I’m glad you have your horse back and I hope he bounces back quickly!
Maybe it’s a good thing the person will only communicate with you via text and email and not by phone. This way you have a documented record of contact, if you had phone conversations only, it would just be he said / she said in court, if you do decide to pursue it.
Good luck and I’m so happy your horse is back in your care!
The colic coverage with Smartpak is only surgical so what you had to have done to the horse wouldn’t be covered. Not to mention it is a huge leap to assume the lack of the supplement caused the colic. If only there was something that good! Simply moving from your barn to her barn back to your barn is more than enough to cause ulcers that are beyond the scope of any supplement. You are in good company, I had a horse come back from a lease with ulcers and a major crack in her hoof that required corrective shoeing for months even though she had been sound barefoot for 7 years. She was only gone three weeks and cost me $1000 to get her right again.
vxf111 has made valid points.
[QUOTE=Burbank;7168314]
not an attorney but here is what I would do
send them a copy of the contract and send them invoices from the vet for getting the horse back to the same condition that the horse left
I would send an invoice for the colic visit b/c the horse was on the smart pak program and needed the supplements to stay on it so they dropped the ball
also keep detailed records and go to small claims if they try to make a fuss, it is a hassle but I bet these ppl are use to walking all over others, and if you do win even if they never pay up then you can mention it and it won’t be slander as there will be a court record[/QUOTE]
This^^^^ Some people just don’t seem to have any sense of responsibility for their actions. For the sake of any future horses that might end up in their care, don’t let them get away with this
[QUOTE=omare;7168524]
vxf111 has made valid points.[/QUOTE]
Free advice is worth what you pay for it on both sides here…but this particular side is from an attorney so might want to give it some consideration before plunging into an expensive venture that likely wont return the cost to retain an attorney or the cost in time to file and persue it in small claims to get a piece of paper. A piece of paper it costs you more to serve and enforce to collect, maybe, a fraction of your costs.
It sucks but…your horse will recover, has had the sores before under your care and no way to prove lack of a supplement caused colic after he returned to your care.
I would send a “lawyer letter” for the vet bills but not spend money going further.
If it make you feel better, have a friend that paid a stout high mid 5 figures for a Junior Jumper (4’ 6"ish that could do water) from a very well known BNR/T. Horse shipped 1500 miles over 4 days on one loose shoe and 3 shoeless, cracked feet that hadn’t seen a farrier in at least 4 months-looked like it hadn’t seen a curry comb or brush in the 8 weeks between trial and shipping either. Sale terms specified seller could use the horse until major winter circuit wrapped then it was a couple of weeks waiting for the van trip. Scratched that VBN name off my list after watching it gimp off the van.
The seller was less then receptive to complaint being in Europe wearing a red jacket at the time and nothing was wrong a farrier visit didn’t fix. Some people just don’t care, it was sold so they used the crap out of it and spent not a dime on it under their care once the contract was signed. Can name at least one other BNR much admired by some not known for lavishing good care on horses in their care.
but here is the problem with the “suck it up buttercup”, “take it as a lesson” mentality
trainers that pull this kind of crap know that they will not get called out on it, and if so will sling your name so hard in the mud
so if this was me, and I had the
a. time
b. resources
you better believe that I would go to small claims court and try my hardest to get a judgement that I can show everyone
I bet that this is not the first time this trainer has pulled the stunt, but if I could I would try to make it the last
oh, and they might say yeah they will pay now, get that in writing, and why so when they do default you can back up your claim
[QUOTE=Foxyalter;7168261]
The leasee is the trainer and barn owner of the facility.[/QUOTE]
This is completely wrong, she should reimburse you fully. The circle of clients and customers around her should be warned as she is not a honest person and this is a reflection on her business and her level of care of & responsibility.
Question? Who is this person and barn? I want to be educated on who to stay away from. Everything was done poorly including the way the horse was returned, “no halter”. The facts are the facts and they speak volume
Posting in my capacity as COTHer, nothing intended to be legal advice. Please see an attorney in your jurisdiction for that.
[QUOTE=fordtraktor;7168263]
Ask her to write a demand letter on her lawyer letterhead and send it Certified Mail – if you can settle it out of court it will save you time, hassle and $$.[/QUOTE]
^This. And whomever posted about holding these jackwagon types accountable for being cheap & lazy and not doing right by the horses, ITA - someone’s got to hold them accountable…I’d pursue something if I were in your shoes and start with the certified letter.
This video should help explaining the process of tort law, but a particular shout-out to vxf111 (I think you’ll laugh). :lol:
Clever! 
[QUOTE=Foxyalter;7168253]
Just looking for vet bill coverage as per our written and signed contract. Will never lease again, just a disaster but would love for the horse world to know that sending your horse to a “top notch” facility with GP riders does not guarantee good care!
My sister in law is an attorney so make pursue something there. Its going to take me forever to get this horse right again :([/QUOTE]
Have your sister in law send leasee a letter on her letter head with copy of contract and the vet bill for the leg care and ask for reimbursement.
It can’t hurt other than the cost to send the letter.
I wouldn’t bother with an attorney - it will cost you over 5 grand and your time. You may be able to take her to small claims court depending on where you live. Where I live it’s $25.00 and you don’t need an attorney. However is it worth your time???
I agree with others that have said it would be difficult to prove the colic but if you spent the time to go to small claims ask for as much as you can… the judge just may pick and choose what you would get.
I know it’s upsetting and especially since this was a so called big barn; but realize the time and effort it would take to fight this. You probably have family, other horses you would rather be spending time with.
I am sorry this happened. I have leased out my old guy years ago and he came back in worse shape. I would never lease out a horse again unless I was visiting at least once a week.
[QUOTE=doublesstable;7170279]
Have your sister in law send leasee a letter on her letter head with copy of contract and the vet bill for the leg care and ask for reimbursement.
It can’t hurt other than the cost to send the letter.
I wouldn’t bother with an attorney - it will cost you over 5 grand and your time. You may be able to take her to small claims court depending on where you live. Where I live it’s $25.00 and you don’t need an attorney. However is it worth your time???
I agree with others that have said it would be difficult to prove the colic but if you spent the time to go to small claims ask for as much as you can… the judge just may pick and choose what you would get.
I know it’s upsetting and especially since this was a so called big barn; but realize the time and effort it would take to fight this. You probably have family, other horses you would rather be spending time with.
I am sorry this happened. I have leased out my old guy years ago and he came back in worse shape. I would never lease out a horse again unless I was visiting at least once a week.[/QUOTE]
Leasee has verbally told my vet that she will make payment arrangements for the bills although I emailed them to her with no response. If she does not pay then I will file a small claims court action and then it will be public record and can be recorded on Rate My Horse Pro. What she did is wrong on so many levels and could have easily have been prevented if she had just brought my guy home before he got to such a bad state…
I am not going to read through all this. DO NOT EVER DO A FREE LEASE. Phew. That is all I have to say . Do not offer one, or do not take one, It is a recipe for disaster.
To clarify a point about the digestive supplement (sorry to step in your place, OP, but I believe you’re saying…)
I don’t think the OP is stating that the lack of the supplement caused the colic, nor is she going to try to prove that. The problem with him not being on the supplement is that he no longer has colic surgery coverage, so if he needs surgery (phew, that this one was medical), she’d be out-of-pocket for the expenses due to their negligence, AND because the horse has now colicked, he may not be eligible to get back on the program for a while, so again, she’s on the hook. Since he is over-age, he cannot get any other kind of colic surgery coverage.
Get your sister to send a registered letter on law firm letterhead first, giving her a short deadline saying payment must be received by that date otherwise you will be proceeding with legal action for recovery of vet expenses and breach of contract. Attach statement of money owed and maybe photos so she can get an idea of the evidence you will be taking to court.
Put everything in the claim but state that you will accept X if paid by the deadline . Make it a reasonable amount so she will be inclined to pay rather than go to court which will cost you both more money.
I’ve come to the conclusion that no one respects anything that they don’t pay maintenance on and that doesn’t belong to them.
Look at hotel rooms.
Rental cars.
Free-lease horses.
Not sure I’d recommend the legal route because it’s going to be hard to prove going off the supplement caused the colic. Ditto the summer sores; I’ve lived in wet humid climates most of my life and never had to scrub a horse’s legs every day and be vigilant about keeping them dry. I bet the former leaser will find many people willing to swear the same, making the horse a special case.
Equally difficult, even if a judge or whomever agrees with the OP that by not continuing the supplement has ruined OP’s chances of getting colic coverage on the horse…what damages will OP get? $6000, the cost of a colic surgery as covered by Smartpak?
Doesn’t mean it doesn’t suck. In OP’s case, I’d be furious but I’d also just be keeping my fingers crossed that the leaser pays the current vet bill, to cover the “current condition” part of the contract. That’s really the only thing I see worth chasing, legally.
[QUOTE=Foxyalter;7170403]
Leasee has verbally told my vet that she will make payment arrangements for the bills although I emailed them to her with no response. If she does not pay then I will file a small claims court action and then it will be public record and can be recorded on Rate My Horse Pro. What she did is wrong on so many levels and could have easily have been prevented if she had just brought my guy home before he got to such a bad state…[/QUOTE]
I think that this is as good an outcome as you will probably get… and I hope she pays. At least now you have the vet’s word along with your own that she agreed to cover those expenses.
I might consider sending the vet bills to her via priority mail (or other method where you can demonstrate delivery) along with a note that says that you appreciate her agreement to pay the bills per the terms of your lease contract. Keep a copy for your records, and perhaps cc the vet.
I don’t pretend to understand why people don’t take better care of lease horses in situations like this, but it is unfortunately true that many, many folks simply don’t value anything they get, “for free.” It’s an ugly side of human nature, I guess, but not one that anyone should get a pass for.
Hope your horse recovers quickly, poor guy. I bet he is pretty damn happy to be home.
[QUOTE=Lucassb;7170651]
I think that this is as good an outcome as you will probably get… and I hope she pays. At least now you have the vet’s word along with your own that she agreed to cover those expenses.
I might consider sending the vet bills to her via priority mail (or other method where you can demonstrate delivery) along with a note that says that you appreciate her agreement to pay the bills per the terms of your lease contract. Keep a copy for your records, and perhaps cc the vet.
I don’t pretend to understand why people don’t take better care of lease horses in situations like this, but it is unfortunately true that many, many folks simply don’t value anything they get, “for free.” It’s an ugly side of human nature, I guess, but not one that anyone should get a pass for.
Hope your horse recovers quickly, poor guy. I bet he is pretty damn happy to be home.[/QUOTE]
He’s happy to be home but the extra wound and colic aftercare is not easy. Leasee has just informed me that she has decided not to pay for any of the vet bills and so off to small claims we go and once it is on public record the case will go on Rate My Horse Pro.
I might see if COTH can poof this thread lest the opposing party find it and use anything on it against you!
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