icee
Member
hi, looking for some advice!
quite a lengthy post, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read it
during lockdown I purchased an 8/yo horse unseen, following the loss of my v old childhood pony last year, who was retired and passed away in her field. I was unable to get a vetting carried out as the vets were not carrying them out. the old owner also told me I was not allowed to visit the yard due to covid restrictions - fair enough. I took a gamble and spent all my savings on this mare (+ a bit extra, as she was actually over my budget). I asked a lot of questions about her to ensure she was right for me and the videos of her being ridden showed she seemed to move nicely, although I appreciate in hindsight these could have been old videos or she could have been bute'd up...you just don't know!!
I bought her in mind that she'd be here with me lifelong. when she arrived at my livery yard she had to be quarantined for 5 days due to worming, then an extra 9 days because her vaccinations had ran out (first thing i'd been lied to about- they were supposed to be up to date) and our yard does not allow turnout without them being done (I managed to get a vet on the 7th day of her being in(it was very hard to get registered just for vaccs, as vets weren't classing it as a priority/emergency at the time), and then she still wasn't allowed out as everyone in my field had to be agreeable for her being turned out). on the fourth day of owning her she walked out of her stable very very stiff and this made me worry - she was walking like a 20 year old with arthritis, but i put it down to being stabled- she was being walked around inhand by myself several times a day aswell as lunged every other day while she could not go in the field. I brought these stiffness concerns up to her old owner who said that this had never happened with her and that my mare was stabled 24/7 with her. once my mare was turned out in the field, she seemed better and less stiff although I appreciate there is a massive difference between a horse being lame and a horse being stiff.
she came without a saddle, so I managed to borrow a temporary one that fitted her and not me- I was at the risk of unbalancing her, so made the decision to only get on her twice, at two different times, to walk a few minutes around the yard and then hop off. when I did this, she seemed OK and had a nice bend/seemed relaxed. my farrier took my horse's two front shoes off as she wasn't doing any work and she appeared to be fine, and my farrier said she had great hooves etc. after a few weeks the old owner agreed to sell me the original saddle and came down with it and rode. she rode my horse well and warmed up etc, popped a few jumps bareback because the girth i had was too large, and would have made the saddle slip. she only popped a few jumps, but my horse then just gave up- literally- with jumping, she had only popped about 4/5 at the most and when she came into a small straight she just walked into it and stood infront of the jump. therefore i opted to call it a day entirely and not to get on as my horse was starting to get wound up and i also still didn't really know her.
generally, on the ground, and to handle, she has the most perfect personality and is very loving- i really love her and she was just what i needed to help me through my grief (I suffered a few losses last year and also have a pretty hard time generally- not looking for sympathy, just trying to provide some context for why I bought her). we've built up a fairly good relationship in the few months i've owned her; she cuddles up to me for ages, is very affectionate and follows me around the field like a lamb.
after a few days, i tacked up and decided to go for a ride. my horse began spinning around the mounting block when i went to get on and quite honestly this frightened me. i'd go to put my foot in the stirrup and hop on, and she shot forwards. i ended up being too frightened to get on and another livery on my yard kindly hopped on instead, walked around and then got off. she agreed to help me get my mare to stand at a mounting block going forwards and i paid her to help me as i really was grateful for the help. the third time the livery helped me, she noticed my horse was lame/not quite right. another livery- who does services on the yard (turnout etc) was of the same opinion.
firstly, i got the farrier out incase to have her re-shod. as soon as she saw what the farrier was going to do, she went ballistic and kept running through us. so we had to leave it. i messaged her old owner and she eventually admitted my horse had only ever been cold shod as she was scared of the smoke. it wasn't just that, she was acting scared all together at being shod.
i then had her saddle checked - it fitted lovely, just needed a bit of flocking.
then i got the physio out the day after the farrier, who found a lot of tightness but nothing to fully explain the lameness. at this stage i got back in touch with the old owner, who quite frankly got a bit nasty and blamed me for the lameness. i kept asking her where she had got my horse from and if she had any history etc, which she refused to share. after some digging i found out my horse had been through the auctions and has had a lot of homes. i even got in touch with her original owners who were horrified to hear she'd ended up at auction and passed around so much.
so i rang the vets and scheduled for her to go into vet clinic to have a full work up. i found out from doing this that my mare had very thin soles and needed shoes- the vet disagreed with my farrier and said that my horse did not have good/strong hooves. after scans, nerveblocking etc we found that my mare had a massive hole in her suspensory ligament which was most likely something i bought her with. her teeth were also checked- surprise surprise, they weren't up to date and hadn't been done for years. they're due again next month because of the state they were in.
following this visit, and a stay in the vets, i got a new farrier who was very patient and with the help of sedative managed to get shoes on- since then, my mare began to walk straighter and sounder.
since then, my mare has had regular physio and at the vets she has had PRP treatment twice and rescans. we went back to the vets at the end of august and found that though the hole has now healed its very swollen/inflamed around the ligament (during the last few weeks of boxrest/controlled turnout, my mare started to get really frustrated.) my vet suggested claiming for loss of use on my insurance, which i didn't add on as i never thought i'd need it!! my choice was a further 12 weeks boxrest (which i didn't want to do- my mare who was usually so sweet to handle was understandably wound up and fed up) or chucking her in a field for 8 weeks and only bringing her in for the vet/physio or an emergency. which is what i've opted for. since turning her out she's like a different horse and is much more chilled.
obviously i'm gutted but a fool for trusting a stranger particularly when money is being exchanged. i received random hate messages off the old owner's friend, telling me i was making the vet visits up and that i was simply scared to ride?! (OK, i was when she span round the mounting block, but come on...). my horse has rescans next month and i'm hoping she can be a happy/light hack at the most. i don't particularly want to have to bute her up just to ride as i don't really agree with that, and i want to give her the best quality of life even if it doesn't end up being long (i appreciate thats morbid but just trying to be realistic). vet is doubtful that my mare will be sound enough for a happy hack but i guess miracles sometimes happen and we never know??
i spoke to a solicitor who said because i'd consistently raised concerns with the old owner from the start, and had a lot of evidence (advert, photos of horse at auction, texts showing concerns etc) i could claim back for vet fees (which are covered by insurance admittedly but its already been split into 2 claims, and is running out. i've paid the £500 excess twice now). or, i could claim back for the price of my horse and vet fees/livery etc but return my horse back to old owner. i am quite attached to my mare now and don't want her passed around again.
is there any point going the legal route, or is it just more upset?
what would you do in my position?
my partner was supportive of me buying her but is pretty gutted for me that i've now essentially wasted a lot of money on a horse that isn't fit for what i bought it to do (low level riding club type horse). i appreciate horses aren't just about riding but it's why i bought her. if i didn't want to ride, i wouldn't have a horse and would just be donating to sanctuaries or rescues.
my horse is now 9 years old and is still relatively young to be written off ridden wise so young although i know it happens. at the end of the day i've been sold a horse where the ad and owner claimed had no health issues or anything wrong, a horse i could get on and go out with straight away. i can't afford another horse and it is a hard lesson learnt. just feel a bit gutted to say the least as i all i wanted to do was go for a ride. if she cost a few hundred i wouldn't be bothered but it was over 3 grand.
my yard is meant to be 24/7 turnout but as the bad weather rolls in i'm sure the majority of those in my field will want their horses in- which is their right, but i don't know if i want to fork out for shavings/hay for a horse that can't be ridden and may aswell spend her life in a field.
TL;DR- missold horse, is it worth pursuing legal action? and what would you do?
quite a lengthy post, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read it
during lockdown I purchased an 8/yo horse unseen, following the loss of my v old childhood pony last year, who was retired and passed away in her field. I was unable to get a vetting carried out as the vets were not carrying them out. the old owner also told me I was not allowed to visit the yard due to covid restrictions - fair enough. I took a gamble and spent all my savings on this mare (+ a bit extra, as she was actually over my budget). I asked a lot of questions about her to ensure she was right for me and the videos of her being ridden showed she seemed to move nicely, although I appreciate in hindsight these could have been old videos or she could have been bute'd up...you just don't know!!
I bought her in mind that she'd be here with me lifelong. when she arrived at my livery yard she had to be quarantined for 5 days due to worming, then an extra 9 days because her vaccinations had ran out (first thing i'd been lied to about- they were supposed to be up to date) and our yard does not allow turnout without them being done (I managed to get a vet on the 7th day of her being in(it was very hard to get registered just for vaccs, as vets weren't classing it as a priority/emergency at the time), and then she still wasn't allowed out as everyone in my field had to be agreeable for her being turned out). on the fourth day of owning her she walked out of her stable very very stiff and this made me worry - she was walking like a 20 year old with arthritis, but i put it down to being stabled- she was being walked around inhand by myself several times a day aswell as lunged every other day while she could not go in the field. I brought these stiffness concerns up to her old owner who said that this had never happened with her and that my mare was stabled 24/7 with her. once my mare was turned out in the field, she seemed better and less stiff although I appreciate there is a massive difference between a horse being lame and a horse being stiff.
she came without a saddle, so I managed to borrow a temporary one that fitted her and not me- I was at the risk of unbalancing her, so made the decision to only get on her twice, at two different times, to walk a few minutes around the yard and then hop off. when I did this, she seemed OK and had a nice bend/seemed relaxed. my farrier took my horse's two front shoes off as she wasn't doing any work and she appeared to be fine, and my farrier said she had great hooves etc. after a few weeks the old owner agreed to sell me the original saddle and came down with it and rode. she rode my horse well and warmed up etc, popped a few jumps bareback because the girth i had was too large, and would have made the saddle slip. she only popped a few jumps, but my horse then just gave up- literally- with jumping, she had only popped about 4/5 at the most and when she came into a small straight she just walked into it and stood infront of the jump. therefore i opted to call it a day entirely and not to get on as my horse was starting to get wound up and i also still didn't really know her.
generally, on the ground, and to handle, she has the most perfect personality and is very loving- i really love her and she was just what i needed to help me through my grief (I suffered a few losses last year and also have a pretty hard time generally- not looking for sympathy, just trying to provide some context for why I bought her). we've built up a fairly good relationship in the few months i've owned her; she cuddles up to me for ages, is very affectionate and follows me around the field like a lamb.
after a few days, i tacked up and decided to go for a ride. my horse began spinning around the mounting block when i went to get on and quite honestly this frightened me. i'd go to put my foot in the stirrup and hop on, and she shot forwards. i ended up being too frightened to get on and another livery on my yard kindly hopped on instead, walked around and then got off. she agreed to help me get my mare to stand at a mounting block going forwards and i paid her to help me as i really was grateful for the help. the third time the livery helped me, she noticed my horse was lame/not quite right. another livery- who does services on the yard (turnout etc) was of the same opinion.
firstly, i got the farrier out incase to have her re-shod. as soon as she saw what the farrier was going to do, she went ballistic and kept running through us. so we had to leave it. i messaged her old owner and she eventually admitted my horse had only ever been cold shod as she was scared of the smoke. it wasn't just that, she was acting scared all together at being shod.
i then had her saddle checked - it fitted lovely, just needed a bit of flocking.
then i got the physio out the day after the farrier, who found a lot of tightness but nothing to fully explain the lameness. at this stage i got back in touch with the old owner, who quite frankly got a bit nasty and blamed me for the lameness. i kept asking her where she had got my horse from and if she had any history etc, which she refused to share. after some digging i found out my horse had been through the auctions and has had a lot of homes. i even got in touch with her original owners who were horrified to hear she'd ended up at auction and passed around so much.
so i rang the vets and scheduled for her to go into vet clinic to have a full work up. i found out from doing this that my mare had very thin soles and needed shoes- the vet disagreed with my farrier and said that my horse did not have good/strong hooves. after scans, nerveblocking etc we found that my mare had a massive hole in her suspensory ligament which was most likely something i bought her with. her teeth were also checked- surprise surprise, they weren't up to date and hadn't been done for years. they're due again next month because of the state they were in.
following this visit, and a stay in the vets, i got a new farrier who was very patient and with the help of sedative managed to get shoes on- since then, my mare began to walk straighter and sounder.
since then, my mare has had regular physio and at the vets she has had PRP treatment twice and rescans. we went back to the vets at the end of august and found that though the hole has now healed its very swollen/inflamed around the ligament (during the last few weeks of boxrest/controlled turnout, my mare started to get really frustrated.) my vet suggested claiming for loss of use on my insurance, which i didn't add on as i never thought i'd need it!! my choice was a further 12 weeks boxrest (which i didn't want to do- my mare who was usually so sweet to handle was understandably wound up and fed up) or chucking her in a field for 8 weeks and only bringing her in for the vet/physio or an emergency. which is what i've opted for. since turning her out she's like a different horse and is much more chilled.
obviously i'm gutted but a fool for trusting a stranger particularly when money is being exchanged. i received random hate messages off the old owner's friend, telling me i was making the vet visits up and that i was simply scared to ride?! (OK, i was when she span round the mounting block, but come on...). my horse has rescans next month and i'm hoping she can be a happy/light hack at the most. i don't particularly want to have to bute her up just to ride as i don't really agree with that, and i want to give her the best quality of life even if it doesn't end up being long (i appreciate thats morbid but just trying to be realistic). vet is doubtful that my mare will be sound enough for a happy hack but i guess miracles sometimes happen and we never know??
i spoke to a solicitor who said because i'd consistently raised concerns with the old owner from the start, and had a lot of evidence (advert, photos of horse at auction, texts showing concerns etc) i could claim back for vet fees (which are covered by insurance admittedly but its already been split into 2 claims, and is running out. i've paid the £500 excess twice now). or, i could claim back for the price of my horse and vet fees/livery etc but return my horse back to old owner. i am quite attached to my mare now and don't want her passed around again.
is there any point going the legal route, or is it just more upset?
what would you do in my position?
my partner was supportive of me buying her but is pretty gutted for me that i've now essentially wasted a lot of money on a horse that isn't fit for what i bought it to do (low level riding club type horse). i appreciate horses aren't just about riding but it's why i bought her. if i didn't want to ride, i wouldn't have a horse and would just be donating to sanctuaries or rescues.
my horse is now 9 years old and is still relatively young to be written off ridden wise so young although i know it happens. at the end of the day i've been sold a horse where the ad and owner claimed had no health issues or anything wrong, a horse i could get on and go out with straight away. i can't afford another horse and it is a hard lesson learnt. just feel a bit gutted to say the least as i all i wanted to do was go for a ride. if she cost a few hundred i wouldn't be bothered but it was over 3 grand.
my yard is meant to be 24/7 turnout but as the bad weather rolls in i'm sure the majority of those in my field will want their horses in- which is their right, but i don't know if i want to fork out for shavings/hay for a horse that can't be ridden and may aswell spend her life in a field.
TL;DR- missold horse, is it worth pursuing legal action? and what would you do?
