Simple ways to PROTECT yourself

Legal remedies for horse sales gone bad vary by state. But it’s best not to count on statutory protection when you’re buying a horse.

Nonetheless, says equine attorney Robyn Ranke, Esq., of San Diego, you can do a few simple things to protect yourself.

For starters, she suggests requesting a copy of the horse’s insurance records, claims and policy exclusions before you buy. “The beauty of (seeing) the equine insurance is directly related to prior medical. Think about it: The insurance carrier is going to exclude a preexisting condition. The issue can be minor or it can be significant enough, but now you know,” she says.

Also insist on a copy of show records and breed registration papers that confirm age, identity and breeding. “I had a conscientious father call me about a $65,000 horse he was buying for his daughter. I asked, ‘Did you get the show record?’ He said, ‘No but they said the horse is winning everything.’ [Later,] we take a look at the show record, and the horse hadn’t been jumping for three years … even though he’s being sold as a jumper,” says Ranke, who says scenarios like this happen all too often.

Recognize, too, that prepurchase exams are intended to be a snapshot of the horse’s condition at the point in time when the exam is done. They do not take into account the medical history of the horse, which is why Ranke suggests buyers request a copy of previous medical records and previous prepurchase exams. “Everything is digital now, so it’s nothing for a vet in, say, Europe to share records with your current vet. You want to get all the diagnostics, which can provide your vet with a good comparative of any abnormalities,” she says. It

doesn’t hurt to also do a prepurchase drug-screening test, she adds.

Ranke also suggests getting a written disclosure statement signed by the seller, the seller’s agent, and your trainer if it applies. “If your trainer is representing you in the purchase of a horse and happens to know the seller, or gets a commission on the side, they have to disclose it,” she says, adding that there has been a crackdown on dual agency commission disclosure in her state of California in recent years.

But what if, after taking these precautions, you still end up with a lame horse or a bucking bronco? Talk to an attorney about your options. Each state has its own body of laws related to fraud, which might encompass nondisclosure of issues such as bucking or lameness.

Unfortunately, Ranke warns, as with any legal action, “you have to prove your case, and that’s very expensive and very difficult.”