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At Equine Legal
Solutions, we receive a surprising number of
inquiries about equine donations gone awry.
Unfortunately, giving away a horse is a
lot like selling it – the only real
difference is that you don’t receive any
money in exchange for giving up the rights of
ownership. Once the horse leaves your possession, you have very little
control over its future.
Here
are some tips to help ensure that a horse you
give away lives out his days in a good home:
Charge
a Fee
Much like charging a modest adoption fee
for puppies and kittens, you can help protect
your horse by selling him for a modest price
that reflects his condition, training, or
other reasons you are giving him away.
Having to pay even a modest amount of
cash for a horse helps screen out well-meaning
folks who might not have thought carefully
enough about the adoption as well as folks
with a more sinister motive.
Consider
Leasing Instead
In difficult economic times, many horse
owners are faced with the choice of giving
away hard-to-sell horses because they simply
cannot afford to care for them any longer.
Many times, the economic situation is
temporary.
In these cases, it may make sense to
lease your horses to caring folks instead of
selling them or giving them away.
ELS offers tips
and forms for leasing
your horse.
Get
Creative
There are many charitable organizations that
might be interested in adopting your horse and
giving him a useful life. Rescue organizations are an obvious choice – see the
“Rescue” section of the Bay
Area Equestrian Network’s Business
Directory.
There are also more creative options.
If your horse is serviceably sound with
a very quiet temperament, he may be
well-suited to a therapeutic riding program
– see “Therapeutic Riding Programs” in
the BAEN business directory.
Many university equestrian programs
depend upon donated horses and it is a
tax-deductible way to support your alma mater.
You might also try contacting local 4-H
clubs and Pony Clubs to see if there is a
match for your horse.
Remember how badly you wanted a horse
as a youngster – there are kids out there
who might LOVE to have your horse.
Finally, there are kind folks out there
who just want a companion horse or lawn
ornament – reach out to them in the ways
described above for finding a lost horse.
Screen
the Adoptive Home
In Equine Legal Solutions’ practice,
we have heard horrible stories about what can
happen to a donated horse, from starvation to
being sold at meat auctions.
We can’t emphasize enough that you
should go and personally inspect the place
where your horse will be living, even if you
are donating your horse to an organization
that appears legitimate.
Check out the condition of the place
and the condition of the other animals on the
property – are the stalls clean and the
animals well-fed and in good shape?
Chat with the people there and ask to
see the feed your horse will receive (bad hay
is a bad sign).
Ask them for veterinarian and farrier
references, then call those references!
Trust your instincts – if you’re
not sure, don’t give them your horse.
Have
a Written Agreement
Most charitable organizations that routinely
accept donated horses will ask you to sign a
written agreement (and if they don’t, they
should, for their own protection).
Make sure that you read anything that
you are asked to sign carefully, noting what
it says about what will happen if the
organization doesn’t keep your horse.
Ask for a copy of the agreement to take
home with you.
If you do not have a written agreement,
you can use one of Equine Legal Solutions form
sale agreements and enter a "0"
for the sale price. A written agreement clarifies the terms
under which you are giving the horse away, and
can help protect you from liability in the
event that your horse injures someone after he
has left your care.
Additional
Information:
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