How much notice to visit a loan horse?

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How much notice is acceptable if you are going to visit a horse of yours that's on a LWVTB or if you are the one doing the loaning, how much notice do you think is acceptable to be given from the owner?
I've never loaned my horse out before so just working out what's fair.
Thanks
 
Hi,

If it were on loan with view to buy I would consider it like my horse were on livery and expect to be able to visit when I wished. Having said that I would not let my horse go there unless I believed the new owners to be suitable, so I would not go there with no notice unless I heard from a third party that things were not as they seemed! Hope that helps :-)
 
I think you should be able to go at any time without notice, just as you would if the horse was at livery, however you may find no one there or it could be out on exercise or turned out covered in mud and you should be happy to see it being a horse rather than brought out all smart to impress you.
I think a LVWTB is risky for the owner so within reason you should be able to keep an eye on it until they have paid in full, for an ordinary loan once you are happy the visits can be less frequent and it is probably best if you make arrangements so you do not have a wasted journey.
 
I think a good loaner, would have nothing to hide - so I'd be worried if they wanted lots of notice. If my horse was on loan, I'd expect to visit within a couple of days-a week maximum. But perhaps, what with work & other commitments your loaner might have, be flexible around the times they can do. If I was a loaner, I'd be a bit miffed if owner stated they could only see you & the horse at 11am & weren't prepared to do any other time, when actually they've been & gone by then ordinarily ... If that makes any sense?!
 
What Red said. No notice for visit/removal should be required for welfare (of your asset) but you'd usually give a couple of days, and stick to whatever the usual opening hours of the yard are, and some flexibility to be polite, no?
 
I have a horse out on loan, if I'm in the area I drive past and see him over the fence with no notice. If I want to meet the loaner and go on her yard I call and ask when she's going up with a spare 10 mins in the next few days - only polite to meet her when it's convenient. If I had any concerns at all I'd be dropping in unannounced, but if I felt I had to do that I probably would end the loan anyway!

I have a pony on loan from a charity and they call and make an appointment to view him about 2 weeks in advance - but I think they do this to get a group of viewings in the area on the same day to save time/ fuel.
 
when i loaned a horse afew years ago i told the owner to see him whenever she wanted she didn't need to ring /book he was on diy livery , the yard owner had met her so no problem there of a random stranger on the yard , i had nothing to hide and at the end of the day he was her horse . she generally did contact us though as she lived a distance away and wasn't often "passing" and to travel a long way to find us away at a show would've been a pain . if i was loaning out a horse i would expect to be able to do the same .
 
I would say that a week would be nice for all concerned. I agree with everybody else that there should be nothing to hide and that you should be able to go anytime.
 
When we first had Misty she was on loan. I think the owner gave us 24 hours notice. She would drive "past" on her way to work (she had to drive down a dead end to see her). We didn't mind that until we got a note through the door saying to ring her because we'd put her out in a field with a shelter, thick hedges and rug in the rain. She gave my mum hell...until my mum said if she wasn't happy with how we were looking after her then sje said she'd have to take her back. She hushed up then and soon after we bought her :p
 
When I've had ponies on loan their owners have always rang and said "can I pop over and see him this afternoon?". When I loaned mine out I used to ring too, but sometimes saw him over the fence to say hello if I was in the area and going past his field. I understand the "right" to visit at anytime, but I still think its polite to ring and give them a little notice, they're hardly going to cover much up in a few hours, just get the chance to give him a brush and make his stable look perfect!
 
I don't loan my horses out but I will let friends borrow them if they ask. I don't have to ask to go and visit them but I do text them to let them know I'm going to be popping by at some point. I know my horses are always fine and doing great as I'm not shipping them off to some unknown but sometimes I just miss them and want to go and say a quick hello to them.
 
Ive had 2 on loan in past.first wanted to come when ever she felt like it-with her grandchildren to ride said pony. i said no to that as young pony my daughter bringing on and sorry we werent paying for ponys keep for her kids to ride when they wanted. She was a bit strange lol 2Nd owners would pop in as and when and they were welcomed to. if i wasnt there they would say hello to pony and go.if i was it would be coffee and chat perfect lovely owners
 
When my boy was on loan I stated clearly in the loan agreement that "owner retains the right to visit the horse and check on its welfare at any reasonable time although will endeavour to give adequate notice whenever possible".

In practical terms this meant I might text and say "I'll pop over to see XXXX some time this week if that's OK", or similar. The "visit" didn't mean necessarily that I'd want to do a full trot-up, flexion test the lot! But you DO need to make sure that (a) the horse is still where its supposed to be and (b) that the basic terms of the loan agreement are being adhered to.

YOUR horse, YOU need to know everything's OK.
 
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I currently have a horse on trial/lwvtb and would be happy for the owners/sellers to pop by and see him any time with or without notice as he's well loved and looked after and I have nothing to hide. That said I think 24 hours notice would be a fair amount of notice as long as you were willing to fit around their schedule.
 
I have 3 horses on loan with me, generally their owner just lets me know she wants to come over and " I say of course whenever is best for you" be it in a week Or in an hour I don't mind as I don't have anything to hide and I enjoy gushing about them.

I would be worried if I had a horse out on loan and they got funny with me wanting to come over at relatively short notice.
 
I have a pony from WHW they have booked the first 1 month appointment to view him, after that they will be coming out twice a year when they feel like it with no notice to check him out, i agree
 
I loan a pony and owner can visit without notice, she knows she is more than welcome whether I'm here or not but pony isn't to leave yard without me knowing....so no walkies etc. However, owner gave me a few weeks notice initially of visiting, now I invite her over every so often to see pony and have some wine. If there's nothing to hide I don't see a problem with owners seeing horse in field.
 
I've had my mare on loan since June 2012. Even though I do not actually own her I do treat her as if I did. Her owner has been down twice since I took her on, although I do send regular updates and photos. I would like to see her owner more and would welcome visits anytime.
 
I currently have a pony out on loan and the loanees said to me that I can go visit the pony whenever I want. I don't have to tell them I'm going. Which, as it's my pony, I think is more than fair. Saying that, I'd always give them a ring to say I was going over to say hello. A couple of hours is more than adequate imo...
 
I have a horse on loan. I wouldn't have an issue with the owner popping by whenever but I do have to check with ym first (annoying since they've both met several times!) so we usually arrange something with a few days notice.
 
I have a horse on loan and would have no problem with his owner just turning up. But I guess a phone call would be polite.
 
Depends whether you want the loaner to be there or not. If your not bothered and just want to check horse I would say 24hours, just so they can text yo and let them know you may appear.
If you want to see them then obviously you need to work around work times.
 
Honey08 said:
When I've had ponies on loan their owners have always rang and said "can I pop over and see him this afternoon?". When I loaned mine out I used to ring too, but sometimes saw him over the fence to say hello if I was in the area and going past his field. I understand the "right" to visit at anytime, but I still think its polite to ring and give them a little notice, they're hardly going to cover much up in a few hours, just get the chance to give him a brush and make his stable look perfect!
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HOWEVER, I will edit this to add, if you have any reason to feel that the horse is not being looked after properly (ie, repeatedly putting off your visits etc) I would just go with no notice.

I actually had this happen to me when we loaned a pony once. It was a section A, and the owner had rung for a chat and asked me if the pony had rugs on (it was November). I said no, but she was fat, fluffy and fine. The owner appeared that afternoon! Once she saw the pony and saw that what I'd said was true, worked out that native ponies can survive without rugs, she was quite happy and left us pretty much to ourselves after that, in fact we never saw her again and bought the pony a year later.

I also had a pony out on a longterm loan many years ago, and heard from a local instructor (I had moved away) that the pony had been passed onto a riding school when the girl had outgrown it, rather than being returned to me. I went and saw the pony that afternoon, he was being used far too much (as instructor had told me) and so I told them it would be coming home to me two days later, which it did.
 
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You should be able to arrive unannounced for a quick check. If you expect a cup of tea and a detailed conversation with the loanee about how the horse is getting on then a phone call to arrange a convienient time.

I would not allow my horse to to on loan to someone that required notice for me to see the horse. Likewise if I had someones horse on loan and I looked out the window and saw the owner hopping over the gate to give their horse a carrot and a quick cuddle I would have absolutely no issue with this. The worst they will find is a happy muddy horse
 
I would say 24-48 hours notice is acceptable. So to ring today and say 'I'd like to pop over and see how you're getting on at some point over the weekend... is there any particular time that suits you?' is perfectly acceptable. If they are out competing, great! you can go see them in action! ;)
 
I wouldn't expect any notice unless the yard had rules where the YO had to OK anyone other than liveries onto the yard.
I have a horse on loan and wouldnt mind if his owners turned up out of the blue. I have nothing to hide.

I'd maybe a little embarrassed if horse was covered in mud (knowing my luck this would happen) but I know I take good care of him.
 
I have two ponies out on loan, i was invited to visit them whenever i wanted, though do generally give some notice, they have been with the loanee for around 6 months now, are doing fine and more importantly are very happy, if there's any concerns or questions he rings me up and asks and keeps me up to date regularly. They get lots of attention from his grandkids and it helps that i know his ex wife well who takes the kids to visit, i hope it continues for some considerable time as it works out for all concerned, the ponies get lots of attention and the grandparents get to enjoy seeing the kids with the ponies :)
 
I have my PBA mare on loan from Arabiangem on here. She lives a long way away so usually gives me a week or two notice, but her mother lives nearby and I am happy for her to turn up unannounced at any time. I keep Gem up to date with regular texts, emails and photos.
 
My boy is on loan from a rescue. They just pop round without notice usually but now they like to have a chat with me about what we are getting up to so they ring me to so we can have a cuppa. That's only because they want to talk though, not because they are worried about him. I email them with pics and an update on our progress every few months anyway.
 
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