Emer Bermingham

IT’S always been a case of buyer beware but recent legal cases have reared their heads over horse sale transactions, both private and public.

In one case a horse which was sold at a public outlet turned out not to be the property of the vendor on the day in question and the rightful owner was unaware that the horse was being sold.

A livery yard owner alleged that she had not been paid the full livery fees by the owner of the horse and therefore placed the horse for sale. The livery owner was not named on the passport but signed forms to say that the horse was hers to sell. The horse was sold and it was left to the mart sale outlet to resolve the dispute.

The Irish Field has since learned of a private horse sale, which also wound up the subject of a legal dispute.

A rider explained how he bought a horse in good faith, paid the asking price, only to be later told by the governing body that they could not complete the change of ownership as there was a dispute between the previous owners of the horse. An alleged joint-owner had not been named on the passport prior to the sale. The rider who handed over the money is now left in limbo.

Aoife Smithwick, the solicitor who represented the owner of the horse sold at auction, commented: “A number of people contacted our practice, Gillick and Smithwick Solicitors, recently in relation to the unauthorised sale of their horses. In the case above, the matter was settled and the rightful owner received the entire proceeds of the sale.”

Under Commission Regulation 504/2008, all horses, ponies and donkeys must have a passport issued by the appropriate governing body and they must also be microchipped. Passports must travel with the animal.

The legal firm spokesperson said: “Therefore if you lease or have your horse at livery, the passport must stay with the animal. This is where the difficulty arises. If there is no formal arrangement in place with either the lessee or the livery yard owner, situations arise where the horse/pony may be sold on without the consent of the registered owner of the animal.

This leaves the registered owner and the new owner in a difficult situation but who now has ownership of the horse/pony?

“If there is a private sale and the lessee or livery yard owner is selling in a personal capacity and not in the furtherance of their business, then it would be likely that the transaction will fall outside the Consumer Protection Act. The principle of ‘caveat emptor’ (buyer beware) would most likely apply. This would make it more difficult for the purchaser to protect their interests and they will need to prove that the seller has acted fraudulently. The buyer may find themselves out of pocket for the purchase monies and with no animal as the registered owner would be entitled to the return of the animal. The purchasers will have to recover the monies from the vendor. Purchasers should make sure to check the animal’s passport to ensure that the vendor is the registered owner of the animal.

“If someone claims to be selling the horse/pony as an agent, it would be advisable to get a copy of the written authority authorising the agent to sell the horse on behalf of the registered owner so as to protect purchasers.

“If the horse or pony is sold through an auctioneer, the purchaser will have rights under the Consumer Protection Act 2007,” she added.