Horse Contract

[horseperson]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? SD

My wife boards one horse with "full care" at an equestrian facility and has a contract on that one horse. Her boarding fees are always paid. She then brought on two more horses that were put in the pasture with no contract, just a verbal agreement that my wife would do chores to pay for their stay.

The facility owner sells the two pasture horses without my wife's consent. The facility owner claimed that the two horses are technically hers as she does not believe my wife has done enough chores to pay for their stay. The facility owner then claimed that my wife owes $5,000 for the two pasture horses stay. The following day, the facility owner says that my wife owes $7,000. The facility owner then threatened to seize the "full care" horse unless the $7,000 is paid.

Additional information:
We still have the registration papers for the two pasture horses.
Neither the facility owner or my wife kept track of how much she has worked and there was nothing said about how much my wife would earn toward the horses doing chores.
The facility owner is on the verge of losing her facility and is basically trying to get as much money as possible out of my wife.

My questions: If we take our "full care" horse out of the facility, can she do anything about seizing it? The contract on that horse pertains only to that one horse and there is no debt on it's care.
My wife did not obtain a copy of the contract, so it's entirely possible that the facility owner could print off another page regarding the other two horses and attach it to the contract.

 

[RRevak]

Who is the ACTUAL owner of the two pasture horses? Was this a work for sale agreement? As in, did your wife wish to purchase the two pasture horses and the agreement was to to work off the sale price via barn duties? What exactly does your contract state regarding the fully boarded horse and who owns it legally? What do you mean by "registration papers"? Is this just a coggins or something different? I have an idea as to an answer but I need to know who exactly has LEGAL ownership of all the horses.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? SD

My wife boards one horse with "full care" at an equestrian facility and has a contract on that one horse. Her boarding fees are always paid. She then brought on two more horses that were put in the pasture with no contract, just a verbal agreement that my wife would do chores to pay for their stay.

The facility owner sells the two pasture horses without my wife's consent. The facility owner claimed that the two horses are technically hers as she does not believe my wife has done enough chores to pay for their stay. The facility owner then claimed that my wife owes $5,000 for the two pasture horses stay. The following day, the facility owner says that my wife owes $7,000. The facility owner then threatened to seize the "full care" horse unless the $7,000 is paid.

Additional information:
We still have the registration papers for the two pasture horses.
Neither the facility owner or my wife kept track of how much she has worked and there was nothing said about how much my wife would earn toward the horses doing chores.
The facility owner is on the verge of losing her facility and is basically trying to get as much money as possible out of my wife.

My questions: If we take our "full care" horse out of the facility, can she do anything about seizing it? The contract on that horse pertains only to that one horse and there is no debt on it's care.
My wife did not obtain a copy of the contract, so it's entirely possible that the facility owner could print off another page regarding the other two horses and attach it to the contract.

I would get your full care horse out of there...the facility owner basically stole those two horses and if she is that desparate, there is no telling what else she might do. I would also discuss the other two horses with the police.

 

[horseperson]

Who is the ACTUAL owner of the two pasture horses? Was this a work for sale agreement? As in, did your wife wish to purchase the two pasture horses and the agreement was to to work off the sale price via barn duties? What exactly does your contract state regarding the fully boarded horse and who owns it legally? What do you mean by "registration papers"? Is this just a coggins or something different? I have an idea as to an answer but I need to know who exactly has LEGAL ownership of all the horses.

We are the owners of the two pasture horses, they're registered quarter horses, and they're in our name. The facility owner said that we could put the two horses in the pasture for a few months if my wife cleaned one of the barns. My wife cleaned the barn, and the facility owner then said they could stay there if my wife did other chores such as feeding and cleaning stalls. My wife also watched her kids many days for many hours with both parties knowing that the time spent kid-sitting was going toward the pasture horses cost of being there. The two horses have only been there 22 months and her pasture boarding fee was $100 per horse originally, price of hay went up at some point, the current pasture fee is $175. So at maximum, if you go with the current fee, their pasture board has cost $7700. It would be conservative to say that my wife would average 24 hours a month.

I don't have a copy of the contract on the full-care horse, but it says something along the lines of "if you don't pay for X months on this horse, then it's mine." The full-care horse is named in the contract and there is no debt on her board.

 

[LdiJ]

We are the owners of the two pasture horses, they're registered quarter horses, and they're in our name. The facility owner said that we could put the two horses in the pasture for a few months if my wife cleaned one of the barns. My wife cleaned the barn, and the facility owner then said they could stay there if my wife did other chores such as feeding and cleaning stalls. My wife also watched her kids many days for many hours with both parties knowing that the time spent kid-sitting was going toward the pasture horses cost of being there. The two horses have only been there 22 months and her pasture boarding fee was $100 per horse originally, price of hay went up at some point, the current pasture fee is $175. So at maximum, if you go with the current fee, their pasture board has cost $7700. It would be conservative to say that my wife would average 24 hours a month.

I don't have a copy of the contract on the full-care horse, but it says something along the lines of "if you don't pay for X months on this horse, then it's mine." The full-care horse is named in the contract and there is no debt on her board.

Again, talk to the police about the two horses in the pasture, and get your other horse out of there ASAP.

 

[RRevak]

We are the owners of the two pasture horses, they're registered quarter horses, and they're in our name. The facility owner said that we could put the two horses in the pasture for a few months if my wife cleaned one of the barns. My wife cleaned the barn, and the facility owner then said they could stay there if my wife did other chores such as feeding and cleaning stalls. My wife also watched her kids many days for many hours with both parties knowing that the time spent kid-sitting was going toward the pasture horses cost of being there. The two horses have only been there 22 months and her pasture boarding fee was $100 per horse originally, price of hay went up at some point, the current pasture fee is $175. So at maximum, if you go with the current fee, their pasture board has cost $7700. It would be conservative to say that my wife would average 24 hours a month.

I don't have a copy of the contract on the full-care horse, but it says something along the lines of "if you don't pay for X months on this horse, then it's mine." The full-care horse is named in the contract and there is no debt on her board.

OK now things are clear. You need to immediately get law enforcement involved regarding the sale of your two horses pronto! Be able to produce every document necessary to prove ownership. Minus any form of contract stating similar terms of relinquishing ownership in the event money is owed, as LD stated this woman literally stole your horses. You also need to get your full care horse out of there asap. Its then going to come down to whether the barn owner can PROVE you owe the amount you do in late board. Without a contract or anything in writing saying what your wife did or did not do, that's going to be difficult. Call the police and press charges asap! Make sure they are aware of the possibility of her selling your remaining horse.