# Rescue legal help!



## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

Offer to buy him will probably be your best bet. If he's not legally yours you don't really have much of a say in what happens to him, no matter how bad it gets. You can also try reporting the owner to animal control, but if the ones near you are anything like the ones near me they will do little to nothing.


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## Mikew6291 (Aug 14, 2014)

TessaMay said:


> Offer to buy him will probably be your best bet. If he's not legally yours you don't really have much of a say in what happens to him, no matter how bad it gets. You can also try reporting the owner to animal control, but if the ones near you are anything like the ones near me they will do little to nothing.


He is at my farm now ( off site lease) and I'm having my vet document the neglect, and hopefully the owner has enough of a heart to not fight me on keeping him, but all 7 of the owners horses are extremely emaciated, and I'm most likely going to call animal control regardless. I wasn't sure if anyone had any experience with a similar situation.
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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

People worry about this stuff all of the time. It's true that the horse is property and unless you pay for him, he is NOT legally yours. However, your vet can attest to the neglect, and once you pump feed money and Vet bills into him, the owner will need to reimburse you to get the horse back. The only clearly doesn't have or won't spend the money to properly care for him, so it's doubtful that he or she will be able to pay you back, hence, you will own the horse in the end.
Still, pumping money into a horse that isn't currently your property is a gamble. It's like, if I understand my DD who recently took the bar, the law of adverse possession (with regards to physical property like land) states that you can own said property if you spend time and money improving it AND, after 20 years, the owner does not claim title, then YOU will have acquired title. But, this is land.
If it were me, I would think long and hard about how $much this horse is worth to you, and what your top $offer is, then contact the owner and lowball your first offer, and see what happens. We used to do this at horse/tack auctions all of the time. Sometimes we got good deals, and sometimes not, but it is a good strategy.


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## TessaMay (Jul 26, 2013)

Having a vet document is very good. Call animal control, if all of his horses are that bad, they might actually do something, but you still might have to push them to. If your vet is willing to get involved too, all the better.


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## Mikew6291 (Aug 14, 2014)

Thank you both very much! I wish I could figure out how to upload pics from my phone on here, he's in such bad shape It makes me sick to my stomach, but he is such a sweet horse and has the potential to be a great horse for my daughter to learn on. As of now he's been deformed, fungal bath, wounds treated, given weight powder, 24/7 hay from a slow feeder, minimal turn-out( he's extremely sun bleached) I'm having his teeth done, his feet done, and getting him monthly shots of pentosan. I'm hesitant to do anything more than that until I amend the lease willingly/speak to legal counsel. Thank you for the words of encouragement!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Mikew6291 (Aug 14, 2014)

Dewormed*
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Being sunbleached should be the least of your worries. I would get him as much turnout as possible. I assume your vet is on board with the horses current care?

Obviously he will need more feed and such as you go forward but I agree with waiting to see how things pan out.

What is pentosan for?

I agree with the other posters.


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## Roperchick (Feb 1, 2010)

agreed with yogiwick. he should have as much turnout time as possible. if youre that worried about sunbleaching then maybe a fly sheet will help...but weight gain should be a much bigger priority right now.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Exactly. An aesthetic human only problem is pretty irrelevant with the bigger issues.


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