Loaning - any advice/wise words please?

[Achinghips]

As title really - I am loaning out my girl as I am having to work abroad intermittently for the next 2 years and I consider my girl is pretty much unsaleable due to bone spavin, but she is fusing well following ethanol injections. I have joined the BHS Gold and will be cancelling my petplan insurance. The BHS Gold will cover the loaner for the horse at her yard.

Vets fees - This girl has 3 legs excluded and will now not be covered for any arthritis, as its a year since treatment began. I planned on stopping my Petplan, as a result. Should I insist on her taking out a policy with vet fees included?

I plan to visit her livery yard which is 2 hours away to check conditions prior to letting my girl go. The loaner is an experienced, mature lady who has competed dressage, but now wants a happy hack.

Should I have to pay for transport to her Yard?
What about tack and rugs?

She is on 1 danillon a day, should I insist she pays me £30 a month direct debit and I get my vet to post the danillon direct to her?

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[baran]

Having been in this situation with an elderly horse who was on longterm medication, I would suggest the following.
1. Your loaner probably won't be able to get insurance given the horse's age and condition. Not much you can do about that.
2. If the new yard is 2 hours drive away, your current vet probably won't attend and won't be able to continue to prescribe the Danilon. I wanted to be sure that any vet who did attend my horse was aware of any medication she was on, so loaner used local vet practice. Bills for longterm medication were sent to me. Loaner was responsible for any other vet bills.
3. I sent all tack and rug with the horse and I wanted to be sure she had everything she needed. Loan agreement itemised them and stipulated they had to be returned in reasonable condition at end of loan or replaced with new items of equivalent worth.
4. Transport to new environment - up to you. Stipulate in loan agreement who is responsible for transporting horse back as that may be more important if loan falls through for any reason.

 

[chestnut cob]

Don't cancel your insurance - your horse will still be covered for soft tissue (unless for some reason that is also excluded?), accidents, colic, virus etc. When I loaned my horse out, I kept on my policy, paid it and made it a condition of the loan contract that the loaners reimbursed me each month. That way you know the horse is covered. I knew someone whose horse went out on loan which was diagnosed with navicular (IIRC) about 6 months in. She had allowed loaners to take out their own insurance, which they promptly cancelled upon diagnosis and returned the horse. She then couldn't take out any more insurance to cover the navicular diagnosis because it was a pre-existing condition and had to pay for treatment herself. Keep your own insurance on and ask them to pay you back for it (that is what I did when mine went on loan).

Get a good loan contract in place and state that the horse needs 1 Danilon per day. I would then let her source it herself. As the yard is so far away I doubt your current vet would attend so she will need to find her own vet anyway - she can buy Danilon from them.

Get references - I got their YO and riding instructor. Get copies of photo ID - I had copies of driving licences and a household bill with their address on.

If you want your horse ridden in tack you know fits then send your tack with her, but document it in the contract and make sure you state it has to be returned in a good state or replaced like for life if broken/damaged. Same with rugs.

I had a fixed term loan contract, renewable every 12 months. The horse I have now is on loan and it is an open ended/permanent loan without any review clause on it, just a clause saying 1 month's notice to return him.

 

[Achinghips]

Thanks - that's an awful lot to think about. Anything else anyone?