ABOUT AUTHOR
Ellen Shipton , Ellis Jones Solicitors
Ellen has been riding ( and obsessed with ) horses since the age of 5 . Having own her 16.2 chestnut thoroughbred , for 16 years , she has certainly learnt a lot along the way .
" Growing up I could only dream of combining my career with my equine passion . Since qualifying as a solicitor I have been lucky enough to be given an opportunity to do just that . I am currently in the process of developing my own specialist area of Equine Law here at Ellis Jones Solicitors LLP " asked as such .
LEASING / LENDING
If there are not specific terms in place for the borrowing of a horse , the automatic presumption of the law is that a relationship of ‘ bailment ’ exists . Bailment is the delivery of goods to one person , by another person , for a limited purpose and on the basis the goods will be returned or dealt with as per the ‘ lender ’ s ’ instructions after the purpose of delivery has been fulfilled .
It is strongly recommended to have a clear contract in place in order to prevent any disputes over ownership . It is important for this contract to contain as much information as possible to ensure that both the horse and the parties involved ( lender / borrower ) can be easily identified .
In the event that a borrower were to allege ownership of the borrowed horse , this would likely amount to ‘ conversion ’ ( or theft as outlined above ) which is a notoriously complex area of law .
The principle of conversion is essentially that someone is permanently deprived of possessing an object and the object is then ‘ converted ’ to someone else .
There are different types of conversion and this will very much depend upon whether a horse is taken ( for example someone uses the horse for their own use ) or whether a horse is kept by the borrower against the owner ’ s will . This article can only cover a few of the basic ways in which there may be disputes over ownership and of course other disputes may arise by other means .
If you have any equine related issues contact the specialist Equine Law department at equine @ ellisjones . co . uk or by calling 01202 057732 .
EVERYTHING HORSE : DECEMBER 2020 • 19