Would you.........

T

The Original Kao

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pay a nearly £300 vets bill for a horse that ain't even yours?
story is a friend of mine rides and pays livery on a horse. her mate bought 2 horses as she went to see 2 and wasn't sure what 1 to buy, my friend offered to pay the livery on 1 as she'd be the 1 riding it mainly. anyway the horse ended up with pus coming from a nostril and her friend couldn't or wouldn't see a problem so my mate knew that if she didn't offer to get a vet the poor horse would be left untreated and she was worried it was a tooth and he would be in pain (this other friend ain't willing to part with money it seems and hadn't bothered to sort out insurance even after my friend had given her loads of quotes she had gotten).
so she got a vet and 2 visits, 2 weeks of antibiotics and an endescope later, vet can't find where the pus is coming from and advises her to get the horse to the vet school for x ray and possible sinus flush.
her vets bills is £3 shy of £300 and she didn't have a clue it was gonna be that much, let alone that her friend hasn't followed up with a vet. she told her friend the sitution with the vet and expected her to do more but pay for it herself, she hasn't. and the horse is getting worse.
now to add to the sh*t this woman is now talking about selling the horse and when my friend mentioned the vets bills and the fact she'd be hundreds of £'s out of pocket, the woman said 'so!' as in who cares as long as i'm alright!
i've told her to not pay any. she's offered to buy the horse but can't afford to right now, but has asked her to wait till she's in a position she can. but i don't think she'll wait.
also her friend's other horse had started rearing and napping and reared right up and over, now he can barely walk and things don't look good for it. i reckon my mate should hand over the vets bills to the horses owner and just walk away, cause if the horse doesn't end up sold, this woman is gonna keep him for herself once either this other horse is sold or PTS.
she's gotten so attached to the horse, he is lovely, and she says she needs to stay to see what happens. she hasn't paid a penny of the bill and i hope she won't as i know its just a matter of time before she loses this horse.
sorry its so long
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I think the vets bill in this case is the respnosibility of the person who called the vet in the first place.

It seems like the people involved in this situation have been irresponsible - no proper loan contract has been drawn up to say who has what responsibilities, and the owner has not paid any insurance. There seems to be no proper communication which would obviously be the first step.
 
Unfortunately rightly or wrongly, as your friend instructed the vet, she is I believe liable to pay the bill. The ILPH or RSPCA maybe able to help in ensuring the horses get the further veterinary treatment they need. Sounds like a horrid situation for all concerned.
 
Tough one. If the vets bills are in her name then I guess she has to pay them
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But even though she loves the horse I would walk away now. The women is getting her livery paid for and this is how she repays her. I feel so sorry for the horses but I guess they might be better or sold if she can't/won't look after them properly.
 
I'm sorry, "fairness" aside, if your friend got the vet out, multiple times, then she ought to pay.
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Very difficult situation to be in - and one that would probably only be settled in the small claims court.
 
Oh what a hard dilema!! personally i wouldnt pay a thing. You can see it happening... friend pays bills and get horse right and owner sells it anyway. I take it there was no written contract between your friend and this owner regards keep and bills etc? Then your friend looses both ways. However i would not like to see the poor horse in any pain. I know there has been several debates on circumstances whether to report to animal welfare societies and i take each individual case on its own merits. In this case the owner can always wriggle out of paying for the treatment done already by saying that she never authorised the vets treatment. If she had authorised it then she as the owner is liable to pay the outstanding amount. ( so i believe ) However this doesnt get round the fact that the horse needs further treatment. If the horse is in pain and the vet says they need further treatment then the only thing i can see left is to report the owner for failing to provide the necessary treatment of the horse to an animal welfare organisation. I cant see of any other way out and its a hard dilema that im glad im not in myself. I am looking forward to hearing other peoples views on this matter. Tell your friend dont let her heart rule her head inn these circumstances.
 
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I'm sorry, "fairness" aside, if your friend got the vet out, multiple times, then she ought to pay.
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Thats exactly what I thought.
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i think my friends now hoping she'll just give her the horse, he's not worth a great deal, even less with his nose situation, and i doubt she can sell him as he is, which means more vets bills for the owner to get him sorted before she can sell him. so i think she's hanging in there in case the woman sees sense. she'd then be happy to sort out the vets bills and get the horse fixed. but she's not willing to try and find the money to buy the horse plus pay hundreds of £ of vets bills on top. it looks like its going to be double what she's already got if not more and thats about the horses value without the pus.
the horse is perfect for her i must say and we both know she'd struggle to find another like him. i wish i could help but i've no idea what to say anymore, and i'm very angry about the situation so am trying to keep my mouth shut lol
 
Your friend must be careful. Vets bills are never what they seem. Mine last year started off at just a simple abcess on his head couple of antibiotics later not much of a vets bill. Then became complicated and without going into the whole details my bill in total was £8000. Especially if the horse has to go away for treatment you may be talking livery bills also. Not cheap.
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If your friend has taken on the horse and livery bills, it sounds like this is an informal full loan agreement. This being the case, I feel the responsiblity lies with your friend who is loaning the horse to pay for the vet that she instructed.

Because the owner is on the same yard, with a different horse, your friend is clearly thinking that if there is a problem the owner will step in. The owner is most probably thinking, you loan the horse, no matter what you pay for it.

Because no contract or formal arrangement has been drawn up, your friend is liable for the vets bill as it is in her name. The owner, is probably thinking along the lines, that if the horse is going to cause her aggrevation and expense she would rather sell it and cut her looses. This leaves your friend without a horse and out of pocket.

Now I would suggest this, get your friend to talk to the owner and agree a proper loan and all the upkeep of the horse, over a fixed period of time. Or ask to buy the horse and offer a small amount, as the owner is prepared to cut her loses and will be open to offers. If you friend does not have any available money, then she can offer a monthly amount and get this put down in writing.

You say, your friend wants to keep the horse, so if this is the case, try what ever to keep it. Also be mindful, a bit of snot out of the nose is quite normal, is it really a lot and a problem. I would seek further advice on the horses health. Vets are running a business to make profit, yes they have the horses interests at heart, but sometimes, and only sometimes they are not mindful of bumping up a bill.

I would change bedding, hay etc etc and see if you can clear the snot up. Obviously if there is clearly a problem, then continue down the line of the vet.
 
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i think my friends now hoping she'll just give her the horse, he's not worth a great deal, even less with his nose situation, and i doubt she can sell him as he is, which means more vets bills for the owner to get him sorted before she can sell him. so i think she's hanging in there in case the woman sees sense. she'd then be happy to sort out the vets bills and get the horse fixed.

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What your friend needs to realise, is that regardless of what she's "happy" doing, or what the out come over ownership is, is that if she is the one who called the vet then she is liable for those bills.
 
thanks every1 for the input, as i said i'm finding it hard to know wat advice to give. looks like she'll be footing the vet bill no matter what, i had told her if she sells the horse to hand the bill over to the owner.
anyway i'm going to tell her to take the bill to the owner tonight and talk things out with her. so she might end up giving up the horse and using the livery money to pay off the bill.
such a shame as she dotes on the horse and would give him a wonderful home. i've never seen a horse and rider more suited both sweet and laid back. the whole situtation is heart breaking.
 
its not snot its vile smelling yellow pus. he isn't stabled either. its gone from 1 nostril to the other but is still present in the other nostril but not as much. it really is the vilest smelling stuff.
it was a verbal agreement that my mate would pay for livery, nothing else, not shoes, not feed and not vets as she's not working right now (tho she's trying desperately for a job)
so the horse isn't loaned as such. my mate thought it would be nice to pay for something as she was going to be given the horse to ride whenever she wanted. and the livery was a lot cheaper than just 1 hour of lesson at any riding school. but given the circumstances she wishes she'd never gotten involved but can't just walk away.
 
The impression from the above posts is that these horses are in a fairly dire situation - one with a somewhat sinister sounding infection, and the other hardly able to move after going over with a rider
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. Neither of them stabled I am guessing, when the above ailments would suggest certainly the incapacitated one should be?
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Whilst I am more than sure your friend has the very best intentions in considering trying to get him handed over to her, if she has no job at present, this doesn't sound like the best outcome. If I have read the situation correctly, would strongly suggest that a rescue organisation is involved to at least 'discuss' with the owner. Someone such as the ILPH are particularly good at this type of thing ( or RSPCA as a last resort).
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the horse that went over is stabled, looks like a neuroligal problem tho, might be why he reared up and went over in the 1st place, and he is recieveing treatment. tho looks like he's going to be PTS. my friend isn't offering to take the horse till she's in employment again, she knows how expensive they are. and she took the livery on when she was in employment. its only a short length of time she has been unemployed.
she has asked the owner to keep the horse till her situtation is better. but i don't think the owner will wait, not unless her other horse is PTS then she'll keep the other horse for use herself. i would imagine. plus i've also said to her how much would u be willing to pay for a horse with such a problem? espescially considering how much of a bill she has already.
i think deep down she knows its unworkable, only way it would work was if the horse was gifted to her. and i just can't see that happening.
as for rscpca etc i ain't getting involved to that extent, i know these organisations do try, but she can just say the horse is in treatment and get my friend to produce the bill, which shows last treatment as feb, no mention it was early feb tho.
 
plus actually with the bill being in my friends name the owner could deny ownership and get my mate into serious sh*t? i just thought that when i was thinking about the bill. as there is no contract or anything it could get into an even worse situation.
 
Unfortunately im in agreemant with many...as your friend called the vet out witout owners permission, she is liable for any bills incured...Id also ring the ILPH or rspca to get proper help for these horses..that one that flipped over could well have broken something! and to be left in pain is dispicable! the one with the nose, i think it needs definately further treatment...it could get very expensive!
 
she never did it without the owners permission. she had full permission to get the vet out to find out what was going on with the horse. as i said my friend didn't want the horse left in possible pain, so she asked the owner if she could get the vet out to see what was going on. the owner knows fully well what the vet said and that he needs to go to the vet school and have further tests and a possible op. my friend has now left any further treatment in the owners hands.
as for the other horse he is getting vet treatment and it looks more like he's had a neurological problem thats making him go downhill fast. no need for rspca there as the horse is getting seen to
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he has no signs of any damage done to him through his fall. he just can barely co ordinate himself to walk.
 
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Tough one. If the vets bills are in her name then I guess she has to pay them
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But even though she loves the horse I would walk away now. The women is getting her livery paid for and this is how she repays her. I feel so sorry for the horses but I guess they might be better or sold if she can't/won't look after them properly.

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basically what i reckon too. my poor friend was doing what she thought was right and has ended up getting screwed over. and the annoying thing is the horse is no better off even after her efforts
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