Horses held hostage

[lkc555]

What is the name of your state? COLORADO

We have been boarding our horse at a stable under a contract requiring 30 days notice of leaving. If we were to leave earlier, we would lose our $75 deposit. Since then we acquired 2 more horses, but were'nt required to sign any contract or make a deposit on those 2. Then the owner of the stable notified us that the stable had been sold, and he was relocating to a home off of the property. He said we could stay through summer 2005, per the development schedule (being leveled and homes built) and hoped that we would. Many of the boarders left at that time to find spaces elsewhere early, and to encourage us to stay, he lowered our board $100 per horse. We decided to stay. Then my husband lost his job in the summer of 2004, and we struggled to pay board, but did so. After selling my horse trailer to pay for part of the board, we decided to sell the first horse to completely pay off the final amount due on the board, which is $1,500. He called my husband four days ago and said that he is shutting down the stable early, and that we will have to leave along with most other horses. Yesterday we finally sold the first horse (we'd been trying for awhile), and called him to tell him that we had sold him and had the full amount of the board due for him. We asked him to please take the chains and locks off of the other 2 horses' stalls so that we can exercise them (it's not healthy for horses to not be able to exercise. He had said we "can't enjoy our horses at all if we are behind in the board", at the beginning of the chaining in the last couple of weeks). Now he says that he wants more than this amount, and wants to charge us an extra $150 for wood shavings, the last half of this month's board for the first horse which is gone ($200), and next month's board for all 3 horses at the original full price when we first arrived with the first horse (which would be an additional $975). Doesn't the stable closing void the contract about 30 days notice, and should we pay for something we haven't been using (shavings) because of the poor health condition of it? It's obvious whether a horse has shavings in their stall or not... we have been doing without. We seem to now be faced with cutting the locks off of our paid up horses, and trying to leave the property without this volatile man catching us and making a huge scene. He's also threatening to go to court, which is fine with us... we believe we've done everything required of us. We don't want a huge scene where he calls the police and says we're stealing horses (his by default if we had refused to pay board at all), and that we owe him these for future costs and unused shavings? We can have the items with us to show the police, such as the titles to the horses, and the money order receipt for the $1500 board balance. This man is extremely emotional, and for my husband and my young daughter's sake, I'm worried about something crazy happening at that time. Any help you can send this way---(asap!) will be greatly appreciated. Thankyou so much in advance!

 

[seniorjudge]

God invented paragraphs and sentences to make written communication easier by breaking up major ideas into smaller chunks. Try using them sometime. One long unbroken string of words is hard to read.

 

[matti422]

Questions:
1. What did the original contract say regarding wood shavings, last months board and rates?
2. When the price was lowered, was the contract modified to reflect this?
3. What did the contract say about course of action if the board was not paid?

If you can prove ownership of the horses, I wouldn't think he could "hold them hostage", especially if there is any question of whether or not the animals would be abused by doing this.

My advice has no legal endorsement, but I would think if you cut the locks off to take your horses, the most he could take you for - in addition to the contract prices of boarding - is the cost of replacing the locks. As for the rest, you really have to have the contracts reviewed.

 

[lkc555]

Horses Held Hostage 2

COLORADO

to matti422--

We need to get a copy of the original contract. According to memory, the wood shavings were $25 per horse/monthly if used. Last month's board was $200/horse (no shavings). The written contract was not modified to show this or the reduction that had been given to entice us to stay. It had been done orally.

to seniorjudge--

My apologies for the emotional construction of my posting. I was trying not to omit any pertinent facts. I am rewriting is as follows for you:

We began boarding horse 1 at the boarding stable about 18 months ago. The written contract was for $375/month for full board. This includes feed, stall cleaning, watering, and wood shavings. The shavings are $25/month optional. A $75 deposit was given, which would be lost if 30 notice was not given prior to leaving. The contract provided for the horse to be sold for board if the owners never paid, as a last resort.

We acquired 2 more horses, but did were not asked to sign a written contract adding those horses or any additional deposit.

The owner notified us that the property had been sold for development, and we could stay through summer 2005. Many boarders left at this time. The owner offered us a $100 discount per horse to remain at the stable. We agreed on this orally.

My husband then lost his job and I was furloughed from my job. We got behind in the board. We sold our horse trailer and gave the proceeds to the stable owner. A decision was made to sell the first horse, to satisfy the balance of the board due. My husband spoke to the stable owner about this so that he was aware of our efforts. We have been actively advertising and showing this horse to potential buyers.

About four days ago, the stable owner told us a decision was made to close down the stable. Only a couple of people would be allowed to stay on, and all others would need to leave. So we searched and have found another stable to move to.

Two weeks ago the stable owner chained and locked our three horses in their stalls. They can't be exercised, and he stated that we can't enjoy them until the board is paid. Thursday we advised him that we had a possible buyer coming to see the first horse. He agreed to keep that horse unlocked. The next day, Friday, we sold the first horse at a loss. We called the stable owner the following day to tell him that we had the balance in full for him, and that the other 2 horses would be relocated at the end of the month.

A return call from the stable owner said that he wants additional money. This is $150 for 2 months of shavings usage, which we did not use. They are about gone, and wet which is unhealthy. He also wants to charge us the original board price ($375 per 3 horses) for April, even though we will not be there. He is claiming that we are not giving 30 days notice. But the stable is being shut down-- how can we?

Can we legally cut the 2 locks, and relocate our 2 horses after paying the board balance?

I hope this format is easier to read and understand. Thankyou, seniorjudge for your thoughtful consideration and answer to my post.