What Documents Do You Need To Sell A Horse?
Horses are not required to be registered in any particular place or with any particular registry. In fact many horses are not registered at all. The way to clearly evidence the transfer of ownership of a horse is to document the transaction with a purchase and sale agreement, followed by a bill of sale.
It is important to start any transaction with a purchase and sale agreement as opposed to a bill of sale. This agreement should contain all the terms upon which the buyer and seller have agreed, such as when money will change hands, when and where the horse will be delivered, and the seller’s warranties about the horse. It is wise to also include a procedure for resolving disputes. If you are the buyer, you should document the fact that the sale is conditioned upon a complete veterinary examination, if that is the case. If you are the seller, you should state that the sale is “as is” and that you are not making any warranties other than your 100% title in the horse, if that is the case.
A bill of sale is the document that memorializes the transfer of legal title of the horse from the seller to the purchaser. Many sellers hold breed registry transfer papers until the buyer has paid off the horse or met other conditions. These sellers should beware that under the Uniform Commercial Code (which governs horse sales transactions, including those where there is no written agreement), it is assumed that title passes to the buyer when the seller gives the buyer possession of the horse. Thus, a seller should never sign a bill of sale or give possession of the horse to the prospective buyer until the buyer has met all the terms and conditions of the sales agreement.
The bill of sale to be executed by the seller when the transaction is complete should contain language similar to the following:
For good and valuable consideration, including the sum of ________DOLLARS, ($__,000.00), the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged by ________ (“Seller”), Seller hereby acknowledges the sale and transfer to __________(“Purchaser”) of all title and ownership rights to a certain horse known as “________”, more particularly described as follows:________________
The bill of sale should contain a detailed description of the horse changing hands, the date the title passes, and signature lines for both the buyer and seller.
Registration papers alone to do not constitute proof of ownership. The true purpose of breed registries, such as the American Quarter Horse Association, the American Holsteiner Horse Association, and the National Association of Purebred Spanish Horse Breeders of Spain, etc., is to document the history and expansion of the breed so they can protect and promote that particular breed of horse. Sport registries are different. Associations such as the United States Equestrian Federation and the National Reining Horse Association have been created to promote education and the well-being of horses in competition.
The owner name on breed registry registration papers may constitute some evidence of ownership, but it is not fully reliable. For instance, the owner listed may be two or three owners ago because someone did not want to pay the membership or transfer fees. Sometimes a horse is registered as in one person’s name because that is the person competing on it, while someone else owns the horse.
Ownership on registration papers can also be evidence of gift. This is important in family law matters because gifts are considered separate property. If a horse is given from one spouse to another, or from a third party to a spouse, that horse is the separate property of the person receiving it.
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In many cases, the proceeds from a stock breeder's or stable keeper's lien foreclosure sale will not be enough to satisfy your debt. In those cases, you may sue the owner for the deficiency, if any. 
When you sell a registered Thoroughbred in a valid foreclosure sale, you may or may not be able to obtain the Certificate of Foal Registration (i.e. the “Jockey Club papers”) from the original owner. In either case, pursuant to Rule 9 of the Jockey Club’s American Stud Book, you or the buyer must provide the Jockey Club with the following items in order to have the horses’ papers transferred to your name or the buyer’s name: 
