Buying a horse in the Netherlands is a purchase like any other, until it is not: the animal has to suit you, and what you failed to check counts against you. Our equine lawyers in the Netherlands draw up and review purchase agreements and act when a horse turns out differently than agreed.
Buyers and sellers often instruct our horse lawyers in the Netherlands if they are involved in a dispute after the purchase of a horse. Here are 5 tips that will help you reduce your risk of buying a horse.
- Your requirements and capabilities should be clear and transparent. The buyer and seller should have no doubt about the horse’s suitability.
- Ask questions and keep track of your answers.
- Be aware of who you are buying from in the Netherlands, and what your legal rights are. You will have more implied rights if you buy from a trader or dealer than if buying directly from an individual.
- You should consider whether you need a custom-made contract of sale. A contract that is “off-the-shelf” may not reflect your interests and cause you more problems than good. You should consider a written contract of sale if you’re buying a horse in the Netherlands that is valuable or have very specific requirements.
- You must be calm when something goes wrong. Do not express anger or frustration. Keep in mind that any legal proceedings in the Netherlands could refer to your comments or messages.
What if the seller uses an agent?
Sellers often use a sales agent. That matters legally: a false statement by the agent about the horse can expose the seller to a claim for misrepresentation. Give any agent written instructions on what may and may not be said.
Horse owners often choose to sell their horses through a sales representative in Holland. They might not realize that the sales agent may make statements to the buyer of their horse.
A horse buyer in the Netherlands may be able to sue the seller if an agent makes a false statement about it. This is called the law of misrepresentation. Clear instructions are essential for any agent who is retained to sell a horse.
Contact us today to speak to an equine solicitor regarding any concern you may have about an agency sale.
Are you buying from a dealer or a private seller?
Who you buy from changes your position. A purchase from a professional dealer carries statutory protections that a purchase from a private individual does not, and it shifts part of the burden of proof in your favour.
Establish this before you negotiate, not afterwards. Ask whether the seller trades in horses professionally, and record the answer in writing. Where a private seller acts through a professional stable, it is not always obvious in which capacity the sale takes place, and that question decides which rules apply if the horse disappoints.
The same applies across borders. A Dutch seller selling to a foreign business buyer may fall under the UN Sales Convention, while a sale to a private buyer abroad usually does not. Settle which law governs the sale in the agreement itself, rather than discovering it during a dispute.
What should the purchase agreement cover?
A workable agreement identifies the horse, states the price and payment terms, records the intended use, sets out the result of the veterinary examination, and says when risk and ownership pass to the buyer.
An off-the-shelf template rarely does this. Where the horse is valuable, or where you buy it for a specific discipline or level, the intended use belongs in the contract in words. That single sentence is what a court will read when you later argue the horse was not suitable. An equine attorney in the Netherlands can draft that wording before the sale.
Two points are regularly forgotten. The first is the trial period: state how long it runs, who bears the costs during it, and on what grounds the buyer may return the horse. The second is transport: agree who arranges it, who insures the horse while it travels, and at which moment risk passes. Both are cheap to settle in advance and expensive to argue about afterwards.
What does a pre-purchase veterinary examination do?
A vetting records the health of the horse at that moment. It gives the buyer an assurance and the seller a defence, and it is usually the first document consulted when a dispute about the horse follows.
Have the examination carried out by a veterinarian you instruct yourself, and keep the report together with the images. Read what the vet did not examine, because the limits of the report define the limits of your protection.
What can you do if the horse does not conform?
If the horse lacks the qualities you could expect for the agreed use, you can claim repair, a price reduction, damages, or rescission of the purchase. Act quickly and complain in writing as soon as you notice the problem.
The strength of such a claim depends almost entirely on what was recorded beforehand: the agreed use, the vetting report, and the correspondence during the negotiation. Collect those documents before you take any further step.
When do you engage an equine lawyer?
Engage a lawyer before you sign, when a vetting report raises questions, or as soon as a dispute emerges. Reviewing an agreement costs a fraction of litigating about it afterwards.
Contact our equine lawyers in the Netherlands for a review of your purchase agreement or an assessment of a dispute after the sale.
