[QUOTE=vxf111;7170769]
I might see if COTH can poof this thread lest the opposing party find it and use anything on it against you![/QUOTE]
Why would anything be used against me? I’m the one stuck with the vet bills and a sick horse. Are you involved in some way?
[QUOTE=vxf111;7170769]
I might see if COTH can poof this thread lest the opposing party find it and use anything on it against you![/QUOTE]
I replied but my response went poof! Nothing to hide here, the facts are the facts, photos of the horse before and after, a signed contract, nothing to hide. Now I have a sick horse and months of aftercare. The above poster is right, NEVER DO A FREE LEASE, I would never even do a paid lease. No one will ever treat your property like you would. Its a shame.
I’m sorry you are going through this OP.
I have free leased horses before with great success and a couple where I sent them right back (one after I got stuck with a lot of vet bills for some weird bladder infection that they HAD to have know about) but I am still grateful for the opportunity. I will say I would not do one unless it was local at this point based on my experiences. But I wanted to point out that not everyone is negligent and/or cheap.
Also adding, I actually added value to some of the horses I leased via training/showing. Not relevant in your case, but worth pointing out.
I’m very sorry this happened to your horse - I hope he’s feeling better every day.
BUT in defence of leasers everywhere, there are plenty of owners who take very poor care of their horses, & leasers - paid or free - who really upgrade the horse (until it goes back to the owner).
I’m not a lawyer, but I do think this is worth pursuing through small claims court. You may well have already talked to your SIL-lawyer who may have given you an opinion about the worthiness of this claim.
While I think it’s worth pursuing, I also suspect that your leasee has money problems. If nothing else, it sounds as though she has a pretty serious cash flow problem. She “lost” her credit card doesn’t sound remotely credible to me, except in an extremely literal sense of “the credit card company cancelled my credit card because of non-payment.” The fact that the lessee initially said she would pay the vet bills and then apparently withdrew that offer (probably when she found out how much they would be) also suggests to me that she has money problems.
If that’s true, even if you do get a judgment in your favor, getting the money may well be a different story.
Just on the issue of proving that the horse’s colic resulted from not getting the supplements: CrowneDragon made the point that I wanted to make. It may not matter whether you can prove that; what you can prove is that by not continuing the supplements, the lessee effectively made it impossible for your horse to be covered in case of a severe colic. The big issue here is that you’ll need a fairly savvy judge who will understand why that could potentially be a big deal and is a real harm done to you.
And just to note that not all free leasers are terrible, the horse that I now own and have owned for 13 years I originally took on a free lease for 6 months.
Good luck.
Not involved at all. I see a fair amount on this thread that undermines your position but if you don’t, that’s your call. I’ve bern trying to be helpful to you but in doing so, I outlined arguments the other side can use against you. And some of your replies could be used to strengthen those arguments.
I am sorry you are having this happen but you, I always find it strange (I do) that folks do not check on horses they have leased. We have had a horse for two years and owner has never come to see it, he is great but how the hell would she know? Did you ever ask for pictures or video?
Also The colic may not be their fault and it would be near impossible to prove. I assume the big bills are not for summer sores? Many horses can colic when a situation changes, you could request his vet records from the time they had him to see if he had colic issues with them as well but what if he did not? It “could” be argued something you fed or did caused the colic.
SO sorry you’re dealing with this but a visit would have helped you stay more in touch with condition of horse and I am sorry to say that a fancy barn does not always = great care but you mention this as if some back yard barns would not offer great care. Which is so off base. A lot of bigger barns have barn managers, book keepers, assistants, etc who are working off services and not always the biggest horse advocates as they are not there for $$ but trade and not all people give it their all. Some small “back yard” barns have less horses and really focus on keeping their GEMS in prime conditions, your lease might have just been a cheap horse to the fancy barn.
[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]
Do you think SIL could go after punitive damages as well? They agreed to care for the horse, and obviously didn’t.
I have experineced leases gone wrong…do what you can to enforce the terms of the lease and get back damages. If we always say “lesson learned” then the lesson learned is that those who lease our lovely horses get to do whatever they want to them with no consequence. Then never lease again,
[QUOTE=Foxyalter;7170816]
Why would anything be used against me? I’m the one stuck with the vet bills and a sick horse. Are you involved in some way?[/QUOTE]
Yikes. Don’t get all weird paranoid on us.
You feel very justified being upset and from your perspective it sounds like you have a case. You got your vent in and furthering this thread will only accidentally pull out details or some super snooper will out the trainer and you’ll have some trainer hollering “libel.” That is what vxf meant, not that she was “involved.”
Take care of your horse. If it matters to you pursue legal action. We can empathize but there is nothing else we can do.
You started this thread level headed so I encourage you to end it that way. Rise above the callous decisions made by the leaser and once again I’m very sorry to hear that your wonderful boy wasn’t treated well. I am sure he will make a full recovery now that he is back in your care.
[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;7171046]
Yikes. Don’t get all weird paranoid on us.
You feel very justified being upset and from your perspective it sounds like you have a case. You got your vent in and furthering this thread will only accidentally pull out details or some super snooper will out the trainer and you’ll have some trainer hollering “libel.” That is what vxf meant, not that she was “involved.”
Take care of your horse. If it matters to you pursue legal action. We can empathize but there is nothing else we can do.
You started this thread level headed so I encourage you to end it that way. Rise above the callous decisions made by the leaser and once again I’m very sorry to hear that your wonderful boy wasn’t treated well. I am sure he will make a full recovery now that he is back in your care.[/QUOTE]
Not getting all weird, just tired. Putting this to rest. I know all leases don’t go wrong, I did a paid lease a few years ago and was proud to return the horse in fantastic condition and she went to the M & S finals that year with my daughter. Thanks for everyones advice 
If I sounded a little short or bossy it was not intended. I was on the fly and felt I wanted to respond…I was feeling your pain for your dear horse and your frustration. It is hard to reconcile the state of your horse when you have leased a horse in the past and treated the horse with the respect it deserved. If only everyone could be like that but they aren’t. I currently have a horse leased and she is being very well cared for but to be safe I stay on top of the situation to make myself feel OK with the situation. For the most part I will never lease again simply because I have had bad experiences. That is my choice and I do not mean to suggest there are not wonderful lease situations out there. Those who lease horses from others and do not hold up their end of the agreement need to be held to the responsibility they assumed in leasing a horse from someone. When one leases a car they have to take care of it and return it is good condition. A living creature with emotions and sensitivities surely deserves to be cared for very well in all situations but even more so in a leased situation. I hope you resolve this situation in a way you are comfortable with and thank heaven your horse has you.
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