Wondering has anyone gone through the appraisal process with their horse in an acrimonious situation? Wondering what to expect for a friend.
I haven’t but pretty sure Daventry is an equine appraiser so she might be able to help.
@Daventry
P.
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Thanks Polydor. I am a certified Equine Appraiser so should be able to answer most of your questions. Each appraisal is different depending on the circumstances. In regards to an appraisal that is needed as part of a divorce settlement, both the husband and wife are free to hire their own independent equine appraiser. I have done a lot of appraisals for divorce cases over the years. In some cases, the husband and wife agree to use the same appraiser, in other cases, only one hires an appraiser and in other cases, they both hire separate appraisers.
Regardless of who you hire, if the appraisal is for a dispute or a lawsuit in which there is a chance it may go to court, it is in your best interest to hire an appraiser who will come out and see the horse in person. In some situations, an onsite inspection may not be necessary but you would need to speak with your attorney to find out what works best for you. If an onsite inspection is done, the appraiser should be taking extensive photos and videos of the horse. If the horse is a riding horse, they will request to see the horse ridden under saddle. The onsite inspection normally does not go longer than an hour.
A good appraiser will look at all information available in regards to a horse. This includes researching bloodlines (if available), assessing conformation and movement, analyzing show records and money won, training history, veterinary history (if available), temperament, breeding history (for mares and stallions), reviewing show videos, etc. What often takes the most time is researching other similar horses that have already been sold in the market. These “comparables” are used to help determine the Fair Market Value of the horse - this is the highest price, estimated in terms of money, that an informed buyer would pay for a particular horse on any given day. A good equine appraiser will often spend a minimum of 10 hours per horse before finalizing their report. Turn around time for an appraisal depends on the appraiser, how busy they are, the complexity of the case and many other factors. Most appraisers advertise that they are able to get an appraisal report done within one to two weeks. Some appraisers advertise longer so it is important to ask.
Be forewarned that not all equine appraisers are created equal. I have seen appraisers offer their services for $50 and others for $1,200. I have witnessed appraisers doing inadequate reports that result in a one page letter stating the value of the animal. As a comparison, most of my equine appraisals are a minimum of 20 pages. It should also be noted that not all equine appraisers are certified or in good standing with their country’s Appraisal Society. For example, if you live in the United States and are donating a horse worth more than $5,000 US to a non-profit organization, the IRS requires an appraisal done by a certified equine appraiser. There is one well-known appraiser in Arizona whose equine appraiser membership has been revoked by the American Society of Equine Appraisers. As a result, it is buyer beware!
In regards to divorce cases, if the other party hires their own equine appraiser, it is within your best interest to be compliant and let them come out and do their job. It makes it extremely difficult when I need to view a horse in person and the other party is combative or tries to block me from doing my job. As a warning, this always comes out in the court room and judges are not too happy when one party has tried to sabotage the other party. 
It is extremely important that you ask questions before hiring an equine appraiser. If you have a Prix St. George dressage horse that needs to be appraised, make sure you do not hire an appraiser that deals strictly in Quarter Horses. If you need a top Reining horse appraised, make sure you do not hire an appraiser that strictly deals with the hunter/jumper industry. This is extremely important if the appraisal is needed for court or the appraiser may need to testify. It is important to find an appraiser that is knowledgeable in the breed and/or discipline you need appraised. Many people who are attempting to do appraisals out there have little to no experience or credentials and nothing to back them up. As a result, I get hired frequently to argue against poorly done appraisals.
I am happy to answer any other questions you have.
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Good points made by Daventry.
I can’t speak from his/her side of the equine appraisal business. Not how things work in Canada. I only worked in the Thoroughbred side of appraising in the US. But the fundamentals are the same regardless of breed/discipline.
I already had pretty extensive background appraising TBs. I had good mentors and several years of apprenticeship before I was able to sign my name to an appraisal. I look into being “certified” in this country years ago. Thought it might be worth of having on my letterhead. I reviewed the “certification” process and though more detailed and structured. It came off not much different than the advertisements you that used to be found in the back of Rolling Stone magazine. “You too can be an Ordained Minster”.
Unless things have changed and a quick check says it hasn’t. In this country unlike real-estate appraisers there is no state nor federal licensing or oversight of the “profession”. Taking a $900+ on line course and then getting a piece of paper doesn’t barely scratches the surface of what is really needed to be a respected and competent appraiser. Esp when it comes to litigation, banks, IRS, insurance companies. At least not to those that know what they are talking about. Esp when it comes to litigation, be it an insurance claim/dispute, IRS, bank loans that are secured/collateralize by horses.
In the end the dollar amount that an appraiser puts his/her name too is split between being subjective and objective. Based on the number of years and the number of horses the appraiser has been working in the business. I would think that appraising TB racing and breeding stock is not only easier but also far more objective. Than appraising sport/pleasure horses. There is no other breed in the world that has as huge a detailed and accurate data base to work with. More than half+ of all of each years TB foal crop are sold at auction each year. Yearling and weanlings. Mare, broodmare prospects, horses in training etc. Some several times over the years. There more than enough numbers to work with and all the sales results are easily available to anybody, at their finger tips. As are their competition records. I would bet at least 98% of all TBs ever born have been registered with the Jockey Club here or in other countries. So their completed, detailed and verifiable pedigrees are easily obtained. Just about everything is publicly available. Very difficult to hide “negative” information, details.
The best TB appraisers are ones who are “horse traders” as their principle business. In the TB business we are called Bloodstock Agents. We live and breath the “market”. What privy to the private sale market. Esp on the racing side of things. Either directly or by networking with other agents. If I hear/know of the sale of a horse privately almost always I can find out the details from someone close or was the principle in getting the deal done. So when I was appraising a horse and there were some “blanks” that aren’t available on a data base. I would make a couple of phone calls.
I have been around and dabbled in the sport horse business side of things for years. Have very good contacts. Know some very good sport horse traders, high end and low end. If I was going to get a sport horse appraised and or buying one these are the people I would call and or use. I could care less if they were “certified” or not. Yes, there is a fair bit of public information to be found/work with. But nothing close to the availability of the TB side of things. The majority of useful details can be difficult to find/obtain. Esp complete accurate produce records of mares and a lot of stallions. Accurate competition records of ALL their foals. In my limited experience this seems to be closely held insider information, This is backed by friends on the “inside”. That being said IMO the dollar amount put on a sport horse is far more subjective than objective as it is with TBs. I am not saying there is anything nefarious on the sport horse side of appraising.
As Daventry pointed out there are two types of appraising, Paper only, based on pedigree, competition records, verifiable sales of the subject horse and or horses closely related. Broodmares, their produce records and verifiable sale of their foals etc.
The second is based on the above and a personal inspection of the horse. Conformation, over all appearance of the horse, vet records if any and asking lots of pertinent questions. Depending on who the appraisal is being done for a PPE maybe required. Inspection under saddle is hardly every needed with TBs. With sport horses it would depend on the horse, age, buyer etc. Person inspection is an additional expense. The cost depends on location, travel time an expense. The only time I didn’t inspect the horses was when the appraisal was being done for tax/estate purposes. These sorts of appraisals were usually done for clients who had lots of horses spread around the country.
As Dventry said a good appraiser will back up the “numbers” with details on how they arrived at them. This may take several pages to explain depending on the horse and available information. Or may only be a page. IMO and experience the number of pages is irrelevant. Sometime it depends on the client. I have read lots of appraisals done by others. Some are short, spot on, concise and totally agree with. Others have been like a book on how to build the horse, full of fluff but the numbers still made sense. Some clients want a lot of “fluff” makes them feel like they got their monies worth, lol. I have seen plenty of appraisals esp ones done by the owner for a bank where the appraiser was IMO completely hallucinating. That’s why a bank will almost always use their own independent appraiser that comes with “street creed”.
When it comes to a litigation situation esp divorce, spouses or partnership. IME 3 appraisals are done. Each side hires an appraiser of their choice and and third is hired by an independent party. The three numbers are added together and divided by 3. That is the number one hopes all parties will agree upon.
When it comes to horse litigation of any kind it comes down to expert testimony. Most things horse is mostly subjective based on experience. A good “expert” can make a good case for just about any scenario. I have seen/read courts grant outrageous awards based on “unicorn” scenarios. “If all the stars and the moon align at exactly this way at this exact time” the horse would have been worth X millions. More if Halley’s comet was involved.
Performing equine appraisals in Canada is no different than in the United States. Actually, approximately 80% of my clientele are Americans. Equine appraisals fall under personal property appraisals. As gumtree mentioned, there are no regulations for personal property appraisals in North America. The only type of appraisal that is heavily regulated is for real estate.
In my opinion, the American Society of Equine Appraisers has done a real disservice to the equine industry, as they hand out appraisal memberships like Tic Tacs and no real appraisal education is given to participants. The education participants do receive is extremely basic and outdated. As a result, when looking to hire an equine appraiser, it is consumer beware. It is important to look for an appraiser that has extensive background in the equine industry, is knowledgeable about the breed or discipline your horse is involved in and is an experienced appraiser. Make sure to ask for references. Ask questions. Find out how many appraisals they have done. If needed for a dispute or lawsuit, ask if they have been accepted by the courts as an equine expert witness and have experience testifying at trial. Find out the outcomes of the cases they have been apart of. Find out what kind of report you will receive. The more questions you ask, the better.
Equine appraisers, along with other personal property appraisers, are encouraged to meet the Appraiser Qualifications Board’s personal property appraiser minimum qualification criteria set out by The Appraisal Foundation. This requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of college-level education, from an accredited college, junior college, community college, or university and a total of 120 classroom hours are required as follows:
- 105 classroom hours of courses to include both valuation theory (minimum of 30 hours) and personal property appraisal specialization
- 15 classroom hours on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)
Thank you all! Great information.
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I am a Sr. Equine Appraiser with the ASEA and also a member of the ASA. The methodology is the same no matter what breed of horse you are appraising, but one should take note there are nuances in each breed and discipline that the appraiser should be aware of that could affect value. I have done many appraisals regarding law suits and I am stunned at the amount of appraisals that have no comparators. This is a key element in appraising, especially for Fair Market Value. When you are searching for an appraiser, please confirm with them that they will supply comparators in their report. If they say anything but, move to another appraiser!
Also make sure the appraiser can precisely and accurately articulate their findings in writing. I have come across appraisers that use so many words to cover up their inadequacy of appraising. They thing that throwing in a lot of words will make their report look good. Not True! A big talker usually is just that. Talks big because they don’t know what they are talking about. Also recognize that a report does take time because finding accurate comparators is not an easy task. There is no MLS listing for horses, so a lot of time and research goes into this endeavor. And, the more information you can provide the appraiser, the better. If you are a good record keep, can provide fact based information, your appraisal should be pretty accurate if your appraiser knows what they are doing.
Great information from Daventry. I’m a certified ASEA appraiser as well - www.equinedonations.com.
If the two parties haven’t already selected their own appraisers, it’s preferable for the parties to agree on an appraiser. If that is not feasible, then I work with my client to collect the pertinent pieces of information from either side - registry, competition record, age, etc. If soundness is a concern from either side, I mandatorily ask for a PPE or a statement from the veterinarian regard the horses suitability or lack thereof.
In divorce cases where parties are using two separate appraisers, it’s usually up to the deciding parties whether to meet in the middle of the appraisals, or prefer one’s content to the other’s. I’ve done hundreds and never ended up needing to go to court, though have often had to include additional letters or information related to the other party’s appraisal.
