Buying a horse from the Netherlands: which law applies?

Published on 26 May 2026

Buying a horse from the Netherlands raises two questions before you pay: which country’s law governs the sale, and which court decides if the horse is not what you were promised? The answers depend on the contract and on whether you buy privately or for a business. Have an equine lawyer in the Netherlands check this before you sign, so you know where you stand.

You may have found a Dutch warmblood for sale online, watched the videos and booked a vetting. For an overview of how Dutch law treats horses, see our page on Dutch equine law.

Which law applies when you buy a horse from the Netherlands?

First, the law you agree with the seller. Without a choice, the law of the seller’s habitual residence generally applies: Dutch law for a seller based in the Netherlands. A private buyer may be protected by the law of their home country.

Within the EU, the Rome I Regulation decides which law governs a contract. Courts in the Netherlands apply it even when the law it points to is that of a non-EU country, such as England or a US state (Article 2). Under Rome I:

the parties may choose the law, expressly or clearly from the contract or the circumstances (Article 3(1));
without a choice, a sale of goods is governed by the law of the seller’s habitual residence (Article 4(1)(a));
if the contract is manifestly more closely connected with another country, that country’s law applies (Article 4(3)).

Under Dutch law, animals are not things, but the rules on things apply to them (Article 3:2a Dutch Civil Code).

Does the CISG apply to a horse bought in the Netherlands?

The CISG applies where buyer and seller have their places of business in different Contracting States, or where conflict rules lead to the law of a Contracting State. It does not cover a personal-use purchase the seller knew or ought to have known about.

This follows from Articles 1(1) and 2(a) CISG. The Netherlands and the United States are Contracting States; the United Kingdom is not. A sale between a Dutch business and a US business can therefore fall under the CISG directly (Article 1(1)(a)). For a UK business buyer, the CISG can still apply through Article 1(1)(b) if the court’s conflict rules lead to Dutch law. The parties may exclude the Convention (Article 6).

Under the CISG, the horse must be fit for any particular purpose expressly or impliedly made known to the seller when the contract was made, unless the buyer did not rely, or could not reasonably rely, on the seller’s skill and judgement (Article 35(2)(b)). If you are buying a horse to compete at a certain level, say so in writing.

Are you buying as a consumer or for your business?

You buy as a consumer if you are an individual buying outside your trade or profession from a business seller, such as an amateur rider buying from a dealer. A yard, dealer or professional rider buying for the business is not a consumer.

Dutch law calls this a consumer sale (Article 7:5(1)(a) Dutch Civil Code); a sale between two private individuals is not. For conflict of laws, Rome I gives a consumer the law of their habitual residence if the seller pursues activities in that country or directs them there, and the sale falls within those activities (Article 6(1)). A choice of law is allowed but cannot deprive the consumer of the mandatory protection of that law (Article 6(2)). If those conditions are not met, the normal rules apply (Article 6(3)).

Your situation	Law without a choice	CISG	Suing the Dutch seller
Private buyer; Dutch dealer active in or targeting your country	law of your habitual residence (Rome I Art. 6(1))	no, if the seller knew or ought to have known of personal use (Art. 2(a))	in the Netherlands (Brussels Ia Art. 4); EU consumers also at home (Art. 17, 18)
Private buyer; dealer does not target your country	Dutch law (Rome I Art. 4(1)(a), 6(3))	no, if the seller knew or ought to have known of personal use (Art. 2(a))	in the Netherlands (Brussels Ia Art. 4)
Business buyer in the US	Dutch law (Rome I Art. 4(1)(a))	yes, unless excluded (Art. 1(1)(a), 6)	in the Netherlands (Brussels Ia Art. 4)
Business buyer in the UK	Dutch law (Rome I Art. 4(1)(a))	possibly, via Art. 1(1)(b), unless excluded	in the Netherlands (Brussels Ia Art. 4)

I start with the paperwork: the advert, the seller’s website, the invoice and your messages. They show whether you bought as a consumer or as a business and whether the seller was targeting your country.

Where can you sue a Dutch horse seller?

Unless a valid choice-of-court clause points elsewhere, you can sue a Dutch seller in the Netherlands, and within the EU also where the horse was or should have been delivered. Whether a UK or US court will hear the case depends on that country’s law.

Under the Brussels Ia Regulation, persons domiciled in a Member State are sued in that state (Article 4(1)). In a sale, the court for the place in a Member State where the goods were or should have been delivered also has jurisdiction, unless otherwise agreed (Article 7(1)(b)). A choice-of-court clause must, among other things, be in writing or evidenced in writing, and is exclusive unless agreed otherwise (Article 25(1)). Consumers domiciled in an EU Member State have extra protection where Article 17 applies, for example against a dealer targeting their country or in a sale on instalment credit terms: a clause agreed before the dispute binds them only in the cases of Article 19 (Article 25(4)). How Dutch proceedings and arbitration work is explained in litigation and arbitration in equine law.

Found a Dutch warmblood for sale and about to sign, or already in a dispute with a Dutch seller? Ask an equine lawyer in the Netherlands to check the law and the court before deadlines run out.

How quickly must you report a problem with the horse?

Under the CISG, have the horse examined as soon as practicable and give specific notice within a reasonable time, at the latest two years after handover. Under Dutch law, notify within a reasonable time after you discovered the problem or ought to have discovered it; for consumers, two months after discovery is in time.

The buyer must examine the horse as soon as practicable; where the contract involves carriage, this may wait until arrival (Article 38(1) and (2) CISG). Notice must specify the nature of the problem and be given within a reasonable time, at the latest two years after actual handover, unless inconsistent with a contractual guarantee period (Article 39). A seller who knew, or could not have been unaware of, the relevant facts and did not disclose them cannot rely on these rules (Article 40).

Under Dutch law, a buyer loses their rights if they do not notify the seller within a reasonable time after they discovered, or ought reasonably to have discovered, the problem; in a consumer sale, notice within two months of discovery is timely (Article 7:23(1) Dutch Civil Code). What a pre-purchase examination can and cannot show is covered in pre-purchase vetting in the Netherlands.

Practical example: an English amateur rider buys a Dutch warmblood

Suppose an amateur event rider from Yorkshire buys a six-year-old Dutch warmblood for € 32,000 from a Gelderland dealer who runs an English-language website, advertises to British riders and arranges transport to the UK. The contract says Dutch law applies. Two months after arrival, a vet finds a condition she says existed at the sale.

She buys as a consumer from a dealer who directs his activities to the UK. Before a Dutch court, Rome I applies: without the clause, English law would govern (Article 6(1)), and the choice of Dutch law cannot deprive her of the mandatory protection of English law (Article 6(2)). The dealer knew the horse was for her personal use, so the CISG does not apply (Article 2(a)). She can sue the dealer in the Netherlands (Brussels Ia Article 4). Suing in England is a question of English law.

This is a hypothetical example for illustration only, not a real case.

What should you agree before the horse leaves the Netherlands?

Agree in writing which law applies, which court has jurisdiction, whether the CISG is excluded and whether you buy as a consumer or as a business.

A choice of law and a choice of court can be part of the sale contract itself (Rome I Article 3(1); Brussels Ia Article 25(1)). What else belongs in the contract is set out in our guide to the horse sale contract in the Netherlands. The practical steps of a purchase are covered in purchase of a horse in the Netherlands, and risk on the road in horse transport damage.

When should you involve an equine lawyer in the Netherlands?

Ideally before you sign, while you can still choose the law and the court. If a dispute has started, involve one as soon as the seller rejects your complaint or stops responding, because notice periods keep running.

Keep the advert, contract, invoices, vetting report and messages.

If something goes wrong after handover, I first put the facts and the veterinary findings in order and then write to the seller. I look for an agreement on price or return first; proceedings in another country are a means, not a goal.

How do we help international buyers of Dutch horses?

We work in three steps.

Establish the applicable law, the position under the CISG and the competent court.
Review or draft the contract, or write to the seller and negotiate if there is a dispute.
If needed, bring proceedings before the Dutch courts, at first instance and on appeal.

Buyers from the UK, the US, Germany, Belgium and elsewhere can contact us. Call +31 20 210 31 38.

Frequently asked questions about buying a horse from the Netherlands

Does Dutch law apply if I buy a horse from a Dutch dealer?

Generally yes, unless another law was chosen (Rome I Articles 3 and 4(1)(a)). If you buy privately from a dealer who is active in or targets your country and the sale falls within those activities, the law of your habitual residence applies, and a choice of Dutch law cannot remove its mandatory protection (Article 6(1) and (2)).

Does the CISG apply to a horse sold from the Netherlands to the UK?

The UK is not a Contracting State, so Article 1(1)(a) CISG does not apply. The CISG may still apply through Article 1(1)(b) if conflict rules lead to Dutch law. It does not apply to a personal-use purchase the seller knew or ought to have known about (Article 2(a)).

Can I sue a Dutch horse dealer in my own country?

Within the EU, a consumer can sue at home a dealer who targets their country, and also a dealer who sold on instalment credit terms (Brussels Ia Articles 17(1)(a) and (c), 18(1)). Outside the EU, that depends on your own country’s law. Without a clause pointing elsewhere, a Dutch seller can be sued in the Netherlands (Article 4(1)).