotting okay. The young girl had stayed home from school and ridden it hard all day. By morning he was very sore, not a thing I could do about it legally.

He came good _ I had had him vet checked a couple of days prior and also once I realised he was lame.
 
The newest owner does not really have a leg to stand on regarding the horse. The seller may wish to warn about slander regarding the untrue comments being made, although, to be honest, I would just let it slide, those who know the old owner will know better.
 
Few choices really
Friend can take horse back at reduced price, But not obliged to
Friend tells new owner to trot on
Friend also tells new owner court action will commence if she carries on telling lies.
 
After 4 months, she will have no comeback. The horse was sold honestly and at a cheap price and the owner did tell her that the horse had soundness issues so what did she expect?
 
Sorry - no advice for this one but can I recommend that whenever anyone sells anything to anybody that they get a write a statement to say "bought as seen with all known faults" and then list those faults.

ie horse weaves, coughs on dry hay, not good on road, sweet itch etc etc. Then no come back!

You can also put the purchase price and that money received in cash etc etc.

Get them to sign it and keep a copy!
 
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