Terms of service

By creating a Hoofine account or transacting through the Hoofine platform (the "Service"), you agree to these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Hoofine is operated by Growvit GmbH, a limited liability company incorporated in Germany ("Growvit", "Hoofine", "we", "our"). Full company details are listed in our Imprint. We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify registered users by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect.

You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering a binding contract in your jurisdiction. Business accounts must be in good legal standing.

You may not use the Service if you are subject to sanctions or trade restrictions under applicable law, or if you have been previously banned from Hoofine.

Sellers are solely responsible for the accuracy of every listing: age, breed, height, soundness, training, competition record, registration status and provenance.

Sellers warrant that they have legal title to the horse and authority to transfer it, free of undisclosed liens. Misrepresentation — intentional or negligent — may result in listing removal, account suspension, and dispute findings against the seller.

Buyer funds for horses and breeding contracts transacted on Hoofine are held pending release through our payments partner, Stripe, whose regulated payment infrastructure holds the funds (the "Escrow"). Hoofine facilitates this hold but is not itself a bank, a licensed escrow agent, or a money-transmission business; the regulated party is Stripe. Funds are not the seller's property until released under the rules described on our Escrow service page.

Hoofine charges a platform fee of 2.9% + $1.00 USD on completed transactions, deducted from the seller's payout. Card processing is provided by Stripe and subject to Stripe's terms.

The Verified badge indicates that, at the time of verification, the horse's microchip, registry record and a vet-sighted photo were matched. Verification is not a warranty of future soundness, suitability or market value.

Buyers remain responsible for their own pre-purchase examination.

Disputes are handled under the process published on our Dispute resolution page. The buyer's 48-hour inspection window begins when delivery is confirmed.

Either party may appeal an initial decision for an independent arbitrator review. Arbitrator findings are final under these Terms.

You may not: (a) list a horse you do not own or are not authorised to sell; (b) request or accept payment outside the Service; (c) use stolen images, falsified pedigrees or forged registry papers; (d) harass, threaten or impersonate another user; or (e) use the Service in violation of any applicable law, including animal welfare statutes.

Hoofine, the Hoofine logo, and associated marks are the property of Growvit GmbH. User-contributed content (listings, photos, descriptions) remains owned by the user, who grants Hoofine a worldwide, non-exclusive licence to host, display and distribute it for the purpose of operating the Service.

Hoofine is a marketplace and escrow provider. We are not a party to the underlying horse sale contract between buyer and seller.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hoofine's aggregate liability to any user arising out of or relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the platform fees paid by that user in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) USD 500.

Hoofine is operated globally by Growvit GmbH from Germany. These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).

Consumer rights: if you use the Service as a consumer (i.e., not in the course of a trade, business or profession), you keep the protection of any mandatory consumer-protection rules of the country in which you have your habitual residence — wherever in the world that is. Nothing in these Terms is intended to override those rights, and any provision that would do so is to be read narrowly to comply with local law.

Place of jurisdiction for users acting as merchants (Kaufleute) is the registered seat of Growvit GmbH. Consumers may sue Growvit GmbH at the registered seat or at their own place of residence, and Growvit GmbH may sue consumers only at the consumer's place of residence, in each case to the extent required by applicable law.

Online dispute resolution (EU users): the European Commission provides an ODR platform at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. Growvit GmbH is not obligated and does not currently participate in proceedings before a consumer arbitration board (Verbraucherschlichtungsstelle) under the German VSBG.

Because Hoofine accounts carry ongoing escrow obligations and active listings that affect other users, accounts cannot be self-deleted from within the Service. There is no "delete my account" button, and we do not offer self-service account removal.

If you wish to close your account, contact [email protected]. We will review the request and close the account once all active escrows, payouts, listings and disputes associated with it have been resolved. Closure may be refused or deferred while a transaction or investigation is open, or where retention is required by law (for example, tax, anti-money-laundering or fraud-prevention obligations).

Closure is final: Hoofine may retain a minimal anonymised record of the account to satisfy legal, accounting and dispute-history requirements, and to prevent the same person from re-registering after a ban. Statutory rights you have under applicable privacy law (including the right to erasure) are honoured to the extent required by that law and are handled through [email protected].

Questions about these Terms: [email protected]. Trust & safety reports: [email protected]. Account closure and general support: [email protected].