abandoned horsie

[farmerlor]

Neighbor guy was getting evicted and they couldn't get this horse to get on a trailer because they were mean to her the last time they loaded her (used a cattle prod) and now they can't load her. So he wanted to know if we could keep her just a week or two until his trainer could come with him and get the horse on the trailer. I recently broke my neck in a fall from a horse so Greg won't let me out there but he's got to go to work sometime rigtht? She's had some training, good ground manners, lifts her feet, done some lunging and takes a bit. She may be ridable but I no longer have a saddle so that's the extent of my knowledge. Beautiful foundation bred paint with an *** that was made for reining, great legs for barrels and pretty enough to go through a show ring.
The problem is that this guy's couple of weeks has turned into five months and frankly as nice as she is I can't afford to feed any extra mouths over the winter. I have NO info on this guy's phone number or where he moved to. What's the next step? I'd just die if someone took her to auction but if I call the sheriff that's where she goes especially this time of year. I don't own her so I can't sell her or give her away unless I can get some sort of abandoned horse title to her. What would you do? What are my legal rights to her?

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

There is no such thing as an "abandoned horse title." All you can get to prove your ownership is a signed bill of sale from her previous owner, and if the horse is registered you can transfer their papers in to your name with a signed transfer from the current owner on the horse's papers or their authorized agent. You will need to check the laws in your state to see how long it takes for property to be considered legally abandoned. It would be a very good idea to consult the county sheriff's department, or city police depending on whose jurisdiction you are in to find out what options you have, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to a lawyer too. You will probably need to give them the exact date the horse was placed in your care, and you may need a sworn statement from the man's landlord stating that he could not for whatever reason take the horse and a confirmation of the date he left the horse behind. Don't do anything until you know for sure what the law says. If you sell her now and the owner mysteriously re-appears wanting her, there is a fair chance you could end up on the hook for stealing the horse.

 

[dainerra]

file a small claims court case against him? put a lien on the horse? all are valid possibilities. check your local laws about abandoned animals and draw up a list of your expenses for the 5 months that you have "babysat"

 

[Oregon Blues]

He was getting evicted, so that should have been your clue that he is both irresponsible and broke. But you already know you made a mistake in allowing him to unload his horse on you. If he won't pay his rent, odds are, he never paid the horse trainer, either, so the horse trainer knew better than to pick up the horse because he knew he wouldn't get paid.

If you ask around you should be able to find someone who knows where he is. The landlord who evicted him might know where he went. The court system probably knows where he is because if he didn't pay his rent, he didn't pay other people, either, and he might have judgements filed against him.

Do you know where he works?

Find him and get him to sign the horse over to you. If he won't, once you know where he is, you can take him to small claims court for the cost of the board. He won't pay you, but the court will rule that you can seize the horse, if you ask the judge to do that while you are there.

Your only other option is to turn him over to the humane society as an abandoned horse. Unless you have a boarding contract that says the horse can be seized for unpaid boarding bills, the guy can come back at any time and claim his horse. You can make arrangements to either buy the horse at the auction or find a good buyer for teh horse and have them there to bid. The horse won't go for much at auction in this economy.

 

[farmerlor]

That's a good idea because I know that the ex-landlord is involved in a lawsuit with the man so he should be able to give us an idea of where the guy lives. I'm just terrified of her going with the sheriff because she'll go to auction and end up as someone's dinner and she's just too nice a horse for that. She needs someone to ride her competitively.

 

[mickey328]

I'd suggest contacting the SPCA...they should handle the legal aspects and will care for her till she can be adopted by someone who deserves such a nice horse...it's evident the "owner" doesn't!

 

[farmerlor]

As it turns out, for those of you following the abandoned horse story, it turns out that the Denver Dumb Friends League (the people I already love as they will spay/neuter and give first shots for 10 bucks) has a new facility that is taking in horses who's owners just can't afford to feed them with hay prices the way they are. We've haven't actually made contact with them yet but I'm pretty confident that this is the answer we've been looking for. I wish I could keep her but after I broke my neck falling from a horse my husband won't even discuss that possibility so I hope she gets a really good home as she's got some excellent breeding in her for a paint.

 

[mickey328]

That's awesome! I'm glad DDFL is expanding; they do great work! We got our dog Sam from them lo these many years ago.

 

[trailchick]

Good luck with the Humane Society & the abandoned horse. ....
IT is such a shame that these parts are
soooo dry and hay has gotten so high. I am afraid it will get much worse this fall & winter.

Too bad we didnt get any moisture from Issac. One sister in ARkansas got a whole lot of rain...

Hope the brand inspector will be able to accept the change of ownership in your situation.

 

[OHGrandma]

Has she learned to load? I trained a gelding to load by putting his hay in the trailer. I blocked the hitch so the trailer wouldn't rock. It only took a few days, and no risk of injury to people. Actually, he was probably safer because he took his own time.