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Legal matters

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I sold a pony at 14 without my mum knowing

12 replies

123Bt · 29/11/2025 22:59

I put my pony up for loan which my mum agreed to and she got loaned out . Further on down the line she asked to buy it off me and I said yes (I was 14) and my mum didn’t know I sold her . My mum was thinking of getting her back as she’s getting old and wants her to spend her old days with us as we had her from birth. I told my mum that she asked to buy and I said yes .the woman kept sending pictures but after abit she kept sending the same one so my mum got abit suspicious of that too .She’s been gone for 5 years we don’t know where she is so my mum text the woman, where is the pony and she said she is hers, and doesn’t need to tell us anything as the horse is hers.
Can Somone buy a horse off a 14 year old.
my mums name was on the passport too.

OP posts:
Peoplemakemedespair · 29/11/2025 23:02

Did she actually give money for the pony? What is the desired outcome for you here? To still get the pony back? I’d feel bad for your mum having her from birth, but she’s not bothered to check on her for 5 years…

Divebar2021 · 29/11/2025 23:06

Blimey it’s all a bit irregular. I think if you have a record of conversation agreeing to the sale and money exchanged hands then you’re going to be tricky position getting her back. ( snd it would be expensive ). When you had the initial loan who dealt with the arrangements for that ? Who was the woman speaking to?

203percent · 29/11/2025 23:09

Surely it was your mum's to sell?
I know nothing about horses but is the passport evidence of ownership (like a V5?)

How much did you sell it for & what did you do with the cash?!

ComtesseDeSpair · 29/11/2025 23:21

A minor can’t enter into a contract to sell something, the buyer was in the wrong here (and almost certainly chose to “negotiate” with a child rather than their parent because I doubt very much a naive child got the true sale value for that pony.) Any sale is void.

Practically, recovery is going to be difficult. It’s been five years, at no point in which has your mum taken a material interest in the pony she believes she owns and has loaned out. The buyer - if you were able to locate them - can easily claim that your mum sold her the pony and that will be difficult to challenge at this stage.

A BHS passport is not legal proof of ownership, so can’t be used to prove whether either your mum or the new keeper who must have had it updated with their details owns the pony.

Peoplemakemedespair · 30/11/2025 00:31

ComtesseDeSpair · 29/11/2025 23:21

A minor can’t enter into a contract to sell something, the buyer was in the wrong here (and almost certainly chose to “negotiate” with a child rather than their parent because I doubt very much a naive child got the true sale value for that pony.) Any sale is void.

Practically, recovery is going to be difficult. It’s been five years, at no point in which has your mum taken a material interest in the pony she believes she owns and has loaned out. The buyer - if you were able to locate them - can easily claim that your mum sold her the pony and that will be difficult to challenge at this stage.

A BHS passport is not legal proof of ownership, so can’t be used to prove whether either your mum or the new keeper who must have had it updated with their details owns the pony.

Edited

The first paragraph is wrong.
The whole thing is a legal grey area op that will have to go to court (if your mum pursues it) and will come down to the judges common sense. I do agree in this case that the time lapse and the fact that it’s a living animal means that it’s likely not in your mums favour. I’m guessing she’s likely to find out the truth soon?

mumofsevenfluffs · 30/11/2025 00:37

How much did you receive versus what this horse was really worth

marmalade007 · 30/11/2025 01:02

What is a horse passport? Unless they are thoroughbreds or harness racing / stallions for breeding lines , horses around here just get sold to whoever wants them.

StrangePaint · 30/11/2025 01:05

Get this moved to The Tack Room board, OP. Lots of peiole knowledgeable about buying and selling horses there.

Carycach4 · 30/11/2025 04:20

Why did you sell something that didn't belong to you and steal the proceeds? You were 14 at the time-well over the age of criminal responsibility. No excuse.
Children have the capacity to enter into contracts for the buying and selling of goodsand do so millions of times a day whenever they go to a shop.

Silverbirchleaf · 30/11/2025 05:00

I don’t know anything about horse passports. But it’s been five years. Surely your mum should have acted five years ago? Did your mum think the horse was still loaned out? Maybe she should have had a greater interest then, rather than leaving it up to her teenage daughter.

BrucesBarAndGrill · 30/11/2025 08:44

What happened to the money you got from the sale?

Who received money from the loaning of the pony?

AgentLisbon · 30/11/2025 09:28

A contract entered into by a minor isn’t automatically void but it is voidable (other than in very limited circumstances that wouldn’t apply here) ie the minor has the right to unwind it (which would usually include returning the money you received). That right lasts until a “reasonable time” after the minor turns 18. How long a “reasonable time” is isn’t black and white and will depend on a judge’s assessment but assuming you are now over 18 the time may or may not have passed for you to avoid the contract.

So there’s some nuance as to your legal position that a solicitor would need to advise properly on and that’s before you get into the practicalities of enforcing those rights.

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