Just pondering....

[MizElz]

A neighbour, who I used to ride out with, is very ill. She refuses to accept the worst, but after battling for a year, she has decided to sell her horse. Ideally, she wants her to go locally, and cheaply, in case she ever gets better and can buy her back

The mare is lovely, about 15.1, Irish bred (chestnut, but sweet!) Ellie adores her; they are lesbian buddies

Anyway.....in our current situation (rented house with rented stables, rented turnout, buy hay/straw from landlord) we cannot afford to buy another horse. But......landlord's wife (so landlady, i guess) is very keen to do a 'share' with my mum, who would love another horse, but has not got time to commit to one on her own (even if we did have the money!)

With me so far?

So....if landlady wanted to go into a share type setup, the mare would come and stay with us, in our spare stable (which would mean we need to build a hay/straw barn), and be turned out on our field at no extra cost, with (obviously!) no hay/straw costs. I would probably muck her out - two isnt THAT much more work than one, is it? - and landlady and mum would ride her as and when they both can.

The downsides:
- landlady would like to hunt, and the mare is not overly forward going when jumping out hunting (not a bad thing in my eyes!)
- if anything goes wrong (ie. if mare colics etc) neither us nor landlady have money to spare...

So.....what are people's thoughts? Is it an opportunity too good to miss, or are we bonkers to consider extending our workload, what with new careers, degrees and work coming out of our ears already?!?!??!

 

[Bess]

Quote "- if anything goes wrong (ie. if mare colics etc) neither us nor landlady have money to spare..."

Surely you would insure the horse if your mum/landlady were to buy it?

What about asking the owner if she will loan the horse to your mum/landlady and sort out a loan agreement and insurance cover with her?

 

[appylass]

On the face of it, it sounds like a great opportunity, even more so as Ellie likes her already. Would she be insurable? Thinking of vets fees? It will be more work I guess but although I moan if another comes along needing mucking out it's only a few days before it's 'normal'!

And, whispers-very-quietly, if landlady has her 'own' horse would it maybe give you a bit more leverage for a bit more grazing??

-just remembering a previous post - I think??!

 

[MizElz]

Bess - yes we would try to get her insured; I'm actually not sure how old she is, so whether or not this would be possible would depend on that....

Also, a loan would be preferable, as if it didnt work, we would be able to help find her another home...

Appylass - yes, you hit the nail on the head there re. grazing!

Great minds!

 

[YorkshireLass]

Sounds great so long as you all sit down and draw up an agreement stating who is resposible for what costs.... wormers, shoeing, replacement tack rugs, vets fees etc. Even with your own place you are looking at about 1k per year for a horse in work... without unexpected vets fees.

If the horse does colic or has some other serious injury the vets fees can be thousands... beyond even the most comprehensive insurance. People have 2 choices here... take out a loan/sell something.... or get the horse put down. You have to determine who will make that decision or cough up.

 

[Booboos]

I agree with YorkshireLass about the importance of a clear agreement. From reading your post I was not entirely clear who would end up owning the horse, who would be responsible for costs, who would get to make decisions about her future, etc. I think you need to have this very, very clear, otherwise you risk falling out with your landlady.

 

[Tierra]

Werent you quite low on grazing? Would you get more if you were keeping their horse?

 

[MizElz]

Yes grazing would obviously have to be increased, which would have its advantages, obviously, as the landlady could hardly charge us for what is partly her horse!

I think, having thought it through a lot last night, that a loan is possibly the best, if only, way forward. If our neighbour only wants to sell, then I think it is a no-go, but if we and our landlady could have a share-loan agreement and see how it goes over the summer, perhaps with a view to either keep her or sell her on for poorly neighbour if it doesnt work out, then that may be best.....