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  Discussion on Yearling filly sold at Auction, buyer calls 7 weeks later saying she has developed EPM.
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Posted on Monday, Apr 9, 2001 - 11:59 pm:

We are from Washington and consigned a quality 12 month old Paint breeding stock filly to a catalogued AQHA/APHA auction in Oregon. We were the breeders of this filly and she had always been healthy for us, never any signs of sickness or lameness. Several people commented that she was one of the prettiest yearlings at the sale, in excellent condition and a great body. She was purchased by a buyer from Idaho. Seven weeks have passed and he just called to say the filly has developed EPM. He said two vets have told him this since she can't move her head up past her shoulders, head and body turning to one side, stumbles. He also said they have never had EPM in their area. The vets told him the stress of hauling has brought it on. He admitted that we were honest in everything we told him about the filly. But he wants to know what we are going to do about it?? We sold a healthy horse to the best of our knowledge and do not feel obligated to refund any money. We have never had a horse with EPM, have lived at our current address almost 12 years and have not seen an oppusum on our place. We contacted our vet's office and they said there is not that many cases in the county we live in, that the horse was sold at an auction with no guarantees. Also the buyer mentioned he has not had her spinal fluid tested, that there is no cure for her. I wonder how familier the vets in his area are with EPM if they have never had a case in the area. I read the article EPM, Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis by Dr. Oglesby and under the subheading HISTORY it mentioned experiments in foals have shown that symptoms of EPM occur 4 to 7 weeks after exposure to the organism. Since it has been seven weeks since the auction, is it possible she was exposed there? Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 10, 2001 - 11:30 am:

If I'd bought the filly, I would confirm the diagnosis with a spinal tap at the best qualified facility I could find (here it would be our local vet school).

Unless there is something special about the terms of the auction sale, I would not have even contacted you until the diagnosis was confirmed.

At that point, I would have called, only to let you know that there was a problem so you could watch for it in your other horses and make any adjustments necessary to the environment or care.

I would not normally expect any financial renumeration from an auction purchase.

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 10, 2001 - 5:45 pm:

Yes it is possible that she was exposed there using the experimental data we have. But that should not be the main point of your argument. You sold a horse you believed to be in good health but with no guarantees. An unfortunate thing has happened, it is still unsure what, but you are not responsible in any case unless you have somehow caused the misdeed or mislead the buyer.
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 10, 2001 - 9:58 pm:

Thanks for the input. I talked to a lawyer today that I do some work for. She actually represented the seller in a case where the buyer came back a year later on a private sale and tried to sue the seller because the horse had developed EPM. The buyer lost the case. But she said regardless we sold a healthy horse to the best of our knowledge and the auction has no guarentees, we should respond in that manner. I'm still trying to contact the sale manager to see if she has dealt with this before.
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