What to do - what a pickle!

J

jagmadir

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Hi guys,

Where do I start? I bought a horse which I had hoped I could enjoy and get out and about on. He was supposed to be good in traffic but I quickly found out he wasn’t and it later turned out that he was also misrepresented in other ways (history of sarcoids which they lied about), and I then find out that “the agent” (who is local to me) was actually his owner(!) and the story she gave me of selling on behalf of a friend was also a lie... Anyway, if we can resolve the matter amicably he will unfortunately be going back. I feel guilty even writing that because I really wish he was what they had said he was, I hate the thought of sending him back but I don’t have millions sat in the bank and can’t afford buy or keep a second horse.

BUT, if I can’t resolve it amicably I’m potentially left with a horse that I can’t ride out and will need treatment on a sarcoid which is developing near his eye. Oh and because the issue of sarcoids are a previous ailment he is not covered by insurance for any future treatment on sarcoids. Joy.

SO, what would you do? My initial thoughts are that if I can’t resolve the issue with the old owner, that I will have to try and sell him so that I can buy another (hopefully more suitable) replacement. I’d obviously be 100% honest about him because I would want him to find a genuine home. He’s won up to Newcomers, and is a XC machine so he’s a nice little tool for someone if they don’t mind that he’s rubbish in heavy traffic. But what price can you ask for a horse that has previous issues with sarcoids and one that’s developing near his eye? If I had been forewarned about this condition, I would have steered clear and personally think that most people would do the same.

I’d appreciate your thoughts.

Merry Christmas
 
Did you get the horse vetted? If so sarcoids and possibly some of the other issues depending on what they are should have been flagged up then.

Is the seller officially a dealer? If so you should have some come back through trading standards if not its a case of buyer beware unfortunately. Did you see the horse performing the activities you needed it to when viewing? How long have you had him? Horses take time to settle in. Both myself and my friend bought issue free horses which arrived last sat and both have had small issues since arrival. Hers is a lead rein pony which was a bit nippy the first few days but with a firm hand he has soon stopped it
 
I think your best chance of sorting this out to to try and establish if the person is a dealer (as above) even if they arent trading as ine i think if they sell over a certain number of horses a year they could be classed as one - googling of name, phone number etc can throw up a lot of info as can facebook profiles

How long have you had the horse?

Were the owners name and address in the passport? If so you may have a harder time claiming that you didnt know the horse was theirs
 
Hey guy! I've had him since May and been trying to resolve the issue since August. I didn't have him vetted but I was told in writing that the scar by his eye was from an old injury, and in his advert it stated that he'd never been "sick or sorry".

It's a weird one because the person I bought him through has their own website and appears to be a trader, however they are saying that the business no longer exists and this was a private sale for a friend. It's unfortunately got as far as a court claim being raised (by me), I'm just waiting for a hearing date. I'd hoped it would be sorted by now but it's dragging out.

The horse was bred by a friend of hers and that's the name which is on his passport, and that was who the person said she was selling for. But it transpires that the girl had actually bought the horse off her friend to sell, but she hadn't changed the passport into her name.

Very convoluted and highly frustrating actually :(
 
Do you have a witness when you were told that he hadn't had sarcoids? Apart from the sarcoids the not being good in traffic is a good enough reason to return.
1. Try and return him. 2) If that doesn't work, a strong solicitor's letter threatening legal action. 3) If you are left with him on your hands, he is really only worth a bit more than "meat money" I guess. Someone might take him on if they live in the back of beyond (no traffic) and they are willing to take a chance on the sarcoids.
 
What a miserable thing to have to deal with.

I think the fact that you have it in writing that the mark by the eye was a scar injury will go in your favour if you end up in a small claims court. It would be harder to interpret 'never sick or sorry' as this could be taken to mean that the horse has never been out of work for injury/lameness/illness and a sarcoid would not necessarily stop him working.

You probably already know that a passport is not proof of ownership so it 'shouldn't' matter that she didn't transfer the passport into her own name.

I wish you all the best in pursuing this. Did you try him in heavy traffic when you tried him? The most likely outcome is that you will have to sell him but at least it sounds as though he could be a good competition horse for some-one else so the hacking may be less of an issue.
 
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