How do you place a dollar value on your horse? This is something you may need to do for a variety of reasons such as to insure your horse, sell your horse, or maybe to claim damages in the event of a law suit…

While there is no hard and fast formula for computing a horse’s value, the general consensus is a horse’s fair market value is the value of a horse. However, because each horse is different, there is no concrete methodology to determine how to arrive at a fair market value.   Fair market value in its simplest form is the price a horse will sell for in a public sale.

Many factors are considered when determining fair market value such as:

• The horse’s pedigree;
• What other horse’s with a similar pedigree sold for on the open market;
• The horse’s conformation;
• The horse’s health;
• The horse’s training; and
• The horse’s past income generated from performance, i.e. stud fees, races, shows, etc.

You should note this illustrative list is not all inclusive and other factors could be used to determine the value of any given horse.

The award of damages for lost profits or actual injury to the horse varies among the courts and will be dependent on the unique facts of individual legal disputes.  In Oklahoma, in the event of a lawsuit, a qualified expert will be required to testify as to the value of a horse before damages are awarded.

This blog post does not constitute legal advice. You should seek the advice of an attorney who would be better positioned to advise you based on the particular facts of your situation.