Implementing a Horse Agistment Lien
A horse agistment lien is a legal claim made against the owner of a horse as security for unpaid agistment fees. This kind of arrangement is common wherever horse agistment is carried on but Australia is a good example to look at.
The Impounding of Livestock Act 1994 was amended on the 20 October 2004 to allow property owners to originate a lien over a horse agisted on their land if the owners of the horse had fallen behind by more than 14 days with the agreed horse agistment fees. The horse agistment lien enables the landowner to recover these costs.
For many years landowners entered into agreements with horse owners on a verbal basis and allowed horses to be grazed on their land, housed them and provided services without having a written contract. This frequently caused major problems if the agreed fee was not paid. The owner of the horse may have had various personal reasons for not paying and occasionally the horse had been abandoned. If these problems occurred, the owner of the land not only had to look after the horse but also had no legal way of getting rid of the horse. Now, with the amendment to the Impounding of Livestock Act 1994, landowners can use a Horse Agistment Lien to either sell or otherwise get rid of a horse. When the owner of a horse has fallen behind by more than 14 days a Default Notice, under the Impounding of Livestock Act 1994, can immediately be served and payment must then be made within the next 28 days.
After a Default Notice has been served on the owner of a horse, they will frequently then get in touch with the landowner or holder of the lien. At this point it is advisable to make an effort to arrive at a mutually agreeable outcome. If the owner of the horse wishes to contest the Default Notice the legal procedure carries on. Therefore it is advantageous to both parties if the problems can be solved as soon as possible.
In recent years landowners have become wiser and written contracts have been made. This is a good idea because it means that both the landowner and the horse owner are protected by the horse agistment contract. It also encourages responsible ownership of the horse. The parties are compelled to enter into detailed discussion to agree the content of the written contract and this saves misunderstandings from arising at a future point in time. It can be made clear just what services are to be provided by the landowner or horse agistment provider as well as covering the payment of fees subject. If a horse agistment contract is in place and it has a late or non-payment clause, then that clause would take precedence and you would not be able to implement the Impounding of Livestock Act.
Nobody wants to be in the position where they are forced to implement a horse agistment lien and it is for this reason that written contracts should be arranged and signed, prior to the commencement of any horse agistment arrangement.
About the Author:
Westbury Park provides quality, reliable horse agistment to the racing and breeding industry.
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