There are some important things about purchase contracts that you should know when buying a horse. You should be aware of what a purchase contact should contain and what your legal rights are.

In most jurisdictions in Canada and the US, when you buy a horse you are buying it "As Is". This means that it is your responsibility to have the horse examined by a vet before you actually purchase it. You cannot file a suit against the seller if there are any defects that you happen to overlook. However, some conditions and situations can change the "As Is" nature of the transaction. Such as, if the Seller breaches a written contract or if you can prove that the Seller deceived you by making false claims when advertising the horse. For example, the seller published that the horse they are selling does not have any vices. But you find out that it has vices which clearly existed even before you purchased it. Vices must be substantial, such as bucking, kicking or is uncontrollable under normal circumstances. You usually won't get too far with petty or unreasonable vices, such as the horse doesn't come when I call him, or he spooks or panics when I bounce a beach ball off his head.

The most common mistakes people make when buying a horse are:

1. Assuming that a Pre-Purchase Examination is Unnecessary. Whenever possible, an examination should be conducted by an independent veterinarian to ensure the horse is sound and healthy and has no pre-existing conditions.

2. Failing to Properly Observe The Horse. Aside from asking the seller numerous questions, have the seller ride the horse and closely observe the horse's movements, gait and how well he responds to the rider's commands. Ride the horse yourself and not only in an arena setting as horses sometimes act very differently when outside the safety of their comfort zone or in a setting or environment in which they're unfamiliar with.

3. No Written Sales Agreement, or one that's missing key elements and statements and/or is vague in nature.

If the seller's sales contract appears too vague and doesn't meet your requirements or standards you can always prepare your own and present it to the seller.

When preparing legal documents especially in the case of a sales agreement it's important that it's not one-sided or heavily favors either the Seller or Buyer because many jurisdictions won't accept such contracts as being legally binding. Unless you have experience in drafting up such agreements, you'll either have to purchase a generic equine sales agreement or pay a lawyer that has some understanding of equine law to prepare one for you, which is typically expensive.

Some essential elements an equine sales contract should contain:

1. Full description of the horse.

2. The total price.

3. Terms of payment, including any down payments or deposits, installments if making payments, when the balance is due, and the date when buyer shall take actual possession of the horse.

4. Warranties and Conditions, which should include how long the buyer has to complete a vet exam, any and all terms or conditions in which refunds may apply, including if the buyer should have a case of buyer's remorse and decides to back out for no valid reasons are set forth in the terms and conditions.

5. It should also contain an indemnification on behalf of the seller. There are INHERENT RISKS associated with owning, riding or being around horses, and one can not predict how a horse will react at any given time, nor can the seller be sure of the buyer's abilities to ride or handle a horse. Therefore, assuming no fraud or misrepresentation is present, the seller will want to be protected from legal action by the buyer.

In our "Horse Tips" section we offer an "Equine Bill of Sale" which is a full 2 page legal size document that covers the basic essential elements that should meet and satisfy the requirements for most sellers and buyers. It's available in all popular formats such as PDF, DOC and RTF. Premium members can access the horse tips section and download the sales agreement as well as other documents for FREE! Generic equine sales agreements of this nature and quality are very difficult to find for free and typically cost $20 - $30 from equine legal sites.