A hello and a WWYD re new loan horse/yards

Chihuahua

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Hi HHO forum - am a very old user with a new account. Was on the forum a lot as a teen 10 years ago!

Anyway I have decided the time is right to have a bit of fun with a loan horse for a couple of years before hopefully having kids, as my old boy is arthritic and having a wonderful time living out his semi-retirement. I have two potential loan horses to choose from - second viewing for a lovely ex racer and first viewing for a cob x ISH (my normal type) this weekend. Both owners moving abroad and looking for someone for 18 months - 2 years which suits me (although have obviously fallen head over heels with the TB and already can't imagine handing her back!).

My dilemma is this:

Option A: Keep loan horse with current horse

Pros: Not having to go to two yards at the weekends, already know the people and set up, people are nice.
Cons: Yard is a 15 - 30 min drive from home/work along two major A roads, yard is very quiet with not much going on.

Option B: Keep loan horse at different yard. Pay YOs to feed/check horses on alternate days during the week, go to both Saturdays and Sundays.

Pros: New yard is 5 min easy drive from home/work, very busy (80 horses over a few different yards so lots of people to ride with), on-site shows/clinics.
Cons: Extra time driving around at weekends, would not see old boy every day, having to deal with a new horse and new yard at the same time, not sure what the people will be like.

The yards are very similar in what they offer (grass livery, huge fields, no poo picking, 2 schools, great hacking, relatively cheap, stables in emergency). Moving old boy to new yard is not an option - he is so settled in the herd and has had to move around a lot in the past so I'm committed to keeping him there.

So WWYD?!
 

Leo Walker

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If you cant move the old boy then could someone check and feed him every day in the week? Then you would only have 2 to do on a weekend which is much more manageable. The new yard sounds much more suitable, but having 2 on separate yards a fair distance apart is going to get very tiresome very quickly!
 

Tash88

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I would go to the new yard where you will be able to do more with your new horse, then pay someone to check on your retired horse in the week. I have a similar set up - my retired horse is on grass livery about a 10 min drive from my working horse, both about 15 mins from work and 45 mins from home. Neither yard is suitable for the other, so they need to be kept apart but I have an arrangement where I pay a set amount each month for my retired horse to be checked on daily, and I trust my friend implicitly, my horse adores her. In an ideal world there would be an option for grass livery where my ridden horse is though!
 

Templebar

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How old is your old horse?

I would go to the new yard, you can always move to your current one but if it turns out to be nice then i would move your old boy there when you are settled. As he is not changing owner and by then you would be settled with the new horse only his location would change but his management not much which most horses would cope with.

If you are dead certain with not moving him then i would move to the current yard as surly changing his management and who does him will be a more difficult change than place with the same person.
 

Templebar

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I hadn't considered paying YO to look after old boy all week - that looks like a good solution.

Templebar - he's 21.

If he is fit and healthy i would move him into the new yard if it turns out to be suitable. My old pony is 27 and she moves between two places for summer and winter but always with my care. If i had to move completely i would be happy to move her to a place provided it met her needs although i do appreciate she hasn't been in a lot of homes in her life and has been with me for over 10 years now. I would justify the new yard by thinking that if its close then that's at least and extra 10 mins a day that can be given to him for attention.
 

splashgirl45

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i would want both on the same yard and would try loan horse with old boy first, or have loan horse at the other yard if you prefer it and once you are settled move old boy as well.
 
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