Not sure they will be able to help you but have you contacted the Verband where the horse is registered? If you have his life number, birthdate, sire/dam info, etc., they may be able to tell you if ownership has recently been transferred with either them or FN.
Thank you! I was looking for ET Auctions because I have never heard from them which is understandable if they are in Belgium. so OP needs to settle the case in Belgium not in Germany…
Also I read some google reviews about the seller (owner of the horse) and they were rather bad. They sell jumper horses so I have never heard from them either but it doesn’t sound good
Good luck to the OP
I’m really sorry for you too, OP.
It does seem that you’re quite resigned to it being a financial loss but I do wonder what happened to the horse after they’d told you he’d been unwell.
I think you’ve been very kind to share the hurtful experience to caution others.
Yes, (not to speculate on your behalf OP), but my guess would be the horse either passed or would be too sick to transport or pass quarantine in the US (perhaps permanently injured in some way), and they pocked the OP’s funds, hoping that the remoteness of the location would protect them. And perhaps even knew that the auction house was shady and wouldn’t go to bat for the OP.
Definitely a cautionary tale about only doing business in Europe when you have trusted contacts (I’m sure you’re one of many OP, no reflection on you).
Perhaps the gelding went awry?
Or did the horse actually exist anywhere but on papers
Obviously, I’m also only speculating but right from the point where OP couldn’t get them to provide suitable passport photos, something was NQR about all those involved.
Then horse was unwell for a month, preventing the gelding procedure… and everyone starts ghosting from there. What an awful experience.
I apologize to the OP for me playing Agatha Christie online but I Googled the farm and it seems like their last Facebook posts are from 2021 and Instagram posts are from 2019. And a news article Could this be them?
And Bengtsson also found a financial backer. The horse was bought for him by Gestüt Eichenhain, or Oak Grove Stud, a stud farm in Lower Saxony, represented by a man who presents himself as the owner of the farm. A man who spends millions of euros on equestrian sports – and who does everything he can to cover his tracks.
I believe that Germany has strong consumer protection laws such that normally you would be able to get your money back at least. However, with the terms of sale for the auction house being in Belgium, plus it being two years and who knows if you could even locate the supposed horse owners to serve them with a lawsuit, I am thinking you are out of luck. If I recall correctly, it might be one year to bring a claim in Germany? For anyone’s future reference for a similar situation, find a local lawyer right away. Pretty quickly it seems unlikely you will ever see the horse (if it exists), but maybe you can get your money back. And read the fine print from the auction houses up front. There are so many auctions now I’m sure this isn’t the only sketchy one.
The stable seems to be very close to Verden. That is hardly the middle of nowhere. (Both of my current horses came from a stable about 45 mins away and I’ve driven all over that area).
I mean they have video of him going through the jump chute and at liberty so I’d say yes
This is absolute gold. I will never see a dime out of that again, much less the horse. But maybe I was defrauded by some career criminal millionaire on the run…
I think you need a lawyer. And maybe need to go to Germany in person. What a terrible experience.
This sounds absolutely terrible .
I live in the Netherlands close to German border but I would think with everything you have said that the adress gives to you is also a dud .
I would stick to reputable auctions like
: Hendricks auction, youhorse , aloago auctions that have reputable and contactable pros associated with them , I hope you didn’t lose to much money . If it’s any consolation for your grief let me tell you - any pursuit with suing on these equine matters is always incredibly costly . It will probably cost initially cost you whatever you lost - a lot of the really reputable equine attorneys ask for a € 15,000 retainer and then the monthly bills are just excruciating . It racks up fast and the outcomes in my experience are rarely favourable .
I do wonder how much you paid and lost tho , if you do want to fight generally you have to make the claim within two years so time is ticking . I would be willing to help you if you want help I do have experience with these things .
As a lawyer it sometimes feels like there are only two kinds of people in the world…
The ones who want to sue at the drop of a hat over meaningless crap and the ones who are completely victimized and never think to seek help until it’s too late.
OP I’m sorry this happened. For others, contact a lawyer if you are involved in a five figure deal and thing don’t get sorted within a matter of weeks. This is what lawyers DO… help people with legal problems.
But it doesn’t mean they ever intended to sell him. As compared to taking the money and vanishing
You have to contact a lawyer on site, maybe they scammed other people and there’s already a proceedment installed. It could not be too late to regain at least parto of your money. I am in Italy but if you please I can get you in touch with some International lawyer. I’m sorry for what happened
It also could have been a video of the same horse they “sold” to multiple people. This would also track with the unusable passport photos.
Well, they have a video of a horse going through the chute at liberty. Is it a bay with minimum white like so many?
haha no. He’s a chestnut with very striking stockings, very easy to identify if he was ever spotted again