Horses abandoned on livery

[HHO admin]

Has your yard had a horse abandoned while on livery, because the owner can't pay the bills? Have you and other owners had to rally round to care for the animal? Or do you run a yard and have had to deal with abandoned horses? If so, our news editor would like to hear from you. Please contact her directly: flora_watkins@ipcmedia.com

 

[Tiffany]

Someone moved their horse off yard & asked me to look after pony for a couple of days. They never did come back for her

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Well I don't know if this applies or is relevant to the topic, but I put my boy on loan and the arrangement was that he was to be kept at a riding stables on working livery, and the borrower would pay all outstanding fees, bills etc.

Well, I sent the horse up to this yard and thought everything was going fine as I left it to the borrower to settle direct with the YO.

Then, five weeks down the line the borrower told me that she couldn't afford it anymore and she wanted to cease the loan.

I assumed that she'd paid for the five weeks she'd had the horse; and approached the YO to say that I would as owner take responsibility for the livery fees for the horse until I could move him back to my place, only to discover that she'd paid diddly squat for the livery from day 1 of the horse's arrival at the yard and I was in a most embarrassing situation with the YO.

Anyway, I took on payment from the day she'd notified me of cessation of the loan arrangement; I said to the YO that I honestly didn't think it was fair for me to be held liable for the outstanding livery fees as it was clearly laid down in the loan agreement that she was responsible.

But don't think this is what the thread is about TBH as my horse was properly cared for whilst he was at the yard.

 

[zoon]

I am now the owner of an abandoned horse. Wasn't my yard she was abandoned on, but I took her on

 

[blue eye]

ive been left with a stallion on my yard livery had it on permenent loan then did nt want him anymore and the loaner can not afford to have him back single mum so we gonna make him yard horse that we can all have lessons on as trained to medium dressage and as long as he can cover his keep in lessons he will stay with us as we all have become quite attached to him so has joined are collection of old crocks and rescues

 

[Miss L Toe]

I found a tiny note on my stable one evening as I was going home [lucky to see it] "please look after Jack"
Informed YO and looked after it for six weeks then presented my bill to YO [who also had not been paid].
It moved yards, they were surprised to be asked to pay cash before it could be moved!
I also moved to same yard, where, surprise surprise they had not paid!
I tracked them down and offered to pay off livery [+£1.00], in exchange for horse [no way was I handing them over my cash!], they told me he had been sold, so I lost him to a dealer
The new yard took a lien.

 

[Starzaan]

I had a sales livery abandoned with me, and it has taken me over a year, and a strongly worded abandonment notice to get in touch with the owners again.

Sadly his owner became very ill, and I am now in the process of sending him to the Blue Cross. The owners have reimbursed me finally, but it's not been a fun time paying out for a horse that is unsellable, and isn't mine!

 

[Oberon]

A yearling colt and a raggedy 3 year old gelding.

He bought the 3 year old gelding 2 weeks previously and then just disappeared.

Both horses were turned out for a month or so before they were sold off by the YO.

The original owner never turned back up on the yard.

A few years later I moved to another yard and there he was - different horses and different name.

He phoned the new YO and claimed they would find him dead in the field as he was going to commit suicide!

Then he did a moonlight flit (but took the horse with him this time).

The irony is, the raggedy 3 year old gelding then went onto HOYS a year later

 

[FourBurrowHunt]

My livery yard has recently had 2 stunning horses abandoned ( they haven't seen them for over 2mnths and the people owe the YO £2000 for a car and livery!!

 

[AprilBlossom]

I took on an 'abandoned' horse - owners livery bill was only £5 a month as YOs had taken pity on her having gone through a divorce yet that was obviously too much as the poor beast just rotted in a field with no rugs or feed or hay (v poor grazing). I was told through WOM to 'knock myself out' with him so got a few bit together and a little feed and set about restarting him. He was such a sweet little chap and had progressed to hacking out quietly when I went on holiday for a week, thinking that I'd offer the owner an envelope with a couple of hundred quid cash for him when I got back, put a summers work into him and sell him on for a tidy sum.
When I returned after hols she had turned up earlier that week with a trailer, loaded him and all of MY BELONGINGS that I'd been using on the horse (including, annoyingly, one of my chaps...imagine how frustrating that is, to have the sole remaining chap goading you from the corner of the tackroom 'ha ha you can't use me') and beggared off to god knows where with a far better horse than she'd arrived with.

More fool me for taking it on in the first place. I hope he's having a reasonable life somewhere now.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Yes, I've seen it happen a few times and YO's have taken responsibility for the abandoned animals.
The saddest thing is though, the period of time when no one knows if the owner will return, or visits intermittently before finally walking away. The poor animal is left with no one really fully taking over its care while its future is up in the air.
I have the utmost admiration for the YO's who, despite, trying to run a business, show far more compassion than their feckless owners.

 

[all about Romeo]

I took on an 'abandoned' horse - owners livery bill was only £5 a month as YOs had taken pity on her having gone through a divorce yet that was obviously too much as the poor beast just rotted in a field with no rugs or feed or hay (v poor grazing). I was told through WOM to 'knock myself out' with him so got a few bit together and a little feed and set about restarting him. He was such a sweet little chap and had progressed to hacking out quietly when I went on holiday for a week, thinking that I'd offer the owner an envelope with a couple of hundred quid cash for him when I got back, put a summers work into him and sell him on for a tidy sum.
When I returned after hols she had turned up earlier that week with a trailer, loaded him and all of MY BELONGINGS that I'd been using on the horse (including, annoyingly, one of my chaps...imagine how frustrating that is, to have the sole remaining chap goading you from the corner of the tackroom 'ha ha you can't use me') and beggared off to god knows where with a far better horse than she'd arrived with.

More fool me for taking it on in the first place. I hope he's having a reasonable life somewhere now.

I hope you reported her for theft of your stuff!!

 

[AprilBlossom]

No, too closely linked to local travellers (horse was an ex trotter...) so not worth bothering, just cut my losses

 

[all about Romeo]

No, too closely linked to local travellers (horse was an ex trotter...) so not worth bothering, just cut my losses

That was nice of you! I would have hunted her down until every last bit of tack was returned! and reported her to police, the cheek of it!

 

[Queenofdiamonds]

There is a little pony on my yard our YO has been taking care of. It's owners haven't paid livery and never bother to come and see him at all. Apparently they lied about his sex too to get him on there as he was a colt when they bought him (Now gelded)

YO Keeps trying to convince them to part with him but they won't.. Even though they never bother to come up.. They haven't been for a month. Poor thing is stuck in his stable all the time and has no real manners etc.

 

[Millie-Rose]

I have a friend who had a livery abandoned on her yard. Livery brought horse to yard then fell pregnant and somewhat half-heartedly tried to sell horse without success. Horse was a DIY livery and owner occasionally asked YO to look after horse (assisted DIY) then just stopped turning up and became difficult and then impossible to contact. This went on for approx 7 months over winter with YO providing all care (stabled) and hay and hard feed. Owner finally got in touch to say she had a buyer and sold horse. YO is far too nice and only asked for back payment of DIY livery although horse had had full. Amount owed came to something like £697 owner paid £700 and then put her hand out for change cheeky mare Horse then left with new owner and original owner left her stable dirty and didn't poo pick field after her. This was at least a reasonable outcome I was convinced that YO was left with horse and would never see owner again (was not a valuable horse either being green TB with old leg injury so livery bill was rapidly exceeding horses value).

 

[smellsofhorse]

Yes, a few years ago a fellow livery stopped coming to yard and left a huge bill, we couldn't get hold of her at all.
I took horse on with my own. After 6 months owner turned up, she paid some of the bill then agreed she could no longer care for horse so I found it a long term loan home.
After a few years, she needed some cash so let loaner buy horse from her!

 

[maggiehorse]

a 15 yr old tb gelding at our yard arrived with its first time owner in dec , already underweight , poor coat , terrible feet and teeth , our yard owner gave them excellent advice corcerning feeding and bedding , (they only put down a scattering of straw on floor ) gave him a tiny haynet at night , using less than a bale a week . yard owner asked them to give him more they said they couldnt afford to , she told them to get farrier in , they said they couldnt afford to , she said perhaps they should sell him , they said they loved him because he had run in the national!!!
to cut a long story short after a few months they abandoned him completly , yard owner took over his care and called the rspca who attended and between them persuaded the owner to give him to the yard owner who re homed him with a local lady for £300 which covered the unpaid livery bill

 

[kingzeus]

I have been looking after a horse that's been abandoned for a year now:0/. They have left he poor chap at our yard owing the farmer thousands in unpaid rent and other costs. We have been in contact with the owners who have no consideration for the horse what so ever! They won't even give up the horse in order for us to try and re home him, yet they haven't been to see him for over a year! He is such a lovely boy and I can't turn my back on him now even though it can be a Pain in the arse sometimes. We have hit a brick wall with it now as the RSPCA won't help as we have been looking after him so it's not a welfair case, the owners will not pay the outstanding rent nor hand he horse over in relation to the debt. It's such a shame because he is completely wasted and the owners just don't give a s**t. Don't know what to do really I expect I will still be looking after the poor sod In a year to come ;0/

 

[zoon]

Does own a horse that was previously abandoned? How did it work with transfer of ownership if owner is untraceable?

 

[BandTRascal]

I had the opposit in a way. Years ago I had a lady grazeing 5 horses with mine. I came home earlyone day to find 3 had gone. There had been no notice she was leaving so I changed the paddlock and waited. She duly arrived with a trailer and was most upset to find her key didn't work. After I told her a few facts of life I let her collect her horses and go. She had paid up but no notice given.
My horses were in the same field so I was not very happy that any horse had been removed without my knowledge.

Never again will I let anyone have a key to my fields and access to my horses. It sends a shiver down my back to think what could have happened. No horses at all perhaps?

 

[Ottinmeg]

we have a girl on our yard who rescued two horses back in january this year and has now abandoned them!

 

[AFH]

What happened to my boy is a little different but similar. I had to rehome him due to family commitments and no logner havign the means to keep him. Saddest day of life, I miss him all the time. Eventually found someone happy to take him on and all was good. A year later we get a letter from a lovely lady telling us how she owns him now and needs some history on him. Turns out not long after taking on my horse the owner decided to stick him in a friends field and left with her son to Canada. This nice lady heard from a friend about this horse that was in a right state and went to go see him. He was skin and bone and had two bad abscesses in his back feet that was affecting his leg too apparently. The friend had put a feed bag on each hind leg and left it at that. The lady said she took one look at the sorry state he was in and didn't have the heart to walk away. Luckily I believe he is living a very happy life with her, thank god.

Why do people do this? How can they just up and leave without sorting things out?