Q: I purchased a Quarter Horse stallion,
but received only a copy of his papers, as the seller told me
that she lost the original papers. When I contacted the AQHA to
request a duplicate certificate, they informed me that the
seller is not the registered owner of this horse and that I
would need a notarized affidavit from the registered owner to
obtain duplicate registration papers. I’d like to keep this
stallion, breed him to some of my mares and register his get.
What are my options?
A: According
to the AQHA rules, applications to register foals must be
accompanied by a breeder’s certificate signed by the record
owner of the sire and the record owner of the dam. Because you
are not the record owner of your stallion, you would not be
able to sign the AQHA breeder’s certificate to register your
stallion’s foals. Therefore, you must become the record
owner of your stallion before you can register his foals with
the AQHA.
When a Quarter
Horse is sold, the AQHA rules specify that it’s the seller’s
responsibility to transfer the registration papers by sending in
the original papers and the required transfer form. Clearly, in
your situation, the record owner of the horse didn’t follow
these rules. Unfortunately, I find that in most situations where
the chain of ownership isn’t clearly reflected on the papers,
there’s a good reason why the registered owner didn’t
complete the transfer.
I recommend
finding the registered owner and calling them. Politely and
calmly explain the situation and ask them what happened. In my
experience, the former owners usually want to hear how the horse
is doing, so they will probably talk to you. You might get lucky
– maybe it was just an oversight that the former owner didn’t
transfer the registration papers. However, don’t be too
surprised if you hear a tale of woe, that the former owner sold
the horse to someone who never finished paying for the horse.
You should be prepared to hear anything from claims of theft to
the former owner wanting the horse back, but don’t panic! If
you purchased this horse without knowing about any controversy
surrounding his ownership, you can’t be held legally
responsible for previous owners’ bad acts. The former owner
cannot simply show up at your ranch with a horse trailer and
legally take your horse from you.
In these
situations, I often find it most practical to offer the
registered owner an appealing financial proposal before going
after the seller. In most cases, a lot of time has passed and
the former owner never expected to get anything back from a bad
situation, so anything you now offer them is a windfall. While
talking to the former owner, keep in mind that what you have
right now is a grade stallion and what you would like to have is
a registered Quarter Horse stallion. The former owner has the
power to give you what you want. You need to convince them that
you are not the villain in this situation and seek their help.
Offer to pay them for the notarized affidavit you’ll need,
mentioning that you’d like to compensate them for their time
and trouble. Offer to arrange and pay for the notary services,
too.
Now, what are
your options with respect to the seller? You paid for a
registered Quarter Horse stallion, but that’s not what the
seller delivered. If the registered owner cooperates with you,
approach the seller and ask for reimbursement of any
out-of-pocket expenses you incurred. If the registered owner
doesn’t cooperate, you have two options regarding the seller:
(a) ask them to reverse the transaction (not an option if you
want to keep the horse) or (b) ask them to refund the amount of
money that reflects the difference between what you paid and the
horse’s fair market value as an unregistered horse. If the
seller refuses to negotiate, you have a legal claim against the
seller for breach of contract. You made a verbal contract to
purchase a registered Quarter Horse, you delivered the purchase
price, but the seller did not deliver a registered Quarter
Horse. Whether or not you pursue your legal claim against the
seller is up to you.
This situation is
a good illustration of why it is important to obtain and examine
the horse’s original registration papers at the time of sale.
The registration papers should match the horse (color, markings,
age, gender) and should bear the name of the seller as the
registered owner. Keep in mind that without the original
registration papers in your name, what you have is a grade
animal, so horses without papers should be priced accordingly.
See the Equine Legal Solutions website for more information
about purchasing a horse.
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