Do people want loan horses anymore?

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St.Sibert

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I have advertised a schoolmaster hack for 2 months now and got nowhere, are people not interested in 17yo super safe hacks, or is the fact that I require a reference and legal agreement putting them off?

The only interest shown was from an 'unsuitable' family who wanted a horse for everyone to ride - from 8 years old to a 20 stone man!

It is hard enought to part with a member of the family but the fact that folk do not want to give a referee, or even details of where they would keep him leaves me somewhat concerned to say the least.

Keep hoping thart the weather is putting some off....:confused:
 
How have you advertised him? I got a lot of interest last year in my safe 15 year old hack / all-rounder. Most people wanted to move him to another yard but if you are ok with this and get the advert right I think you would ahve some interest.
 
St.Sibert said:
I have advertised a schoolmaster hack for 2 months now and got nowhere, are people not interested in 17yo super safe hacks, or is the fact that I require a reference and legal agreement putting them off?

The only interest shown was from an 'unsuitable' family who wanted a horse for everyone to ride - from 8 years old to a 20 stone man!

It is hard enought to part with a member of the family but the fact that folk do not want to give a referee, or even details of where they would keep him leaves me somewhat concerned to say the least.

Keep hoping thart the weather is putting some off....:confused:
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Have you tried putting cards in your local riding school, tack/food shops?

Hang in there if you can, hopefully some one will come along soon.

Im hoping to loan out a horse in the near future.
Loaning can work out so well. I cant see why people wouldn't still want to loan.:confused:
 
I'm looking for a loan :) I know several people looking for loans, we are all at uni and either looking for horses to loan for the summer or while we are at uni.

I don't have any horsey references of previous loans (would be my first loan) so that might have put me off, i'm not sure if it would other people too.

Not sure why you haven't had much interest but I bet there's someone out there!
 
We're currently looking for either a loan or to buy for my OH, but he needs a step up from a happy hacker just to do low level stuff with. Unfortunately don't seem to be many about though. An agreement wouldn't put me off, don't see why it should as i would want one if it was the other way around.
 
I'd love to loan a horse eventually (currently not financially set up but in the near future hopefully will be) however I would not be looking for a 17yr old hack. From what I have seen I just dont think there is much demand for 'hacks' anymore, people want to be able to do a bit of everything rather than being limited to hacking. Also with the age I'd be worried about declining health and wouldnt want to loan a horse who is getting towards his latter stages of life. I know a lot of 17 year olds are still fit and healthy, my share horse is 15 and still going great and I hope he will be in 2 years but I wouldnt want to loan a horse that old - sharing one that age is fine, but not anything more.

The reference may also be off-putting, if you have never loaned before (like a lot of people coming out of riding schools would be) then you wouldnt be able to meet your requirements and wouldnt bother responding to the advert.

Have you thought about a share? I think you might get a bit more interest that way, a school-master to hack out on and enjoy now the weather is better should be an easier sell for you.
 
I'm looking for a loan, have loads of references and offering a 5* home, unfortunately no one seems to want to loan out something that needs work and is quirky, and that's what I want, a quirky, slightly loopy 16hh+ :) unfortunately, I can't find any of these :(
 
I have just taken on a loan pony for my daughter. This pony had been up for a while coz the owner didn't want him moved. She did agree to let me move him coz my yard is only a couple of miles from her. We have a BHS loan agreement which I was happy to sign. We are delighted with our older ( he is 16) boy he is just the schoolmaster we wanted. Hang on in there & hopefully the right person will Come along x
 
Possibly how it's being advertised? Social network sites etc seem to really help. I also think it's extremely reasonable to ask for references, end of the day it's your horse and you wouldn't want it to go to any old place without making sure it will be properly cared for.
 
A reference would put me off a bit tbh. Could be a load of bull anyway. Just get your mate to write it and say you're fab and you could be completely useless! If someone hasn't been riding regularly for a while then they may not have anyone they can actually ask to provide one.

I would have thought there would be even more demand for loans atm. Saves the buying price for a start!
 
I can't say iv ever heard of needing a reference for a loan before? Would put me off tbh, if your happy with there riding and who they are as a person then I don't see what good a reference would do?
 
Yes there are people who want older hacks, I'd like one as a companion and to take out with my horse when I have another person wanting to ride at weekends etc for company. It would be good if it could do a bit of schooling in the field and low dressage once in a blue moon but not really a big deal.

I couldn't find one so ended up getting a pony companion instead. The ones I could find were for sale not loan (I felt passing on an older horse was a bit of a risk), or were too small, or too spindly TBs with low weight carrying abilities (at least I'm not 20 stone I guess).

Is it a horsey reference you want? As obviously people who have not been around horses for a while or are looking for their first horse may not have one... I could say my field neighbours, my instructor, my hacking buddies, but all of those people I have known since I have owned a horse!
 
No wouldn't put me off at all. When I was looking for a safe hack I found they were like hens teeth and I wanted something older. Found my star from nearly right under my nose. Have you tried local PC to see if any mums are looking?
 
I've had more people asking if I would loan my horse that's advertised for sale than I have people interested in buying her! Round here at least everyone is looking for loans. The right person will come along I'm sure!
 
I have loaned out ponies several times, the last time the pony a 14.2 was 26. If your horse has a lot of positives you generally get a lot of response and you can weed out the chaff, I always use a loan agreement where insurance and vet fees are mentioned. Have never used a reference but do cyber stalk a bit.
I think people always want a lot for nothing and I would suspect someone's motives if your horse needs a lot of care or food in relation to the amount of work it does. I now have a lady who come twice a week and rides my now 28year old, I just put an ad on Facebook and got two suitable responses. Its lovely, he gets an extra good brush and she picks a barrow of poo for me in return for a nice safe uneventful hack.
 
yes = people are looking for sensible loan horses - i have had mine for almost a year now and was happy to sign a loan agreement, provide proof of address, employment details, ref from my employer to confirm length of service and permanent employment status, equine references from farrier and YO and sight of my CRB check [ i work in education] and owners visited and cheked yard before loan was agreed.
Personally, i have no problems providing a full and detailed paper trail to myself as I would ask fior that if i ever had to put a horse on loan:)
 
Thank you - my simple view if that the reference request is to confirm the identity of the prospective new home - especially if they are not in my immediate area.

Anyone who really cannot provide any referee would make me wonder if they are suitable.

Not meant to offend anyone.
 
Yes, I'm looking for an older hack, can I find one, nope. Keep getting offered unbroken ponies.
The ref wouldn't put me off, but it would be a first, as not heard of it before, contracts is something i would expect to be in place to help both parties.
As above try local tack shops, prehaps a few websites.
 
I have been so lucky, while waiting for my horse to hopefully recover from injury, my coach asked me to look at a loan horse advertised by another of her clients, who had found out she was pregnant, initially i wasnt that sure, loans can be a minefield for all involved and i didnt want the hassle of it all as i was in a position to buy if i saw something .
I relented and went for a sit on and was so glad i did, he is a lovely horse, with movement to die for and a lovely jump, he hacks alone or in company and his owner is really nice, she visited my place, private home with 3 other horses, all facilities and great hacking, he was coming from a large livery 30+ so wasnt sure if it would be to quiet for him we worked the contract out between us and shes happy for me to compete him which is great.
He is treated like one of mine, and if i say so myself well cared for :) as well as the routine stuff, he has massages, 4-6 weekly his jump saddle didnt fit properly so had it sorted out by having the saddler out, he is worked properly a good mix of flat, jump and hacking, we still have our weekly coaching sessions we are both well chuffed with how its going.
She came to see us compete last week and we placed 2 out of 3 classes.
Im glad i decided to jump in and go for it as ive now got a lovely horse to ride for at least a year, with a view to extend the loan if we decide to, or first option to buy if owner decides to sell. It seems to be working well for us and we're 3 months in
 
I'm amazed at the amount of people saying a reference would put them off. Surely it's standard when loaning a horse out to get some sort of reference especially with the stories you hear about people taking horses and selling them on. When I loaned my pony out I spoke to their vet and the dc of the ponyclub before letting them take the pony way. I also wanted proof of their address. It's different if they are staying local and you know them but no way would I let a complete strange waltz off with my pony without checking them out first. I do think the long hard winter has put people off, next year we will possibly look for a loan horse for my OH and i'd want an older super safe hack for him, not that 17 is old nowadays!
 
St.Sibert said:
Thank you - my simple view if that the reference request is to confirm the identity of the prospective new home - especially if they are not in my immediate area.

Anyone who really cannot provide any referee would make me wonder if they are suitable.

Not meant to offend anyone.
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I wish you were closer as he sounds just what I'd like - and I'm happy to provide references from vet and farrier; it's only fair if you are entrusting someone you don't know with your horse that you can take up an honest reference to put your mind at rest.

In case anyone knows of anything in my area, I'm looking for exactly the same, just a simple happy hacker, don't want to do anything else at all so as long as totally sound and good in all traffic, age is not a problem (theirs or mine!) and I hope I have enough experience/facilities to satisfy most.

I'm surprised your boy hasn't been snapped up OP as not everyone wants to compete or do nothing but ride in a school so I wish you well in finding him somewhere safe.
 
St.Sibert said:
Thank you - my simple view if that the reference request is to confirm the identity of the prospective new home - especially if they are not in my immediate area.

Anyone who really cannot provide any referee would make me wonder if they are suitable.

Not meant to offend anyone.
Click to expand...

I don't blame you in the slightest.
ANYONE that wasn't willing to provide proof of identity & address, sign a loan agreement, and supply equine references wouldn't get a look in for any horse I was loaning.
 
Quick answer - yes they are! I'm looking for a second horse to ride and re-teach me how to jump while my yearling grows up.

References and a legal agreement wouldn't put me off at all. What does put me off is the necessity of keeping the horse at it's current yard so that requirement rules out a lot of horses that would otherwise be suitable. Although I completely understand why the owners would want to do that..
 
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