loaning a horse to an equine college?

charlie76

charlie76

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We have an ex 1* event horse who is out on loan at the moment however due to a change in circumstances he is to come home soon,we don't really have a use for him at home so I was thinking that perhaps he would be of use to an equine college for students and \or BHS exams .
The reason for being an ex event horse is due to the fact he has had kissing spine surgery and he can no longer event to the level we want him to. He has also had one or two other issue which mean we would rather prolong his working life by giving him a less intense work load.
He is 11 yrs old , wb, and 16.2hh
He is a machine to jump but sj and xc but due to his surgery is restricted to lower level dressage as he finds collection hard. He doesn't struggle to jump however and would fly round a BE100 , he was getting scores in the low 20s at novice even with his back issue .
He is easy to do but can be a face puller in the stable but is still straight forward to handle, clip, catch etc.
He does struggle to keep weight and muscle on so is better kept in more work. If hr rests he looses top line.
He isn't worried about turn out as long as he is eating and busy.
He would easily be a stage three/ four/ BHS I exam horse both ridden and lunged.
What are people thoughts on the college suggestion?

Anyone know how it works?
 
Mine was at equine college and he loved it! He was very green when he went there and he came back a beautifullly schooled horse!

He was very well looked after and settled into the routine OK; college is a busy, bustling atmosphere and there are some horses that would struggle with that.

Best thing to do would be to approach the college and have a chat with their Yard Manager; then go see and have a look and see how you feel.
 
I am doing stage 3 at the moment and before being at college I wouldn't have considered sending a horse there but now seeing the calibre of riders schooling the horses and the care they receive I definitely would.
 
Sorry OP I've just re-read your post and I think what you are asking is the "how" of the way it works, yes???

Basically, your horse is on loan to the college and you are expected to relinquish the day-to-day care of the horse, just as you would in any normal loan.

As mine was on "working livery" the college took on responsibility for the horse's stabling, grazing, exercise, grooming, feeding, etc etc. But you would need to check out what sort of livery the college you are considering are offering, and if there is any financial commitment expected from you the owner. You will need to put adequate veterinary insurance in place; and may be required to contribute to shoeing costs, again you'd need to check.

You are normally expected to supply stuff like rugs, saddle, bridle, girths etc etc. Tip: DO NOT send expensive/posh stuff to college! Through nobody's fault, your "precious" bridle will get dismantled and bits of it will end up on other horses' bridles!!! Your lovely favourite reins, will disappear into the black hole of the college tackroom .......... nobody's fault, it just happens. So a good idea is to go to a few equine car boot sales/e-bay etc, and kit your horse up with good, serviceable, but cheap tack as far as you can!!! AND then LABEL IT!!! Dog-tags are good - you can get your horse's and/or your name engraved very cheaply. Also your local garden centre may have wrap-around flexi-labels that are used for putting tags on plants - fab for labelling rugs!!! Label everything, but everything: girths, stirrup leathers, bridle, the lot!!!

My horse was used for three "sessions" per day: this was not all ridden work, it was stuff like, for e.g. showing students how to bandage, tack up, clipping, lungeing, long-reining, etc etc. Plus an occasional hack. So not all school work.

There may be charges for other sorts of livery; you would need to check out what's what. You may find that there are other horses kept at the college who are on full, DIY or part-livery, as well as "college" horses.

With mine, I was given opportunity to visit my horse and ride him occasionally. This was with prior arrangement with the college, which is fair enough considering they're a teaching environment. Sorry, stating the obvious here, but do bear in mind that the college will have a dress code!!! i.e. typically this would be plain/dark coloured jods and not jeans. Also there will be strictly enforced H&S rules in place, the main one being that you will be required to wear headgear, suitable/safe footwear and gloves when leading & riding, and no jewellery, and horror of horrors, no smoking. So if you visit your horse, you probably won't be able to flop around the place just how you like in say shorts and Crocs!!! A bit of a culture shock for me coz I'd kept mine at my own place at home till he went to college!!! But a good experience as it did me good to raise my game a bit!!

In the termtime your horse will be kept busy; but bear in mind that in the holidays, unless the college specifically request that he be used, then you will need to think about what you do. If you are not paying for the livery in the termtime because the horse is being used, you WILL be asked to do so in the holidays; or the other option is to remove the horse to a livery yard of your choice (or take him home to your own yard if you are in that position); or find livery close-by to the college perhaps??? So if you don't have your own transport, you need to bear this in mind.

Am hoping this helps??? If there's anything more I can help with, please feel free to PM me. It might all sound a bit daunting, but once you've gone along to the college and had a chat with the staff, you'll be reassured on quite a lot of stuff I would think.
 
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Thank you for the info. Its starting to sound like a possible option.
Re BCA, the only reason is that they don't tend to do the stage four exams there so the type of rider tends to be stage two level and I'm not sure he would be suitable but I can speak to them anyway
 
Boss did a stint at Hartpury and was reasonably happy there. Bit of a pain that you have to pay full livery in the holidays or have them home, and they sent him home with a tendon injury- I was a bit cross about that because he was injured in their care but they weren't interested in him after that.
He was a much happier horse at Hall Place, the fact he jumped again is testament to that- he wouldnt walk over a pole at Hartpury!
 
I would be very wary, mainly because there have been a few horror stories about loaning to colleges on here in the past. I would be concerned that they would do more with him than he can cope with, break him and then send him back to you.
 
My old horse got completely depressed, the lifestyle didn't suit her at all. If he's up to having reliable fun at up to BE100 there may well be a "normal" loan solution for him?
 
I would also consider that many colleges have very restricted or no turnout which I think might be a bad idea giving the condition you are managing .
I also would not consider colleges for a horse that was not very settled and happy in the stable .
 
Bit last to the post, but quite a few years ago one of my horses went to an equine/agricultural college and was fine. He used to get turn out as I visited him and saw him out in the fields. He was not the easiest horse in the world and they were pleased to have something that was more suitable for advanced students. He was also I think used as a lunge lesson horse as he was very easy to lunge. He was fine and happy and it is worked out well. No issues at all when he returned. I was competing him somewhere a few years afterwards and a girl came up to me and asked about him as she had looked after him for a while at the college which was nice.
 
charlie76 said:
Thank you for the info. Its starting to sound like a possible option.
Re BCA, the only reason is that they don't tend to do the stage four exams there so the type of rider tends to be stage two level and I'm not sure he would be suitable but I can speak to them anyway
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I work there, and we are currently looking to take on a few horses so please feel free to PM me or call the yard this week.
We are very different from the usual college environment in that the horses get turnout every single day and the ones that prefer to, live out overnight.
 
I'm another who would be wary of loaning to an equine college. I did so with my boy and because he was an amenable chap who just got on with things, he was quickly being used for 3 lessons a day, he became quite depressed and they weren't all that bothered about it, as long as he wasn't dumping riders and was sound they kept using him as much as they liked. He also became bridle lame from riders see sawing on his mouth. Of course all equine colleges are different though.
 
I can tell you a bit about the Equine Dept of Holme Lacy campus of Hereford & Ludlow College if you like-I ride there as a client so not a student but a different perspective? They're a small, well-run yard, are strict about tack never being changed but don't do stages (all of theirs are loans so not permitted).
 
Depends on the college!!

I attended one of the scottish ones then went back and worked for them when they all merged- when I was a student all expenses were covered during term time and the horses HAD to go back for the summer, but in the shorter holidays students could 'work' for the college and do the full livery of the horses who chose to stay. The livery was ridiculously cheap- I want to say £12 a week, nBut I'm sure that was too cheap, but I think £12 would have been too much. and I know when we were there we treated them like our own and used to love holiday / weekends as we could crack through the duties and spend the rest of the time grooming / plating / fussing around our favourites.

I also know if we had a really nice horse or a very young horse only those capable of riding / handling them were permitted to- on,y fair and safe. We only had 7 horses at our college, but the bigger one has 30 odd?
 
Talland were advertising for schoolmasters recently. Its a long time since I was there, but the horses were always beautifully cared for and well ridden back then
 
Thanks everyone. Lots to think about. He does need a bit on managing hence why I thought it would be good for him as he would get the work he needs to keep his mind stimulated and be under professional care.
He isn't fussed about turn out I'd he is getting enough work and has company so I'm not overly worried about that aspect.
 
charlie76 said:
Thank you for the info. Its starting to sound like a possible option.
Re BCA, the only reason is that they don't tend to do the stage four exams there so the type of rider tends to be stage two level and I'm not sure he would be suitable but I can speak to them anyway
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Please dont send anything to BCA....!
 
Seeing as someone's mentioned Talland, have you considered any of the bigger better riding schools around?

It was thanks to people like you owning horses of that calibre that I got to ride more than the average RS cob back in the day!
 
Loaned mine to a college because I felt that would be the safest kind of loan, he is now dead. Not an experience I ever wish to relive. I won't go into details but my horse was only there for 4 months. Loaning isn't something I would ever do again to a private person or to a college.
 
i think trusting anyone with a horse is fraught with worries, however, many years ago I loaned a mare called la-di-da to a bhsai who had a riding school at out rawcliffe near stockport and she returned the horse after one year in wonderful condition, I have tried to contact her since but she appears to have moved, if she reads this or anyone knows of her please contact me, I have forgotten the name, but she was married with a baby girl at the time.
 
teapot said:
Seeing as someone's mentioned Talland, have you considered any of the bigger better riding schools around?

It was thanks to people like you owning horses of that calibre that I got to ride more than the average RS cob back in the day!
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This.

The larger RS's have a real spectrum of riders. What about Quob Stables? They do BHS stages regularly and up to stage 4.
 
Rather than a college - consider a riding centre that is graded up to Stage IV or BHSI as the horse will be well looked after and treasured for its capabilities.

I did most of my training at large riding centres and these gems were the best part of the training as I got to ride capable horses not ridden by novice riders. - there there is no 'school holiday' so you won't suddenly find the horse returned.
 
What about Wellington? Know my instructor a few years back loaned them a SJ schoolmaster and believe was fairly happy with the setup?
 
I have loaned to both college's, riding school and private. I would be very clear when choosing and discussing arrangements exactly what both sides expect and as far as possible I would stick with someone/thing as local as possible so that you can keep an eye on the situation. If you are not welcome to visit at any time then they are not the right place. As time goes by you will either become happy or remove the horse. I have had every end of the spectrum!
 
Auslander said:
Talland were advertising for schoolmasters recently. Its a long time since I was there, but the horses were always beautifully cared for and well ridden back then[/

I can only speak honestly of my experience going for some schoolmaster lessons, but I wouldn't send one of mine there. Think maybe things have changed since you were there.
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