loaning a horse to a college,

jhoward

jhoward

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my boy desperatley needs to be doing more, am considering loaning him to my local college (Bicton) so i was just wondering if anybody had loaned a horse before and what opinions people have? o and any horror stories!
 
Never done it myself but there have been so many horror stories about it on here that I don't think I would. If you do a search you should be able to find some of the stories. I would prefer a standard loan or share if i wanted my horse to do more work
 
My horse went to Moulton College and it was great and Bossanova's Boss is at one (Hartbury?) and there is a post about how good it is for him. I'd say do your homework and there is no reason why a college shouldn't be a good home.
 
I loaned my horse to a college, fantastic care, beds, grooming ect, all done fanstastically.

Down side

Horse shod by college, shoes to small and horse went lame, horse started bolting on the lunge, couldnt get on it off the floor or from a leg up, his tack was changed, no turnout.

The horse is sharp, but i thought the students would be of diffrent abillities, so experienced riders would be riding him. He is now back with me but it really went t**s up while he was at the college.
 
I went to bicton a few years ago. if your horse can cope with 1 hour turn out a week and 2-3 hours of schooling/jumping per day then im sure he will be fine but alot of the horses there became very hard to handle as they got so bored with being in the school. also the level of riding ability ranges from very good to someone i knew that had only ever ridden a shetland and didn't know how to do sitting trot! You need to weigh up the pro's and con's. Could your horse cope with being ridden by several different people per day? does he enjoy schooling? is he suitable for all abilities? on the good side though the horses are looked after very well with regards to feed, bedding and vet care and your horse gets schooled for free. Hope that helps in some way!
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All depends on the yard manager. Last year I wouldnt have loaned to college, this year with the new manager I would. Last year a novice was air lifted to hospital after they mixed her up with someone of the same name, ignored her protests and put her on an ex eventer. Unfortunately some YMs just arent capable of handleing the large numbers of horses and riders you get at a college.
However, on the plus side, I had to board my horse there for one night on DIY, and the students were so badly organised that they mucked him out, groomed and fed him with the school horses, all for free
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I'll be one of the college horror stories dwi mentioned!!! I took my mare wth me, she only lasted for one term, they cut her mouth with a rubber snaffle, they then decided to lunge her on one of my lessons, I was lunging another horse, they were warned that she is very whip shy having been backed by a dealer and I never lunge with a whip. They insisted and she panicked, once she realised they weren't going to hurt her she just took the p***. She ended up with 4 people lunging her including the instructor and 2 AIs, crashed through the next door lesson. I ended up taking her off them and lunging her myself without the whip, she was fine.

I then found out she was lame, she had been sent out of 4 lessons, but they were still putting her on the list to ride. I went down to check her and someone was tacking her up!!.
Had the vet out, who decided she needed x-rays at the clinic. It took them 5 weeks to get her there. They had tried the week before, but inisited she went in the horse box last as she was smallest, even though she isn't good boxing, she couldn't go up the step as well as turn so they just left her.

Told at the vets she was loss of use due to pelvic problems, they wanted me to fill her full of bute and put her back in the school!!! Ye right. While she was on box rest, I requested that her bed go up to the door as she was scrapping the floor, she went through a set of shoes in 2 weeks, I even brought it forward every day and put up a big notice and still they kept brushing it back. I went down one day and she was wearing her stable rug, sweat rug and her new zeland!!

She was as miserable as anything and really run down, she was due her vaccination after she came home, so I was going to wait till we got her back and was a bit better, but they had it done while I wasn't there and she ended up with her whole chest swollen, she was so poorly she couldn't even reach down for her water bucket.

I have several friends who were on my course who took horses with them and they were all sent home lame.

I personally wouldn't let any of mine near a college, but if you do make sure you speak to a few of the students and see if they would take their horses there and if you can speak to any one who has a horse there. Preferable out of the ear shot of the staff.
 
Murph is on loan to Reaseheath college. Only went in September but so far so good. Spoke to one or two people who had horses there, and visited the place before we made the decision. He went on 6 weeks trial initially so either they or we could change our minds. So far is working out very well. He is looked after very well, limited turnout during the week but out at least half each day at the weekend and during half term holiday. He is only ridden by the better students as he can be a bit naughty. We are having him home for longer holidays, e.g. Christmas but he stayed there for the week long half term. We can visit whenever we like, daughter went over at half term and rode him. She said he was as responsibve as ever. We do use their farrier but ours could have done him if we preferred. I had a phone call yesterday to say that Ivan Stockdale was visiting on monday for a dentistry session and did we want Murph done. As its impossible to get Ivan without booking 2 years ahead this was a real bonus! The big test will be to see how he goes in competion next summer but so far seems to be going well, and he would have been seriously lacking work if he had stayed at home, daughter is at uni and I just don't have the time. The other advantage of Reaseheath is that they have the Nantwich Equine vets on an adjoining yard, so if anything did go wrong, god forbid, he would get speedy treatment. I would recomment you do a lot of research about the college you have in mind, and definitely speak to people who have horses on loan there.
 
Friends mare was loaned to Hartbury......turned out with a horse with shoes on, got kicked and has since been PTS from injuries sustained!!!!!!
My mare was loaned to Aber Uni before we had her.......and would never endorse it.
 
took my mare with me to reaseheath college, it was awful, hardly no turn out, changed tack she went their in a french link and came out with a rugby pellam and martingale, my tack used on other horses, complete novices rode her even though she clearly was not a novice ride, she was fed too much haylage and was rushed to leahurst with collic, never had her feet picked out so was always very thrushy, didnt feel like she was my horse, was hardly ever allowed to ride her. wen i took her home which was soon after she went reaseheath she had changed alot in a bad way, would never reccomend that to anyone, definatly not reaseheath!!!!!
 
Boss is on loan to Hartpury and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Wouldnt suit every horse but mine's a bit of a work-a-holic and the routine suits him down to the ground
 
Well I can only speak as I find. I would imagine it would be quite hard to be there with your horse and have other people riding her. The whole point of Murph going was because daughter wsan't able to ride him. Can't say about others using our tack, can't really see why as all horses have their own tack there, named. Whever I visit him (which is always unannounced, I just turn up when I have time) I look at his feet, always seem quite clean. I also check that he isn't head shy, or miserable in any way. How long ago was your mare there, hopefully the staff are different now. We will continue to see how he goes, believe me if we weren't happy at any time he would be back home straight away.
 
well this was two years ago hopefully the staff has changed because when i was there they treated us like a piece of s*1t. i actually didnt read ur PM until i had posted mine so dont think i was having a go at you. its quite funny the way they are the complete opposite. do you know wat staff are there now?
 
I know of a couple of people who loaned to Hadlow.The first had her horse there for just one term but that was what was agreed between them and tmk she was happy with the situation.The other has only sent her horse there in September and from the sound of it she is more than happy with how it is going so far.She told me that her mare seems to love it there.
 
I was a student at Reaseheath college a few years back. I don' know if the staff and arrangements have changed but if Caroline Booth is still running the show I wouldn't consider sending a horse there. Also anything capable of jumping - cos alot weren't - was jumped every day and sometimes more than once.
 
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I was a student at Reaseheath college a few years back. I don' know if the staff and arrangements have changed but if Caroline Booth is still running the show I wouldn't consider sending a horse there. Also anything capable of jumping - cos alot weren't - was jumped every day and sometimes more than once.

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So true!!
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I can understand it would be difficult if you were a student with your own horse there, wouldn't be nice to not have first option on your horse. As I have already said I can only speak as I find and our lad seems to be doing fine. Caroline Booth is still in charge, but the yard managers seem to have most control over the horses. We have hopefully built up a good relationship with Kate Butler and she does constantly keep in touch with us about Murph. The students do seem to have to work hard, and have a rota to do weekends and holidays, but after all that is what working with horses is like, its not a 9 - 5 job.
 
Would be interested to know what the problem is with Caroline Booth (might be best to PM me), I would like to know if there is anything I should be concerned about. Thanks.
 
A few points;
1. You shouldn't be mentioning people by name in this thread
2. Horses that go to college have to be honestly described by their owners...many of whom seem to lie and send problem horses to colleges thinking that the staff won't send them home in disgrace (they will!)
3. If you are a student with your horse on loan at your college, it is not full livery...you will not be able to tell other students what you want done....you need to do DIY or pay for real full livery.
4. I know one college which agreed to send a loan horse to the local vets for £3k of colic surgery, which the college would pay for...and that was after the horse was only on loan there for a couple of months.
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I wasn't going to mention names, but other poster did and I confirmed one person is still there,I do realise one has to be careful which is why I have suggested a PM for future correspondence. The yard manager I have named I have said I have found to be very good so don't think that can be considered defamatory. I agree with the point about students taking their own horses, and have tried to say that it might be different to a working livery horse.
As I have said we have been more than happy with our horse's care to date, but I'm sure you can appreciate that when people are categorically stating they wouldn't send a horse to the same college I want to make sure we haven't made a huge mistake.
 
thanks guys for the responces, hes a very spevial horse, and somethings highlighted have made me think... he isnt anybodys ride, and would not suit being stabled so much, but then hed thrive on the work load, i have a lady coming to have a look at him to do some eventing with him, so fingers crossed! i shall have a look at the bicton college contract, and keep a open mind!
 
If a gentle negative hint at my opinion of the manager at Reaseheath college is too harsh to be stated on a public forum I'm really not bothering with this anymore. I notice no-one has yet lept to her defense, also speaks volumes! We used to have an excellent YM, lorraine who seemed to clash with CB. I'm now a full time groom so trust me it wasn't the work that put me off the place - it was the attitude.
 
i wouldn't lend a horse to a college. i was around at Hartpury when it was fairly new (i was just up the road as Leslie Law's working pupil, and his then girlfriend Harriet was a lecturer/instructor at Hartpury), and horses were used for lessons of over an hour, then held in the yard for the next rider for another long lesson, not even allowed 2 mins in their stable for a drink or a wee... i didn't approve of that, must admit.
i went to a college for a try out to do an AI course, asked about taking my novice eventer, was told that as he was novice he'd be too advanced for me to ride in my lessons, but the II and I students would ride him instead! hmmm... wasn't too impressed with that, either...
 
Hartpury don't do 'AI' courses...perhaps you mean a PI Prep course? And they don't have students working to Intermediate Instructor and Instructor level as there is no funding available...past 4 and 4 is non viable...
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Unless you mean your horse was for Stage 1 and Stage 2 students?
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My mare was on working livery at a college and although she coped with the work fine, the standard of care was varied to say the least.................

She was kicked in a lesson, when another horses was allowed to back into her (lame for 6 weeks, lucky not to have broken her leg).
She was brought out of a jumping lesson, rugged up for the night and fed.
I regularly found her bit on upside down (thank god it was a french link), I also found single jointed snaffle on their bridles the wrong way round.
I often found her with no hay at 6pm.
She had a nosebleed which I was not informed about, when she had a 2nd one when I was riding the vet put her on antibiotics, and the college continued to put her in lessons.
Her brushing boots were put on a horse (during a tack fitting practical) which was supposed to be in isolation as it had ringworm.
A fork, broom and skip were left in her stable (would have been there all night, if I hadn't popped in).

There was probably worst, but as I wasn't a student and was only on the yard by accident or after the student had left, I didn't get to find out it all. Can't imagine why I took her away!!!
 
Hang on we are talking about horses here, so why you being a smart arse saying they dont do this and that at this college. has your horse been to an equine college ? if not why u posting on "loaning a horse to a college"
 
My friends horse went to a college and it worked really well.

He was only there a few months but came on in leaps and bounds !!

They also allowed us to sell him from the yard

Never had a problem
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