Never mind

[Equine1880]

Asked to be deleted

[Scribbler]

@Equine1880

I am debating on getting an appraisal done for my horse, but only if it supports what I’m needing to do. He’s had a pretty rough year, and I need that to reflect. Is anyone who is familiar with equine appraisals or determining worth able to give me a rough estimate to see if it’s even worth it for me? I would greatly appreciate it!

What’s it for? Mortality insurance? A bankruptcy sale? I feel like an appraisal isn’t going to be any clear vision of how much you’d actually get for him.

[Scribbler]

@Equine1880

It would be for a divorce. My husband is trying to say he’s worth what we paid, but he’s currently injured and will need surgery at some point.

My husband also makes all of the money, so he’s trying to use my horse to justify me not getting other assets like stocks, retirement, etc. My horse isn’t going anywhere, but he’s definitely being unrealistic about assets.

Ok that’s significant. I think you could make the point an injured horse is a net expense not an asset!

[tnscvaga]

https://fourseasonsfarm.com/html/judging-appraisals.html Her phone and email are on the webpage. Sounds like she would discuss it with you on the phone.

[Sdel]

@Sonesta is an equine appraiser and lawyer. You can search by username and click into her profile and get her website.

[CorinnaESQ]

Presuming your horse isn’t part of a business or income producing, I definitely think you could classify a horse as a liability (i.e., costs of the horse offset the value). I’ve never heard of a divorce case that has calculated the value of a dog, for example, but if your horse is worth a lot of money apart from emotional value, then I suppose it could classify as an asset if it were able to be sold (which as you said, likely would be difficult to do given the past year and your horse’s condition). Appraisals can have a variety of value because they can have a subjective element. When I’ve used them in cases it is when there is an argument with an insurance company about the value of the horse (and we have wanted a higher value, which we don’t always get).

You could possibly start by pulling comp prices of horses listed online or getting a letter from a veterinarian or trainer.

I’m sorry you’re going through this chapter, hopefully it goes smoothly and you’re on the other side of it soon!

[sammy14]

The value of my horses WAS considered in the divorce (young healthy dressage warmbloods and my daughters show pony.)
However, before going to the expense of appraisal and entering into an adversarial situation, if possible could you come to a reasonable agreement with your husband regarding this?
Lawyers are expensive (i’m sure you know!) and I found biting my tongue and sticking to the basic realities of what each could accept, what had value personally etc kept the legal costs down a lot and led to an acceptable outcome for both of us.
I still feel there was a lot of unnecessary bad behavior and nastiness, but I guess that’s to be expected in a divorce?
My goal was to get out with as much financially as I could and I regarded the process as a job I had to do to achieve that. Hard to resist the temptation to go to war with him, but worth it in the end.
I tell myself I had a bad marriage but a good divorce

[clanter]

calculated the value of a dog

Gunther VI : The German Shepherd With A $400+ Million Net Worth

[Foxglove]

Twenty years ago we donated an OTTB to a college riding program to get a tax write-off --I am not sure this is allowed anymore. I had the appraisal done to justify the amount we took off our taxes —even at 50% it was more than the horse would sell for --if we could prove it. He was a good, sound horse. Problem we had was he wouldn’t jump. Anything. Period. He looked great on paper, vetted clean, had prove-able training in Dressage, and (this made all the difference) a verifiable show record with numerous wins in Dressage. We wanted him for 3-Day --and he should have been a rock-star --except that he wouldn’t jump. Even ground poles mystified him. We had him at numerous trainers --her just couldn’t get the concept.

Enter horse appraiser --made an appraisal that justified the amount we took as a donation. Horse went to a collage that used him for their college riding program, we used the $ to buy the best 3-Day horse we ever owned --Hail Caesar (you can still find his videos on YouTube) --everyone walked away happy.

[xQHDQ]

So sorry you’re going through this.

I got my horse in a divorce sale and there was an appraisal on him that was higher than what I purchased him for. I don’t know which figure the divorce settlement used as his value.

[xQHDQ]

I think that’s the point sometimes. In this case, she was a breeder and although she would have liked to have kept him, she did breed him with the intentions of selling.

[Scribbler]

I recall when the Nickelback front man broke up with his longtime girlfriend he ended up paying some crazy high monthly horse support fee for the horses he had bought her. That’s how it should work.

[Daventry]

I work full-time as an equine appraiser and expert witness and have been in the business for over 25 years so will try and chime in here. A lot will depend on the “effective date” needed for the appraisal. The effective date is the date the item(s) need to be valued as of. For example, in many States, the effective date is the date of separation. In other States, it may be a current date. If you separated two years ago, while your horse was still healthy and competing, then your horse’s value will be as of that date. A lot will depend on the laws within your State and a good discussion with your attorney. If you have any more questions, I’m happy to answer them. www.equineappraisers.com

@Foxglove

Twenty years ago we donated an OTTB to a college riding program to get a tax write-off --I am not sure this is allowed anymore. I had the appraisal done to justify the amount we took off our taxes —even at 50% it was more than the horse would sell for --if we could prove it.

Just to make sure everyone understands the role of an equine appraiser, this isn’t how it works. I’m required to determine the Fair Market Value of the donated horse. That’s what the horse owner is allowed to claim on their taxes. Unfortunately, I cannot advocate for a client. If I happen to come up with a similar value that the owner is hoping for, bonus! But if I’m asked to value the horse at higher amount (the amount the owner wants or needs for tax purposes), that’s an accessory to tax fraud.