I got two horses in January for free. The lady was a little weird and they weren't in the best of shape (Were slightly skinny, scares, and rain rot) but I really wanted them. Since then they have gained some weight and lost their winter coats, hence leading to the discovery of an Oldenburg in my pasture. It was a big shock and now i'm trying to get her history. I have sent in the identification papers to the registry (costing me 40 bucks) but they couldn't find anything with the little information that i could give them. So I called up the crazy lady that they came from. I didn't tell her the real reason i wanted the info in case she wanted them back. Instead I told her that i wanted to know the previous owner so that I could get the vet records on them because it looks like the thoroughbred had surgery and possibly some joint problems. Anyways the lady freaked out at me and told me that she has a rule and it's if you get any horses from her, you don't get any of their history. I thought this was really odd and still pressed for more info. After a while she still wouldn't budge but had accidently slipped that she had gotten them a couple of months before us from a friend that had gotten them from some people that had "starved them to nothing" a couple of months before that(I know poor guys they have gone threw a lot in the past year:-(). Then finally she told me that she would talk to her friend and get back to me and tell me if she can tell where they got them. The fact that she has to ask her friend if it is all right to tell really scares me. It has pasted the time that she was supposed to call me and i have a feeling she isn't going to give anything up. What should i do? I've thought about putting up ads asking if people know anything about them, but i keep wondering what if they stole them. I have no way of proving that i got them from anyone (the lady wouldn't give a bill of sale). I don't want to get in trouble with the law but i REALLY want to know about them. I have never had a registered horse before and would die to have her papers. Please help! What should i do? here is a video of the two. The chestnut is the Oldenburg and the brown is the thoroughbred. Keep in mind that they were skinny when we got them (Vet is coming out soon to see if they need their teeth floated) and are still working at putting weight on them. YouTube - my horses
The woman you got these horses from is under no obligation to give you any information concerning their previous owners. If she does, just consider it a bonus. If she doesn't, oh well.
You weren't concerned about the horses being stolen until you discovered that maybe one of them is worth something? If they were stolen, you're morally obligated to give them back to their rightful owner, not try and somehow get registration papers.
If the mare is registered and these horses were stolen, you wouldn't get her papers anyway. What you might get is a big fat lawsuit for receiving stolen goods.
I would give them back if they were stolen. It is the right thing to do. I don't even know if they were I'm just worried because of the ladies behavior. It was a bit odd and guarded. I've talked to the Oldenburg registry and they said that they could provide me the papers and history on her. I don't just want her papers though I also want to know her training. When i ride her she seems very well trained in jumpers. I want to know why she ended up in the situation that she did.
My only question is why would this lady give you no bill of sale? Even is she will give you no further information about their previous owners or care, a bill of sale is the only way to have legal proof of owning these horses. If they are stolen from someone because of their condition, the real owners might be looking for them.
My other comment would be if the lady who gave them to you would not give a bill of sale, I would question whether she is going to reclaim them AFTER you have cleaned them up and gotten them fat and healthy.
Try putting an ad on craigslist to see if you can find any information about them. Hopefully they weren't stolen. I don't see a video or pictures. I look forward to hearing about you unsolved mystery about your horses...the lady sounds a little shady and I wouldn't trust her.
The former owner isn't calling me back so I think that i'll just drop the subject for now and enjoy the horse for what she is. There isn't any reported stolen horses that look identical to her, or the thoroughbred that she came with, on the internet either. That is a huge relieve for me. Hopefully something will come up, but I'm kind of scared of what I'll find if I dig too deep.
The thing i would most be worried about is no bill of sale, that would scare me. I would push for a bill of sale if i were you, just so she cant take them back from you.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned it, but in the description in the youtube video it states that the tb is an ex-racehorse? Is the lip tattoo visible? because if it is then that's probably the easiest way to get info on your horses.
I've been trying to figure out her tattoo, but it has faded alot and is hard to read. Do you think you guys could help me if i post a pic of it on here?
i think you should press for a bill of sale! she could claim them if she wanted to! I could try help with the tattoo but i don't know alot about those so i may not be the biggest help...
I leased a TB mare that turned out to be stolen and had to give her back. Found out by reading the lip tattoo and checking it out. By doing some lengthy backtracking, we found out she'd been through at least 4 different people after she was stolen. She'd been missing for almost 3 yrs. I never ever take a horse onto my property without a bill of sale. Too risky. You could be held accountable is someone comes looking, even if you did nothing wrong. If you have a stolen horse, without a bill of sale, you have no proof that you weren't the one who did the stealing. And you're right, the lady does seem to be acting suspiciously if what you say of the conversation is true.
If I was there, I wouldn't have gotten them if the lady hadn't given me a bill of sale right away. But I wasn't there when my dad brought them home. It was sort of a surprise. A big one for me since I didn't want nor need two more horses. I grew to love them anyways and I did press for a bill of sale. Leaving messages and going over to the lady's farm, but she was never there and would never return my calls. Eventually I just gave up on the matter. It's been seven months now and I would feel a little weird asking for one now.
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