Laon horse on same yard as owner?

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Scotslad23

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Hi All

I have potentially found a very lovely horse to loan on a yard my friend keeps her horse.

The yard is lovely and the people seem nice and the lady I would potentially be loaning this horse from is really nice and kind.

Does anyone else loan a horse where the owner is still on the yard (she has two horses) and do you forsee/ experience any potential issues?

She is there during the day and all horses are generally brought in at 1630 for the night, I wouldnt get to the yard until 1730 to feed/ groom and ride but obviously I would be there each morning to feed, turn out and muck out.

I just dont want to be paying for a horse and not really feeling like he is mine because I'm worried they will want to keep 'helping' me out which is great when I need it if I'm stuck at work or something but not ideal all the time.

Not sure how I could approach the subject without sounding rude by asking her to leave him alone! :o

Any thoughts or advise would be greatly appreciated :confused:

Thanks
 
Humm, I can see why you feel a bit unsure about this situation.

How big is the yard? Would it be possible for him to move to a different stable away from the owners other horse so you didn't feel like you had her watching over you all the time?
 
Ive never had this issue but my friend has and did find it difficult, she felt as if she was constantly in the way/was doing it wrong and being watched. But she did have a really good time.

I'm sure that wouldn't necessarily be the case though. Good suggestion above :)
 
Thats a good idea but sadly he would need to stay in the same stable as the yard is now full for the foreseeable future.

Moody_Mare i feel like i could potentially feel the same as your friend you know, like im just getting in the way especially at this time of the year when time is at a premium. I would most likely be first on-site in the morning (YO does live on site though) to quickly feed, turn out and muck out and then i would be turning up in the dark at 1730 when half the people would have gone home and he would already be in for the night!
 
Yes, I know friends who have done it. Its a very individual thing depending on the people really.
The horse will have to adjust initially, it will be used to a routine and coming in with the owners other horses so may be unsettled if the bringing in time is later to start with.

The more time and input you can give your loan horse the easier it will become for both you and its owner. Its hard for owners to watch mistakes being made without trying to butt in. If you were at another yard, you'd feel less observed and free to mess up or do things your own way.
Stick with it though as everything takes time to evolve naturally, it doesn't happen as soon as hands are shaken and the deal done.

Keep lots of dialogue going with the owner and work with her and gradually the horse and yourself will be a team and the owner will be confident to let go.
 
I kind of had it the other way round. Benson was my loan horse that I had for 9 years until he retired, when his owner took over his care, but still at the same livery yard as me. I did find it difficult to see her care for him in a different way than I did, changing his feed and rugging him more than I ever did. so it is tough on both sides,
 
Having had 3-4 horses and worked too, I think the owner would be relieved to have one less to do and leave you to it. Obviously they will keep an eye initially and check horse is doing well with you, but once they've seen that, should leave you be.

Did you get the impression they would interfere?
 
Depends on the owner.

Some, never. Others are happy to step back. Talk to your friend and see what her opinon is on what they're like.

My last share was pretty much on loan with time I got to spend with her. Loved having owner about and we rode out with other peoples horses together. But then we were very good friends with the same opinion on how we kept horses, so was easy.
 
I guess im worried she will still think its acceptable to ride him. He is great with kids and by all accounts he is a bit of a 'free for all' to ride (under her supervision) so i would worry that whilst im working all day there are people down there caring and worse, riding him without me knowing! I think then on how i would approach that without sounding like i cant 'share' or play nice with everyone and putting myself out there as the bad guy!
 
I think before committing to anything you need to have a talk with the owner to insure that both parties are clear about the involvement from both sides.If you have the horse on loan then IMO you will be the one who decides who rides it and I would expect the horse to have to get used to your routine, not have to stick to that of the owner.
 
Scotslad23 said:
I guess im worried she will still think its acceptable to ride him. He is great with kids and by all accounts he is a bit of a 'free for all' to ride (under her supervision) so i would worry that whilst im working all day there are people down there caring and worse, riding him without me knowing! I think then on how i would approach that without sounding like i cant 'share' or play nice with everyone and putting myself out there as the bad guy!
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Full loan - he's yours. Get a proper contract to make sure you're happy about this and it's written in that no riding without express permission.
Share/part loan - she's fine to on her days. Again you should have a proper contract regardless.
 
It depends what you both agree to and what you pay. I think unless you're paying for EVERYTHING then you don't have a leg to stand on about other people riding. My horse is on loan - he is the safest horse in the world for beginners, so I know that if my friends want to ride that they need to go on him and not the others so will just use him. Or if somebody is a horse down for something and they aren't riding at that time, I will offer people my horse. But they don't pay for everything and thus don't have full 'responsibility' for him. If they did then I would think very differently about it.

About being on the same yard as the owner - I've not had a problem with it - I went to try a horse for loan - the owner did everything - tacked up, groomed etc. and I wasn't sure. But the next time I went down, that was it, was fully left to me, and when it's feeding time for all the horses I'm expected to do everything - muck out, feed, put rugs back on. Works nicely as she has her own horses to do, so has no reason to interfere, I'm saving her time too?

However, when my horse has been on loan previously I have had issues and stepped in and did things and mentioned a lot of things I didn't like to them. It's all about finding the right people. I would never loan a horse if I didn't like the owner or felt tension which is why I've had great success loaning horses and never had a problem. When tension has arisen or I've not liked something I've given up the loan. I'll try and resolve it but if I think it can't be fixed I find it's better to move on. At the same time I wouldn't want anyone loaning my horse if we didn't get on, which is why it didn't work out in the past.

You just need to ask a lot of what if sort of questions to find out what the owner expects from it. Good luck!
 
If you're paying for him as if you 'own him' then in my opinion, he should essentially be your horse on the days you pay for, so no one should be riding him during your days.

A contract is obviously a must to stop any crossed wires. Good luck. :)
 
I think it totally depends on the relationship between the owner and the loaner.

I have been both the loanee and the owner in this exact situation!

When I loaned a horse years ago, the owner had 4 ponies on the same yard. I didn't mind it too much, but I did feel more that it wasn't my horse and I felt that I had to ask the owner's permission or explain myself if I changed our routine etc. Was slightly different though to my experience as the owner, as when I was the loaner, I was only 15 or 16 and the owner was a man in his 60s. Where I have been the owner, both of my loanees have been around my age so I suppose its a different relationship anyway?

I have been the owner on two occasions where someone has loaned my horse. The first was really more of a share, but we actually became really good friends and it was nice as we hacked out together etc. I always tried to make it so I interfered as little as possible, but always tried to be there to offer advice! On the second occasion, it was a full-time loan and so I took an even greater step back. I'm still friendly with the person who has my mare on loan, but she has her own friends/contacts on the yard so tbh I try and leave her to it. As it happens, I moved my horses to a yard down the road, but my current loaner stayed on the old yard. It's less than 5 mins away, but I am sure she feels she has greater independance to do her own thing...but on the same scale, I am nearby if she needs anything!
 
I would talk to the owner and discuss your specific concerns. Much better to get it all agreed in the open and up front. You can put it in a nice way, maybe you could say that you are keen to build a good relatioship with him and one of the ways you want to do this is to be the only one that rides him/ handles him for a while and you want to check that she's OK with that. Then see what the response is, if she says "oh but I'll still need to do XYZ" then at least you know and can walk away. If she's happy to accept your requests you'll be happy.
 
I started by loaning a horse (who I bought 2 years later) & she was to stay at yard where owner kept her other horse. Worked very well, appreciated having back up & advice when needed. Trick is sort out exactly where you stand before you start (like who will get in each day - it maybe he can't be left out for you as he would be alone), then be open with each other.
 
Perhaps it would be a good idea to have a very honest conversation with tbe owner before you enter into any agreement. You could start by saying that you are very interested in the horse and you would appreciate the opportunity to loan him but you have been advised that it is a good idea to have an honest discussion with the owner beforehand so that you are able to ensure that you are both happy with the set up and prevent any misunderstandings later. Then ask the owner to tell you about any aspects of the horses care etc which she particularly would need you to cater for. Having taken on board anything significant that she may say, you then go on to ask questions. Will i have control over who rides the horse? Would it be a problem if i had to change his routine a little because of work? etc etc. The questions need to be chosen based upon your concerns and if phrased as questions will not come over as a list of demands, but will give you some idea of the owners attitude to those things and allow you to then respond with your own feelings on the matter. If when you ask about other people riding she says " oh no of course not he will be on loan to you, its up to you who rides him". You can say "Oh thats good as i really wanted to be able to work with him on my own so i can get to know him properly". (Or some similar statement that shows how you feel about the idea) if she says that so-and-so sometimes rides him, you can respond by saying you are not sure if that would work very well for you as you were really looking forward to having an opportunity to work with a horse as if it was your own, which is why you are considering a loan rather than a share. This conversation could well put both owner and loaners minds at rest because you will each have an opportunity to suss out the other persons expectations.
 
Defo have a discussion beforehand and maybe avoid it altogether if owner comes across as anyway interfering. I have never loaned a horse nor been a loaner but have witnessed it with a friend loaning a horse on same yard as its owner and the owner constantly interfered and even " borrowed" horse for days when her friend wanted to ride. My friend is very unassuming and timid and was walked all over by the owner- when owner's bridle broke she took the one she gave my friend back, same with rugs and she used to constantly "borrow" feed and hay. Was a total nightmare. We urged friend to move horse but she was too afraid to broach the subject. She is still in the same situation and nothing has changed. She has nothing in writing which of course is a problem.
 
Have done it, hated every moment of it. I had someone share my horse with me. To be fair I didnt interfere with her as it gave me some breathign space at a time I badly needed to put in some extra work hours. However, I am pretty possesive over my horse and I had to make some real adjustments to my behaviour to stop me nosing and telling her what to do etc.

Would never, ever do it again.
 
I am a little worried about my behaviour as well. I know i can be a loner and im not very good at sharing which is something i work on and try to realize and correct when i feel myself becomign a bit 'mine, go away' :o

Im just so desperate for my own horse really but finacially a loan is all i can do as i dont have money in a pot to hand over for a horse! Its just so frustrating. Its like i have all this love and commitment to give to a horse but no money to buy one :mad:
 
I found this a really difficult situation as I never felt in charge of my horse. The other person was at the yard when I was not and would often "just do" things which really annoyed me. She also like to pass comment on the way I did things - not easy!
 
Horse is used to being fed etc at four thirty why change it, let her feed it bring in then at least when you turn up you will have less to do and you ride and the food would have gone through already, she will be happy her horse is still being cared for, you can't blame her with all the horror stories.
 
I know people who have loaned their horse out to someone on the same yard and it worked well for both parties - it might do so for you too, it all depends on what the owner is expecting, making tbings clear before you sign up is the only way - and also perhaps agreeing a trial period initially tp make sure you are both happy before you commit. Please dont forget that people can often see things very differently and an owner could be so pleased to get a good loanee that they try to help out for no other reason than they want to be helpful - Equally so i imagine it can be difficult to hand over care for hour horse to someone who appears defensive - when in fact they might be just tryi g to find their feet witbout treading on owners toes - honesty with each other at the start is the only way to go. If i were ever to loan my precious girl out i would respect someone who was honest with me at the start because i would feel we both were going into the arrangenent with a good understanding of each other.
 
I had a similar situation with a full loan... basically I have lots of friends on a really nice yard that has everything I wanted and I know the YO as I had shared horses over the past couple of years, but I did not enjoy sharing anymore and I wanted a pony of my own but my parents weren't letting me buy my own so I was on the look for a full loan.
To cut it short, a pony at the yard was put up for full loan as the girl (teenager) wanted something bigger so I thought I would learn a lot from this pony and she was already at the yard I wanted.
For the first couple of months the girl was interfering a lot but I didn't really think much of it as she was teaching me a lot and she knows the pony inside out so it helped me get more used to her. I also rode with the girl a lot as she had just got a new horse on full loan so I hacked out a lot with her.
But then the girl started interfering so much that she just did not feel like 'my pony' as the girl was always constantly jumping on her bareback in the stable and cuddling her saying 'I love my pony' etc.
I always felt I was doing it wrong as she expected things to be done the same way as her and to sum it up I basically felt like I was loaning this pony just so the girl could keep her bigger, more able horse, otherwise she would have had to give that horse back to its owner. It was a tough decision to make as she was one of my really good friends but it was awkward at first but now that I have my own pony we do go for rides and its not as bad as it used to be.
Good luck with making your decision and I hope you have fun with your potential horse!
 
I have done this and worked ace for 3 years. Owner decided to sell him and I brought my own. Me and his owner r best of friends and met purely through melamine her horse!! I think it depends on persondlity. I was always considerate and she helped where it was needed
 
Well i popped down the yard last night to see to a friends horse. Its my first time there after work mid week and i got there just before 1800 ...

It was dark, raining and there was NO ONE about :( I felt completley thrown to be honest and I tried to visualise what i would be doing if i had a loan horse and the answer was pretty grim!

So right now my weekly routine would be the following ...

Get to yard at 0620AM, feed, change rug and turn out horse, make evening feed. Fill haynet and muck out. Leave yard at 0700 to get to work for 0800.

Horses brought in at 1630 ... guess owner could do this for free as she is bringing in her other horse as a favour or pay for it and have him fed!

Get to yard at 1730 in the dark on my own and either groom and potter about in the stable with him or groom and ride him if its dry enough in the school with the floodlight on!

And thats how i see it Monday to Friday and it isnt filling me with inspriation!

Is this what others do? :confused:
 
Scotslad23 said:
Well i popped down the yard last night to see to a friends horse. Its my first time there after work mid week and i got there just before 1800 ...

It was dark, raining and there was NO ONE about :( I felt completley thrown to be honest and I tried to visualise what i would be doing if i had a loan horse and the answer was pretty grim!

So right now my weekly routine would be the following ...

Get to yard at 0620AM, feed, change rug and turn out horse, make evening feed. Fill haynet and muck out. Leave yard at 0700 to get to work for 0800.

Horses brought in at 1630 ... guess owner could do this for free as she is bringing in her other horse as a favour or pay for it and have him fed!

Get to yard at 1730 in the dark on my own and either groom and potter about in the stable with him or groom and ride him if its dry enough in the school with the floodlight on!

And thats how i see it Monday to Friday and it isnt filling me with inspriation!

Is this what others do? :confused:
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The latter bit, yes! Not great I admit but if you work and with the late/dark nights that's the only way for me. But it only lasts for winter and you do get the weekends. It's the price I pay to ride and earn enough to keep a nag! I have them on full livery though so I don't have the early morning. Is it possible for you to ride in the mornings instead?
 
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