Hants_Horsewatch
Active Member
Hampshire Horsewatch have given some useful advice on this subject but the biggest part to play in this is that loaners of horses take the time and effort to ensure that they have a SIGNED agreement with the loaner even if that loaner is family or a friend, times are hard and circumstances change very quickly so make sure your loved equine is protected.
The message is if you care about your horse and want to be able to keep an eye on it and most importantly GET IT BACK if things go wrong then take the time to write an agreement and have both parties sign it, there are plenty of very good agreements on the internet so take advantage and use them.
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One of the biggest causes of complaint within the equine community is the lack of action, by the police or anyone who is in a position to investigate and prosecute, when horses which are loaned out are stolen.
All cases, allegations have to be looked at individually and circumstances examined carefully. An allegation of theft which is based on one persons word against the other with no supportive evidence by the complainant may not be viewed as a theft by the police or other investigative agencies. In such circumstances the advice may correctly be referred to as a matter for civil remedy.
However where facts and proof are substantiated the theft of a horse on loan is exactly that - a theft and should not be dismissed as a matter of a civil dispute. Where theft of horses through loan agreements is shown to be systematic by one or more individuals then evidentially the facts are hard to dispute.
Up and down the country there are reports of individuals stealing horses they receive on loan. This happening on a regular basis.
What may be hard to achieve is getting a police officer to appreciate that a theft of a horse has taken place. A horse is property at the end of the day and allegations of theft of property require investigation.
Perseverance of the complaint and searching for other victims may assist in establishing the proof of evidence needed to convince authorities that a crime or crimes have taken place.
There is more than one way to approach this and recent reports have shown that investigative agencies, such a Trading Standards, will take on cases of horse theft where perhaps the police have declined to do so.
Do not get disheartened if you find yourself in a position where your complaint is not taken up. There are cases to compare your situation.
But as always prevention is better than a cure and there is a lot of advice available about precautions to take should you consider loaning your horse to someone else. The Horse and Hound printed a very useful article about ownership disputes. This appeared on the 19th January 2012
The message is if you care about your horse and want to be able to keep an eye on it and most importantly GET IT BACK if things go wrong then take the time to write an agreement and have both parties sign it, there are plenty of very good agreements on the internet so take advantage and use them.
________________________________________________________________________
One of the biggest causes of complaint within the equine community is the lack of action, by the police or anyone who is in a position to investigate and prosecute, when horses which are loaned out are stolen.
All cases, allegations have to be looked at individually and circumstances examined carefully. An allegation of theft which is based on one persons word against the other with no supportive evidence by the complainant may not be viewed as a theft by the police or other investigative agencies. In such circumstances the advice may correctly be referred to as a matter for civil remedy.
However where facts and proof are substantiated the theft of a horse on loan is exactly that - a theft and should not be dismissed as a matter of a civil dispute. Where theft of horses through loan agreements is shown to be systematic by one or more individuals then evidentially the facts are hard to dispute.
Up and down the country there are reports of individuals stealing horses they receive on loan. This happening on a regular basis.
What may be hard to achieve is getting a police officer to appreciate that a theft of a horse has taken place. A horse is property at the end of the day and allegations of theft of property require investigation.
Perseverance of the complaint and searching for other victims may assist in establishing the proof of evidence needed to convince authorities that a crime or crimes have taken place.
There is more than one way to approach this and recent reports have shown that investigative agencies, such a Trading Standards, will take on cases of horse theft where perhaps the police have declined to do so.
Do not get disheartened if you find yourself in a position where your complaint is not taken up. There are cases to compare your situation.
But as always prevention is better than a cure and there is a lot of advice available about precautions to take should you consider loaning your horse to someone else. The Horse and Hound printed a very useful article about ownership disputes. This appeared on the 19th January 2012
