Pledge of Quality – Arizona Horse and Mule | Murphy’s Livestock Auction

Pledge of Quality for Horses

All purchases of animals and used goods come with risk. While everything is sold as-is where-is with all guarantees or warranties being between the seller and buyer, Murphy’s Livestock Auction has protections in place to mitigate the issue of misrepresentation regarding horse health.

Our goal is to provide a fair and honest place for buying and selling goods, horses, livestock, and other farm-related animals. Murphy’s Livestock Auction | Arizona Horse and Mule requires our sellers to give info on how their horse will be represented in advance, including any declaration of guarantee. There are four options, and it’s important to understand what each one represents.

Personally guaranteed Sound by the seller without a pre-purchase examination.
Buyer Dispute rights?
Soundness Guarantees are only valid for horses selling for $2,000 or more. Any horse sold for under $2000 will be considered sold as-is, regardless of the guarantee issued from the auction block or in the catalog.
The guarantee is only valid while the horse is in the auction house's care. If the horse is received by the buyer or removed from the auction property, the Soundness guarantee is void.
For a buyer to dispute the soundness guarantee, a licensed veterinarian must examine and issue a soundness report by 04:59 PM on the Tuesday following the auction. The horse must remain in the care of the auction facility from the time the horse is sold until a licensed veterinarian makes their determination regarding soundness.
Shall any soundness disputes arise, Murphy's Livestock Auction management will be the sole deciding judge, with the decision made by Murphy's Livestock Auction being absolute. As an example, the auction house would likely view a horse rated 0-2 on the AAEP Lameness Scale as being Sound, with a 3-5 considered unsound. The auction house will consider multiple factors in their determination, including how the horse was advertised as being used and if the horse is Sound in the areas required to continue conducting that task. In the event Murphy's Livestock Auction determines that the horse was unsound at the time of sale and not announced, the sale will be null and void. A horse found to be unsound within the time period specified will result in a full refund to the buyer, and the horse returned to the seller.
Boarding is $12.00 a day, as outlined on our commissions and fees page.
The buyer is responsible for all costs associated with a soundness dispute.

Sold as-is with the prior history and medical history provided by a representative.
A horse may or may not be sound and can be represented as such without guarantee. If you've been to a horse auction before, this is how the average horse is sold.
Buyer Dispute rights?
The buyer will not be able to dispute the purchase.

Other rights applying to every horse sold

What if I suspect my horse was drugged with an undeclared substance at the time of purchase?
We take these matters seriously and require specific action to prove drugging accusations true or false. The auction house must be notified immediately of suspected drugging. Proof must be supplied within two days(48 hours) of the sale's start time that a test has been ordered and a sample has been taken from the horse in question by a licensed veterinarian. All contact information and documents relating to the test must be shared with the auction house for the appeal to be accepted. Should any claims be made regarding undisclosed horse drugging within two days of the horse selling, payment will be held for a reasonable period of time to allow for testing results from a licensed veterinarian to be returned and confirmed positive or negative. Proof of a positive test will result in a full refund, the return of the horse to the consignor, and a potential full auction ban for the consignor. A negative result will maintain the sale, with the consignor receiving full payment, and the matter will be considered closed.