Feeling sad , owner wants loan pony back

If you are in a position to do so, I'd offer her cash for him. CASH please note, and if she leaves near enough, go round with the crinkly stuff in your hand so that she sees it and smells it.

We had a situation at my yard where a livery took on a problem horse, was told it was a "loan" but that the horse would be "gifted" over to her within the year. There was a sob-story attached to it - I won't share details just in case anyone recognises the situation (you never know), but it was more or less certain that the horse was on loan for one year in the first instance, and then there was 99% surety that the owner would gift it to whoever had it; she had at that time got severe MH difficulties and also some addiction issues.

So the horse came to my yard: livery put a helluva lot of work into it - and it also needed considerable vet & then physio attention to get it even half-right. Livery worked darned hard on it, it wasn't the easiest of horses by any means, but she did get it to trust her and she got fond of it as well.

Livery never came anywhere near the horse; however another member of her family gave us £60 "for hay" for it; and did manage to dig out a few rugs. FA else forthcoming though.

Half-way through the loan period, one filthy grey rainy February morning, lo & behold the "owner" rocked up. Looked around my place like she owned it; and then started talking about how she was "sooh looking forward to getting XXXX back in the summer". Livery & I just looked at each other, like WTF. It wasn't the happiest of occasions, and it was obviously that the "owner", spoiled rotten young madam that she was, was determined to "have her horse back" (after totally abandoning it for the previous god-knows-how-long).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, it DID go back. This is the problem with a loan; all too often what happens is that someone is all too happy to get rid of a problem horse, or one which has a condition (like CPL) which demands a lot of care & attention - and someone then comes along and takes it, looks after it properly for the first time in its life, and spends ££££ on it, as well as time and effort to get it right. This then prompts a jealousy reaction in the owner, who then dances up and demands their horse back.

So very sorry that this has happened. But like I said at the beginning, flash some cash in front of the owner. Emphasise how much you've spent on vets for it etc., and see how that goes. Good luck.
 
TRECtastic said:
Thanks for the replies
I don't want to put much on the Internet, and it's only my side I'm putting , but owner is now an older teenager , doesn't want to sell him and is supported by her mom
They are both clueless (imo)
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It sounds like the teenager has maybe discovered that she could sell the pony and be quids in for something else ££. I agree with the others, offer to buy him if you can.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
If you are in a position to do so, I'd offer her cash for him. CASH please note, and if she leaves near enough, go round with the crinkly stuff in your hand so that she sees it and smells it.

We had a situation at my yard where a livery took on a problem horse, was told it was a "loan" but that the horse would be "gifted" over to her within the year. There was a sob-story attached to it - I won't share details just in case anyone recognises the situation (you never know), but it was more or less certain that the horse was on loan for one year in the first instance, and then there was 99% surety that the owner would gift it to whoever had it; she had at that time got severe MH difficulties and also some addiction issues.

So the horse came to my yard: livery put a helluva lot of work into it - and it also needed considerable vet & then physio attention to get it even half-right. Livery worked darned hard on it, it wasn't the easiest of horses by any means, but she did get it to trust her and she got fond of it as well.

Livery never came anywhere near the horse; however another member of her family gave us £60 "for hay" for it; and did manage to dig out a few rugs. FA else forthcoming though.

Half-way through the loan period, one filthy grey rainy February morning, lo & behold the "owner" rocked up. Looked around my place like she owned it; and then started talking about how she was "sooh looking forward to getting XXXX back in the summer". Livery & I just looked at each other, like WTF. It wasn't the happiest of occasions, and it was obviously that the "owner", spoiled rotten young madam that she was, was determined to "have her horse back" (after totally abandoning it for the previous god-knows-how-long).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, it DID go back. This is the problem with a loan; all too often what happens is that someone is all too happy to get rid of a problem horse, or one which has a condition (like CPL) which demands a lot of care & attention - and someone then comes along and takes it, looks after it properly for the first time in its life, and spends ££££ on it, as well as time and effort to get it right. This then prompts a jealousy reaction in the owner, who then dances up and demands their horse back.

So very sorry that this has happened. But like I said at the beginning, flash some cash in front of the owner. Emphasise how much you've spent on vets for it etc., and see how that goes. Good luck.
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Loaner should have told her to take her horse back there and then on the very same grey February day.
 
I really hope you get the chance to buy the pony OP.
Lovely photo you took!
You never know, 4 years out of the game, and getting pony back mid-winter with the cold muddy hard slog (if she’s doing DIY), might be a bit of a culture shock and she might change her mind and offer him back to you. It’s feasible with an older teen who generally sees the higher side of life and under-estimates the slog aspect of achieving it!
 
They're not short of money at all
They are collecting him Wednesday ( I'm on holiday atm )
I couldn't share him with a teenager , I'm just too old lol
I assume it'll be all social media pics and super times at first then just hard work , as we all know it is , then probably regret

Thank you for all the support
 
I have only visited mine who is out on loan once. He has been with them maybe two years.

I ping a message across perhaps once every two months, but other than that, I leave them alone.

He is in his 20's now and they have paid out god knows how much as he has had cancer in his eyes. I know they adore him and I simply have no need to actually visit.

I wouldn't ever ask for him back though. I would never do that to them.
 
Tiddlypom said:
Doesn’t keep in touch and only visits him once in 4.5 years?

Sod the comments being unfair. Said teenager would be getting a kick up the backside if they were mine.
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It’s possible that they lost interest horses and that mum put him out on loan rather than part with him. Also child may have been unable to visit without parental support.

The perils of loaning a horse are that it can be recalled.

The child now teenager may now be wanting to get back involved with horses and parents are calling in the loan.

We had one out on loan for circa 4 years and recalled it as the loanees were barely riding him. He was at an age if he had gone much longer without regular work then he would have pretty much had to retire. They got really funny with us, we said that they could keep him on loan if they brought him back into regular work and they had the one month notice period to evidence this. We also offered for her to come and ride him out with my daughter and that we would take him to fun rides for her if she wanted (she was hacking out once or twice a month at this point). The mother sent an extremely obnoxious message accusing us of all sorts and it ended very acrimoniously.
 
pistolpete said:
Aww. I know if this happening once before weirdly. Really hope things work out for the pony.
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I have seen this happen several times to my friends who have put a good number of years into bringing the loan horses on and then has to give them back. That is the reason I insisted on buying our new companion pony last year when we had our old companion pony who was 33 years old pts we had owned her for 32 years.

The lady we got the new pony from was surprisesd that we wanted to buy her but I politely explained the reasons and she was happy to sell her to me for £250. OP I am so sorry that you find yourself in this upsetting position and have to give the pony back. Im amazed that at this time of year and the weather being such as it is that a teenager wants to be bothered with looking after a pony but there you go. Keep an eye, you may well find they regret their decision and want you to take him back.
 
SaddlePsych'D said:
The way they have gone about this is awful!

It also feels quite impulsive. I'd try to keep it on a good note (despite being very upset about it!) and leave the (stable) door open for him to come back.

Really feel for you OP, what a crap way to be treated.
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I feel for OP as she is obviously attached and it came somewhat out of the blue, but in what way is it awful?

The owners got in touch to say that they missed the pony and would like to bring the loan to an end. The immediacy of it reads as though it’s OPs doing
 
Sorry to read that the loan pony has unexpectedly gone back to her owners after so long.

If things don't work out and they re-contact you asking if you'd like the pony back on loan/permanent loan, then to avoid a similar scenario in the future, I'd harden my heart and tell them no you wouldn't have the pony back on loan again as it's too heartbreaking to lose him and especially out of the blue like that, but you would be prepared to buy the pony from them at a reasonable price which reflects the work and time you've invested into the pony in the time you've shared.
 
Fred66 said:
I feel for OP as she is obviously attached and it came somewhat out of the blue, but in what way is it awful?

The owners got in touch to say that they missed the pony and would like to bring the loan to an end. The immediacy of it reads as though it’s OPs doing
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Perhaps I have misread. Casually dropping it in a text seems pretty crap still.
 
Very sad for you. Are you able to offer some money to buy her? Appreciate its short notice and finances arent always possible.
If not, there is always a place for good sharers.
 
I feel for the OP too, and it totally sucks for her, but I guess that's always, always, always the risk with loans. You don't have to cough up the initial outlay of ££££££££ to buy a horse, and if things were to go totally pear-shaped (for the horse or you), you're not stuck with it forever, but the downside is that the owner always has the right to turn around and say, "I want it back." Even if it's ill-advised or tactlessly done or whatever.

I suppose for the owner, that's the point. Knowing they can change their minds. If they wanted the horse off the books forever, they'd sell it.
 
Very sad for you 😢I would definitely offer to buy him and then, if older teenage owner is “missing him” offer for her to come and ride x many times a week- it might well not last anyway….
 
onemoretime said:
I have seen this happen several times to my friends who have put a good number of years into bringing the loan horses on and then has to give them back. That is the reason I insisted on buying our new companion pony last year when we had our old companion pony who was 33 years old pts we had owned her for 32 years.

The lady we got the new pony from was surprisesd that we wanted to buy her but I politely explained the reasons and she was happy to sell her to me for £250. OP I am so sorry that you find yourself in this upsetting position and have to give the pony back. Im amazed that at this time of year and the weather being such as it is that a teenager wants to be bothered with looking after a pony but there you go. Keep an eye, you may well find they regret their decision and want you to take him back.
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Yes, having an old, primarily companion loan horse taken back happened to me too, at short notice on new year's eve a few years ago. Horse belonged to someone I considered a very good friend and it took me a good while to get over it, I couldn't believe she'd done that to me and the horse! She had her old unridden horse on a private yard of another friend to keep that friend's horse company after that horse's companion died, this horse could not be left on his own at all. I'd had both my friend's horses on my yard for the summer after she lost her grazing but I couldn't have more than two there over winter so it was lucky her other friend needed a companion and I gave away my children's pony to another friend for her daughter to make room in my yard for my friend's horse long term so you can imagine why I was so upset to have the horse removed leaving my horse without a companion at short notice when her other horse died leaving her other friend & YOs horse that could not be left alone alone. Hope that all makes sense! I have got over it but I don't think I will ever forgive her.

All that said, I have recently taken a still ridden oldie on loan after having my old girl on her own for the last year (not ideal, I know, but she's been just fine). This little horse belongs to a friend of a friend and I was totally thrown by the owner saying "shall we call it £300 to make it official?" Umm, no, I hadn't planned on buying and if I were buying, I certainly wouldn't buy this one!
 
OP I am sorry that you are having to say goodbye to your pony.

However, I feel some of the posts on here are a bit ridiculous. At the end of the day it's a loan and this is always a risk - I've had it happen to me so can fully understand the heartache of it. I also had 2 out on loan who I didn't visit once in 5 years. The loaner terminated the loan via text giving 2 weeks notice out of the blue 😬. It is perfectly normal/acceptable for a child to loose interest in something and then come back to it at a later date. Not sure how I'd feel if I stumbled across this post as the owner!
 
I had this happen to me many years ago, the owner decided she wanted to sell and unbeknown to me had viewings of the horse in the evenings when I wasn't there, he was at a livery yard very close to both of us. She told me when the horse was sold and off he went, I had entries in for various competitions so to say I was gob smacked was an understatement, I got very upset and angry and went round to her house and shouted extremely loudly at her, something I wouldn't do now but I vowed then I would never have a horse on loan again because at the end of the day it's not your horse.
 
Social media is full of horses sold on loan or neglected by loaners that the owners trusted though.
Loaning in general just seems fraught and inevitably heartbreaking; I'm not sure I would ever, except from a reputable rehoming charity that would only recall the horse if husbandry standards slipped. Not just because they fancied having a pony to play with again.
 
I’ve had a companion on loan that the owner never asked about. I sent photos and updates and got the occasional thumbs up response.
I’ve also taken on a loan horse in a bad condition, put a load of time and spent a lot of money on vets fees and feed only to spectacularly fall out with the owner over something really trivial and end up giving the horse back. It was very sad to lose the horse and sadder that I don’t know where he is.
 
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