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Selling a horse in the Netherlands does not oblige you to take it back because the buyer wants to return it. The buyer must show that the horse did not conform to the contract at delivery and must have complained in time. As a lawyer at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, I assess the complaint and draft your reply to the buyer’s notice of default.
A letter from the buyer’s lawyer is unsettling. The right sequence keeps you in control: rules first, then facts, then the reply. For the wider picture, see our overview of Dutch equine law.
Can a buyer simply return a horse under Dutch law?
No. Regret, or a rider who does not get on with the horse, is not a legal ground in itself. The buyer needs a defect that existed at delivery, proved by the buyer or, in a consumer sale, presumed for one year.
The horse must have the qualities the buyer was entitled to expect under the contract, taking into account the nature of the animal and what you said about it (Article 7:17(2) Dutch Civil Code). Animals are not things, but the rules on things apply to them in principle (Article 3:2a). The buyer can terminate (ontbinden) for a failure to perform, but not where the failure is of minor importance (Article 6:265(1)).
One exception: if you sell as a business to a consumer at a distance, through an organised system such as a webshop, or off your business premises, the consumer can in principle withdraw without giving reasons within fourteen days of receiving the horse (Article 6:230o).
Is your sale a consumer sale?
It is if you sell as a dealer, yard or professional rider to a private individual buying for personal use. If you sell privately, it is not. That one distinction decides most of the answers below.
A consumer sale is a sale by a seller acting for business or professional purposes to a natural person acting outside any business or profession (Article 7:5(1)(a)). If a dealer sells your horse as your agent, the sale also counts as a consumer sale, unless the buyer knew you were a private seller (Article 7:5(2)).
| Private seller | Business seller to a consumer | |
|---|---|---|
| Who proves the defect | the buyer (Article 150 CCP) | presumed if it appears within one year of delivery (Article 7:18a(2)) |
| Notice period | within a reasonable time (Article 7:23(1)) | within a reasonable time of discovery; two months is in time (Article 7:23(1)) |
| Excluding liability | possible in principle | not to the buyer’s detriment (Article 7:6(1)) |
| Termination | for failure to perform and default, not if minor (Article 6:265) | repair or replacement first, except in the cases of Article 7:22(5) |
Without a choice of law, a sale is governed by the law of the seller’s habitual residence, but a consumer is in principle protected by the law of their habitual residence if you pursue or direct your business there and the sale falls within that activity (Rome I, Articles 4(1)(a) and 6(1)); see which law applies.
What does the buyer have to prove?
The buyer must in principle prove that the horse was defective at delivery. In a consumer sale this is presumed if the defect appears within one year, unless you prove otherwise or the nature of the horse or defect rules it out.
The general rule is that a party relying on the legal consequences of facts it asserts must prove them (Article 150 Code of Civil Procedure). The consumer presumption is in Article 7:18a(2). The EU directive allowed member states to exclude live animals (Article 3(5) Directive 2019/771); the Netherlands did not, and a bill for a six-month period was rejected in 2025 (parliamentary paper 36 163). The one-year period applies to horses too.
For a horse, the “nature of the defect” exception matters: an injury can occur after delivery, and behaviour can change with a new yard, rider or routine. Build your defence on records from before the sale: the vetting report and X-rays, training and competition records, videos, and statements from your vet, farrier and riders.
How a vetting works as evidence, and when the vet is liable, is covered in pre-purchase vetting in the Netherlands.
Did the buyer complain in time?
The buyer must notify you within a reasonable time after discovering the defect, or after it should reasonably have been discovered; a late notice loses the claim. In a consumer sale, two months from discovery is in time.
That is Article 7:23(1). But if the horse lacks a quality you promised, or the defect concerns facts you knew or should have known and did not disclose, the period runs only from actual discovery. In a consumer sale, that is always the case.
Does “sold as seen” protect you?
Between private parties or between businesses, an exclusion of liability can work in principle, within the limits of reasonableness and fairness. In a consumer sale it cannot. What works in every case is disclosing a known finding clearly before the sale.
In a consumer sale, the rules on conformity cannot be varied to the buyer’s detriment (Article 7:6(1)). Otherwise, an exclusion does not apply to the extent that relying on it would be unacceptable by standards of reasonableness and fairness (Article 6:248(2)). Concealing a known defect also exposes you to annulment for fraud or mistake (Articles 3:44 and 6:228).
If you disclose a finding, such as an X-ray result, the buyer cannot in principle rely on it later (Article 7:17(5)). In a consumer sale, the buyer must have been expressly informed and must have expressly and separately accepted the deviation (Article 7:18(6)). The buyer’s side of these rules is set out in our page on the purchase of a horse in the Netherlands.
Has a buyer sent you a complaint or a notice of default? Have your reply reviewed by our equine lawyer before the deadline in the letter expires.
How should you respond to a notice of default?
Reply within the deadline, in writing and in neutral terms. Admit nothing you cannot assess, but do not refuse outright either: a clear refusal can put you in default immediately. Where possible, offer an examination or treatment.
A notice of default (ingebrekestelling) is a written demand giving a reasonable period for performance (Article 6:82(1)). Default occurs without notice if the buyer must conclude from your statement that you will not perform (Article 6:83(c)). A practical sequence:
- Record the dates: delivery, first complaint, letter, deadline.
- Ask for the evidence: vet reports and images. A party with sufficient interest is entitled to a copy of data about the legal relationship (Article 194(1) CCP).
- Secure your own evidence of the horse’s condition at delivery.
- Offer an independent examination. In a consumer sale the buyer can first demand repair or replacement (Article 7:21); termination or a price reduction in principle comes only after that (Article 7:22(2)).
- Reserve your rights and explore a solution, such as a joint examination or a price adjustment.
What happens if the sale is terminated, and when are claims time-barred?
After termination, the sale is unwound: the horse goes back and you repay the price. Claims and defences based on non-conformity become time-barred two years after the buyer’s notice, but the period does not run while your intent prevents the buyer from exercising their rights.
Termination releases both parties, and performance already rendered must be undone (Article 6:271). In a consumer sale, the buyer returns the horse at your expense and you repay on receipt (Article 7:22(7)). If the horse cannot be returned, for example because it has died, its value takes its place (Article 6:272). Damages are owed for a failure attributable to you (Article 6:74). On limitation, see Article 7:23(2) and (3); even afterwards, the buyer can still set off a price reduction or damages against a claim for the price.
Practical example: an international yard and a buyer living in Utrecht
Suppose a dressage yard in Brabant, run by a Danish rider, sells a ten-year-old schoolmaster to a British amateur who has lived in Utrecht for years. Eight months later the buyer reports bucking and refusing, and demands in a notice of default that the yard takes the horse back within fourteen days.
This is a consumer sale under Dutch law: the buyer’s habitual residence, not her nationality, counts (Rome I, Article 6(1)), and both parties are in the Netherlands. The defect is presumed to have existed at delivery (Article 7:18a(2)). The yard replies in time, asks for the vet’s findings and offers an independent examination. Videos of the horse working calmly before the sale, and a new routine since, may help the yard prove otherwise.
This is a hypothetical example for illustration only, not a real case.
When should a seller involve a Dutch lawyer?
As soon as a written complaint or notice of default arrives, and before you respond on the merits. A careless first reply can put you in default (Article 6:83(c)) or admit something you cannot take back later.
I first put the sale contract, the vetting and the complaint side by side. Then you know whether the buyer has a point and how strong it is. If there is one, I look for a solution that protects your reputation in the horse world. If there is none, I tell the buyer so clearly on your behalf.
How do we help sellers of horses?
We take over the correspondence with the buyer or their lawyer, so that you can carry on with your business or your next horse:
- Review the complaint, the contract, the vetting and the deadlines.
- Draft a measured reply to the notice of default, with a proposal for an examination or a solution.
- Negotiate and, if necessary, defend you in court.
We act before the Dutch courts at first instance and on appeal; see also disputes in the horse industry in the Netherlands. To prevent the next one, see what belongs in a horse sale contract under Dutch law.
Frequently asked questions about selling a horse and buyer complaints
Can a buyer return a horse because they changed their mind?
No. The buyer must show that the horse did not conform at delivery (Article 7:17 Dutch Civil Code) and must have complained in time (Article 7:23(1)). Only in a distance or off-premises sale by a business to a consumer can the buyer in principle withdraw within fourteen days without reasons (Article 6:230o).
How long is a seller liable after selling a horse in the Netherlands?
There is no fixed warranty period. In a consumer sale, the presumption of non-conformity lasts one year from delivery (Article 7:18a(2)). Claims become time-barred two years after the buyer’s notice (Article 7:23(2)).
Can a private seller sell a horse “as seen” without any warranty?
In principle yes, because a private sale is not a consumer sale (Article 7:5(1)). Relying on the exclusion can be unacceptable, though (Article 6:248(2)), for example if you concealed a defect you knew of.
Do I have to respond to a buyer’s notice of default?
Yes, within the deadline. Do not refuse outright, because a clear refusal can put you in default (Article 6:83(c)). Ask for the evidence and offer an independent examination.
Primary sources
- Dutch Civil Code Book 3: Article 3:2a, 3:44
- Dutch Civil Code Book 6: Article 6:74, 6:82, 6:83, 6:228, 6:230o, 6:248, 6:265, 6:271, 6:272
- Dutch Civil Code Book 7: Article 7:5, 7:6, 7:17, 7:18, 7:18a, 7:21, 7:22, 7:23
- Dutch Code of Civil Procedure: Article 150, 194
- Rome I Regulation (EC) No 593/2008, Articles 4 and 6; Directive (EU) 2019/771, Article 3
Does the buyer of your horse want to undo the sale? Send me the letter before the deadline expires: call +31 20 210 31 38 or email mail@maakadvocaten.nl. — Faranaz Ishak
