Equine Law Blog

Part 2: What Can The Boarding Stable Do With an Abandoned Horse?

When boarding stables are not paid, they sometimes ask for trouble by taking matters into their own hands without following the law.  For example, some have been known to give away the boarded horses, sell them to offset the debt, or place the horses in their lesson program without first receiving clear permission from the horses' owners.  These actions are usually illegal.

Stables that accept horses for boarding and keeping do not automatically own them when board is unpaid. To become the owner, the stable must follow the law.  Depending on state law, legal action that can include:

• Stablemen's lien foreclosure proceedings based on the applicable state's stablemen's lien law (sometimes known as the agister's lien law).  Through them, the boarded horse is sold, with legally proper proceedings and advance notice to the owner.
• Legal proceedings where a court is asked to examine all of the evidence and declare a boarded horse to be abandoned with the stable being granted title.
• Lawsuits against the horse's owners(s) to collect the unpaid board.  After the stable wins a judgment against the owner, state law usually allows the stable, as judgment creditor, to arrange a sale of the horse to offset or satisfy the debt.

Suggestions

Here a few suggestions for stables faced with the problem of non-paying boarders:

• Ask the non-paying customer to leave now before the debt grows too large, even though parting with the horse could potentially impact other legal rights, such as a stablemen's lien sale.
• Consider allowing the customer to pay off the debt in weekly or monthly installments, if he or she is capable.
• To reduce future debt while keeping the client, consider negotiating a change to the boarding arrangement by decreasing services that the horse receives, for a reduced board fee.  For example, maybe the stable and owner can agree to pasture board the horse instead of a box stall.  Or maybe the horse's training schedule can be reduced.
• Sometimes the horse owner and stable will agree to give the stable full ownership of the horse in exchange for canceling the debt.

Most of these options call for a carefully worded written agreement.  And remember that the stable must continue giving the boarded horse "reasonable care" (the degree of care that a prudent and careful horse keeper or stable would use under similar circumstances), even when fees are not timely paid.

Categories: Boarding, Contracts