Equine Law Blog

How to Enforce a “Live Foal Guarantee” in a Horse Sale

In the horse industry, sellers sometimes offer mares for sale as a “2-in-1 package” where the mare is represented as being in foal.  But what if the mare fails to carry a foal to term?  What if the foal dies soon after the birth?  Can a mare owner enforce a “live foal guarantee” on a breeding that he or she never arranged?  Mare owners have options.

• Pay the Stud Fee and Sue the Seller for Reimbursement.  This option will depend on the terms of the sale agreement, how important the “2-in-1 package” was to the buyer, and state law.   Also, if the seller refuses to help secure a re-breed right, the buyer might want to paying the stud fee now because timing can be critical in horse breeding and the buyer is mitigating his or her losses in that manner.
• Sue to Enforce the Breeding Contract.  This option might make sense if the contract is understandable and clear.
• Sue the Seller to Recover the Overpayment.  If the buyer cannot get the re-breed right honored, or does like the other options, he or she might consider suing the seller for recovery of an overpayment on the basis that the sale involved a 2-in-1 package – not just a single broodmare.

Avoiding Disputes

To avoid disputes in the future, use carefully worded contracts.  In fact, verbal breeding-related contracts run the risk of being unenforceable under laws called “Statutes of Frauds” in several states.  Many of them require a written contract for any agreement that “is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof.”  In 2000, a New York court ruled that a verbal contract involving the boarding, breeding, and care of broodmares and foals was unenforceable under New York’s statute of frauds.  The contract at issue in that case, by its terms, would take more than one year to be performed.

If you buy a mare with a transferable re-breed right from the stallion owner, confirm that right with the stallion owner or manager directly and make sure it is written.

Careful planning will avoid these disputes.  We can help you in the process.

Categories: Sales/Disputes