Looking for advice

[kazcam]

Hi can anyone help me with advice as to what to do if you haven't got the passport for a pony but you need to sell him. Without going into detail of how it came about but the situation is this. There is a pony in with my pony who's owner has abandoned him. She took the passport with her just to make things difficult. She is not paying the field fees and the pony is just running wild. I know that he's broken to ride but as nothing has been done with him for a while I have taken him back to basics and he's responding well.
Thank you
Karen

[cazmanian_minx]

I would be very careful - unless you have a written agreement that the owner has signed to say that you can sell the pony if livery/field fees are unpaid, then you could find yourself in trouble. I don't know if it's the same under Scottish law, but in English law you have something called a right of lien over any goods belonging to the person owing you money - this would include the pony, but it only gives you the right to keep the pony in your control until the debt is settled, not to sell him. To be able to do that, you'd have to go to small claims court (which isn't that hard to do yourself).

[dozy]

Scots law is different ,you can't have a lien on animals/livestock but you can take charge in lieu of payment ( better to stop by the Police station for clarification on your course of action) . This means you take full responsibility of the animal and should get a vets report when you plan to take them or better before taking charge. It's one I would not recommend unless as a last resort but beware, Some folk have tried this and ended up with huge vets bills and legal costs. Plus you would incur more costs in transporting them which may need proper equipment/carrier and even a licence or two if livestock.