Do I have a small claims case over horse euthanasia costs?

[Annywell]

Just wanting some thoughts please.
I loaned my 22 yr old mare to a lady and we signed a British horse society loan agreement. This stated that she should have full insurance and she should use a particular vet. It said I should pay for euthanasia, if necessary, but we changed it to say ‘unless insurance covers’ which it would normally do with full insurance. Very sadly my girl had to be euthanised after 3 months due to collapsed discs. I had been told all was fine but it turned out that they had seen some behaviour changes, which I wasn’t told about until after a vet had done xrays and the vet felt my mare should be put to sleep. This was not the vet we had agreed upon and I hadn’t been told of any change. There was less than 24hrs between my phone call, once I had been to see the horse and her being put to sleep and I didn’t know that the loaner hadn’t got proper insurance. I have now had a £630 and asked the loaner to contribute £200 She is refusing. Does anyone know if I have a case if I go to the small claims court please?

I think you needed to specify that the insurance needed to cover PTS costs, rather than "unless insurance covers it" as one version of comprehensive cover will not be the same as another. So I don't think you'll get anywhere here.

On the face of it, if she breached the agreement by failing to have full insurance and the full insurance required under the agreement would have covered euthanasia then you may well have a case. It does depend on the exact wording of the agreement and insurance requirements. I don’t completely agree with @Chunkyblacklabin that I don’t think the clause you cite needs to refer to insurance covering PTS costs (albeit it would be helpful if it did) but I do agree it’s the the nature of the insurance required that might be key.

Have you priced up how much itd cost to go small claims? Might not be worth and I agree the wording is slightly vague with the 'unless insurance covers'. It implies could get insurance that doesnt to me

You should put animal in the title otherwise people will assume the thread is about human euthanasia.

Speak to the British Horse Society, surely as a member you have legal advise from them. That’s one of the purposes of such societies

My thoughts are why was a 22yo mare still working. Hadn't she earned a retirement?

What a silly comment. If she was fit and enjoying work, at whatever level that might have been, why retire her for the sake of it?

Because she had an arthritic back, which the amount of work she did irritated. Horses are 'put out to pasture'.
BTW did you mean to be so rude?

My horse was still enjoying her work. I loaned her for hacking and light schooling. Like people different horses need different things at different times in their life. I have another horse, who is 18, and he has been retired in the field for a year. Unfortunately the people who loaned this horse didn’t keep her in the light, consistent work that she needed. If we had known she had a problem with her back I wouldn’t have loaned her out. She had had her hocks x rayed and treated 5 years before, obviously under vet recommendation but her back had seemed good.

Please see my post above. Ii have another horse retired in the field, at 17, this one still loved her work and left the yard every morning with her ears pricked looking for her next adventure.

How do I edit please? I am new to this!

I am not a member, it is just an online agreement written by the BHS.

I don’t think there would be any insurance policies available to cover an elderly horse and euthanasia costs and if you could get it fees would be extremely high. It’s fairly standard for owners to pay euthanasia costs for horses on loan.

sorry for your loss but I don’t think you have a case here

I think the reference to ‘small claims’ (a UK court) makes it pretty clear we’re probably not talking about human euthanasia (illegal in the UK) here.

Hi all,
We have amended the title a little at the OP's request, hope that's useful! Commiserations regarding your lovely old girl. 🌷

So you loaned her a lnackered old horse which required euthanasia and you are expecting her to pay??
I dont think you have much of a case.

sorry for your loss.
sounds like the loaner was treating the horse like her own when it wasn’t. she didn't do what she’d signed she would.

you dont just get someones horse pts without them coming down to see her and discuss with their own vet etc to be really really really sure this is the only route.

i think you need proper legal advice as to whether the contract would be binding or not. There could be something missing that means you can claim, perhaps a witness signature or somethimg.

legally things that seem straight cut can be the opposite to what you expect.

It's pretty rude to assume you know more about the horse and what is best for maintaining their fitness and enthusiasm for life than the owner...

Unlikely to have much impact to be honest and I would just write it up as one of those things. Unfortunately no matter how water tight contracts look on paper, when our horses leave our care our ability to influence outcomes and recoup money is significantly reduced. By the time you have gone through the cost and hassle of small claims, most of your £200 will have been spent with no guarantee of return.

So sorry for your loss.

What a horrible thing to say.
Someone recommended I asked this question on here to get some intelligent advice. I may as well have gone of FB if I was looking for this sort of spite.
I loaned a fit, happy 22 year old horse, who still had a zest for life, to a woman who said her daughter just wanted a nice horse to hack around the countryside and do a little bit of schooling. She knew the horse’s age and that she needed calm but consistent work. Instead they didn’t exercise her for weeks and weeks and then expected to just get on and ride when her muscles had all softened. This wasn’t about age so much as welfare. Horses get injured at any age and I knew the risks just as she did, hence the insurance requirement and contract. Many horses do not enjoy retirement and this was one of them.
The horse was not ‘knackered’. She was fit and well with healthy organs and limbs and no I didn’t expect her to pay for euthanasia I expected her, as agreed, to pay for full insurance and , now she hasn’t, I am asking her to pay a contribution towards costs I shouldn’t have had.

ignore the daft comments, it’s entirely normal for a horse that age to still be in work, and much better for them.
However she was unlikely to get insurance cover to include being PTS as a new policy holder for an older horse. If she did it would have cost a fortune.
So ultimately i think it’s reasonable for you to pay the costs of having her PTS.

I was coming here to say this too. The loaner did nothing to warrant your horse being PTS that was down to the horse having a chronic condition, which she had when you loaned her out. I cannot imagine any insurance company paying for euthanasia in these circumstances (willing to be proved wrong on that though).

That's certainly one way of looking at it. Another is that she loaned out a safe and steady older horse that someone could have enjoyed quiet hacks on but instead, they over-did the work and caused injury and/or an old condition to flare up.

Do you work hard at being a prick, or does it come naturally?

I can see your point but my mare had never been diagnosed with any issue and had not shown any signs of having any issues. Regular work and consistent physio that kept her muscle tone strong and had always kept her fit and well. Like older people horses can stay strong and well in old age and the need for consistency had been made clear, not just for the horse’s back but for her whole body. Anyway, thank you for your thoughts.