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  Discussion on Sold with navicular, anything I can do?
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Posted on Tuesday, Jun 19, 2001 - 3:47 pm:

I just bought a 8 year old quarter horse to show hunter jumper, ever since I brought him home to my barn he has been lame. So the vet came out to check him and he was diagnosed with navicular disease. The vet tolkd me that it was advance and that he had it much before I bought him. Can I take the people to small claims court? What else should I do?

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 20, 2001 - 8:26 am:

It probably depends on what type guarantees were given and can you prove it.
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 20, 2001 - 3:16 pm:

Well, in the U.S. it seems anyone can sue anyone.
The question becomes whether a suit can be successful.

Have you contacted the seller and told them the problem?

What were the terms of sale?

Were these documented in a bill of sale?

How long have you had the horse?

Did you arrange a pre-purchase exam?

How was the horse diagnosed? - navicular is one of those diagnoses that bascially say "it hurts the horse there" and "we think he has degenerative navicular synDrOme."

The legal implications will vary depending on the state you are in and the answers to the above questions. Also, you may have up front legal fees associated with hiring a lawyer and suing - how would these compare to the purchase price of the horse? Is it worth spending more money into this?

All that said, it may be well worth a second vet's opinion, depending on how this one arrived at his/her diagnoses and what diagnostic tests he/she used. Carrying the horse to a vet school or lameness specialty clinic may be worthwhile, too. It depends on what you are willing to spend.

Finally, sometimes a lameness improves via the "benign neglect" routine of pulling shoes and leaving the horse out for a few months.

If you've not contacted the seller, you may be surprised at their willingness to work with you. This would be more likely if 1) they've a business and reputation to protect and 2) your purchase was recent.

Also, somewhere on Dr. O's site are links to an lawyer/service that attempts to settle horse related differences via negotiation. It may be worth checking that service or something similar out. I would think the legal fees for that would be substantially less than filing a suit.

I am sorry about your horse. I know it is frustrating.
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