What is the norm for accepting payments on a horse? A contract to ensure payments are made on time? Who pays for feed/hay? Who pays for vet/farrier? What if the horse is injured? Just want to make certain everything is covered in contract. 

Thank you!

Have everything, and I mean EVERYTHING you can possibly think of in writing signed and notarized and looked over by a lawyer before you agree to payments. 

Buyer pays all costs & required to carry insurance on the horse. Not sure how close you are to the buyer, but I wouldn't let the horse leave the sellers property (or where ever the seller is currently keeping the horse) until it is paid for in full. 

Put in a clause for a late fee if there is no payment or late payment. 

If the buyer does not want a vet check before the initial payment, put it in the contract that they declined and are buying the horse "as is" to protect yourself if something crops up before the horse is paid for and the buyer tries to say you knew about it or whatever. It doesnt matter what happens to that horse after first payment is in your hand, that horse is the buyers responsibility to pay for the horse in full no matter if they have made 1 or 10 payments. 

It may sound like a little overkill, but stuff happens and it can get very very ugly very quickly if both parties are not completely on the same page and have a contract they are both comfortable with so everyone is protected. I hope everything works out, and it most likely will but just make sure you are protected whether you are buying or selling on payments. I personally will never ever do it again because it was such a headache and in the end I would have sold the horse for half of what I actually got if I didnt have to deal with 10 months of late payments when the horse was supposed to be paid for in 2 payments but "stuff kept happening" that was not related to the horse as to why the buyer couldnt make the payment, get the feed, farrier, board, etc. Good luck. 

I would not sell a horse in payments, if they dont have the money now they sure in heck wont make payments on time or not full payments when payments or due, I have heard this excuse befor,, cant make a full payment because such and such needs to be payed first or I needed to make a car/truck payment, my sister needed to borrow money so I cant pay you this month and on and on . If you are friends with this person a friendship sure can turn sour real quick when a payment is missed here and there. I would rather have cash up front when selling something, I got burned once on selling on payments, wont ever do that again, Theres banks that load money. 

You need a very thorough Horse Purchase Agreement along with a Sale / Security Agrement / Promissory Note (it's one document).  If the person fails to hold up their end with the Horse Purchase Agreement it is easier to go after funds from the Promissory Note.  I rarely accept any payments. 

I accept credit cards and try to encourage to go that route because I am not a bank.  There are PLENTY of credit cards out there that offer 0% up to 18 months and they can make payments on the credit card instead of to me.  

Be careful.  Horses are a perishable item like eggs.  Not the best collateral for a "loan" and that is what you are doing when you accept payments.  

I just went thru this. Luckily I had a very good contract that was done by horse lawyers. After the intial downpayent, insurance and board payment was made it was one excuse after another for the next payment. I usually do not take payments but this time I did because the colt was just sitting here and I wasnt going to do anything with him til spring. Would I do it again,, nope!! These same people came back to me and wanted to do a new contract and start again and I said,, sure,, you can buy the horse but Im not taking payments so if you want to pay him in full and pick him up,, come get  him. Needless to say,,that didnt happen. 

Big fat nope on payments... if someone doesn't have the money or means to buy a horse outright then they don't have the money or means to take care of the horse when something happens.  You aren't a bank and can't get blood out of a turnip; let them take a bank loan or charge to a credit card.  Only takes one bad horse deal to sour you on taking payments.    

I did it once and it worked out.  I was lucky and had good honest people but I would still prefer to not do it again.  We did have a simple agreement and they had insurance on the horse.

Let them make payments to a bank. Works the same way but you are out of the picture. 

I did it once on a kid's horse and I'm doing it again on a youth rodeo horse. Both times, I was selling a horse I didn't need to a kid who needed a step up horse, and currently the horse they are paying off over a 3-4 month time frame has been at their house for almost a year already on a free lease deal. Plus this family has had my 27 year old gelding for 3 years so I know they take care of the horses and they call me with questions any time something weird comes up. Selling these two horses on payments has worked out well for me, the kids, the horses, and the family budgets. I'd be much more hesitant to take payments from someone I didn't know well though.

What she so perfectly said!!

Selling horses on payments is like winning the lottery - sometimes you hit it big with someone who just needs a bit of time to come up with the funds but most times it's a miss and you're out the money. 

The problem is when it's a miss, it is usually a messy miss.  The buyer can't make this payment because xyz broke, or they can't pay the board because this or that happened and your XX month agreement is now much longer.  If they have possession of the horse getting it back is a civil nightmare. 

If you decide to proceed with payments a good contract is in order.  The horse must be insured and payable TO YOU not to the potential buyer until such time as he is paid off. The buyer is responsible for all vet, farrier, deworming, boarding costs from day one forward.  A late fee for late payments must apply and information about forfeiture of the horse and funds if the payment isn't received within x days.

You also want in the contract that regardless if the horse becomes lame or unrideable for ANY REASON the monies are still owed to you in full.  If the horse gets injured, not enough to put down but enough to make it pasture sound only, you don't want to be out the money and stuck with a pasture pet. 

Lastly the horse needs to be kept on your property or at an agreed up boarding facility.  If they are boarding the horse the money should be paid to you and you pay the facility.  This way you are the facility client should anything come up.   It would be awful if they weren't paying the board and the horse ended up held under the stable keepers act.

There are banks, family, short term loans etc. for a reason so if this person doesn't have the cash but has good credit they can get a loan to cover the horse cost.   So think LONG and HARD about agreeing to payments before proceeding.  There are more horror stories then good outcomes.

I don't think I would personally. If they want to do a payment plan type deal, they can go get a loan from the bank or from a relative. I've never asked to make payments to a seller, if I want the horse that bad I'll go to my bank and usually get a 6 month note. It keeps the interest to a minimum that way. I've purchased several thru my bank. They know the routine and will loan on horses for us no problem.  Too much can go wrong in taking payments from people... unless you know them really well. I guess it just depends on what you are comfortable with. 

I had a good friend who had the perfect response when a person asked for a payment plan. “ I have a deal with Bank of America, I don’t loan money, and they don’t sell horses”. 

These deals very seldom work out. 

A big NOPE!  Did it once....  took over a year to recieve the full amount when the contract was for 4 months. 

I've done it a couple times, always with people I knew.  It worked for me all but onece, but I know I'm one of the lucky ones.  Even with a contract I wouldn't waste my time and energy if it wasn't a favor for a friend who I knew would come through.