Complete your horse sale & purchase agreement
By Megan Gundesen FairPlay Equine Founder/Director www.horseagreements.co.nz
For those new to horse ownership, references to ‘horses’ in this guide also include ‘ponies’.
Who will use this agreement?
Both purchasers and sellers. Be ready to whip off an agreement fast to avoid the awkwardness of turning down the other party's one. Move from the handshake / feel good stage to the clear and committed stage. You will love the comfort of having a trustworthy agreement all signed up, especially when transport may be delayed or the horse is injured before pickup. |
When do I pay for the agreement?
First, choose the agreement that suits you (read Freebie - ‘Choose the Right Agreement’ for help), go to the pay wall, read and agree to the Terms and Conditions, and then pay for it. Then you will automatically receive the Agreement by email in Word and can start to complete the details. Check your junk mail if it doesn't show up. |
What do I need to discuss before I select the right horse agreement for me?
Before selection, you should discuss with the other party whether there will be a –
Insurance cover options are connected to the trial period situation. A vet check is recommended for most horse purchases. If there is a vet check and a trial period, select the 'Comprehensive' Agreement. |
Will this agreement cover everything that could happen?
Generally yes but . . . . . . people make so many different horse arrangements that I cannot include every possibility in my FairPlay Equine agreements. If there are terms which are not included but have been agreed between you, then its easy to insert them in the Special Conditions clause. |
When should this agreement be signed up?
Your agreement should be signed up as soon as it has been agreed. Ideally one party can print, sign, and scan it to the other party for their signature. But if you don't have time or a scanner, then print off a copy, sign, and send a photo to the other side. Once its signed, it's a legal contract even if no money has changed hands. With a vet check agreement, sign BEFORE the vet check. The purchaser then feels confident the vet check fees won’t be wasted because the seller meanwhile sells the horse to someone else. It also means the seller is not holding the horse for a vet check when the purchaser is not committed. With a trial period agreement, once again ensure its signed BEFORE the horse leaves its current home. |
Your guide to specific paragraphs in the documents
To ensure you include all the right information:
If you are the seller, do not fail to list things in the agreement that must or can't happen during the trial. It can be a source of conflict if the boundaries of use, care, and riding are not clearly stated.
Some questions are below -
• How many days/weeks/months to trial
• Trial end date
• Address of the horse’s trial period home - needed if conditions are breached and horse needs to be uplifted
• Name of rider/s who can ride the horse during the trial, how much coaching should happen
The trial period agreement provides for a deposit to be paid before the trial starts. If that is not what you have agreed, do not select that option.
6. Insurance
Insurance on the horse is highly recommended especially during trial periods. Before the agreement is created, the seller and purchaser should discuss-
• What insurance either is already in place or what will be put in place by the seller or the purchaser ( if the worst happened and the horse needed to be euthanased, both parties can then be assured that at least the value of the horse can be recovered, although of course the companionship is lost forever )
• Types of Insurance - Mortality (aka Death & Humane Destruction)
- Permanent or Partial Loss of Use
- Vet fee cover (check the excess)
Have these details at the ready for when you receive the emailed Agreement.
Well known insurers are Marsh, FMG, Pet Plan, and Pet-n-Sur.
When a horse is being trialed, the seller should arrange with the insurer that the trialist’s name is noted in the policy. When vet fee cover is being accessed, often the triallist can go direct to the seller’s insurer and seek reimbursement of vet fees.
7. Owners warranties (‘promises’)
The agreement includes the basic warranties on what can be considered ‘facts’ such as age and breed etc. Apart from that, this agreement is, essentially, an ‘As is/ where is’ Agreement meaning that apart from the warranties written in, and those in the Owners Statement (see below), the purchaser has to rely on their own inspection and enquiries about the horse and generally can’t sue the seller for what was said in an advertisement or during an inspection or on the phone or in a text. If something is important to the purchaser, add it as a Special Condition to the Agreement.
Warranties that are ‘behavioural’, ‘performance’ or ‘health’ oriented are excluded because equestrian experience and contract law show they are not generally legally enforceable. This is because they so often change from one rider to the next or from one home to the next. It is a source of much conflict and uncertainty. The onus is on the purchaser to rely on their own inspection and vet check before deciding to buy.
The exception to this is where a vet check occurs. With a vet check the purchaser receives an Owner’s Statement about the horse. This includes lots of written statements which become warranties that the purchaser can rely on. This is very important information if things go wrong after sale.
8. List of horse achievements / any Specific Terms which have been agreed between the parties
There is room in the Agreement for any agreed Special Terms to be stated. Ideally discuss upfront but often easier to insert when the Agreement goes back and forth.
These will be key points of importance to the purchaser or seller. What the horse has achieved is likely to be of importance to the purchaser and the key points should be stated, such as ‘participation in x equine clinic’, or ‘x live foals in … years’. These should be factual statements, as opposed to qualitative statements such as ‘bombproof’ or ‘never spooks’ which are qualities that can’t be fully relied upon.
9. Date of Agreement
The last party to sign the agreement should insert the date they signed it. This becomes the date of the agreement.
To ensure you include all the right information:
- the Word doc you are sent will clearly guide you
- Schedule 1 prompts you to insert all the right details
- the FREE Fact Sheet gives you a short overview about what it all means
- if you need to change the agreement afterwards, you have it in Word form to do so easily.
- Identity of Buyer and Seller
Exactly who is selling and who is buying is important. That is the person or people or partnership or farming trust or company you will be talking to if things go wrong. So, you need the first and last names and addresses of all the people concerned. - Description of the horse
Include as much information as you can. Describe the brand or take a photo of it and attach that to the agreement (initialed by both seller and purchaser). The address of the horse’s current home is important because it may be that when it leaves that place, the insurance cover changes to the purchaser’s responsibility. If the horse is going to be at a different place by the time it is picked up by the purchaser, this is the address you should insert into the agreement as ‘the horse’s current home’. - Purchase price and deposit
This is the amount you agree the horse will be sold for. It may or may not be what was originally asked for the horse. You may renegotiate the price if the vet check reveals something the purchaser considers lowers the horse’s value. If this happens, you can change the agreement in the Word version that is emailed to you. A deposit is not mandatory but is a very good idea to feel the sale or purchase is secure. - Vet check (not mandatory but is recommended)
Inserting a final date for the vet check is important. The sale is on hold until the vet check is complete and the seller will want a clear date by which it must be carried out. The potential purchaser should check with the chosen vet prior to creating the agreement to find out the timeframe for the exam. It can sometimes take a week or 3 for the chosen vet to have the time to examine. Insert dates in the agreement accordingly.
Read more about vet checks in the Freebies guide on this website. - Trial period (where the horse goes to the potential purchaser’s property)
If you are the seller, do not fail to list things in the agreement that must or can't happen during the trial. It can be a source of conflict if the boundaries of use, care, and riding are not clearly stated.
Some questions are below -
• How many days/weeks/months to trial
• Trial end date
• Address of the horse’s trial period home - needed if conditions are breached and horse needs to be uplifted
• Name of rider/s who can ride the horse during the trial, how much coaching should happen
- Insurance and risk, and so on . . .
The trial period agreement provides for a deposit to be paid before the trial starts. If that is not what you have agreed, do not select that option.
6. Insurance
Insurance on the horse is highly recommended especially during trial periods. Before the agreement is created, the seller and purchaser should discuss-
• What insurance either is already in place or what will be put in place by the seller or the purchaser ( if the worst happened and the horse needed to be euthanased, both parties can then be assured that at least the value of the horse can be recovered, although of course the companionship is lost forever )
• Types of Insurance - Mortality (aka Death & Humane Destruction)
- Permanent or Partial Loss of Use
- Vet fee cover (check the excess)
Have these details at the ready for when you receive the emailed Agreement.
Well known insurers are Marsh, FMG, Pet Plan, and Pet-n-Sur.
When a horse is being trialed, the seller should arrange with the insurer that the trialist’s name is noted in the policy. When vet fee cover is being accessed, often the triallist can go direct to the seller’s insurer and seek reimbursement of vet fees.
7. Owners warranties (‘promises’)
The agreement includes the basic warranties on what can be considered ‘facts’ such as age and breed etc. Apart from that, this agreement is, essentially, an ‘As is/ where is’ Agreement meaning that apart from the warranties written in, and those in the Owners Statement (see below), the purchaser has to rely on their own inspection and enquiries about the horse and generally can’t sue the seller for what was said in an advertisement or during an inspection or on the phone or in a text. If something is important to the purchaser, add it as a Special Condition to the Agreement.
Warranties that are ‘behavioural’, ‘performance’ or ‘health’ oriented are excluded because equestrian experience and contract law show they are not generally legally enforceable. This is because they so often change from one rider to the next or from one home to the next. It is a source of much conflict and uncertainty. The onus is on the purchaser to rely on their own inspection and vet check before deciding to buy.
The exception to this is where a vet check occurs. With a vet check the purchaser receives an Owner’s Statement about the horse. This includes lots of written statements which become warranties that the purchaser can rely on. This is very important information if things go wrong after sale.
8. List of horse achievements / any Specific Terms which have been agreed between the parties
There is room in the Agreement for any agreed Special Terms to be stated. Ideally discuss upfront but often easier to insert when the Agreement goes back and forth.
These will be key points of importance to the purchaser or seller. What the horse has achieved is likely to be of importance to the purchaser and the key points should be stated, such as ‘participation in x equine clinic’, or ‘x live foals in … years’. These should be factual statements, as opposed to qualitative statements such as ‘bombproof’ or ‘never spooks’ which are qualities that can’t be fully relied upon.
9. Date of Agreement
The last party to sign the agreement should insert the date they signed it. This becomes the date of the agreement.