I'm Selling My Horse. What Should I Disclose?

I'm Selling My Horse. What Should I Disclose?

By Erica Larson

You’ve listed your horse for sale, and you’ve already gotten an inquiry! You read the questions the potential buyer has asked, but slowly your excitement turns to trepidation.

Does the horse have any vices?

His cribbing and stall walking don’t count, do they?

Would he be suitable for a novice child rider?

Sure … if the child is on a lead line.

Does he have any existing health issues?

Not aside from the presumptive Cushing’s diagnosis he got last year…

Ugh, I’m never going to sell this horse!

You don’t really have to answer all those “self-incriminating” questions, do you? Actually, you should. Misrepresenting a horse could land you in some serious legal trouble.

At the 2016 National Conference on Equine Law, held May 4-5 in Lexington, Kentucky, equine lawyer Dottie Burch, JD, reviewed equine seller disclosure laws and how to protect yourself as both a seller and a buyer. Burch is an equine attorney with Ragsdale Liggett PLLC, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

If you’re not sure whether to inform a potential buyer about a quirk or health issue, always err on the side of disclosure, said Burch. Don’t tell white lies (even something as simple as “stands quietly for tacking” or “loads and trailers well” if neither is true) and absolutely avoid blatant misrepresentations of a horse just to sell him faster—this could potentially result in a life-threatening scenario for both rider and horse, she said. Neglecting to inform a possible buyer about a cardiac arrhythmia or saying a horse is kid-safe when the opposite is true, for instance, could result in the injury or death or the horse, rider, or both.

Read the rest of the article here at: www.thehorse.com/articles/37850/im-selli...at-should-i-disclose