Avoiding Legal Problems When Purchasing a Horse

In most jurisdictions when you acquire a horse you are buying it "As Is". It's your responsibility to have the horse examined by a veterinarian before you purchase it. You can't sue the seller if you discover any defects later on after you've purchased the horse. However, there are some conditions which can supersede the "As Is" provision of a contract. Such as, if the Seller breaches the contract or if you can prove that the Seller made false claims when advertising the horse. For example, the seller published that the horse does not have any vices. However, you find out that the horse does has vices which unquestionably existed before you purchased it. However, vices need to be rather major, such as bucking, rearing, kicking or is uncontrollable. You usually won't get far with petty or unreasonable vices, such as the horse doesn't come when I call him, or he spooks or panics when bouncing a beach ball off his head.

There are some essential things about purchase agreements that you should know when buying a horse. You need to be aware of what the agreement should contain and what your legal rights are.

Some common mistakes people make when purchasing a horse are:

1. Assuming that a Pre-Purchase Examination is Unnecessary. Whenever possible, an examination should be conducted by an independent veterinarian to ensure the horse is sound and healthy and has no pre-existing conditions.

2. Failing to Properly Observe The Horse. Aside from asking the seller numerous questions, have the seller ride the horse and closely observe the horse's movements, gait and how well he responds to the rider's commands. Ride the horse yourself and not only in an arena setting as horses sometimes act very differently when outside the safety of their comfort zone or in a setting or environment in which they're unfamiliar with.

3. No Written Sales Agreement, or one that's missing key elements and statements and/or is vague in nature.

If the seller's sales contract appears too vague and doesn't meet your requirements or standards you can always prepare your own and present it to the seller.

When preparing legal documents especially in the case of a sales agreement it's important that it's not one-sided or heavily favors either the Seller or Buyer because many jurisdictions won't recognize such contracts as being legally binding. Unless you have experience in drafting up such agreements, you'll either have to purchase a generic equine sales agreement or pay a lawyer that has some understanding of equine law to prepare one for you, which is typically expensive.

Some essential elements an equine sales contract should contain:

1. Full description of the horse.

2. The total price.

3. Terms of payment, including any down payments or deposits, installments if making payments, when the balance is due, and the date when buyer shall take actual possession of the horse.

4. Warranties and Conditions, which should include how long the buyer has to complete a vet exam, any and all terms or conditions in which refunds may apply, including if the buyer should have a case of buyer's remorse and decides to back out for no valid reason as set forth in the terms and conditions.

5. It should also contain an indemnification on behalf of the seller. There are INHERENT RISKS associated with owning, riding or being around horses, and one can not predict how a horse will react at any given time, nor can the seller be sure of the buyer's abilities to ride or handle a horse. Therefore, assuming no fraud or misrepresentation is present, the seller will want to be protected from legal action by the buyer.

The Hitching-Post.net offers a FREE "Equine Bill of Sale" document which is available to premium members in their "Horse Tips" section. The contract is a full 2 page legal size document that covers the basic essential elements that should meet the requirements of most sellers and buyers. It's available in popular formats such as PDF, DOC and RTF. Quality generic equine sales agreements are very difficult to find for free and typically cost $20 - $30 from equine legal sites. You can get a free premium membership at the Hitching-Post.net by just signing up and uploading a photo to your profile.