horse papers??????

Ok I have a question:

If someone you know who owns horses has just previously gone to jail and his wife and his name is on the horses papers but the papers have gone missing who has ownership on the horses.
I don't think these horses are being treated properly but how can I have any rights if the papers are missing?
Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can go about ownership or if I can change ownership. I have autherisation from the owner himself but as I mentioned previously his wifes name is also on these missing papers.
Any suggestions are welcome,
Thanks

The fact that the papers are missing doesn't mean a lot since a request to the particular breed association can produce duplicate papers. Whoever's name(s) are on those papers are the legal owners.

If there is a problem concerning abuse then there are proper legal steps that can be taken.

To have papers transfered into your name you need to get a transfer application from the society where the horse in registered, and the horse needs to be signed over to you by all the owners holding a share in the horse as stated on the papers. Usually you also need a wintnesses signature to state that the owners were the ones to sign the transfer to prevent fraud.

Believe it or not, no witness signature is required for transfer in the AQHA and I believe in the APHA.

or in the ASHA. :)

Btw...are you sure you want to get right in the middle of their mess? I'd probably call local humane society authorities if I were concerned about the horse's welfare

A bill of sale is actually better proof of ownership than a registration certificate, if you have one.
And per a previous post, no witness is required on the transfer papers for AQHA/APHA and if the certifcate lists more than one owner, only ONE needs to sign.

For AQHA you don't need a witness but I had been sold a horse with a forged siggy and they caught it right away and contacted the real owners!