new at loaning - advice please?

[amanda1788]

Hi

I have found a person to loan my horse with possibility to buy. She will loan him for a couple months then will decide if I want to sell or carry on full loaning as is a hard decision for me.
Do I need to make a loan contract for this first couple of months? I am new to loaning so have no idea what I am meant to do. Any advice would be appreciated. x

 

[abbieandfiona]

Def get a contract you can get one from BHS online to use or make one similar, make sure that you decide who has to pay what in the contract, responsibilities for the insurance and vets bills. Any issues with horse etc and how much notice to take the horse back or for them to give horse up which is normally a months notice. This way everyone knows where they stand.

 

[teddyt]

Ditto abigail. You shouldnt consider loaning without one. Make sure all eventualities and responsibilities are covered, then there is less chance for arguments or nasty surprises later on. A contract is still no guarantee but its better to have one than not.
As well as abigails suggestions it should also include-
standard of care expected (shoeing, worming included)
what happens in an emergency re vets
who is resonsible for the tack and fitting checks, replacements, etc
who gets the money for horse should it die or be pts

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Decide on a loan agreement BEFORE the horse leaves the yard, which should cover things like vets bills/who pays; insurance (they would normally insure it); who rides it/what access you as owner has; how often it is shod/wormed, etc etc. Also the big question of what happens in an emergency and the horse needs to be PTS. Awful but necessary.

Don't let the horse leave the yard until you know that they've got (or someone's got) insurance in place. Also think about stuff like wear & tear on tack & what happens if tack goes missing/gets broken.

Also you need to think about what happens if they don't decide to buy - what state will your horse come back in? Will it be well ridden or be a nervous wreck?

You need to be able to visit & make sure the horse is OK on a regular basis too so make sure this is in your loan agreement. It is better to be safe than sorry. I loaned my horse to someone I knew last summer - never, ever again!!! PM me if you want to know any more insights on loaning.