Horse Bill of Sale Form

A Horse Bill of Sale is a legally binding form that is made between the seller and the buyer of a particular horse and that ensures the rights and obligations of each of the parties involved.

In this short but informative article, we will tell you all the needed information about this agreement, such as the steps of selling your horse, the importance of this Horse Bill of Sale document, cases when to use, and what to include in it.

When to Use a Horse Bill of Sale?

In any case of selling, buying, or even transferring the property rights to another person — a Horse Bill of Sale is needed.

For example, it can be of use for both parties. Being a buyer, this agreement ensures your rights as a new owner and will protect you in cases when the seller would unexpectedly ask you to return the horse. Without the Horse Bill of Sale, there is no proof of ownership.

And as a seller, the horse bill will protect you from getting any complaints related to the previously owned horse: if anything would have happened with the equine after the purchase, or if any flaws would have appeared, the agreement ensures that no claims can be made to you, as the horse is sold as it is.

Why Is It Important to Sign a Horse Bill of Sale?

And for all of the previous benefits to work, you most probably would want to sign your horse bill.

In any other case, making a deal by words or just printing a document without signatures will not guarantee you any of the previously mentioned rights. Both sides can do whatever they would want without consequences.

We highly recommend you to sign the horse bill, especially if you want to make sure that:

• The seller will get a payment from the deal,
• The buyer will get its newly purchased horse,
• And all of the other spoken or written agreements are being carried out.

Moreover, you might want to check if your state is actually demanding a Horse Bill of Sale from you, as it is an absolute necessity to have a horse bill for any type of deal regarding your horse in some states, such as:

• California
• Florida
• Kentucky
• Virginia

What to Include in a Horse Bill of Sale?

There are some mandatory and additional features that should be included in your agreement. Let us start with the first ones before going into any possible specifics.

When creating any Horse Bill of Sale, the following characteristics might be used as a checklist:

1. Verify that the names of the parties, being the seller and the buyer, are written out and are in a correct form
2. Look for the specifications of the horse, such as sex, color, breed, number, and place of registration
3. Specify the pricing, as this would be an important part not only for the parties but also for the future tax payments
4. Write down the conditions of your deal: whether the horse comes with some warranty obligations or is just sold as it is with no future claims.

Final steps

After that, look into these features, as some might be really important exactly for your case and situation:

• Whether you can breed the horse
• The possibility of a refund to the buyer if the horse has been later checked by a vet and is said to have some serious health condition
• If there are any additional payments for the third party, such as an agent
• Whether a vet exam can be made before signing the deal

How to Sell a Horse?

When you want to make this process legal, a lot of considerations need to be taken into account: always make sure to describe your horse as accurate as you only can, to gain or check your authorization to sell, and to tell your potential buyers if you are not a legal owner.

Then, when the time has come to make your own advertisement, look for some widely used and heard about websites or magazines.

If unsure how to make your ad attractive to possible buyers, look at the following checklist:

• The general characteristics need to be included first, such as height, breed, sex, location, and ways of contact with you
• Second, some additional info is always a good idea: potential buyers would want to know about your pony’s temperament, for example
• Third, check the local market for pricing, as this will help you to make a reasonable offer that will not scare off any buyers
• Fourth, make the photos of your horse and make sure that they are clear and of high quality: as our experience shows, vague ones often throw off your buyers from looking into the ad
• Fifth, always proofread before publishing. No one would want to buy from an illiterate person

More to consider

Also, if you want your horse to be taken away by decent people that will take good care of her or him, make sure to ask for, or find by means of the Internet, any assurances and references. Talking to the people that will buy the equine is also necessary in that case.

In addition, be ready that some potential buyers may ask various questions related to your rights as a seller and owner, as well as to the presence of insurance, the possibility to see and ride the horse before buying it, recent information from the vet of a horse about its health, and so on.

Talking more about insurance, consider getting one even before selling the horse, as you never know what might happen in life: no one is protected from getting a medical condition, your equine included.

Moreover, what if something would happen during the ride with a potential buyer, and you would need to pay for some treatments? In any case, it is not up to us to decide, but we would definitely recommend insurance to you.