Horse share gone wrong!

squirehorse

About 2 years ago i decided to 'share' my horse with a newly made 'friend'. The verbal agreement was thus: We would share 50% of all costs and 50% of all horse care in return for Mrs O (i shall call her) riding when she liked. Soon after we moved my horse to a new yard where we both laid down £50 each deposit and another £54 each for the first months livery. Since then (about 18 months ago) Mrs O only ever paid me for half the livery costs, i was left to pay for all the hay, farrier, Vets and worming ect (probably to the tune of almost a grand over time), mainly because i am a bit of a mug and failed to ask her for the money as she failed to offer it (and as it is my animal i felt most responsible!)!

Anyway things started really deteriorating about 6 months ago, she was letting people visit my horse, ride it without my consent and was changing tack over without me knowing. She then went 'awol' for a couple of weeks leaving me in the lurch (whilst pregnant!) not knowing what was going on and having to take care of a 100% of the tasks, she also claimed she couldn't then do weekday checks as her employment came first! Finally she got in touch and i explained that things weren't working out and i was considering stopping the share. It then turned out that after saying this she went over my head again and arranged for someone i never knew to drive my horse out in a carriage. I found out in time and put a stop to it and then formally announced to Mrs O that the share was over! We NEVER had any formal or even written agreement or contract (more fool me!), only ever a verbal agreement.

She has now demanded her deposit back and the full payment for livery for the month of June as, according to Mrs O, "i terminated our agreement mid month". In which case the deposit and the full months rent would only come to about £104, the deposit and half the months rent would only be about £75 - a pathetic amount! Id also like to add that she ruined my tack by not looking after it and not using the saddle cover i asked her to use and has also failed to return a couple of bits of tack she claims she hasnt got. Ive informed her i could argue she in fact owes me £100's for hay, Vets, Farrier ect she failed to pay over the last 18 months or so. She has said if i dont pay her within a month she will take me to the small claims court. I am heavily pregnant and unemployed as i got made redundant in December, i dont need the stress and i believe she is doing this out of spite only. I cant believe she can this petty. Does she have a leg to stand on, do i have a leg to stand on!!?? Many thanks for any opinions or help!

ljonski

A verbal contract ain't worth the paper it is written on

ali-t

If it is only £75 which you describe as a pathetic amount, just give her the money and get her out of yours and your horse's lives.

DVardysShadow

Cross posted - most action on https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4104455

ljonski

Frankly if you let people walk all over you they will. Being ruthless once will stop you from experiencing a whole lot of troubles.

scaredy_cat

draw up a invoice for all the feed and stuff she's not paid, say when you get that, she can have her deposit back!

Fire_Fox

Why didn't you ask her for the money for the costs as agreed? Invoice her for everything you have paid on her behalf. Get together all your receipts or entries on bank statements and let her know you have copies and are ready to roll. She won't take you to small claims court, if she wins she has admitted there is an agreement and you can counter claim. Both you and she need proof of EVERYTHING be that e-mail text or on paper, if stuff was arranged verbally or with cash you can't prove it so you are relying on one another for that. I totally appreciate why the letting other people ride the horse is relevant in your mind, but I would not confuse the court case with it too much. The relevant part is the financial arrangements.

lostinrates

Personally, i think expecting half of all costs while reatining more than fifty percent 'say' is an u fair agreement. If it were me i would not have entered i to such an agreement. On our yard two horses are looking for sharers atm, the owner hopes to get the livery cost alone in return for at least fifty per cent of the riding.