If you are thinking about buying or selling a horse on a “trial basis”, or if you are entering into a horse sale agreement with a trial period, here are five of the most important things you should consider:
1) The Timing of the Pre-Purchase Exam. The most important consideration in horse sales is
I just returned from the 2010 National Conference on Equine Law , held last week in Lexington, Kentucky. This was my fifth year in a row to attend the conference, and it was a great year. The conference had a record number of attendees–180 practitioners from all over the United States. This year’s lineup of speakers and
A horse owner in Texas recently called our office and said she allowed her neighbor to graze his horse on her property for free because she was concerned that he wasn’t taking care of it. After little or no contact with the neighbor for four years, the neighbor has demanded the horse back so that
Beginning September 1, 2009, all large animal veterinarians in the state of Texas will have a lien on treated animals to secure payment of vet bills. This lien will be effective both before and after the animal is released to the owner.
Texas law provides liens for two specific types of services provided to horse owners: 1) the stable keeper’s lien, (Tex. Prop. Code §70.003) which secures payment for charges related to the care of horses; and 2) the stock breeder’s lien, which secures payment for breeding services. The stable keeper’s lien also applies to
No. In states that have adopted the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), courts will probably hold that the possessory stableman’s lien is superior, even if the bank’s UCC Financing Statement was filed before the stableman took possession.
When Does the Conflicting Lien Situation Arise? If someone borrows money to buy a horse or horses, the bank will often require
In most states, trainers do not have an express statutory lien for unpaid training fees and training-related expenses unrelated to the care of horses such as show entry fees and hauling. This means, unless a trainer has a written security agreement signed by the owner providing a lien on the horses in the event of nonpayment of training fees, the law is unclear as to whether a trainer can hold or sell the owner’s horse when training fees remain unpaid. You need to check your state’s statutes, however, as some states’ stableman’s liens do expressly provide a lien for training services. Oklahoma’s stableman’s lien statute, for example, expressly includes a lien for training services. You can find your state’s lien statutes on Equine Law and Horsemanship Safety.
What if My State Has a Stableman’s or Agister’s Lien Statute but No Trainer’s Lien? Currently, every state except Rhode Island has a stableman’s or agister’s lien statute. These statutes provide those who care for, board, pasture, or stable the horses of another with a lien on the horse if charges related to the care of the horse are not paid. Charges related to the "care" typically include the monhtly board rate, supplements, wormer, vaccinations, farrier, and veterinary services paid or advanced by the caregiver on behalf of the owner, and other services related to the care, health, and maintenance of the horses. See Carney v. Wallen, 665 N.W.2d 439 (Iowa Ct. App. 2003)(holding that a trainer who provided only training and did not also provide board or other services related to the "care" of the horses could not obtain a stableman’s lien because training services do not pertain to actions or services performed in the course of acting as a stable keeper).Continue Reading Do Horse Trainers Have a Lien on Horses they Train for Unpaid Training Fees?
In many cases, the proceeds from a stock breeder’s or stable keeper’s lien foreclosure sale will not be enough to satisfy your debt. In those cases, you may sue the owner for the deficiency, if any.
The law suit may not be worth it, however, as you could end up spending more on legal fees
The law is vague as to what, specifically, constitutes a “public sale” as referenced in the stock breeder’s and stable keeper’s lien statutes. This clearly would not include a sale by private treaty to a third party without the possibility of others bidding on the horse. If you are foreclosing on either the stock breeder’s
When you sell a registered Thoroughbred in a valid foreclosure sale, you may or may not be able to obtain the Certificate of Foal Registration (i.e. the “Jockey Club papers”) from the original owner. In either case, pursuant to Rule 9 of the Jockey Club’s American Stud Book, you or the buyer must provide the