Terms of Service

01 Acceptance of these Terms

By creating an account, listing a horse, submitting an offer, or otherwise using haltered.com or any related service (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to these Terms of Service (the "Terms") and to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

The Service is operated by The Horsedad LLC, an Arizona limited liability company doing business as Haltered ("Haltered," "we," "us," or "our").

You confirm that you are at least 18 years old and have legal capacity to enter into this agreement. If you are accessing the Service on behalf of a minor, an entity, or another person (for example, as a parent for a junior rider, or as a Tier 2 or Tier 3 admin for a barn entity), you represent that you have authority to bind that minor, entity, or person to these Terms.

02 Definitions

Capitalized terms used in these Terms have the meanings set out below:

Buyer

The legal party purchasing or leasing a Horse, or the parent/guardian of a minor purchaser. Buyers are the financial party of record.

Seller

The legal owner of a Horse, or the parent/guardian of a minor owner, listing the Horse for sale or lease through Haltered.

Trainer

A USEF-credentialed individual acting as agent for a Buyer or Seller. Trainers do not sign sale, lease, or trial-on-approval agreements as principals; they act as agents only.

Barn

An entity organized on the Service that aggregates trainers and listings under a single business identity, with its own payout account and team roster.

Tier 1 / 2 / 3 Admin

Levels of barn administrative permission as described in Section 3.

Listing

A Horse offered for sale, lease, or both through the Service.

List Price

The publicly displayed price for a Listing. The List Price is all-inclusive of the 10% commission described in Section 10. Buyers pay the List Price; no buyer-side fees are added.

Trial on Approval

A trial in which a Horse is shipped to the Buyer's facility for an agreed period. Subject to Section 7 and a signed bilateral Trial Agreement.

03 Eligibility & Accounts

Person-First Architecture

Every user of the Service is, first, a natural person. A person may then be associated with one or more Barn entities through a defined administrative relationship. Personal accounts and Barn entities have separate payout accounts; selling, transferring, or deactivating a Barn entity does not affect any individual's personal account.

Account Types

• Buyer / Family Account. Browses listings, shortlists Horses, and shares them with a connected Trainer. Family accounts can create child rider profiles for minors. Buyers cannot directly initiate trials, offers, or transactional negotiations — those actions are taken by the Buyer's connected Trainer on the Buyer's behalf.
• Trainer Account. A USEF-verified individual professional. May act as a Buyer's agent, a Seller's listing agent, or both, subject to the rules in Section 4.
• Barn Account. An entity holding listings, a payout account, and a team roster. Operated by humans through tiered admin permissions.

Barn Admin Tiers

• Tier 1 — Listing Manager. Create and edit listings; mark trials available; assign Horses to shows; view rider rosters; share Horses with riders; respond to inquiries. No financial access.
• Tier 2 — Barn Admin. All Tier 1 powers plus: invite and remove Trainers; assign permissions; view payout history and reports. Cannot change the Barn's bank or payout account.
• Tier 3 — Full Admin. All Tier 2 powers plus: set up or change the Barn's payout account; transfer ownership of the Barn entity; deactivate the Barn; lock commission splits on listings.

USEF Verification

Trainers and Barns are verified against USEF credentialing. You authorize Haltered to look up, store, and display USEF identifiers (such as USEF member numbers and horse identifiers) for verification purposes. You represent that the USEF information you provide is accurate and that your USEF membership is current and in good standing.

Minors

The Service is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Minors aged 13 to 17 may participate only as rider profiles created and supervised under a parent or guardian's Family Account. Barns may not create rider profiles for minors under any circumstances. The minor's parent or guardian is the financial party of record for any transaction.

Account Security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access. Account sharing is prohibited, except for Barn-level access where a Tier 2 or Tier 3 admin has expressly authorized another individual under their own credentials.

04 Our Role: Marketplace Agent, Not Owner

Haltered does not own, train, board, transport, insure, or warrant any Horse listed on the Service. Haltered is a marketplace facilitator. We provide tools to list, discover, communicate, transact, and settle — but the underlying transactions are between the Buyer and the Seller, with their respective Trainers acting as agents.

Trainers as Agents

Trainers operate on the Service as agents of their respective principals (the Buyer or Seller, as applicable). Except where these Terms expressly require it (such as compliance with messaging rules), Trainers do not sign purchase, lease, or trial-on-approval agreements as principals. Binding contractual commitment requires the e-signature of the Buyer and Seller (or, in the case of minors, their parent or guardian).

Merchant of Record

For payment processing purposes, Haltered acts as the merchant of record on each transaction. This means payments flow through Haltered's Stripe Connect account; Haltered settles funds to the Seller's payout account and to the Barn's payout account in accordance with the commission split on the Listing. Haltered alone bears chargeback risk for transactions processed through the Service (see Section 11).

05 Listings

Authority to List

You may list a Horse only if you are the legal owner, the legal owner's parent or guardian (in the case of a minor owner), or an authorized agent with documented authority from the legal owner. You represent and warrant that you have full authority to offer the Horse for sale, lease, or trial through the Service.

Listing Accuracy

Each Listing must be substantially accurate. You must not knowingly misrepresent any of the following: ownership; USEF identifiers; show record; age; height; soundness or known veterinary issues; vices; training level; jurisdictional restrictions; or whether the Horse is concurrently listed elsewhere. Photographs and videos must depict the Horse being listed, taken within the most recent 12 months unless clearly labeled with a date.

Discipline Scope

The Service supports listings for Hunter, Jumper, Equitation, and Pony sport horses. Listings outside this scope (for example, Western, Eventing, Dressage, racing prospects) may be removed at our discretion.

Pricing

Sellers may display the List Price as a fixed amount, a stated range, or "price upon request." The List Price is inclusive of Haltered's 10% commission and the Barn's 5% share thereof, as described in Section 10. Sellers may not separately invoice Buyers for any platform-related fee outside the List Price.

Days Listed

"Days listed" data is visible to Haltered administrators and to the listing Trainer only. It is not displayed to Buyers.

Concurrent Listings

You may list a Horse on other marketplaces concurrently. However, if a Buyer's offer is accepted and a contract is e-signed on the Service, you must take the Listing inactive on other platforms within 24 hours and not solicit competing offers thereafter.

06 Trainer-to-Trainer Messaging

All transactional communication on the Service must occur through Haltered's in-app messaging between the Buyer's Trainer and the Seller's listing Trainer (or, where applicable, between Trainers and the legal owner for owner-coordination threads).

Permitted

Physical addresses, barn names, show venues, scheduling details, hauling logistics, and any other information necessary to coordinate trials and showings are always permitted.

Filtered

• Phone numbers in any format (digits, words, or partially obfuscated).
• Email addresses.
• References to off-platform payment systems (e.g., Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, PayPal Friends and Family, wire instructions).
• Language soliciting an off-platform sale or otherwise attempting to circumvent the Service's transaction flow.

Audit Access

Haltered administrators may review any message thread in the course of trust-and-safety operations, dispute investigation, or response to a subpoena or other lawful request. You acknowledge and consent to this access by using the Service.

Family Visibility

Where a transaction involves a Family Account, the parent or guardian holding that account may have read-only visibility into the transactional thread for their associated rider, so they can stay informed of the negotiation while the Trainer handles it operationally.

07 Trials & Trial-on-Approval Agreements

Three trial types are supported, each with different operational and contractual implications:

Path A — Trial at Seller's Barn

The Buyer (and rider) travel to the Seller's barn to ride the Horse. Hauling and travel are at the Buyer's cost. By default no separate trial agreement is required, though the Seller may require one at any time as a condition of trialing the Horse. Standard liability waivers and barn rules of the host facility apply.

Path B — Trial at a Show

The Horse is already entered at an upcoming USEF-sanctioned show; the Buyer attends the show and arranges a ride session with the Seller's listing Trainer. By default no separate trial agreement is required, though the Seller may require one.

Path C — Trial on Approval (Ship to Buyer)

The Horse is shipped to the Buyer's barn for a defined period (maximum 14 days unless otherwise agreed in writing). Path C requires:

• A signed bilateral Trial on Approval Agreement e-signed by the Seller (or the Seller's parent/guardian, in the case of a minor owner) and by the Buyer (or the Buyer's parent/guardian). Trainers do not sign as principals.
• The Buyer pays for hauling in both directions.
• The Buyer obtains and provides proof of equine mortality and major medical insurance covering at least the agreed Horse value, naming the Seller as a loss payee, before the Horse ships.
• A refundable trial deposit (default $5,000 unless otherwise specified on the Listing), held by Haltered and released in accordance with the Trial Agreement.
• Risk of loss during the trial period rests with the Buyer, except for losses arising from a latent condition or defect that the Seller knew or should have known about and failed to disclose.

Hauling and Insurance Partners

Hauling quote integration and insurance partner integration are planned features. Until those are live, Buyers and Sellers coordinate hauling and insurance directly through their own networks, with details exchanged in the trainer-to-trainer messaging thread.

08 Offers, Counters, & Acceptance

Offers are submitted by the Buyer's Trainer on the Buyer's behalf. The Seller's listing Trainer may accept, counter, or decline. Offers can be marked subject to a Pre-Purchase Examination (PPE), which adds a fourteen-day withdrawal window if the PPE reveals material soundness or health issues.

Acceptance Is Not a Binding Sale

An offer marked "accepted" through the Service is a marketplace step that routes the transaction to contract. The binding legal commitment is the Buyer's and Seller's e-signature on the sale or lease contract, not the Trainer's acceptance click. Trainers do not bind their principals merely by clicking "accept."

Owner Coordination

Trainers may use the Owner Coordination thread on the Service to confirm terms with their principal before responding to the other side. This thread is internal to the Trainer and the legal owner (or the owner's parent/guardian) and is logged for transaction record purposes. Owner coordination is informational; it does not by itself bind the owner.

09 Contracts & Closing

On acceptance, Haltered routes the applicable contract — Arizona Bill of Sale, Lease, or Trial on Approval Agreement — to the Buyer and Seller for e-signature. Contracts become legally binding when both parties have signed, in either order.

Lease contracts may include zone restrictions, regional limits, or other terms specific to the Listing. The contract terms control over any conflicting language elsewhere on the Service.

Haltered's standard contract templates are provided as a convenience. The parties may negotiate amendments through their respective Trainers in the messaging thread; any amendment becomes part of the contract only when both parties have re-signed the amended version.

10 Payments, Commission, & Fees

Commission Structure

Haltered's commission is 10% of the List Price, included in the price the Buyer pays. The 10% is split as follows:

• 5% to Haltered as platform commission.
• 5% to the Barn ("Barn Commission"), which the Barn distributes among its team in accordance with the commission split locked on the specific Listing.

The Barn Commission split among team members is configurable per listing by a Tier 2 or Tier 3 admin and must total exactly 100% of the Barn Commission. Once a Listing goes live, the split is locked; only a Tier 3 admin may modify the split on a live Listing.

Buyer Pays List Price Only

Buyers pay the List Price. No buyer-side platform fee, success fee, or markup is added at checkout. The only Buyer-side fee is the payment-processing pass-through described below.

Payment Methods — Horse Transactions

The ACH processing fee (approximately 0.8%) is passed to the Buyer at checkout. This is generally lower than card-processing fees would be, and is disclosed before payment.

Payment Methods — Ancillary Services

Credit and debit cards are accepted for ancillary services such as Pre-Purchase Examinations, equine insurance premiums, and hauling. Card processing fees (approximately 3%) are passed through to the Buyer at checkout.

Settlement

On payment clearing, Haltered settles funds via Stripe Connect to (i) the Seller's payout account for the Seller's net proceeds, and (ii) the Barn's payout account for the Barn Commission. Settlement is initiated within two business days of cleared funds.

11 Chargeback Risk Allocation

To the extent any transaction processed through the Service results in a chargeback, payment reversal, or successful dispute by the payment originator, Haltered alone bears that risk. Sellers, Barns, and Trainers are not financially exposed to chargebacks on completed and settled transactions, except to the extent the chargeback arises from the Seller's, Barn's, or Trainer's misrepresentation, fraud, or material breach of these Terms or the underlying contract — in which case Haltered may pursue contractual recovery from the responsible party.

12 Tax Reporting (1099-NEC)

Haltered tracks payments to each natural person and to each Barn entity independently. If a Trainer or a Barn receives $600 or more in calendar-year payments through the Service, Haltered will issue an IRS Form 1099-NEC to that recipient and report to the IRS, in accordance with applicable law. Each team member of a Barn is tracked on their own 1099 threshold, based on the share of Barn Commission they actually received.

You agree to provide accurate taxpayer information (including SSN or EIN as applicable) and a current Form W-9 on request. Haltered may withhold settlement of payments where required taxpayer information has not been provided.

Haltered does not provide tax advice. You are responsible for reporting your own income and consulting your own tax advisor.

Sales tax. Sales of horses are generally exempt from Arizona transaction privilege tax under the livestock exemption. [Verify with AZ-licensed CPA before launch; confirm scope and any required exemption certificates.] Haltered does not collect or remit sales tax on horse sales. Other jurisdictions in which a Buyer or Seller is located may impose their own taxes, which are the responsibility of the relevant party.

13 Withdrawals, Refunds, & Disputes

Pre-Contract Withdrawal

Either party may withdraw at any time before contract e-signature, without penalty.

PPE Contingency

If an offer was marked subject to a Pre-Purchase Examination, the Buyer may withdraw within fourteen (14) days of acceptance without penalty if the PPE reveals material soundness or health issues. The PPE clause incorporated into the contract controls.

Trial-on-Approval Withdrawal

The Buyer may decline to proceed at any time during the trial period set out in the signed Trial Agreement. The trial deposit is refunded under the conditions stated in the agreement, less any deductions the agreement specifically authorizes. The Horse must be returned to the Seller in the same condition (subject to ordinary wear and tear and the risk-of-loss provisions in Section 7) at the Buyer's cost.

Post-Closing Refunds

After contract e-signature and payment, refunds are governed by the contract itself and by applicable Arizona law. Haltered does not unilaterally reverse settled transactions except where required by a chargeback determination, court order, or our trust-and-safety determination of fraud.

Disputes Between Users

Disputes between Buyers, Sellers, Trainers, and Barns arising from a transaction are matters between those parties. Haltered may, at its discretion and as a courtesy, facilitate communication, provide transaction records, or hold disputed funds in escrow pending resolution; we do not adjudicate disputes between users.

14 Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to, and not to assist any third party to:

• List a Horse you do not own or lack authority to offer.
• Misrepresent ownership, USEF credentials, show record, soundness, training level, or any other material attribute of a Horse, Trainer, Barn, or rider.
• Solicit or accept payment for a Horse outside the Service (off-platform circumvention) once a Buyer has been introduced through the Service.
• Use the Service to harass, threaten, defame, or doxx any individual.
• Attempt to bypass the messaging filters described in Section 6.
• Reverse-engineer, scrape, or systematically collect data from the Service except as permitted by our robots.txt or with our prior written consent.
• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or to violate any applicable law or regulation, including animal welfare laws.
• Engage in any conduct that, in our reasonable judgment, threatens the integrity, safety, or trust of the marketplace.

15 User Content & License to Haltered

You retain all ownership rights in the listings, photographs, videos, descriptions, messages, reviews, and other content you submit to the Service ("User Content"). By submitting User Content, you grant Haltered a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, and publicly perform the User Content for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the Service. This license terminates when you delete the User Content from the Service, except for residual copies that may persist in routine backups.

You represent and warrant that you own or have all necessary rights in the User Content you submit; that the User Content does not infringe any third party's rights; and that the User Content is accurate.

Haltered may, but is not required to, use User Content (including listing photos and videos) for marketing the Service, identifying the Listing as an example. You may opt out of marketing use by emailing [contact@haltered.com — confirm address].

16 USEF, Stripe, & Third-Party Services

The Service incorporates third-party services, including:

• USEF (United States Equestrian Federation) for credential and horse identifier verification.
• Stripe and Stripe Connect for payment processing.
• Supabase for hosting, authentication, and storage.
• Hauling, insurance, and veterinary partners as those features are enabled.

Each third-party service is governed by its own terms and privacy policies. By using the Service, you acknowledge that the activities of these providers are outside Haltered's direct control and are subject to those providers' own terms.

17 Disclaimers — No Warranty on Horses

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Haltered disclaims all warranties, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, as to the Service and as to any Horse, contract, transaction, or third-party service made available through the Service.

No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from Haltered or through the Service, creates any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms.

18 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, in no event will Haltered, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, business, goodwill, or data, arising out of or in connection with the Service, even if Haltered has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Haltered's aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the Service or these Terms is limited to the greater of (i) the platform commission Haltered actually retained from your transactions in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (ii) [$500 — confirm with counsel].

The limitations in this section do not apply to liability that cannot lawfully be limited, including liability for fraud, willful misconduct, or gross negligence.

19 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Haltered, its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, and licensors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with: (i) your use of the Service; (ii) your User Content; (iii) your violation of these Terms; (iv) your violation of any law or third-party right; (v) any transaction you enter into through the Service; or (vi) any horse you list, buy, lease, trial, transport, or otherwise handle in connection with the Service.

20 Suspension & Termination

You may terminate your account at any time. If you have outstanding obligations on a contract or trial, those obligations survive termination of your account until performed.

Haltered may suspend or terminate your account, or remove a Listing, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including suspected violation of these Terms, fraud, harassment, or any conduct we determine in our reasonable judgment threatens the integrity of the marketplace. We are not liable to you or any third party for any suspension or termination.

Sections 4, 10, 11, 12, 14 through 19, 21 through 24, and any other provision that by its nature should survive, will survive termination of these Terms.

21 Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

[Arbitration clause to be drafted by counsel.] The parties anticipate including a binding individual arbitration clause with a class-action waiver, governed by Arizona arbitration rules, with a small-claims carve-out and a thirty-day pre-arbitration notice period. Counsel to confirm whether AAA, JAMS, or another provider is preferred, and to confirm enforceability under current Arizona and federal law.

Until that clause is finalized and effective, disputes are governed by the courts described in Section 22.

22 Governing Law & Venue

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or in connection with the Service or these Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to Section 21, the exclusive venue for any action arising out of or in connection with these Terms is the state and federal courts located in [Maricopa County, Arizona — confirm with counsel], and the parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

23 General Provisions

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any contract you sign through the Service, constitute the entire agreement between you and Haltered regarding the Service and supersede any prior or contemporaneous agreements on that subject.

Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted with an updated effective date and, where appropriate, communicated by email or in-app notice. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of an updated version constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable while preserving the original intent.

No Waiver

Haltered's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision.

Assignment

You may not assign these Terms without Haltered's prior written consent. Haltered may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or by operation of law.

Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for any delay or failure to perform caused by events outside its reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemics, civil disturbances, internet or telecommunications failures, or governmental action.

Headings

Headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms.

24 Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at:

Haltered
[Mailing address — confirm with counsel]
Email: [legal@haltered.com — confirm]
Web: haltered.com