Horse Ownership - Where do we stand?

mylovelyhorse_2

Hi. Right, really need some advice. Sorry for the essay!

5 years ago, my wife started looking after a horse at a local horse yard. It was her sister that introduced her to the yard. She was looking after the horse for about 9 months, grooming her, feeding her, exercising etc. It came to light that the horse had been 'abandoned' 5 years previous (2001) by it's owner - a horrible woman, from what people were saying on the yard. She just stopped coming one day, and never really looked after the animal properly. However, the owners at the yard had all the horses documents and papers
After 9 months, myself and my wife had to move away, to Scotland, due to my work. It was heartbreaking, as we couldn't take the horse with us. We offered the yard owners double what she was worth, but he said no, and said that she was settled on the yard, and wouldn't travel well. We had no choice but to leave her behind. My wife said, every winter since, that she couldn't stop thinking about her being out in a field in the winter months, just left out on her own
So, 5 years pass, we're back from Scotland, and we get to January this year. Having heard absolutely nothing from the yard since the day we left, my wife got a message out of the blue, saying that they were selling the horse, and were we interested. Well, after a very emotional phonecall, we bought her for £900, well over the odds, but worth it, because she adored the horse, and never forgot about her. We paid for her, got a receipt, her passport and medical history. We moved her to another yard, nearer to where we live. It's been fantastic, and my wife is so happy - I can't even begin to describe the bond she has with this animal. She hadn't been given any care for 4 years, and my wife has got her looking absolutely stunning. We really feel that we have done a great thing by giving her a second chance and a loving and caring home. Everything was going great, until 3 days ago...
My wifes sister, who my wife fell out with when we moved to Scotland, got back in touch recently via Facebook. She saw my wifes pictures of the horse, and asked who the horse was. My wife just said 'Do you not know who she is?' After that, she hasn't heard a thing, and it's transpired that my wifes sister knows the original owner of the horse. We're petrified that she is going to tell her that we now have her, and have her taken off us She is an incredibly bitter woman, and it wouldn't surprise me at all. My wife would be absolutely devastated if she lost her again. We have done so much to care for her - shoes, livery, jabs, vets, grooming, coats etc.
Where do we stand? Obviously, we bought her fair and square, and have given her a fantastic new home, where she's spoilt rotten. Obviously, the old yard are owed 10 years of livery costs, as she was just left there. Is that an argument they can use for selling her?

Thanks for reading. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

ScattySkewbald

It could well be that when the previous owner abandoned her the livery yard seized ownership of the mare in payment of the outstanding livery bills she left behind. Its not uncommon to have that sort of clause written into the livery contract particularly on larger yards.

Who is listed on the passport as previous owner - the yard or this woman? Has the passport been changed into your wife's name?

I'm sure given that 10 years have passed since the previous owner saw the horse, this would be seen legally as abandonment and the yard were well within their rights to sell her on to you. It may be worth joining the BHS and giving their legal helpline a call just to put your minds at rest.

It sounds like your wife has a fantastic bond with this mare - it's lovely to hear they've been reunited and she's finally getting the love and affection she deserves.

Fire_Fox

Welcome! There are many issues here, most importantly who the horse belongs to as you cannot purchase any item 'fair and square' from someone who is not the rightful owner. ScattySkewbald has advised you how to establish this. Even if you are not sure whether this is rightfully your horse, you can only be taken to the small claims court IF the rightful owner knows your correct home address. Again even if they managed to bring a case you could open a claim against the yard for your £900 back and for livery etc, and they in turn could open a claim against the original owner for their costs!

Absolutely ridiculous state of affairs so any solicitor would advise you all to settle out of court - the obvious is for you to keep the horse since I highly doubt the original owner is going to pay ten years of livery to get 'her' horse back. Note that you do not need legal representation in the small claims court so it's not even worth stressing about the cost. I strongly recommend you trim your Facebook friends lists, set your walls and photos to private, ask any mutual acquaintances to steer clear of the subject, ask relatives not to pass on your home address and ignore any further communication about this horse. HTH.

brian_723

Facebook again causing problems ,I will say it again I really hate Facebook .

timbo58

Fire fox is spot on.

madmittens

First of all, congratulations! Lovely to hear that an unwanted horse finally has a loving home.

I second the suggestion of joining the BHS, not least for access to their legal helpline!

If I recall correctly, I think the horse (if 'seized' by the livery yard owner following sufficent notice for non-payment of bills etc) should have been sold at a 'public sale'. Given the length of time involved this may not be an issue, but I would definitely seek specialised legal advice.

Do you have the passport (who is the registered owner according to the passport?)? This may be another can of worms if you don't, as it will be difficult to obtain a new one if the horse had one previously. Might be worth tracking down as much information as possible (is she freezemarked/microchipped? Contact the relevant companies for info).