# Horse Deposit?



## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

If you've picked out a specific horse then yes a deposit would be normal. You write up a contract with the deposit. Usually if the buyer backs out for no good reason then yes they lose it. If it's the seller that backs out of the contract or say the purchase depends on the horse being able to pass a vet exam and it doesn't, then the deposit is refunded.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

A deposit is fair but that far in the future does sound odd to me. Hopefully someone else will chime in?

I guess it depends on the exact situation.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

If the horse is on the market and you can't purchase until spring a deposit and probably board fees up until then would be the way I would do it.

If the horse is not on the market, then no deposit should be required, because there should not be other buyers.

I guess a lot will depend on the particular circumstances.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

When I bought my mare I couldn't take her for 6 weeks and they agreed to keep her for me, when I picked her up I added another $200 to the purchase price to help pay for the feed. They didn't ask for anything but I thought that was fair.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

When I bought my mare I couldn't pick her up for 6 weeks and they agreed to keep her for me, when I picked her up I added $200 to the purchase price to help with the feed. They didn't ask for anything but I thought that was fair.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

FWIW for my sheep I ask for a 50% non refundable deposit. They are welcome to pay more than 50% but I would gladly refund that if there was an issue. If there was an issue on my end causing the buyer to not want to buy I would also refund the full amount.

It makes sense for a few weeks or a month, I guess it's just throwing me off because you're talking 4/5 months which is awhile!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

When you want to buy "in utero" it's very normal to pay a non-refundable deposit. I would want at least 50% down and payments monthly so that at weaning the foal was paid in full. I said a non-refundable deposit, but that's only if the buyer doesn't perform. If the horse slips the foal then I would give the buyer a couple of choices. 

#1. Refund of all deposit money

#2. Choice of another foal in utero (if I put more than one mare in foal that year)

#3. Rebreed the mare who slipped and they could have next year's foal (Rebreed once I've had the mare thoroughly checked to see if we can find a reason she lost the foal.)

That's for a mare that I already had in foal. If the buyer comes to me and asks that I put a certain mare in foal to a certain stallion so they can buy that foal, I treat it like a breed lease and there are deposits, costs and insurance that come into play at that point.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Dreamcatcher what about a horse you already own that the buyer can't/won't pick up for whatever reason for 4/5 months? That sounds a lot more iffy to me.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Yogiwick said:


> Dreamcatcher what about a horse you already own that the buyer can't/won't pick up for whatever reason for 4/5 months? That sounds a lot more iffy to me.


As long as the horse is paid in full and they pay monthly board, I wouldn't have a problem keeping it. The key point for me is, they have become the legal owner of the horse and are paying me to board it. I would not hold a horse for any amount of time at all without payment in full. When I put a horse up for sale, it's either paid for or it's still for sale until someone pays the amount I'm asking.


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## dlady (Apr 13, 2013)

When I bought my 2nd horse, my pasture was not even fenced in yet. Got my 1st horse 2 weeks before then which was in training for 60 days. Anyway, the previous owner of the 2nd horse kept him there for 30 days which was in the original sales agreement free of charge, but I did supply food since I didn't like what they were feeding, sweet feed. I went there everyday after work and we became good friends and still visit and ride together. When I went to pick up my horse, I gave the wife a saddle that I had that she loved riding in.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I think a lot of terms will depend on whether the person is a business or a hobby farm, a breeder or just has a horse for sale, different things like that.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Personally I wouldn't pay a deposit on a foal in utero to much can go wrong.

The foal might have a twisted leg, be sickly and so many other things, as long as it is alive you more or less have to purchase it. 

I would only pay a deposit on a live foal that I had seen and liked amd then part of me buying it would be that they keep it for free until weaning.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Foxhunter said:


> Personally I wouldn't pay a deposit on a foal in utero to much can go wrong.
> 
> The foal might have a twisted leg, be sickly and so many other things, as long as it is alive you more or less have to purchase it.
> 
> I would only pay a deposit on a live foal that I had seen and liked amd then part of me buying it would be that they keep it for free until weaning.


Foxhunter, when you go out looking for a horse, that's pretty much how you would do it. Seller has a horse, buyer wants a horse but there are certain conditions. 

In the case of "In utero" sales, it's usually because the horse is sired by a top champion stallion and out of a really exceptional mare. More often than not, it's going to be a halter horse in my experience. By buying in utero, the buyer saves considerable money over the purchase price if you wait until the foal is on the ground and/or weaned. A really competitive foal will sell for $30K in top halter circles but if bought in utero can frequently be had for less than $10K. 

Usually the contracts are written up so that the buyer is protected from a gross defect (or at least mine always were). And of course, a reputable seller won't force a sale. I had one where the colt didn't get colostrum when he was born, took him in and had him given plasma and he stayed for 10 days. TECHNICALLY I could have called the owner and said, "Your colt needs X and it's going to cost X, call the vet." but I didn't. I covered the whole cost because I had promised a healthy colt that could go on to be competitive. The buyer was nervous about future health (there was no secondary infection because I caught everything right away), so I let her out of the contract. I later sold that colt for 5X what I would have gotten from the original buyer. So, it all works out.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I understand the reasoning, and if there is an agreement whereby the foal has to be healthy and live to a certain age, then OK but not unless!


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Foxhunter said:


> I understand the reasoning, and if there is an agreement whereby the foal has to be healthy and live to a certain age, then OK but not unless!


I don't know about others, but I wouldn't do it any other way. Otherwise it's just too risky for the buyer.


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