| Hmmmm......
First, let's seperate the two issues.
1) The vet who is also the seller vetted the horse "sound".
Did you in fact find the horse to be sound? Was there a major
issue that you found later to determine that it was in fact unsound?
Soundness can mean many things in a pre-purchase exam depending what
you want to do with the horse. For example, a horse that is blind
in one eye is considered sound, where a horse that has really bad
navicular disease is not considered sound (even though special shoeing
helps).
Please tell me what you found that you determined the horse to be
unsound.
Also, determining the "age" of a horse is not an exact science.
If the vet told you the horse was 8 and it was really 11, that's not
actually a bad call.
But, if the horse had papers and was registered, the age should have
been readily available.
I was once a "first time" buyer, so I can sypmathize with you.
If you were told the horse had papers, did you ever ask to see them?
Did you hand over the money without receiving the papers?
You may have recourse with whatever registry this horse is papered
with. You can make a complaint with the registry.
Papers, cannot legally be "sold". They should come with the horse,
this is, if it was agreed with both parties that it was being sold
"with" the papers. The sellar doesn't necessarily have to sell the
horse with papers. Some people chose not to let the papers go with
the horse because you would then become their competition at shows.
I can only determine by the information that you gave, that the
vet didn't do anything unethical as a "vet". But as a "sellar" he
did mis-inform you about certain things, or the communication about
what each of you thought you were getting out of this sale, just
wasn't there.
Please tell us more.
Tina
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| I have no direct experience of dealing with state professional
registration authorities or professional associations but from the
media reports I remember such entities are somewhat reluctant to take
disciplinary action against errant members. So unless this is a really
serious instance of "professional misconduct" I wouldn't expect much
action from these bodies.
Alternatively, depending on your state's small claims court critieria
you might get more action with a "Breach of Contract" claim. If
representations made to you by the seller who could be considered an
expert person which can reasonably be shown to have been false at the
time they were made then you may have a case.
In both cases an unemotional review of what was said by whom to whom,
what other professionals opinions were and, above all, what was written
down should allow you to assess your options. Remember that determining
the age and soundness of a horse is not an exact science and different
professional may have different opinions.
I have only ever bought two horses. The first I knew had behaviour
problems (it bucked) which I thought I could work through. I was told
by the seller and I saw for myself the horse's behaviour. I took a
calculated risk and lost a few hundred dollars because I found I
couldn't change that part of his behaviour. The other horse was
represented to me as being sound. I took another calculated risk and
did not have him vetted because of the local reputation of the seller.
I have had that horse for the last eighteen years so he was a very
satisfactory purchase.
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Well, better late than never. In response to .1, the horse was
subsequently found to have laryngeal hemiplegia and this has made
him unsuitable for much excercise as his wind is not enough and
he can not breath well at the canter.
As for the papers, the vet indicated in writing they would be delivered
in 30 days and he never followed up. He also never provided
information on the horse's history, etc.
I wrote to the Commonwealth of Virginia and they are investigating the
conduct of the vet. I think the issue is that he should not "vet"
a horse sound that he has potential "gain" in and should have
recommended another (or different vet to vet the horse). That is
the main issue.
As the horse has not enough wind, he has been donated to an
organization who will find him a trail riding life. So, I am without
horse at this time.
Learned a lesson the hard way and hopefully will be wiser as a result.
The Commonwealth of Virginia has started the investigation and did
indicate it was not common for a vet to be selling horses which they
have an interest in. There is a whole process that these type things
go through and the most I can really expect is that a complaint is
filed and some type of warning for unethical conduct is issued. I just
did not believe that thisshould go unreported.
As for small claims court, the legal fees would exceed the gain and
so by the time it was all resolved, the effort would not even
compensate for lost time at work....
Linda
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