Help, what to do?

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Seahorse

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Axel is out on loan at the moment, they have had him since July and the loan agreement is for a year with 1 months notice given by either party.

Everything has been going well, they really love him and he's being very well behaved.

Anyway just had a phone call from them telling me they are going to Australia for 5 weeks and they were going to put him on full livery, however it's going to cost them more than they thought and they can't afford it.
So they asked me if I could have him back for the time they are away and pay for him myself then they would have him back when they return from Australia.
I'm 6 months pregnant and have mobility problems so there is no way I could look after him, or afford to keep him as I'm not working (the whole point of loaning him out!)
So basically I said no :(
They are self employed so won't be earning money while they are away, but surely they should have thought of that before they booked to go? It's not my problem :(

Am I being unreasonable?
Because there is no way I could have him back anyway so don't know what to do.
 
I'd say it was their problem really, and it's not like they can turn round and say they dont want him any more if there's a contract in place. If they can afford to go to Aus, you'd think they could afford the full livery? :confused:
 
No you are not being at all unreasonable. They should have considered the horse's care before booking the holiday. Having said that, you might want to come to some amicable agreement with them because if they dump the horse at your doorstep there will be little you can do. Could you contribute something towards this livery cost while they pay most of it? It's not very fair, but loan notice agreements are difficult to enforce if they walk away or neglect the horse.
 
Booboos said:
No you are not being at all unreasonable. They should have considered the horse's care before booking the holiday. Having said that, you might want to come to some amicable agreement with them because if they dump the horse at your doorstep there will be little you can do. Could you contribute something towards this livery cost while they pay most of it? It's not very fair, but loan notice agreements are difficult to enforce if they walk away or neglect the horse.
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She's going to discuss it with her partner and see what he says, but what they are paying for full livery is only about £200 more than what they would pay anyway. I suppose I could offer to help with that bit. Obviously see what my husband says, he might agree to that if it doesn't mean we get Axel back.


Just sent a text offering to pay the difference between what they normally pay and the full livery, I'll have to put him up for sale anyway if they give him back.
 
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Seahorse said:
I have found somewhere for him to go on full livery for a lot less than they would be paying and have offered to help out towards this.

That sounds fair doesn't it?
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But surely they'd need to still pay livery on their yard - even though the horse is not there??

As before, I'd just pay toward the livery of where he is already - and where he is presumably happy and integrated with 'friends'....
 
Seahorse said:
I have found somewhere for him to go on full livery for a lot less than they would be paying and have offered to help out towards this.

That sounds fair doesn't it?
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Sounds very fair. It is quite irresponsible to book a holiday to Oz, (which is freaking expensive) without first consulting you first.
 
amymay said:
But surely they'd need to still pay livery on their yard - even though the horse is not there??

As before, I'd just pay toward the livery of where he is already - and where he is presumably happy and integrated with 'friends'....
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That's a very good point actually, didn't think of that!
I'll ring her later for a chat now I've had a chance to think about it (and get help from here!) she caught me a bit by surprise this morning.
Thanks :)
 
Unfortuantely, this seems to be a pitfall of loaning. If you are unable to have him back why don't you seriously consider selling him and it may prove to be a huge weight off your mind, this could happen again and again. If you can bring yourself to consider selling, offer him to them first, as a matter of courtesy but then say you will be looking to sell when the loan arrangement is up. Sounds to me as if he is not their number one priority or else they wouldn't ask you to bail them out. Redundancy or some other unfortunate incident, fair do's, but to book a holiday knowing full well they could not afford both is not on.

Good luck.
 
My mare is on full loan to me, when the OH ans I decided to take a 4 week hopliday to India, the first thing we looked into was full livery costs and I did not even think of asking her owner to pay, she is my responsibility, I took her on in the full understanding that I was responsible for her well being and care and all the costs that went with that. Doesn't sound like your loaners have taken that on board! If they had bought the horse they would be soley responsible, If I was you I would have a serious think about selling him when the loan arrangement is up as you don't want them to be running back to you each time they want you pay up for something, as you will feel honour bound to pay as YOU obvouisly put his well being first.
 
Archiesmummy said:
Unfortuantely, this seems to be a pitfall of loaning. If you are unable to have him back why don't you seriously consider selling him and it may prove to be a huge weight off your mind, this could happen again and again. If you can bring yourself to consider selling, offer him to them first, as a matter of courtesy but then say you will be looking to sell when the loan arrangement is up. Sounds to me as if he is not their number one priority or else they wouldn't ask you to bail them out. Redundancy or some other unfortunate incident, fair do's, but to book a holiday knowing full well they could not afford both is not on.

Good luck.
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Thank you, I agree with you. I've always said that if they give him back to me he will have to go to be sold.
I can't believe they have done this to me knowing I'm 6 months pregnant too. Have been asking around about sales livery today as I couldn't get him ready to sell myself.
I'll have a proper chat with her later now I've got over the initial shock!
 
Bovril said:
My mare is on full loan to me, when the OH ans I decided to take a 4 week hopliday to India, the first thing we looked into was full livery costs and I did not even think of asking her owner to pay, she is my responsibility, I took her on in the full understanding that I was responsible for her well being and care and all the costs that went with that. Doesn't sound like your loaners have taken that on board! If they had bought the horse they would be soley responsible, If I was you I would have a serious think about selling him when the loan arrangement is up as you don't want them to be running back to you each time they want you pay up for something, as you will feel honour bound to pay as YOU obvouisly put his well being first.
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Yes you're absolutely right :(
 
Good luck to you at least you know he has one person looking out for his well being and thinking about whats best for him, Good luck with the pregnancy too, hope all goes well for you.
 
We've got space and can help you at short notice. If you are seriously thinking of sales livery I can recommend some good local people and give you some strong hints as to who to avoid :D. Give me a call if you want to have a rant!!! :D
 
the thing that would bother me is that if you pay for the full livery, you are then setting a precedent. im not saying that they will, but in the future, what happens if they want to go away for a weekend, week, month etc..they may just think its ok.....because you paid for it this time. if you do pay for it now, you need to make it cler that it is a one off and not to happen again.
 
kazhar said:
the thing that would bother me is that if you pay for the full livery, you are then setting a precedent. im not saying that they will, but in the future, what happens if they want to go away for a weekend, week, month etc..they may just think its ok.....because you paid for it this time. if you do pay for it now, you need to make it cler that it is a one off and not to happen again.
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Yes that's true, thanks, I'll make sure I tell them.
 
They are going tomorrow!!!

Apparently she has been trying to ring and text me all week but I haven't replied, yeah that's because I haven't had any texts or missed calls!
I did offer to contribute to the livery but my husband went mad and said absolutely no way could we afford to give them money, I'm on £80 a week ssp and that runs out on christmas eve.
I sent her a text tonight explaining that and that I am happy to go and see him a couple of times a week to check that he's ok and if they are struggling to afford him we can have a chat when they get back.
Haven't had a reply yet.
 
So they waited til a week before they were going to tell you that they had suddenly realised they couldn't afford his livery????

Is he still local to you so that you can at least visit him just to make sure he is being looked after properly in their absence?
 
jodie3 said:
So they waited til a week before they were going to tell you that they had suddenly realised they couldn't afford his livery????

Is he still local to you so that you can at least visit him just to make sure he is being looked after properly in their absence?
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He's 45 mins away but I said I would go over a couple of times a week and check on him.
I'll be having a chat to the Yard Owner too while I'm there!
 
I'm finding this totally unbelievable!! What total planks they are! totally unreasonable!

Hope you're ok. Try not to let it stress you out.
 
galaxy23 said:
I'm finding this totally unbelievable!! What total planks they are! totally unreasonable!

Hope you're ok. Try not to let it stress you out.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^ this really! Especially as they knew you were pregnant too, some people just have no idea!

Not sure if it'll help at all but I am near Haywards Heath if he is anywhere in this area and you need him checking on?
 
I dont believe that they have tried to contact you all week and i certainly wouldnt contribute to the upkeep but if you do decide to i would make damn sure that they understood that it was only a one off.

However i do wonder if when they come back from OZ they will decide against keeping the loan on, sneaky feeling i have. If is was in your situation i would be putting feelers out to see if anyone would want to take on the loan xxxxxx
 
Seahorse said:
They are going tomorrow!!!
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Good Grief Seahorse - talk about dropping you in it :mad:

I simply cannot put myself in their shoes and see their point of view. Years ago my friend had a pony on loan for her daughter, unfortunately the daughter became very ill and my friend decided to take her to Australia for a couple of months - hoping the sun would do her good. She rang me to ask if I would have the pony -yes and told the owner who was fine about it - such a simple solution!!

Why on earth haven't they sorted this situation out beforehand? Surely they must have known months in advance that they were going - it takes a lot of planning - why did they think you would resume responsibility?

To be perfectly frank - I would be looking for new loanees in this situation - its just not on. And I know you have posted about your illness and your pregnancy - its not as if it is easy for you at the moment :(

Just wish I could help you out
 
Thank you so much for all your support everyone, I had a very sleepless night last night worrying about him :(
I've decided to give them a months notice when they come back and then send him to be sold in the new year, it's going to break my heart as I've had him since he was a baby, but I can't look after him myself and if this is going to happen all the time then even putting him on loan is a mistake.
I've had several horses on loan before and I know what it's like but I would never do this to someone.
They still haven't replied to my text that I sent last night, but I'll be sure to go and see him this week.
 
Do you have the number of the yard he is at?

I'd phone them to ensure that arrangements have been put in place to look after him whilst they are away.
 
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