Selling horses and disclosing information - Horse Forum - Horse Discussion Forum

striderrider · #1 (**permalink**) 01-22-2010, 03:26 AM

So here is something I would like peoples opinions on:

When selling a horse, what information regarding past medical history do you disclose? If the horse is sound today, do you tell the potential buyer if he had an injury in the past that does not effect his career today? Is it up to them to vet the horse and make their decision? Does that mean you tell them about every abcess or minor bout of colic or mysterious lamness that went away in a week? Over a few years a lot can happen to a horse and most horses have had the vet out for one reason or another so where do you draw the line? What about splints? Would you point out your horses splints even if he is totally sound and they are old splints? Or do you leave that to them to get their vets opinion?

What do ya'll think?

peppysan · #2 (**permalink**) 01-26-2010, 02:52 AM

When selling horses, I find brutal honesty is best whether you are talking about medical history or training history. That being said, I would not feel the need to tell them every time the horse had minor abcess or nick or scratch. If the injury was a serious one, I would disclose it even if the horse was sound today. I would want to make sure that whatever the new buyer wanted to use the horse for, that the horse would be able to stand up to that work and the old injury would not re-surface. Yes it might be harder to sell the horse in the long run, but I would feel confident that I sold the horse to a suitable home in which all parties are happy.

CatherineJ · #3 (**permalink**) 01-27-2010, 02:02 AM

If the horse is sound at the time of purchase and has been vetted and comes up clean, and the seller has been honest about the horses history, the buyer then becomes completely responsible for what happens to the horse after the purchase, period!! No buyers remorse three months later

horse99 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-03-2010, 08:40 PM

Well, I think that if you feel something is important and relevant to the current condition of the horse, or something that could effect the current condition of the horse, then you should disclose it. That being said, the way the world works is "buyer beware," so it is up to the buyer to get a full pre-purchase exam done and discuss any issues with their vet and trainer and then make their decision based on that. I agree that once you make the decision to buy the horse and you take him home, whatever happens to the horse after that is your responsibility.

NewHorseMom · #5 (**permalink**) 03-01-2010, 09:51 PM

I was always under the impression that it is "buyer beware" and that it is up to the buyer to do the homework before buying a horse so this is why it is so very important to have a professional trainer help you with your purchase and only buy a horse from a reputable breeder or seller. Of course there are "bad seeds" out there that will try and sell you a lemon, these ppl should not be in business! A reputable person will know their reputation is on the line and will not sell you something they think is inappropriate for your particular needs. I don't know, horses go lame all the time for many reasons so if you are looking to never have a lame horse, then don't buy any horse! lol

striderrider · #6 (**permalink**) 03-10-2010, 03:24 AM

Thanks for all the replies this makes me feel better. I agree the seller needs to be as honest as possible but talking about every single nick and scratch is over-kill. Basically tell them as much as you know and the rest is up to them...

BTW, if I for some reason thought that a horse was the wrong match for someone even if they wanted the horse, I would either not sell them the horse or let them have a trial to make sure everyone was happy.

peppysan · #7 (**permalink**) 03-15-2010, 10:28 PM

Trials can be great things, but then again I have had people take a horse on trial that was perfectly SOUND when they took him, only to get him back LAME a few weeks later and have them say, "we'll he's lame now so we don't want to buy him." And I am here thinking "Well what did YOU do with the horse to make him lame?" Or grant it he could have banged himself, but I am stuck with the vet bills nonetheless and a lame horse to try and sell. That was not fun, so unless I know the people very well, I would not send another horse on trial. They can come to MY place and have as many supervised rides as they like, and then decide whether to take the horse or not. If they decide to take the horse, I always recommend a prepurchase exam and once they take the horse off my property, what happens to the horse is their responsibility. There are just too many things that can happen to a horse after it sells to be the sellers responsibility. It's like, can I pay their hay bill too? I think not!

horse99 · #8 (**permalink**) 04-23-2010, 11:56 PM

Horses are generally sold "as is" with no warranty or guarantees. I am not a huge fan of letting horses go on trial either for the reasons outlined by peppy. Just too much risk is involved, then who's fault is it if something happens to the horse? No, I like a clean sale. And no payment terms either. Pay for it all at once, then the horse is yours and whatever happens after that is your problem. If they end up not happy with the horse for whatever reason, I may consider taking the horse back and refunding the money but that is MY prerogative. Sometimes horses just don't work out, so sell it or find it a new home and cut your losses and move on. Over a lifetime a horse person will go through several horses. Not all of them are going to be what you want them to be. Best not to blame the horse or where he came from. Learn from it, get over it, and move on.

alove4horses · #9 (**permalink**) 04-24-2010, 12:03 AM

If every time my horse went lame I went to the previous owner crying or complaining about it I would look and feel like an idiot. If you are not ready to deal with the odd lameness (or more) then you have no business owning a horse.

SamanthaSky · #10 (**permalink**) 02-09-2011, 03:54 AM

I always try to disclose whatever I know about a horse. Sometimes though, it is not always black and white, cut and dry. For example, I have sold horses that were not mine for other people, and sometimes even their owners DON"T know the full history- so in that case, i just tell the buyer I am not 100% sure of the history but this is what I know about him "today"___________. It's then up to them the vet the horse and if they buy him, I don't think it would be fair for them to come back at me and blame me if they later find out he had some sort of injury. I only can know what I know.