If you loaned a horse

[itsme123]

would you tell the owner if it got injured (and you couldnt be bothered to call the vet) and if you broke all it's tack? would you return it full of worms too? or would you just return it quickly then scarper?

Now, if you loaned this horse out and it returned like this what legal standing is there? I'm not sure what contract was used, if any but know that the vet saw it a few days prior to leaving and seen it since it returned home.
One very pi$$ed off owner and one ruined horse...

 

[hadfos]

Unfortunately without a contract stating every in and out doubt said person has a leg to stand on

As said above...if a legal contract was signed then good chance...if not then

forget it!
Have to say i have had 2 horses on loan in my life and they were treat like queens...NO contract

,returned in better condition than they arrived,loved em to bits

...given opportunity to buy by owner..mum at time(16yr ago)couldnt afford,i was devastated

however...would i EVER let my boy go out on loan...NO!!Not tarring everybody with the same brush..but i would rather he had 2yrs out in the field

 

[piebaldsparkle]

[ QUOTE ]
One very pi$$ed off owner and one ruined horse...

[/ QUOTE ]

Whilst if I was in this situation, I would be seriously hacked off, it would be directed at myself as much as the loanee, for not keeping a closer eye on said horse. As a above there is a contract (signed, dated and witnessed), then might be a chance (but most I suspect aren't worth the paper they are written on)...............if not, not a hope it hell.

 

[cellie]

I have just returned our loan pony today.She has gone home with new rugs and some new tack all her feed and extras.I have made a good friend of the owner and we will keep in contact .My daughter is broken hearted even thought we have bought her a new fab horse and has cried buckets today.Please dont tar us all with the same brush.
Have you kept inregular contact and checked your horse.Im really sorry for your bad experience but its in everyones interest to keep tabs on horse on loaner and its owners responsibility to make sure horse is kept to certain standards.Poor horse I hope you get her sound and fit again.

 

[rockinghorse]

I have a loan horse and a contract which states I am responsible for vaccinations, shoeing, teeth etc but it does not state that I should report any lameness or injury to the owner (which I would do). We have a months notice on either side to return the horse.

 

[sachak]

i have a horse on loan and out of common courtesy i keep them informed as to how he is getting on at lest once a week although, fortunately or unfortunately for them (depends how you look at it) I tend to send them pictures pretty much most days together with lengthy detailed accounts of our antics!!!!


on the other hand i have loaned out my pony 250 miles away to what was in the behinning a perfect home where she was ridden pc activities and was loved to bits and i visited once a month however when said child out grew her they couldnt bare to prt with her so i agreed to extend the loan for 6 month intervals with two wvists within each 6 month period. i gave my notice that i wished for my pony to come home with me at next visit and she cam back with her coat resembling that of a sheepdog feet were horrendous and she had lice oh and she was terribly thin

! i was soo gutted and felt so awful for my pony. she owed me nothing and had given me everything. it wasnt long before she was right as rein and that was with a detailed loan agreeement

 

[Blodwyn]

I loan a pony without a contact (only because the owner is my best friend!) , and she is perfectly well looked after happy, healthy and with full clean tack! so please dont tar us all with the same brush, it really upsets me when i keep reading posts on here just blaming the loanee and not the owner as well, you both play a part in looking after and taking an interest in the horse/pony, you cant just expect that all people are nice and thoughtful, if i couldnt ride Blod anymore i would still treat her like a queen, however that doesnt go for everyone some people are only interested in the competing and riding.

If you have no contract with your loanee im sorry to say i doubt there is much you can do legal wise...

i hope the your pony gets better soon xxx

 

[ladyt25]

I loaned a pony and after the loan was up and we weren't prepered tp pay the amount the owner wanted for the horse the owner arranged to transport him back. i was not oevrly happy about her arrangements as he was not a good traveller - he fretted and she had moved about 3 or so hours away (by car) so 5 hours of so by transporter as he was not the only pony. I regret it to this day.

He fretted from the moment we left him at the livery yard he was to be collected from, would not eat etc (that was the norm for him, he stressed). I left travelling boots for him to go in as the owner did not bother with anything.

Anyway, after he eventually arrived at hers she phoned us ranting saying he was in appalling condition and went on about how she was going to sue us etc etc. This was v upsetting and, had she known anything about her horse she wouldn't have arranged to travel him in this way in the first place. He dropped weight just travelling to shows! We had done nothing but care for this pony and he had built up muscle and weight but, due to her ignorance about him she blamed us for him being thin on arrival. I wish to this day we'd just bought him as he probably went backt o how he'd been before - kept at a livery yard where his owner actually never saw him, she didn't know what he was being fed, when he was vaccinated or anything.

So, this is just my experience from the other perspective as loanee. There is no excuse for neglected/mistreating a horse but we have been accused of it when we it was simply not true!

 

[dieseldog]

I would just be very grateful I got the horse back and accept the fact that it was partly my fault for not checking up on it, and also that to pursue it legally would be nearly impossible, very expensive and not worth the hassle.

If they are loaning the horse and therefore could not afford to buy one, or look after it properly even if you did win they wouldn't pay the settlement as they probably haven't got any money.

 

[Honeypots]

[ QUOTE ]
I would just be very grateful I got the horse back and accept the fact that it was partly my fault for not checking up on it, and also that to pursue it legally would be nearly impossible, very expensive and not worth the hassle.



[/ QUOTE ]

Me too... I really can't be doing with drama's these days

 

[molly7886]

I would disagree that legal action is costly & a waste of time. I loaned out a horse once & used the contract on the BHS site. Despite checking out the loanees as much as I could & going to visit several times, a problem became apparent so I bought him home. Unfortunately I wasn't able to resolve the issue amicably so I went to the small claims court (which you don't need a solicitor for & doesn't cost too much) & recovered the vets fees.
I must admit I'd never loan out a horse again. But if there's a good contract in place I don't see why you shouldn't pursue having the broken tack replaced & recover vets fees for putting things right. Just go to your local county court & they will give you a pack with all the instructions of what to do.
Things would be harder without a contract though!

 

[Damnation]

My first ever horse was on loan. A 16hh 3 year old TB. He came to me as on the slim side. I fed him and rugged him to his eyeballs in the winter that I had him so he gained weight. I had his teeth done and his feet were trimmed. (His owner had him done every 12 weeks, he was already 3 weeks late to be shod when I got him!!). Come April and the TB was still in a heavyweight full neck and he was just warm enough in it, you know what whimpish thoroughbreds are like! His field was very lush with grass so he was looking good and keeping his weight, even gaining weight. His owner decided she wanted him rugless during the day and the TB dropped all of his weight, he was gorging himself on the grass and was so full he couldn't be fed! But the grass wasn't enough to keep his weight on. The owner took him back and demanding it to be my fault even though she had threatned to take him back if the rug wasn't removed and I had protested severely that he would freeze!
Everything she gave me was returned to her in the same condition as when I got it. The owner was very rude but I was as polite as I could be.
If I was to loan out a horse or loan a horse everything would be returned in the same condition that I got it in, circumstances provided of course!
If there was a written legal contract then yes you have a leg to stand on. Otherwise.. you don't have much to go on I'm afraid.

 

[Biscuit]

I'm so sorry to hear about your horse. I hope things work out for you.

You did not mention if you have actually asked for a contribution to the costs.

Probably won't work, but there might be a tiny chance if you asked the loanee very nicely if they could please contribute a small sum towards reasonable costs for replacing the tack or vet costs, perhaps they would? At least if you can point to something specific which is not just normal wear and tear and/or if they did not realise that something was wrong.

Something along the lines of "I notice that the bridle was broken, I'm sure it was an accident but I will need to replace it, which will cost me £80. I don't expect you to pay for a new bridle or anything, but it would be great if you could contribute £20 towards replacing it" or "I understand that you did not realise, but the [particular injury] he got while with you actually requires veterinary attention. The vet has said it will cost me £xxx now to put him right. If you can give a contribution that would be nice."

Most likely they won't but you never know unless you have asked.

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
would you tell the owner if it got injured

[/ QUOTE ]
It would depend on the seriousness of the injury; serious injury then yes of course I would contact the owner; trivial injury then no.

[ QUOTE ]
if you broke all it's tack

[/ QUOTE ]
It would depend on how long I had the horse on loan for. If only for a couple of months, yes. If loaned for years then no, items have a shelf life and once that life is up, it's up.

[ QUOTE ]
would you return it full of worms too

[/ QUOTE ]
No.

[ QUOTE ]
Now, if you loaned this horse out and it returned like this what legal standing is there?

[/ QUOTE ]
Um, well it would depend on how long the horse had been loaned for and it would depend on how serious and how old the injury was. Re-worming, well I'd be a bit miffed if the loan person had not kept the horse on a worming schedule, but I wouldn't see this as a major issue, I'd simply worm the horse. Don't know what the legal standing is, but in my opinion the moral standing is that the OWNER has ultimate responsibility for the well being of their horse, not some loan person; hence the owner should have been keeping tabs on the horse.

[ QUOTE ]
but know that the vet saw it a few days prior to leaving and seen it since it returned home.


[/ QUOTE ] And? Sorry but without any of us knowing what injury was sustained by the horse then this info doesn't really add any weight to either side.

[ QUOTE ]
One very pi$$ed off owner and one ruined horse...

[/ QUOTE ]
Simple answer to the owner - keep an eye on your horse in future

. Not sure how ruined the horse is as no info makes this difficult to judge.

I really am blown away by people who will loan their horses out and wipe their hands of them. Sorry but to me horses are investments, or at least old friends; why would anyone just give their horse up to someone without keeping ongoing checks on the horse? I know I couldn't; no I wouldn't bug someone but I WOULD be dropping by on a regular basis to make sure the horse was as healthy as it had been whilst in my care; the first signs of something amiss and it would be coming home; contract or no blooming contract!

 

[Nic74]

[ QUOTE ]
would you tell the owner if it got injured (and you couldnt be bothered to call the vet) and if you broke all it's tack? would you return it full of worms too? or would you just return it quickly then scarper?

Now, if you loaned this horse out and it returned like this what legal standing is there? I'm not sure what contract was used, if any but know that the vet saw it a few days prior to leaving and seen it since it returned home.
One very pi$$ed off owner and one ruined horse...

[/ QUOTE ]

My horse came home in a similar state from a loan a year ago. I was furious but there isn't really alot that can be done other than try and warn people about the loaner, which is what I did, I posted on alot of forums saying if you are thinking of loaning a horse out in 'xyz area' then PM me.

 

[Nic74]

And to everyone sayng keep a better eye on the horse - it isn't always that simple or easy. My horse went off to a place 3 hours drive away, and to what I thought was the best home. I had lengthy conversations with the loaner to be, we discussed her experience and capability etc, and she seemed ideal. So off went my mare. I checked on her the day after she left to make absolutely sure she looked happy and settled, and I had regular phone comtact with the loaner and she sent photos. I checked up on my horse 2 months later and she was losing weight so I told the loaner to monitor this and to start feeding accordingly. Then my problems started, which is another story, but the fact is I was checking on my horse every 2 to 3 months, and she still came home looking like crap and with a bad leg injury, and full of worms. Horses can go downhill very rapidly.