[SirCharles]

Okay if anyone has read any of my posts you know how I feel about breeding, that is should be left to the proffessionals and not just for any horse that's fertile. Well, I'm in a bind and need to find a way out that wont upset too many people. I bought a horse that colic and died not long after I bought it. It was still at the Ranch I bought it from so didn't have any major changes in diet or environment that caused the colic it was just one of those things. I was heart broken because I had been caring for the horse for sometime before I bought him. A week or so after he died the owner of the Ranch gave me a little 2 year old filly who is beautiful. I was not sure about taking her at first but it did ease my pain and kept me horse busy again. I fell in love with her and have now moved her to my home. The Ranch owner did it with the best intention, at the time she mentioned that she would like a foal from the filly at sometime and I guess I thought she was just saying that the filly was so nice and didn't think about it again until she brought it up again recently. The thing is that she will not understand in the least if I tell her that I don't want to breed at all. She has only started to talk to me again after I moved my horses. All the ridding I do I have to access the ranch to get on the trails so I don't want to cut ties with her and the fact that she gave me the filly in the first place was a very nice thing to do. But My biggest concern is my filly's health. I have zero interest in breeding and don't know how to handle this situation. Do you think I should offer her some kind of buy out? what would other horse people do we have no contract and without sounding like a bit** we have different standards as far as what is an okay environment for a horse to live in and what is not even close hence my move. Please help

[buggywhipp]

Sorry to hear about the horse you lost. I'm also sorry I can't offer you any ideas but I hope all goes in your favor. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

[Top Dun]

1. Since she is only a two year old, personally I would NOT expect to breed her until at least 5 or 6 years of age.
2. IF there is NOT a written contract that speciffically states that the farm owner WILL get a foal from this filly in the future, then the farm owner has very little case to actually MAKE you breed her and give her a foal.

So What ever you do decide to tell the farm owner is up to you. But legally with out a contract you are not obligated to provide the farm owner with a foal from your filly. IN addition since YOU mis-understood what the farm owner meant in the original discussions, it can also not be considered a verbal contract as you thought the farm owner meant somethig different from what the farm owner herself meant. So I can't help out more than that as you have to decide what to tell the farm owner. But hope the rest helped a little.

[Sandra-A1]

Do you have the horse's registration papers in your name or a bill of sale/transfer? Was anything put into writing giving you ownership and clear title to this horse?
If so and there was no written and signed contract stating that you have to breed the mare and give this person a foal I think you are probably in the clear.
If you have nothing signed by this woman giving you title then you might have a problem as she can say that she simply loaned you the horse and now she wants it back because she wants to breed the mare.
People need to always put every agreement in writing even if they are giving you a horse for free.
If you do not have a written and signed title to this filly then I advise sitting down and having a talk with this woman and tell her how much you love the filly, but are not interested in producing a foal out of her and why. Hoprfully she will understand your fears and other reasons and will leave it at that. She might offer a trade or she might take the filly back.

[mtroika]

Hmmm thats hard. If the deal for a foal from your mare is not in contract you do not have to do anything that you don't feel is right for your horse. It is going to be hard to tell them you dont want to breed your filly, but if you explain to her all the reasons you feel for not breeding her and tell her about all the unwanted foals out there that need good homes that might help.

Hopefully you have something in writing showing that you own your filly or you might have problems. If you really want to keep your filly and the only way you can is to breed her one day mabee you will have to. Its a hard situation I wouldnt know what to do either.

Have a good talk with the people!

Good luck!

[Sandra-A1]

I do hope it turns out well for you!
Do let us know what happens and how this works out.

[Abbie22057]

I don't know much about the legal end of things, but I would say if you don't have something in writing, get it! Somehow or someway, type up a simple contract and have two copies with both signatures, one for you and one for her.

I have the same thing going, well, not the breeding thing but the horse was given to me. We agreed to trade her for a goat. I gave her the goat, but we never got anything in writing. I should though, because I use her and pay for her like she's mine. It wouldn't be a problem unless I tried to sell her, my neighbor would probably fuss at that. (She's the one who gave me the horse.)

Definately get something definate. Ask her why she wants to breed this horse, and see if you can talk her around to your point of view. Tell her you really would rather not breed the mare, but try to keep it civil if you can. Maybe point out the bad points of the horse, so she'll see for herself that the filly shouldn't be bred.