Health and coggins in selling a horse

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Minxiesmom

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I have not sold a horse in 25 years. What is protocol on paying for the Coggins and Health Certificate. The cost is over $140.
 
It really varies from case to case and it's something that the buyer and seller work out up front. Generally, the more expensive the horse, the more likely it's expected that the seller absorb that cost.
 
Here in Florida its a law you have to provide the coggins. As for health certs only if going out of state. Any horse I have ever bought out of state seller pays cost of both.

Saying that, if your horse is really low priced. Maybe you can work out with buyer.

But, I myself would not buy a horse without a coggins.
 
In my opinion a horse should come with a negative coggins. It can be up to 11.9 months old, but its expected and customary, IMO. Of course, it doesn't have to be in the buyer's name... if the buyer wants a new one, that's their choice. Health cert, that's up to the buyer. Of course, the buyer can use these as negotiation factors.
 
I think it's between the buyer and seller... For us personally, we provide the health and coggins (within the US) ....but the last 2 horses I purchased, i had to pay the coggins and health... one cost $50, and the other $160. So the price really does vary, depending on where you live.
 
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Many of the horses I've bought have not come with coggins or health papers. Locally, that isn't a problem, I really could care less about either, because really neither is worth the paper it's written on once it's written! The blood can be drawn today & sent away for the coggins test, and two days from now the horse could someone become infected with EIA--so a coggins that is 6, 7, 8 or 10 months, or even 1 month, old really isn't a great guarantee. You know that not so long ago the horse was "clean" but that's the extent of it. But, when we're importing horses from the US, we have to have coggins & health. So, in some cases I've paid for the health papers, in other cases the seller has paid for them.

In the cases where the seller paid for them--and that has been only 2 sellers--they paid for the regular coggins & health paper, and I paid for the extra it cost to have the federal vet sign and seal the papers for export. In one case that was $80 (biggest portion of that is the courier fee to have the papers sent to and from the federal vet via Fed Ex. Some sellers stipulate that they provide coggins/health on animals over a certain value; under that value the buyer has to pay for the paperwork. The last pony I got had a coggins that was 7 months old--1 month over the 6 months allowed for importing into Canada. I had him dropped off at a boarding facility where he had his coggins & health papers all done at once--that time it cost $135 all told. I'm guessing that if he'd needed just ordinary health papers the bill would have been no more than $50--$20 for the coggins and $30 or less for the health paper.
 
When I sell a horse, I provide the Coggins, and if it is going out of state, I also provide the health certificate.
 
Thanks for the replys. I will discuss with the buyer. Sounds like there is nothing written in stone.
 
Diane,

No....nothing written in stone........ And as others have indicated, it often depends on how much the horse is being sold for.

Also, if the horse is being sold locally in Oregon, neither items are required -- just if leaving the state.

Ma---
 
I have purchased two this year and am strongly working on figuring out how to get #3. (lol don't tell hubby). Of the two, one came with his Coggins and Health Certificate included in the purchase. The other, I had to foot the bill on. These arrangements were made upfront with the seller during the negotiation process. I don't think there really is a standard.
 
IMO I think to be a good seller you should provide coggins and health papers. Now unless you are pratically giving the horse away or selling locally I don't worry about it, if anything a coggins.
 
Before I got seriously interested in the idea of owning/becoming involved with Miniature Horses (which was about 2006 I think), I had never encountered a seller of a horse that required the buyer to pay for the Coggins and/or the health certificate, it was always something that the seller provided. However, I have seen A LOT of Miniature Horse farms/breeders state on their website that if the horse is less than $1,000 the buyer pays for them and if the horse is more than $1,000 the seller pays for them. It is my opinion (please note that I said "my opinion") that the seller should provide them and just figure them into their sale price because I think that it makes the seller look/seem very unprofessional when I see that on a website.
 
With our horses, we don't sell them quick enough to have coggins pulled on all that are for sale. If we pulled coggins on all of the horses we have for sale it'd be about $400 (about $30 per horse!) with the farm call. So in our case it's the buyer's bill for coggins and health certificate if it is needed unless the horse is $1,000 or more. If the horse sells for $1,000 or more then we foot the bill. We've never had a problem with buyers not wanting to pay for the coggins and health certificate. The buyer in our case has actually preferred to have their vet come out and do the cert and pull the coggins.
 

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