Dangerous Loan Horse

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horseyuk

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Not really sure there is anything anyone can do about this, but felt the need to share...
Recently had a horse on loan which turned out to be a total nightmare for various reasons but mainly behaviour.

The horse in question was 8 years old and had been bred by the owner. He hadn’t done a great deal because the owner 'had lost confidence after a bad fall eventing on her main horse'

It started off with a little nap here and there but then progressed to rearing. Being a fairly experienced rider I tried to nip it in the bud straight away as well as getting all the usual things checked to make sure there was no problem (back, teeth, saddle, vet, physio)

Kept the owner updated and expressed my concerns over the issues however then the problem got worse and the horse became dangerous and I had quite a bad fall. Then all contact was lost with the owner and she started ignoring calls, emails, texts etc.

I tried everything with this horse, including outside riding help from professionals - who all felt that the horse had problems. The owner finally got in touch and came to see him. She informed me that it was all me and I'd trashed a good horse. Slightly shell shocked by the whole thing I sent the horse to a yard for schooling at my expense - for my own peace of mind more than anything. The yard agreed that this horse was very difficult including rearing and although managed to do a little bit more than I could told me at no point what so ever to part with any money for it and to send him back to the owner.

The owner then told me I had 7 days in which to purchase the horse or send him back - so I took the escape route, and although upsetting (believe it or not I had come to care a great deal for this horse and his welfare!) I sent him back.

On handing him back, she slipped up mentioning that he had in fact reared up and come over backwards on her, and she was badly injured and she would never get on him and he was a rearer!! So all along this was the reason she wasn't riding and this was the reason he was for loan! I felt like a total fool.

I trusted her as she was a so called professional rider (although had given up eventing) had a fab yard and seemed very knowledgeable and genuine when we viewed. When I tried the horse it was straight from the field (she said he had been wasted since she lost her confidence!) and he was actually well behaved.

At one point she also mentioned that she was having to view another one of her horses on loan that a rider had ruined!

The problem now?? I have just seen this same horse advertised again for loan or sale and I feel a bit helpless and worried about what will happen to both the horse and a new rider.


Anybody experienced anything like this before?
 
I am afraid that this has proved to be a most unfortunate experience for you and you are very lucky that you have not suffered a serious injury as a result of this completely irresponsibility person.
Unfortunately there are some people who are incapable of telling the truth or being realistic of the true characteristics of their horrse.
 
I think you should have sent the horse back the minute the owner stopped all contact, not paid to send it for schooling. That in itself should have set the alarm bells ringing.. Sorry you had such an awful time.

Theres not really much you can do re the horse being up again. If you contact the owner she will deny it.. It came on gradually, so there is a chance that someone may get on with the horse perhaps and work through it..
 
I have, a horse that I'd seen out competing which had obvious 'issues' and had gone over backwards on her owner more than once.

Next time I saw it she had been loaned out - to a 12 year old child :mad: :mad: as a perfect PC horse. Child was as competent as a 12 year old can be, but mare's behaviour was erratic to say the least, and was prone to having 'bleeds' randomly, which owner had said were not significant. Finally one day she stopped dead out hacking and, without any 'warning' rears, went full height and over backwards. Amazingly child wasn't badly hurt. Vet was called, and owner contacted, whereupon she immediately removed the horse.

It was advertised again a few weeks later, again as a suitable horse for a child. She was loaned out to someone else but was found dead in the field fairly soon after.

I am so angry that people can do this, but I'm not really sure what can be done :(
 
I think you've gone above and beyond the call of duty as the loanee for this horse and sadly there is nothing else you can do.

The owner sounds like a completely unscrupulous person who is going to get someone injured or worse but I don't think there is anything you can do about it.
 
Thanks for your replies already - i'm sorry to hear people have had similar problems. In hindsight I know the best thing to do would have been to send him back straight away - it was a very difficult situation which I have learnt a huge lesson from! I just don't know how some people sleep at night
 
What a terrible experience you have had, you are well out of it.

It is appalling that this owner is readvertising the horse for loan again. The only thing I think you can do is to make her feel guilty. Write her a letter, stating how dangerous the horse can be and asking her if she really wants someone's death on her hands, because this is what it could come to. Hopefully she will see sense and I would have thought the best thing for the horse is pts if it is really that dangerous. But alas she is probably the type to put it through the sales so she can make a few pounds.

Again, write her a letter and hope that she can be 'guilted' out of loaning again (I don't know if that is a real word?)
 
Boxers said:
What a terrible experience you have had, you are well out of it.

It is appalling that this owner is readvertising the horse for loan again. The only thing I think you can do is to make her feel guilty. Write her a letter, stating how dangerous the horse can be and asking her if she really wants someone's death on her hands, because this is what it could come to. Hopefully she will see sense and I would have thought the best thing for the horse is pts if it is really that dangerous. But alas she is probably the type to put it through the sales so she can make a few pounds.

Again, write her a letter and hope that she can be 'guilted' out of loaning again (I don't know if that is a real word?)
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Thank you - this sounds like a really good idea!
 
This is such a scary post what is wrong with some people. I know there isn't anything much you can do now but what if he ends up killing someone? Could you alert the website or where ever she has the ad up?
I know you always take your chances to an extent with horses but this is something else!!
Glad you didn't get hurt
 
I thought about that, just incase anyone reading is looking for a horse to loan and worried- the advert is not on any of the major sites. Or if you are concerned please pm me
 
Sounds like she was hoping for someone to have it on loan and do all the hard work instead of putting her hand in her pocket and paying for professional schooling from the start.

Could you PM me the advert details?
 
I don't think that's allowed. As much as I don't like the owner I don't really want to share their personal contact details / name and shame unless someone generally is viewing a horse they want to double check. Hope that's understandable- I just went through quite a horrible time with it and don't want a back lash
 
No thats fair enough, I was just curious to see how she would pitch the ad but i guess you just don't mention any issues!!
 
I loaned a cob from Devon that was described as safe but green . He was not just green - he had full blown temper tantrums when asked to do anything other than walk . Went in to an all out "rodeo" mode - and if you stayed on - he bolted .
When I called the owner ( who bred him) she said it was highly unusual and never known him behave like that ..not ever .
I pride myself in perseverance and a sticky bum .. but I have never seen a horse that angry . With the help of modern technology I managed to trace the previous loaner ( whose name was never given to me ) and she sent me the messages between herself and the owner when she experienced the same , highly disturbing behaviour. Also information given by the loaner prior to her ..more of the same . It is a sad world that we are not free to name and shame when the facts speak for themselves . That horse was advertised for mother , daughter share ! There should be a way we can warn unsuspecting loaners - It could cost a life!
 
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I would write to the owner pointing out that she now has firm evidence from you that the horse is dangerous. So that if you hear of it injuring anyone in future you will offer yourself to them as a witness, should the injured party choose to sue, that the danger was known.
 
I had a rather unfortunate experience with a loan horse too, and it had the same outcome- horse went back.
I loaned a lovely TB from a "friend" starting in October just in time for winter. Horse came with one shoe hanging on, covered in scrapes and scars. Came with no tack just a headcollar. Had new saddle fitted, got his feet sorted and tided him up ( imho doubled the price tag!) worked him for months, he was known to be a bit quirky to ride. But I never fell off even though there was some nasty bucking and a fair few threatening to rear and temper tantrums. He went back in the end because I'd shelled out £500 in vets bills already for a slight lameness. Deemed to just be a " pulled muscle" but he was never really 100% I suspected something in his sacroiliac or similar. But I wasn't prepared to shell out for a horse that wasn't mine! So the horse went back as owner wouldn't claim on her insurance for investigations and I wasn't riding or keeping a horse in pain. I found out in the end he's been sold to a girl who gets dumped on the floor every time she rides him.
 
A girl on our yard put her horse on loan through one of the local social media groups when she fell pregnant. He is a swine: I’ve seen him rear vertical with her, tank off and drop his shoulder in a signature dirty move, buck for Britain, nasty stops out show jumping, the works. He’s had her in hospital a couple of times. She thinks his behaviour is funny and I guess she thinks she’s a great rider because she can ‘handle’ him. I think something is seriously wrong with either his brain or his back.
The ad for loan said nothing about his behaviour, just that he wasn’t a ‘novice ride’. I know professional riders who won’t get on him...
Fortunately, out community is small and his reputation preceded him, and she ended up putting him on grass during the pregnancy because nobody would take him. I was shocked that she was willing to endanger someone else so that her horse stayed in Work ready for her to get back on once the baby was born.
 
Hindsight is a marvellous thing. What a horrible experience for you and I am horrified it's up for loan again. I think I might have purchased the horse for peppercorn and pts.
 
This is turning into quite a big club, isn't it? I took a pony on loan for my then 10 year old novice daughter. The owner, to be fair, did say the pony had a few issues, caused by a previous loaner, but was safe and and good for a kid to learn on. The pony was a devil, prone to sudden tanking off with absolutely no warning, kicking, and lying down under a rider. I got on her (she was only about 13hh, stocky) and got bucked right down the field in a serious attempt to remove me, when I wouldn't let her get her head down and graze. Needless to say, pony went back within the month!
 
tallyho! said:
Hindsight is a marvellous thing. What a horrible experience for you and I am horrified it's up for loan again. I think I might have purchased the horse for peppercorn and pts.
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The trouble is that will cost hundreds of pounds for most people. Shooting and removal here is about two hundred, injection and removal nearer four hundred.

I wonder if that's not why there are now so many of these stories? In the past people would take them on for 'meat money' knowing that they would not lose out if they had them put down. Now they don't take them because it will cost too much, so they are passed on time and again by people less scrupulous than you and me.
 
There’s always the dodgy dealer Facebook pages. Stories like this make my blood boil. She’s probably telling herself she cares about the horse when her behaviour says anything but.
 
ycbm said:
The trouble is that will cost hundreds of pounds for most people. Shooting and removal here is about two hundred, injection and removal nearer four hundred.

I wonder if that's not why there are now so many of these stories? In the past people would take them on for 'meat money' knowing that they would not lose out if they had them put down. Now they don't take them because it will cost too much, so they are passed on time and again by people less scrupulous than you and me.
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I can feel my blood boiling :mad:
 
ycbm said:
Not with me, I hope?
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eh? No! With the people with no scruples... you were right of course - those people will just carry on doing the same thing with no conscious thought for anyone else's life whatsoever.

(I've calmed down now)
 
Oh gosh OP this is a difficult one, and you have done all that you could - and more, having paid for the schooling out of your own pocket out of the goodness of your heart, which you need not have.

This unscrupulous individual obviously saw you coming and thought nothing of allowing you to take on a dangerous horse. Thank goodness you were not injured, that at least is a relief.

Unfortunately this sort of thing happens all too often in the horsey world: I saw a really refreshing advert recently for a pony which the owner said in the FB ad that it does "vertical rears" - now that at least was being honest about the situation so that anyone taking it on is fully aware of what its like, but there is unfortunately every likelihood that this horse will end up with someone who doesn't know what it can do.

There IS a FB site called "Dodgy Dealers". What you could do, is join that group, and lurk on there, and see if this woman's name comes up at all. If it does, and/or the horse comes up for sale on FB, you could always PM anyone interested. It is likely however that if you do this, then she will immediately launch a tirade of a hate-and-denial campaign against you.

I don't know whether Trading Standards would take any interest in this?? Just a thought.

A very difficult situation indeed. Feeling for you OP, it is very difficult when you know something dodgy is coming onto the market and you cannot do much about it :(
 
This could be a horse near me that an unwitting friend tagged me in, luckily another friend who is a well connected professional rider and knows of it warned me off, poor thing clearly had a back problem and reputation for rearing and throwing self over backwards when mounted and yet the ad specifically says it never rears

I've got a horse with spinal arthritis that I would never pass on in a million years, he's an absolute poppet but has had a horrible injury and is completely unrideable therefore he lives at grass in a managed herd at a stud and his future is secure
 
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