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Most disputes in the Dutch horse industry are contract disputes: a horse that turns out lame after the sale, a livery yard that holds on to a horse until its invoice is paid, a trainer or vet who did not take proper care, or a commission sale that went wrong. The type of contract decides which claim you have, which deadline runs and which Dutch court hears the case.
This page is for foreign buyers and sellers, owners whose horse stands at a Dutch yard, and Dutch equine businesses with customers abroad. It explains how to classify the dispute, what to do in the first days and which deadlines apply under Dutch law. Is a deadline running or has the other side already sent a claim? Have a Dutch equine lawyer assess your position before you reply.
Which disputes arise most often in the Dutch horse industry?
Six types come back again and again: disputes about a sale, a sale on commission, livery and boarding, services such as training, veterinary care or shoeing, co-ownership and title, and damage caused by a horse. Each follows its own rules in the Dutch Civil Code (DCC), mainly Books 3, 6 and 7.
Animals are not things under Dutch law, but the rules on things apply to them, subject to the limits that follow from statute and unwritten law (Article 3:2a DCC). That is why a horse sale is governed by the ordinary sales rules of Book 7 DCC, and why the table below can treat a horse much like other movable property.
| Dispute | Contract type under Dutch law | Core rule | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horse not as agreed after a sale | Sale (koop) | Article 7:17 DCC: the horse must conform to the contract | Purchase of a horse |
| Unpaid board, horse kept at the yard, injury at the yard | Safekeeping (bewaarneming) | Article 7:602 DCC: care of a good custodian | this page, below |
| Training, riding lessons, veterinary or farrier work | Contract for services (opdracht) | Article 7:401 DCC: care of a good service provider | Negligence in the equestrian industry |
| Sale by a dealer or agent on the owner’s behalf | Mandate (lastgeving) | Article 7:414 DCC: acting for the account of the principal | Business law for the equine industry |
| Who owns the horse, co-owners who disagree | Property law | Article 3:84 DCC and 3:166 DCC | Horse ownership disputes |
| A horse injures a person or damages property | Liability for animals | Article 6:179 DCC | Liability and insurance |
What should you do first when a dispute about a horse starts?
Secure the documents, put your complaint in writing and set a reasonable deadline. Under Dutch law a party that fails to perform is usually only in default after a written notice that gives it a reasonable period to perform (Article 6:82 DCC).
- Collect the paperwork: the sale or livery agreement, invoices and payment records, the horse passport, pre-purchase veterinary reports, X-rays and the messages exchanged with the other party.
- Complain in time: in a sale, the buyer must notify the seller within a reasonable time after discovering the defect (Article 7:23(1) DCC). Do it in writing and describe the problem.
- Have the horse examined independently: a report by a vet who was not involved in the sale or treatment carries more weight; see evidence in Dutch civil law.
- Send a notice of default: state what you require and by when. Our page on the demand letter under Dutch law explains what it must contain.
- Do not take the horse back by force or stop paying without a basis: suspending your own obligation is only allowed if there is sufficient connection with the other party’s obligation (Article 6:52 DCC).
How quickly do you have to act in a horse dispute?
Faster than many foreign parties expect. A buyer must give notice of a defect within a reasonable time after discovery, and a claim based on non-conformity becomes time-barred two years after that notice (Article 7:23 DCC).
| Situation | Deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice that a purchased horse is not as agreed | Within a reasonable time after discovery; for a consumer, notice within two months after discovery is in time | Article 7:23(1) DCC |
| Legal action after that notice | Two years after the notice | Article 7:23(2) DCC |
| International sale between businesses under the CISG | Notice within a reasonable time, and at the latest two years after the horse was handed over | Article 39 CISG |
| Claim for performance of a contract, such as payment of a livery invoice | Five years after the claim became due | Article 3:307 DCC |
| Claim for damages | Five years after you know of the damage and the liable person, at the latest twenty years after the event | Article 3:310 DCC |
A written claim can interrupt a limitation period; see limitation periods in the Netherlands.
What can a buyer claim if the horse is not as agreed?
The horse must have the qualities the buyer could expect on the basis of the contract, including those needed for normal use and for a special use that was agreed (Article 7:17 DCC). If it does not, the buyer can claim damages, a price reduction or termination of the sale.
Repair or replacement (Article 7:21 DCC) is rarely realistic for one specific horse, so the dispute usually turns on termination (ontbinding) and damages (Article 6:265 DCC and Article 6:74 DCC). Whether the buyer is a consumer, meaning a private buyer who bought from a business (Article 7:5 DCC), makes a large difference to the burden of proof.
Who the seller is matters as much as the defect. In a 2022 case, the subdistrict court in Amsterdam treated the owners of the horse as the sellers, although another person had conducted the negotiations on their behalf. Because the sellers did not trade in horses, it was a sale between private persons and not a consumer sale. The buyer had complained shortly after a bone cyst was found; the horse was not fit for the special use agreed in the contract, and the court held that the contract had been validly terminated and ordered the sellers to repay the purchase price of EUR 12,500 (Rechtbank Amsterdam, 21 January 2022, ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2022:214). The full rules for buyers are on our page on the purchase of a horse in the Netherlands.
What if a livery yard keeps your horse until an invoice is paid?
A livery or boarding contract is in principle a contract of safekeeping (bewaarneming). The owner can demand the horse back at any time, but the yard may suspend the return until a related invoice that is due has been paid (Article 7:605(1) DCC, Articles 6:52 and 6:57 DCC, read with Article 3:290 DCC).
A professional yard is entitled to a fee and to reimbursement of costs that are not included in that fee (Article 7:601 DCC). In return it must take the care of a good custodian (Article 7:602 DCC) and may only use the horse, for example ride it, with the owner’s consent or where that is needed to keep the horse in good condition (Article 7:603(1) DCC). It must return the horse in the state in which it was received (Article 7:605(4) DCC).
In practice, paying the undisputed part of the invoice or offering security usually releases the horse fastest. If the yard refuses without a valid ground and the matter is urgent, the preliminary relief judge can order the return in summary proceedings (kort geding) (Article 254 DCCP). Questions about title belong on our page on horse ownership disputes.
Is your horse being held, or has the other side stopped responding? Contact our Dutch law firm in Amsterdam and send us the contract; we tell you which route is open.
Which Dutch court hears a horse dispute, and do you need a lawyer?
The subdistrict court (kantonrechter) hears claims up to EUR 25,000 and all consumer sale cases; there you may litigate without a lawyer. In other cases before the district court a party can only act through a lawyer admitted in the Netherlands (Article 93 DCCP and Article 79 DCCP).
For cross-border jurisdiction, see Dutch jurisdiction in international disputes; the choice between court proceedings, arbitration and mediation is discussed on our page on litigation and arbitration in equine law. To secure payment before judgment, a creditor can ask the preliminary relief judge for leave to levy a prejudgment attachment (Article 700 DCCP).
Practical example: a German dealer and a lame show jumper
Suppose a German trading stable buys a six-year-old show jumper from a Dutch sales stable. Three weeks after delivery the horse goes lame, and new X-rays show a condition that the pre-purchase examination did not report. Both parties are businesses in different contracting states, so the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) applies unless the contract excludes it (Articles 1 and 6 CISG).
The buyer must then examine the horse as soon as practicable and give notice specifying the defect within a reasonable time (Articles 38 and 39 CISG). Dutch Article 7:23 DCC does not apply to that notice. The first steps are a written notice, an independent veterinary report and a deadline for the seller to respond. If the seller refuses, the buyer weighs its remedies under the CISG against the cost and duration of proceedings in the Netherlands.
When do you need a Dutch lawyer for a horse dispute?
As soon as a deadline is running, the other side disputes the facts, or a substantial amount or the horse itself is at stake. A lawyer is also needed when the case goes to the district court, where representation by an advocate is mandatory (Article 79(2) DCCP).
MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam acts for owners, buyers, sellers, yards and traders, from the Netherlands and abroad. We work in four steps:
- We review the contract, the veterinary reports and the correspondence, and identify the deadlines that apply.
- We advise on the strongest claim or defence and on what it is likely to involve in time and cost.
- We send the notice of default or reply to the claim, and negotiate or mediate where that serves you.
- If needed, we act in summary proceedings, prejudgment attachments and proceedings on the merits at first instance and on appeal, or in arbitration.
We work in English and can handle most of a case remotely. Ask our equine lawyers to review your dispute or read our overview of Dutch equine law.
Frequently asked questions about disputes in the horse industry in the Netherlands
How long do I have to complain about a horse I bought in the Netherlands?
You must notify the seller within a reasonable time after you discovered the defect or should have discovered it. For a consumer, notice within two months after discovery is in time. Legal action must follow within two years after the notice (Article 7:23 DCC).
Can a livery yard refuse to return my horse?
Yes, if it has a claim that is due and connected with the boarding of that horse. The yard may then suspend the return until the related invoice is paid (Articles 6:52 and 6:57 DCC, read with Article 3:290 DCC). Without such a claim, the owner can demand the horse back at any time (Article 7:605(1) DCC).
Is a horse sale between private persons a consumer sale?
No. A consumer sale requires a seller acting in the course of a business and a private buyer (Article 7:5 DCC). A sale between two private persons follows the general sales rules, without the consumer presumption that a defect existed at delivery.
Do I need a Dutch lawyer to sue over a horse?
Not before the subdistrict court, which hears claims up to EUR 25,000 and all consumer sale cases (Articles 79 and 93 DCCP). In other cases before a Dutch district court, you can only litigate through a lawyer admitted in the Netherlands.
Does the CISG apply to an international horse sale?
It can. The CISG applies to sales of goods between parties with places of business in different contracting states, unless the parties exclude it (Articles 1 and 6 CISG). It does not apply to purchases at auction, nor to goods bought for personal or household use unless the seller neither knew nor ought to have known of that purpose (Article 2(a) and (b) CISG).
Primary sources
Dutch statutes are only officially available in Dutch, on wetten.overheid.nl. Judgments can be found on rechtspraak.nl by their ECLI number. Legal position checked on 28 October 2026.
- Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), Book 3: Articles 3:2a, 3:84, 3:166, 3:290, 3:307 and 3:310
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 6: Articles 6:52, 6:57, 6:74, 6:82, 6:179 and 6:265
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 7: Articles 7:5, 7:17, 7:21, 7:23, 7:401, 7:414, 7:601, 7:602, 7:603 and 7:605
- Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering): Articles 79, 93, 254 and 700
- UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG): Articles 1, 2, 6, 38 and 39
- Rechtbank Amsterdam (subdistrict court) 21 January 2022, ECLI:NL:RBAMS:2022:214 (horse with a bone cyst; sale between private persons; termination upheld)
