Cross - Loaners show so little care!! Rant!

Z

zoeshiloh

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www.stowmarketanddistrictridingclub.com
I am quite angry today - I had a pony out on loan, she is about 13hh fully registered NF. Anyway, loaners called me and said that they wanted to end loan, in the contract it says they must arrange transport etc back to my yard. Well, a couple of months passed, and no transport arranged. Then I get a phonecall yesterday saying "we are going on holiday this weekend, and if you don't come and pick pony up she will be left in the field with no water"

So, managed to get transport organised, headed down there and retrieved pony. What a state!! Now, these people have had her for four years, and done lots with her - pony club, hunting, lots of hacking and generally kids pony things. I went to see her six months ago and she was the picture of health. It just seems that they have suddenly decided that they coldn't be bothered anymore.

Poor pony is obese! How she doesn't have laminitis I don't know! She makes show ponies look skinny! She is actually completely flat across her back. She had three shoes. Apparently she was shod three weeks ago, and has since lost a shoe - well, looking at those feet, I wouldn't even believe she was shod three months ago! Her feet have grown around the remaining shoes!!

As for her 'belongings' - her tack was filthy, not only that but her saddle, which was brand new when they loaned her originally, is now covered in scrapes, scuffs and scratches. I didn't expect it to be in 'new' condition, but it has almost no leather left on the cantle where they have learnt it against walls etc. One of her rugs is in pieces, no attempt made to clean, repair or replace.

And the worst part of all - they have "lost" her passport. They were so blase about it, like it didn't even matter! I am so angry! She is a fully registered, papered Newforest, with 5 gen pedigree on pasport etc. I will be on the phone Monday morning to try and get a replacement, fingers crossed they will issue one.

The idea was to get her home and possibly sell her, but its going to take me months just to get the weight sorted out, her feet trimmed up nicely, and the passport etc to be sorted out. I am so cross - they had been looking after her so well, and it seems like they just "gave up" when they decided that they didn't want her anymore.

Ok, rant over, just had to let off some steam. I had a loan horse as my first horse, and would never have dreamt about sending him back in that condition! Why do loaners now think that it is ok? This is my third horse/pony to come back in a state - I have to say, after this I will never loan a horse out again. I have had enough of loaners now.
 
How come you allowed them/you to leave it a couple of months before you went to see the pony.... if a loaner said they wanted to give the pony back I would of been down there asap, even if it was just to check everything was ok!!!
 
I did visit pony regularly - they have had her for four years, and been so good with her, that I didn't expect any different for the last two months that they had her. I was not in a position to go and get her, and states in the contract they had to sort out transport. I had not been able to get down there (quite a way away, not just a trip round the corner, over 200 mile round trip!) and had no reason to think that they were not looking after her as they had been for previous four years.

As for tarring all loaners with the same brush - it is not that so much, I know that there are good loaners out there, I have had some loan my horses/ponies. But I have also had more that do not take care of my equipment, think it is ok to send rugs back in tatters, and the horses with half the tack they went with.
 
Oh come on you two - she has had the pony out on loan for 4 years and had been checking regularly! After that amount of time you don't expect to be constantly watching...you would have expected them to have taken the initiative and be doing it all on your own. Think it is rather an unfair thing to say.

OP - I feel so sorry for you. I hope that ponio comes back to good health, and sorry for your bad experiences. I would be so upset. And god, I get so funny about my tack. Guess nobody treats your animal like you do! (I currently have a brand new loaner for my mare who is abysmal - but...loves the pony and treats her well....just doesn't know that my bloody bridle doesn't like being in rain and then hung in a hot tack room. Go figure!)
 
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Yep, I'd agree. I think you have a part to play in this.

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As far as I was aware, everything was ok - the reason it took two months was because they were apparently waiting for a transporter to sort out a shared load. I had no reason to think they were treating her any differently now, to how they were a few months ago, when she was a picture of health. I was planning to go and visit her this week anyway. They were still sending me photos, singing her praises, and saying everything was fine.

Yes, I am cross with myself for not going to see her, but that is no excuse for them letting her get into that state - they had a responsiblity to look after her, which they did not do. Not only that, but they also did not look after my tack and rugs.
 
OK, I'm sorry for sounding off at you - I didn't know the full story.

I'm in the opposite situation to yourself, I have a mare on loan who we have jumped through hoops for (she went lame 2 days after she arrived but had a pre-existing condition the owner didn't declare) and the owner just doesn't give a sh*t and won't take the horse back. (Have just posted about it!)

I hope your pony gets sorted out sooner rather than later but please don't lose faith in all loaners - there are some good ones out there
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so sorry this has happend to you. I my self learnt the hard way and never again in my life time would I loan or put a horse on trial. For every good loaner out there, there are 100s of bad ones, and these people just do not look after other peoples property like it was their own, and spoil it for the one's that would. Hope you get your pony sorted soon.
 
I thik it is soo sad that it has ended like this
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I think its sad that so many bad loaners give good loaners such a bad name
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I am a good loaner, I have had Ellie for 2 years now and I am in the opposite situation, I don't want her to go back to her owners
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Same here we are now on our 3 rd loan and this pony will go back with more than she came with.I have bought her a new bridle, fly rug ,turnout and full flymask because she burns her nose.The owner has been fab too we have a great arrangement.She bought her for £1000 and shes worth 3 times as much because of everything she has done .Last month we were told to affiliate her .Plus we love her to bits and dont ever want to part with her but at 14 1 my daughter is going to grow out of her luckily we will be able to keep in contact as she is locally owned.
I hope you manage to get pony back on track and find a good home or a good loaner.
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Ive loaned out my ponies 6 times and each time they have come back in a horrific state.
So never ever will i loan out a pony again. My lads will sit in the field and grow old well cared for and much loved but no longer ridden.

Ive managed to find a little rider for one of my old boys who hated being retired, I actualy found the rider on here
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. But she comes to my yard and hacks him out with me on one of my other ponies. He wont be going out on loan ever again.
another of my ponies could do with a little rider to take him out occasionaly and give him lots and lots of cuddles as he is very deffinately a little childrens pony as he adores tiny tots. HOwever i wont let him leave my yard.
 
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I hope your pony gets sorted out sooner rather than later but please don't lose faith in all loaners - there are some good ones out there
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There are some good ones!! The people who have my boy on loan are great and I think I'm a good loaner! My girly on loan is very much loved and taken care of. Just wish more people were like that then everyone would stop insisting horses must stay on current yard...
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Just to echo all the others here but don't tar all of us with the same brush
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My loan pony was in poor condition when I took her on and I've spent loads of money and time on her getting her fattened up and in good condition. I arrange her shoeing and worming schedule too.
Sorry you had a bad experience but hopefully someone like the rest of us here will come along to help you out
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I am so sorry that you had her come back to you in such a state I hope you get her sorted out soon.
It is such a shame that we are all tied in together, I have loaned horses before. I took my ex racer on loan for a few weeks as he was in a state when I went to see him, wanted to see if he was as calm with a little more fitness and weight behind him.
The owners seemed quite suprised that he could look as good as he did, I found it very difficult to find a decent horse as I do prefer a short loan period first however no-one loans near me so finding my boy was a god send. I can see why people don't loan but it is a shame when only a few make a reputation for the rest of us
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I have been both the loaner and the loanee and it's always been fine.

I ride April for someone and I *think* I treat her just as I would my own horse. Infact sometimes I think I might be more overprotective of her
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I buy her supplements and tack, got her knee boots for hacking and all manner of things!
I also took her on when she was being a beast (kicking etc!) and, alongside her owners turned her into a much nicer, happier horse.

Am so sorry to hear you have had a bad experience
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Not all loaners are the same though!
 
It's not just a bad experience now - its several... I have had one horse almost end up dead (over £15,000 vet bills!!) another become unrideable, and can never be ridden again. I have this pony that has come back with no manners (as I found out today!) twice her normal size, and with her feet in a shocking state.

In total, over the years that I have loaned horses, I have lost saddles, rugs, bridles, numnahs - you name it! Oh yes, and passports!

I have paid out for loaners to affiliate the horse/pony they have (their decision, I did not push them, they asked me and I was happy to contribute towards cost) I have had some loaners ask me to pay out these fees (over £100) and then never take the horse/pony to a single competition!

Yes, I have had some good loaners too, but although they looked after the horse well, my belongings still came back in tatters. I don't like sending my horse without necessary rugs etc, but am getting fed up of visiting loaners, only to find my rugs on other horses!

I can't think how I can vet potential loaners any better - I ask them to try horse at least twice at home, I do a visit to make sure that everything is suitable at their end, I ask other liveries/pony clubs etc about the potential loaners. In fact the worst loaner I ever had, had been runner up in the "Your Horse Win a Horse" competition, so had been thoroughly vetted by professionals as well (and according to magazine didn't make it as winner only because she didn't want to do the clinics/shows that the magazine wanted to cover).

But no, I have now had enough. I know that there are good loaners out there - in fact I stuck up for loaners on here not so long ago, and actually cited this pony's loaners as an example of "good loaners". But I am not prepared to risk my horses/ponies and their belongings any longer.
 
The lady who loaned my horse was fantastic, she took better care of my horse than I could have done at the time - so they aren't all bad.
 
Hard luck. Seem to have drawn the short straw every time. Hope she picks up condition as fast as possible and she turns into the horse you remember!
 
I'm so sorry this happened to you but I can totally understand why you'd never want to loan again...I don't blame you...I never want to be a loanee again after what happened to me!

I adored the two I had on loan, they both left me FAR better than they came to me, with LOTS more rugs/kit etc and everything they came with was in the same condition or in the case of the rugs cleaned and repaired yet I was accused of neglect and all in all treated very badly by YO and not believed by owner >:(. Completly put my off and I won't be doing it again I can tell you!
 
You poor thing, what a nightmare!

I'd never say never, but I don't thikn I'll ever loan a horse again - it's too much bloody agro!

I loaned ponies as a child and always treated them as my own but some people couldn't give a flying f#ck and it really, really annoys me!
 
I had my first horse on loan for a year before we bought him, and I was so careful with him. He turned up with a turnout rug, a stable rug (that was too small) a bridle that was falling apart, and a saddle that was too narrow!

In the first week he ripped his turnout rug, so we bought him a brand new one. By the second week we had also bought him several stable rugs, new numnahs and a new bridle. I asked his owner to supply a saddle that fitted him, and eventually I also spent out and bought him a new saddle myself.

I was told when we had taken him on that he had been backed for a year, had done ODEs and a bit of dressage, and that he was fab in traffic etc. We had tried him a couple of times, and he seemed very green, but sensible. By the end of the first year, I had shattered my shoulder, torn a ligament in my knee, and had a broken foot! Despite all that, with correct instruction and help, he turned into a super horse, and at the end of the year we ended up buying him. That was when the owner turned round to me and admitted he had only been backed a week before I had taken him on loan!

I have now owned that horse for almost 10 years, and have never regretted a minute of it (despite the broken bones).

There are good loaners out there, but few and far between in my experience. There are also rubbish owners out there, that lie about the horse, it's abilities and problems, and fail to supply the correct tack/essentials and expect you to spend out.

Two sides to every story I guess. I don't mean to have a dig at all loaners, I am just fed up of it all now.
 
not surprised you are fed up with it!! It's not like you are an uncaring owner who doesn't vet the loanee first and then check up on them, plenty of those about too who just dump the horse on anyone who will have it
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The horse world is full of some very strange people
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