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View Full Version : Breeding Lease Conundrum...


erinwillow
Jun. 25, 2009, 09:59 AM
This may be a bit long. .. apologies.

A dear friend calls me yesterday in a bit of a frantic mood asking, "What should I do? What should I do?". I have known this woman for about 6 years and trust her as a horsewoman and usually find sense in her decisions as such. However, I might add, Bless her heart, that sometimes she does tend to "help" others or say yes to situations that maybe she shouldn't. At any rate, here's the story:

Situation: A year or so ago, my friend was approached by a woman who was finding "homes" for her ponies because she stated that she could no longer care for them. My friend was not looking to purchase but really wanted to help out and thought that one of the mares was of pretty decent breeding and might be nice to have on the farm. I'm not sure who suggested it, but it was suggested that a "breeding lease" situation be arranged. My friend was a bit weary but very much wanted to help. So, she types up a breeding lease agreement and sends it off to woman. I asked her what sort of agreement she made and she informed me that the lease suggested a time frame of 3 years with any possible foals being born at her farm stipulated as her property in exchange for providing care for the pony. At any rate, I guess the woman never signs the lease and to date there is no lease. For some strange reason my friend agrees to take the pony anyway (???--like I said. . she sometimes thinks with her heart ;-) So I guess she even pays pays to have the pony shipped to her place and pony has been living there happily for about 2 years. With the economy as it is my friend has chosen not to breed ANYONE this season and was also looking to reduce her overall herd size. Given that it had been two years my friend figures that maybe this gal is in a better position and can take the pony back, she therefore aksed the woman if she could take back the pony. Woman states that she can not. Two weeks later my friend receives a phone call from the woman stating that a "friend" of hers will take the pony. Initially my friend was happy that the pony had found a home and that everything seemed to be working out. UNTIL, my friend calls another friend to share the news and was informed that this new home was known for having too many ponies and not enough time, energy, or $$ to properly care for them. To make matters worse, two days after initial phone call, my friend is contacted by the woman who will allegedly be taking pony. This woman demands that my friend BREED the pony as she seems to think that this was part of the woman's "lease agreement"!! :eek:

Ugh! What a drama mess! I told my friend to maybe ask to keep the pony another year??? Maybe ask one of her friends if they can take the pony. . but maybe the owner won't go for it. . .???? Seriously, what would you do?

Mythology
Jun. 25, 2009, 10:07 AM
Ummm... There is no lease agreement so the breeding question in moot. If she wants to get rid of the pony- send it to the "new" home. If she like the pony too much to send it there then keep it. Once it leaves her farm she has no right to stipulate where it goes since she doesn't own it. hope it works out-

erinwillow
Jun. 25, 2009, 10:11 AM
Ummm... There is no lease agreement so the breeding question in moot. If she wants to get rid of the pony- send it to the "new" home. If she like the pony too much to send it there then keep it. Once it leaves her farm she has no right to stipulate where it goes since she doesn't own it. hope it works out-

Thanks for the suggestions Mythology. I think the thing that is bothering her about sending the pony on to the particular woman that was chosen by the owner is that it might not be the best living situation for the pony. I think she just wants to do right by the pony. I also told her that really it is not her pony so she may not have much say as to where it goes next.. .

Nes
Jun. 25, 2009, 10:12 AM
I'm a little hesitant to state this, but it seems to be the former owner of the horse is on very precarious footing. Unless she has registration papers in the horse's name, or an original bill of sales is there any documentation to prove who owns the horse?

It is understandable that she would be *freaking out* a little in this situation, she's probably realized how stupidly she's acted.

If I were your friend I would offer the woman a nominal amount for the mare, the owner will probably take it, and then your friend can do whatever she likes with out the crazy-brigade in tow.

mlranchtx
Jun. 25, 2009, 11:54 AM
I agree with offering to buy the pony.

If your friend does not want to do this, she really doesn't have a dog in the fight about where the pony goes.

I'm not quite sure why she's worried about the demand that the pony be bred... If there is no signed agreement I don't see how she'd be obligated.

I learned my lesson this year BIG time about having written agreements and I'm in law enforcement, I should have already know better :lol::D

I got VERY lucky on this one. I took a TB mare on a breeding lease in Nov. She was (I was told) a maiden, never bred, never raced. I was told I could breed her and keep her for one year and in that time decide if I wanted to buy her for X dollars.

In March she foaled :eek::eek::eek: I call owner... Phone disconnected. I freak out, what is foal? who's daddy? :confused: WTF do I do with the baby? I don't have mare's papers...

Long story short, I finally get ahold of mare owner. He has since lost his job and it hurting for $$. I get a hell of a deal. Mare owner also owns stallion. "Oh yeah, we did cover her one time but I didn't think it was enough" :lol::confused: Um ok, whatever, obviously he's a moron.

It all ends well for me though. The mare's price get's cut in half because owner is hurting, I pay for her, he sends me her papers. The sire, thank goodness is reg. TB and not a grade or, with my luck, a donkey :lol:. Owner sends in late live cover papers and we have everything in order for JC reg. of baby. Owner says, "it's your lucky day, you can keep the foal" and with a $1500 stud fee that I didn't have to pay, I think I came out great!

BUT, I'll NEVER do that again without everything spelled out in writing, including what happens if the mare spits out a suprise foal!