WelshD
Well-Known Member
My 13hh pony has been out on loan for 16 months
The loaners have been wonderful throughout but have now given me one months notice to end the loan through no fault of the pony or them as loaners, their focus has changed which makes my pony effectively redundant. I cannot fault them as loaners and the pony has been beautifully looked after and loved.
I was not anticipating having the pony back for another year or so however I understood the risks of loaning out and having a pony come back unexpectedly
The problems I have are:
1 The pony is incredibly quirky and cannot be ridden by just anyone, he needs a brave, confident and quiet rider
2 The pony is currently in month two of three months rest for a check ligament injury, the notice period end will be at the point where he can start slow ridden work again. He will need to be hacked at walk and trot till after Christmas. He has not been lame at any point (just had a slight puffy leg so the loaners scanned as a precaution) and he will not need rescanning again unless he fails to stand up to work, the vet said there was no rupture and there is no reason he wont return to full work but he was given three months off to ensure a generous amount of time for recovery.
So I am not sure what my next move should be with him, whatever happens he will not be sold, he is too quirky and may fall in to the wrong hands.
As I see it my options are:
Turn him away for the winter entirely and start afresh in the spring when people start looking for a pony again
Find a loan home where I think they’ll cope with him in full fitness and send him straight there – the initial slow work would be ideal for building a partnership with him and actually this could be an ideal situation, until he comes back in to faster work with no issues I could support and cover some costs to ease the worry that he may turn out to be unsuitable. In an ideal world this will need to be relatively close by so I can be on hand to offer advice if needed as I know this pony inside out - his quirks will only start to appear with faster work.
Bring him home to a local livery and try and get someone in to hack him – I’ll be honest this would be a cost I could do without BUT he is my pony and I will always meet these costs if needed, he could then be open to viewing by prospective loaners. But with limited work and sometimes limited turnout I am not sure this would be ideal for him although I would endeavour to find the most suitable yard possible
On the plus side the pony is a lovely smart example of a multi talented pony for someone looking to show, dressage or compete at mid level, Pony club etc and he is a super safe hacking pony too so he has lots going in his favour so he would be worth taking the trouble over as someone would end up with a super pony after the slow work
Sooo my question is what would you do and have I missed any options?
The loaners have been wonderful throughout but have now given me one months notice to end the loan through no fault of the pony or them as loaners, their focus has changed which makes my pony effectively redundant. I cannot fault them as loaners and the pony has been beautifully looked after and loved.
I was not anticipating having the pony back for another year or so however I understood the risks of loaning out and having a pony come back unexpectedly
The problems I have are:
1 The pony is incredibly quirky and cannot be ridden by just anyone, he needs a brave, confident and quiet rider
2 The pony is currently in month two of three months rest for a check ligament injury, the notice period end will be at the point where he can start slow ridden work again. He will need to be hacked at walk and trot till after Christmas. He has not been lame at any point (just had a slight puffy leg so the loaners scanned as a precaution) and he will not need rescanning again unless he fails to stand up to work, the vet said there was no rupture and there is no reason he wont return to full work but he was given three months off to ensure a generous amount of time for recovery.
So I am not sure what my next move should be with him, whatever happens he will not be sold, he is too quirky and may fall in to the wrong hands.
As I see it my options are:
Turn him away for the winter entirely and start afresh in the spring when people start looking for a pony again
Find a loan home where I think they’ll cope with him in full fitness and send him straight there – the initial slow work would be ideal for building a partnership with him and actually this could be an ideal situation, until he comes back in to faster work with no issues I could support and cover some costs to ease the worry that he may turn out to be unsuitable. In an ideal world this will need to be relatively close by so I can be on hand to offer advice if needed as I know this pony inside out - his quirks will only start to appear with faster work.
Bring him home to a local livery and try and get someone in to hack him – I’ll be honest this would be a cost I could do without BUT he is my pony and I will always meet these costs if needed, he could then be open to viewing by prospective loaners. But with limited work and sometimes limited turnout I am not sure this would be ideal for him although I would endeavour to find the most suitable yard possible
On the plus side the pony is a lovely smart example of a multi talented pony for someone looking to show, dressage or compete at mid level, Pony club etc and he is a super safe hacking pony too so he has lots going in his favour so he would be worth taking the trouble over as someone would end up with a super pony after the slow work
Sooo my question is what would you do and have I missed any options?
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