Done to death I know ... but talk to me about putting a horse out on loan.

[Greylegs]

I have a lovely 9 year old, cob mare. She's sound, sensible, in good health and generally a good horse for hacking, a bit of low level dressage and has a reasonable pop in her so would jump a small course if needed. But I'm not riding her and advent really done much with her for several months now! I have a lot going on at home with my husband's health and other issues, I've had a bit of a confidence knock after an accident (not horse related) myself, and I feel as if I've just lost the drive and motivation to go and get on her enough, to justify keeping her at my current (excellent) full livery yard.

I have had what I'll call an "expression of interest" from a person who is known to me to have her on loan, to use her for the purposes I've described. We haven't agreed anything, and the person concerned hasn't tried the horse as yet ..... I'm having a think about it all. They would keep the horse at good facilities at their home, which is close enough for me to visit regularly, and even pop in for a little ride now and then if I wanted. They keep a number of other horses and ponies and are generally competent and knowledgable people. The horse would have a job to do and be kept busy, which she thrives on. On the face of it, it looks like a good opportunity to give me a break from horse ownership and from what I see as the pressure to get on and ride regularly. I still have my retired boy at the same yard to spoil, so will get some pony time.

I have not discussed this with my current yard owner, but am pretty sure she would have the horse back in the event that things didn't work out. We would have a loan contract and agree who was paying for what, and I would probably maintain the horse's insurance cover.

So, talk to me about pros and cons of loaning a horse out. In my position, would you do it or have a complete re-think about everything? What pitfalls would you foresee? And, would it be a better alternative to sell her on and move on generally? I'm new to this scenario, so all wise words and shared experiences would be gratefully received. Thank you.

 

[ihatework]

I’d loan out, but then I’m generally pro loan.
I’d not commit to anything indefinitely though.
Use it as a test to see if you want to keep riding.
It would also be worth putting a price on her before she goes out on loan - then if you want to sell her at least they know where they stand if they want to buy.
Always keep full vet fee insurance in your name (even if they cover some/all of the premiums).

Downsides are you could end up with a broken horse handed back. But equally you could break your own horse anyway. Things happen and you need to have that mindset to loan.

 

[I'm Dun]

Just sell and be done with it. Values are high and shes a desirable prospect for lots of people. If you loan you run the risk of being handed a broken horse back, or one fundamentally changed. I've had one horse stolen on loan twice now, yes that's right, twice and the second time he was nearby on a yard I know run by a friend. And they sold him behind my back to a totally unsuitable home. The first time nearly landed me in prison as I went to collect him in lockdown, then when that didn't work I wnt and "stole" him back with the help of a yard owner. Got assaulted for my troubles and nearly had him PTS on the way home as he was in such a state. My name is also mud all over the internet as there was a campaign of hate launched against me and some of the lies told were so far fetched it was untrue. That I murder cats was one of the weirdest ones, esp as I'd spent all summer trapping, neutering and releasing a feral cat population. But that's the internet I guess!

Ironically the horse in question is out on loan again, mainly as I was caught in a nightmare situation and had nowhere to put him and a friend of a friend took him in and fell in love with him. If he's stolen again Im not even going to be annoyed, I'm so used to it now!

 

[Spiritedly]

It's an awkward one.

I took a horse on loan 11 years ago and since I got her she has developed several health conditions one of which stops her from doing the job I initially loaned her for. It has never occurred to me to send her back now she is old (she's 23 now) because as far as I'm concerned shes part of our family and tbh I wouldn't know how to get hold of her "owners" anyway as they have moved several times and not given me their contact details since year 2 of me having her so I look on her as being ours anyway.

On the other hand I put a horse out on loan to someone I thought was a friend and ended up taking her back within 2 months as she was in an appalling state, she had lost over 60kg's, had infections in both her front feet and mud fever (which she'd never had before). I visited the yard after she had been their for a month and told "friend" that the mare needed extra feed as her weight was dropping off only to return a month later and find she was being given even less feed and had been put into a field of mud with no grass and only a small net of hay. When I brought her home she was body scored by a vet as a 3/10!

I swore I would never allow a horse to leave my yard on loan again and am now lucky enough to have a brilliant loaner who loans from my yard.

There are good and bad loaners out there and I would say if you do decide to go down the loaning route make sure you have a contract and that you make it known that you will drop in unexpectedly to do checks.

 

[Jenko109]

I would not personally loan out a 9yo.

I would sell.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I think if you can loan to the person you know who is nearby then go for it, I'm not so keen on the idea of loaning to strangers so your in the ideal situation really.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I've been both a loaner and a loanee. And am a YO with horses here who are on loan.

Key words in ANY loan are: COMMUNICATION, TRANSPARENCY, and TRUST.

Communication: vital for all three i.e. YO, loanee and loaner to all keep talking. If any one person in the "triangle" is kept out of the loop then this is only going to bring problems for the future.

Transparency: everyone needs to be up-front & honest. Loaner needs to be honest about their horse, its quirks etc., loanee needs to be honest about their riding ability (or lack of it!); YO needs to be honest about what they can offer and not promise things they can't. The very worst loan(s) we had at my yard were (1) someone who's pony went through leccy fencing for a pastime (and also would attack dogs in the field) - this one had to go back; and (2) an owner who frankly just wasn't ready to let go of their pony and came up to my yard, a 3hrs journey away, to blub about it and "stalk" us. This owner patently thought she should have unlimited access to my yard to cosset "her darling" and was sobbing about her "grief process" at being parted from her horse. Not sensitive when all of us on the yard had had a horse PTS in the previous year to this. This horse also went back.

Trust: a vital component. YO, loanee & loaner all need to trust each other to do the very best by the horse. Sometimes this means a difficult conversation will need to take place and ground-rules will have to be set, such as when the owner may visit and what their expectations are as regards riding etc. This is where a written contract is helpful.

Personally I would only ever consider a loan where there is an element of "friend-of-a-friend" situation; not that this is watertight, coz it isn't, and things can still go wrong. But if someone in the equation has personal knowledge of the other person, that that is a better starting point than this not being the case. It gives an element of reassurance at least.

 

[Wishfilly]

I think if your YO would definitely have the horse back if things went wrong, then it seems like an ideal solution. It sounds like you aren't ready to sell, and if you did sell and in a year or two wanted to get back on, it might not be easy to find a similar horse.

I would be very clear about everything up front, and if you have specific things you would want for your horse (e.g. physio every 3 months or similar) then I would always write that into the agreement. I'd go and visit a few times in the first few months to see how they are getting on.

As it's someone you know, then I think that's easier than her going to a stranger? How well do you know them?

 

[Fjord]

It sounds as as though your non riding stage may be temporary, so I would loan. How well do you know this person? Do you have mutual friends that you can quiz on their suitability? If they are local and you can visit regularly, plus have all expectations in writing, it sounds good.

 

[FAYEFUDGE]

I have a lovely 9 year old, cob mare. She's sound, sensible, in good health and generally a good horse for hacking, a bit of low level dressage and has a reasonable pop in her so would jump a small course if needed. But I'm not riding her and advent really done much with her for several months now! I have a lot going on at home with my husband's health and other issues, I've had a bit of a confidence knock after an accident (not horse related) myself, and I feel as if I've just lost the drive and motivation to go and get on her enough, to justify keeping her at my current (excellent) full livery yard.

I have had what I'll call an "expression of interest" from a person who is known to me to have her on loan, to use her for the purposes I've described. We haven't agreed anything, and the person concerned hasn't tried the horse as yet ..... I'm having a think about it all. They would keep the horse at good facilities at their home, which is close enough for me to visit regularly, and even pop in for a little ride now and then if I wanted. They keep a number of other horses and ponies and are generally competent and knowledgable people. The horse would have a job to do and be kept busy, which she thrives on. On the face of it, it looks like a good opportunity to give me a break from horse ownership and from what I see as the pressure to get on and ride regularly. I still have my retired boy at the same yard to spoil, so will get some pony time.

I have not discussed this with my current yard owner, but am pretty sure she would have the horse back in the event that things didn't work out. We would have a loan contract and agree who was paying for what, and I would probably maintain the horse's insurance cover.

So, talk to me about pros and cons of loaning a horse out. In my position, would you do it or have a complete re-think about everything? What pitfalls would you foresee? And, would it be a better alternative to sell her on and move on generally? I'm new to this scenario, so all wise words and shared experiences would be gratefully received. Thank you.

I’m currently loaning. I lost my horse after 20 years together and just couldn’t gel with anything. Loan horse fell into my lap just as I was about to give up….
I treat him like a king and I am immensely thankful to his owner for trusting me.
There are good loaners out there who appreciate what they have and treat it like gold

 

[Ambers Echo]

I’ve had good success loaning. It can work very well if you find the right person. It can also go wrong - but I think horror stories (while real) are probably more rare than the uneventful successful arrangements.

 

[Greylegs]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and insights. Some great advice here and definite food for thought.

My potential loaner is well known to another trusted friend and I will be having a confidential chat about the situation with them to check out their thoughts. There are clearly a few things to check out and think about before I do anything, and I will look at what needs to be in any written agreement we may have. No decision made as yet, but thank you again everyone.

 

[Trouper]

I would be curious to know why they want another horse if they have several already. Do you know the reason?
I would also want to know a lot about the person loaning - have been bitten before by going only on reputation.

If you decide to go ahead I would also suggest having a trial period written into the loan agreement so that you can have an easy opt out if you want.

 

[Greylegs]

@Trouper ... they currently own two ponies which they show and their younger children ride, a retired coloured cob/field ornament with a leg injury, a nice warmblood which the oldest child (late teens) competes to a reasonably high level and is too much for the lady in question and an unbacked 2 year old. Hence she would like a sensible, sound cob like mine to hack, have fun on and maybe compete at local club level. I can see why she's interested. As I said, they are experienced horse owners with their own land and facilities. I am yet to discuss this with my other friend, or maybe pay a visit to their property to check them out properly. A trial period is a very good idea. I would definitely retain my place at my current yard during that period ... just in case!

Still thinking ................