A rant about loaning

[R2R]

I would like to say a word about loaning.

I have loaned, and I have sent horses out on loan.

As a loaner (as in, someone who TAKES a horse on loan) I would treat loaning in the same way as I would buying a horse. I currently have a loan pony on the yard who has improved since we have had him.

A contract, regular updates, and an agreement that the person sending me the horse can visit as and when (I have nothing to hide) is all part of the deal. If the owner wants to interfere that is fine by me. I listen, take on board, and have the ability to explain my reason for doing things. Most often, we reach a compromise.
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LOANING DOES WORK.

As for sending a horse out on loan – some key facts,

 Get a contract, read it, and add to it. Don’t just get the one off of the BHS website, add bits (such as visiting, etc) that will make YOU happy. I have a clause in mine which says if I visit the horse and I am unhappy with the standard of care, I can take it away immediately. I also have another clause whereby the loaner agrees my horse will never be PTS by lethal injection. Funny things – but my wishes.
 If you loan to people you have a good feeling about, it often works better than if you are unsure. I have turned down people I feel iffy about. It is not hard to do, you don’t have to send your horse anywhere.
 CHECK your horse. I am a fine one to talk here – but only because I am fairly laid back and think you can tell a whole lot from facebook photos! If my current loan family didn’t post pics on here and on f/b of my pony, I would be up at least every other week to check on him. This shouldn’t be a problem if there is nothing to hide. I certainly do not have a problem with owners checking horses and can’t see why people would? As an owner, you have a responsibility to your horse, regardless of where he is and who is riding it.

To me, it is inexcusable not to check on your horse when it is out of your care, and this is why loans often go wrong and result in failure. It annoys me when people send their horses off for 6 months/a year/however long then go about giving loaners a bad name because their horse hasn’t come back in the state it was sent in. To me, that is something that can be totally avoided by simply checking your horse regularly, giving advice, and if you don’t like it, removing YOUR horse from the situation.

As an owner, you are responsible for your horse, even if you are LOANING it to someone else. Like a bank – if you loan money from a bank, they do credit checks, approval, then check to see if you miss payments etc. They continually monitor the money they have loaned to you – same should be with horses.

Rant over!!

 

[Ottinmeg]

Well said! says her who hasnt checked on her horse for the last 2 months!! I am quite happy with the people who have my horse and see pics of her on facebook etc etc so don't feel the need to check on her all the time. Must arrange a visit soon though.

 

[Kat]

Completely agree.

I'd add, accept that sometimes accidents and unfortunate things happen and are unavoidable. If you can't then maybe loaning isn't a good idea, any horse can have a fall or a colic even if well cared for.

 

[R2R]

Katt, of course, but there is no excuse for getting your horse back and moaning because it has got bad feet/a bit thin etc etc

 

[ldlp111]

i dont agree if people want to have a horse on loan then they should be capable of realising the horse is too thin, his feet need doing etc without the owner having to check up on them every week to tell them !

 

[Oscar162]

Well said!!! I loan my daughters pony ( cos the buggers wont sell him to me) We couldn't love him more or care for him any better, we dont see him as our "loan pony" we see him as our pony.
He became very ill this winter and has cost us thousands in vet fees, but we never questioned his needs, and I am glad to say his owners never questioned the choices I made in his care. I am very lucky with the loan I have, fingers crossed he is soon right as rain and we put this tough five months behind us.

 

[R2R]

i dont agree if people want to have a horse on loan then they should be capable of realising the horse is too thin, his feet need doing etc without the owner having to check up on them every week to tell them !

Indeed they should. However, as a horse owner, you still have a responsibility for your horse, and shouldnt take for granted that they should just "KNOW"

 

[ldlp111]

Yes you do still have a responsibilty to your horse, but it sounds like you are suggesting it is ok for them to neglect the horse if the owner doesnt have time or cant be bothered to check horse regularly.
After all most people loan a horse because they don't have the time but don't wish to sell.

At the end of the day you can put as many clauses in the loan agreement as you want, for example must be shod every 6 weeks due to hoof problem!! But they come up with farrier's on holiday/sick, has let us down, but when asked for name of farrier won't tell you it!! But it's just a piece of paper and according to police once you give them your horse if they won't give it back there is nothing they can do!

I didn't mean disagree but I think responsibilty for the horse's welfare should primarily be the loanee's, as would be the same for a YO with liveries not their horses but on their property so they have to take some responsibilty for their welfare.
But yes I agree a owner should check their horse regularly and point out any probelms as I did, but often falls on deaf ears in my experience.

 

[mtj]

I would like to think that I am one of the "arguements" for loaning an older horse that needs a quieter life.

I lost (interstitial pneumonia - aged 18) my light hack/companion on 30/4 and now need a buddy for my warmblood. I'm in a financial position to buy, but having just unexpectedly lost a horse in his late teens, I'm likely to go for a youngish horse/pony if buying. Given that the horse will probably mostly hack, no doubt many of you will think that it would be a waste of a young horse.

Nevertheless, I do sympathise with those of you who have had a bad experience. I will probably get screamed at for saying this, but I wonder if some of the negative loaning issues are due to lack of finance/experience on the part of the loanee. Maybe insist they have BHS stage 1 or Horse Owners Certificate? I'm digging myself in deeper here, cos I've got neither!

 

[Kat]

Katt, of course, but there is no excuse for getting your horse back and moaning because it has got bad feet/a bit thin etc etc

Completely agree.

I meant that the owner needs to take responsibility for checking up but also not overreact if something does happen to a horse. Even given the best possible care the horse may have an injury and I think sometimes owners on here are overly harsh with the loanees.

There are some really good loanees out there and some really bad ones. Loaning can be a great thing for everyone involved if everyone takes a responsible and reasonable attitude. That includes checking the care of the horse is up to scratch but also allowing remembering that the loanee can't be perfect and most likely won't do everything exactly the same as you do.

It irritates me that people come on here moaning about the person loaning their horse and telling everyone never to loan their horse. It is a great shame for all the people and horses that benefit from loaning and normally the problem would be prevented if the owner stepped back a bit and checked the animal regularly but didn't expect the loanee to be a clone of themselves but even more perfect. Too many people think no one else is capable of looking after their horse as well as they do.

 

[canteron]

This is the most perfect thread for me.

Have lovely horse, who even though I haven't advertised but know she is very saleable, but my real concern is a great home. She came from a bad place about 7 years ago and I couldn't bear for her to go back to that sort of state, so have been considering loaning.

Have a person who I think could give my horse the perfect (loan) home but have heard so many bad things about loaning I was beginning to be put off.

I think now I will progress, it has always slightly disturbed me how many people on here seem to think that they can loan a horse, have minimal responsibility towards it and then dump it back. So I will talk to this lady, explain exactly what I want from a loanee and go from there.

Thanks Katt, you have reassured me that I am not being an unreasonable person being protective of my horse.

 

[Cat&Mouse]

I personally think the responsiblity lies with both parties. If you are putting your horse on loan you have a responsiblity to regularly check that you are happy with the level of care. If you are loaning you have a responsibility to have the knowledge & finances before taking on a horse & to keep up that level of care.

Unfortunatley I do think finances have a lot to do with it, lets face it people think they are virtually getting a 'FREE' horse, its not like the owner can ask for a copy of your bank statement before sending horse out on loan!!

It is poeple like this that abuse trust & give all loaners a bad name, but trusting your gut insinct goes a long way.

If you sent your child to boarding school would you not expect regular updates & would you not go & see them to check eveything was ok??No different!!

 

[Kat]

I personally think the responsiblity lies with both parties. If you are putting your horse on loan you have a responsiblity to regularly check that you are happy with the level of care. If you are loaning you have a responsibility to have the knowledge & finances before taking on a horse & to keep up that level of care.

Unfortunatley I do think finances have a lot to do with it, lets face it people think they are virtually getting a 'FREE' horse, its not like the owner can ask for a copy of your bank statement before sending horse out on loan!!

It is poeple like this that abuse trust & give all loaners a bad name, but trusting your gut insinct goes a long way.

If you sent your child to boarding school would you not expect regular updates & would you not go & see them to check eveything was ok??No different!!

Completely agree.

I do think loaners could be quite proactive about checking that the person is up to it.

I think it is a concern that people loan because they can't afford to buy. In most cases what a horse would cost you to keep in about six months could buy a cheap horse so why not wait and buy one??? This is worth asking loaners. Maybe they are loaning with a view to buying, maybe it is because they have limited time (maybe want a horse for a year before uni) maybe they have lost their own and want to replace it without waiting while they save, maybe they can keep a horse very cheaply at home but don't have much spare cash to actually buy. There are legitimate explanations but both partys need to consider it.

The charities all have quite exhaustive vetting proceedures for potential loaners. I wonder if they could make some money by offering a loanee vetting and checking service to the public. It might be popular especially for people who will have difficulty checking their horse and would be independant.....

I honestly think loaning can work if everyone is honest up front and reasonable, but loaning out your horse is not the time to be coy about putting the loanee on the spot, and even asking about finances!!!