Having a thorough pre-purchase veterinary examination done prior to a horse sale is one of the best ways parties to a horse sale can prevent disputes and lawsuits.
Dr. Camille Knopf, an equine veterinarian in Northern California, offered some excellent advice this week on the blog Ribbons and Red Tape:
Always, always, always have a pre-purchase exam performed. Regardless of length of familiarity with the horse or seller, there should always be a thorough pre-purchase exam performed to provide you with a complete understanding of the health of the animal you are purchasing.
Always have a veterinarian pull and store blood at the time of pre-purchase exam. This blood can be stored for several weeks. If you purchase the animal and later suspect the horse may have been under the influence of a medication at time of exam, the serum can be analyzed for medication and may provide you with legal recourse if necessary.
Be cautious in purchasing any horse where the current owner wants to choose the veterinarian for pre-purchase exam, discourages you from having a pre-purchase exam, or discourages you from using a veterinarian of your choice. Reason: Sadly, the horse business is not immune to fraud and neither is the veterinary world. By choosing a veterinarian that does not have a direct relationship with the seller, you can protect yourself from a potentially biased opinion."
Here are some additional tips for pre-purchase exams that can go a long way to help prevent litigation:
1. Buyers will often ask sellers for a referral if they do not know any veterinarians in the seller’s area. It’s not always a sign that something is amiss if a seller recommends a veterinarian with whom the seller has a business relationship, as long as the seller discloses the relationship to the buyer. If a buyer asks a seller for a referral, the seller can provide buyers a list of veterinarians in the seller’s area and allow the buyer to choose from the list. If the seller has a relationship with any of the clinics or veterinarians on the list, the seller should disclose that fact to the buyer.
2. Generally, sellers should not allow a buyer to take a horse off the seller’s property for a pre-purchase examination. The seller or their agent, employee, or representative should be the one to haul the horse to the vet for the exam, if necessary. If the buyer chooses a veterinarian that is so far away that this becomes unduly burdensome for the seller, the parties should work out an agreement on who will pay the transportation costs.
3. As the term "pre-purchase exam" implies, it should be done prior to the purchase! That is, a pre-purchase exam should be performed before any of the following occurs: a) the buyer takes possession of the horse; b) the buyer pays the purchase price for the horse; and c) the buyer receives a bill of sale from the seller. A seller can take a down payment on the horse to either refund or apply towards the purchase price, depending on whether the pre-purchase exam results are satisfactory to the buyer. However, it is not advisable for a seller to hold a check for the full purchase price and agree not to cash it while the buyer is inspecting the horse.
4. Sellers should always encourage every buyer to get a thorough pre-purchase exam and to inspect horses either in person or through an agent prior to the purchase or delivery of the horse. This thorough inspection protects the seller just as much as it does the buyer.
5. If the seller purchased the horse from a third-party, the buyer should ask the seller if the seller had a pre-purchase exam performed prior to the seller’s purchase. If the answer is yes, the buyer should ask the seller for a copy of the results of that exam.
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