Part loan of LR pony

[Herewegoagain]

I am going to view a pony tomorrow to potentially part loan 2 days a week for my daughter who is nearly 5 and recently started lessons (lead rein still).

We have already discussed terms and what days we will do. On our loan days we will be expected to go in the afternoon/evening to muck out, ride, haynets (soaked - EMS) and also expected to poo pick fields and pull some ragwort when needed. Financial contribution is £15 per day.

I’m fine with these terms. This will be my first time loaning but I grew up around horses and had ponies as a kid so I am familiar with all of the above.

The pony is a standard Shetland currently being ridden by a 7 year old who has ridden her since she was 2 (the kid not the pony).

What do I need to ask apart from the obvious? Would you expect a contract to be in place for a part loan?

Any advice or experience from people who have done this before would be much appreciated.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I definitely would expect a contract and you need to make sure that you will only be poo picking the day's worth of poo, not the weeks worth that the owner left.

 

[Skib]

You need a contract in order to get insurance. And I had (and still have) BHS insurance rider only. You should opt for equine related insurance even if you have 3rd party from your household insurance.
I may have a suspicious mind, but I have twice failed to sign up for a share due to small print on the owner's contract.
That having been said, I am now on my 3rd long term share with no claims ever made. Though I was once immensely grateful to get legal advice from the BHS insurers.

 

[maya2008]

I have part loaners/sharers - we don’t have a contract but I insist on them having their own third party insurance. They have this through BHS Gold or a rider’s insurance. No one has ever needed a contract to get this.

In your case I would probably want the chores in writing (message at least) and to be shown exactly how they want them to be done. How big the haynets are, at what point they add extra bedding and where it is, feed, that sort of thing.

 

[Herewegoagain]

Thank you for the replies and advice.

I’m going to see her this morning so I will update how it goes. I am very excited though it feels like Christmas morning

I think I would be happy with just a verbal contract but I will see what she says.

I need to clarify the poo picking and ragwort. How much is required how often.

I will get her to show me where everything is and ask what happens if we are away on holiday etc.

I was looking at BHS gold last night, I need to check if membership would also cover my kids or would they need their own?

 

[Herewegoagain]

We have agreed a loan starting this week.

The pony was lovely and my daughter had a little ride on her. The owner showed us where everything is and has written out instructions. The yard was lovely with great facilities.

We told her about being away for a week in august and she said that’s fine.

If anyone has any advice on teaching 5 year olds to ride that would be great. I’m going to continue with her lessons in the riding school for now so I will probably just try to replicate that on the loan pony.

 

[TheMule]

Just let her have fun- go out hacking, play games, teach her round the world etc. The best way to learn to ride is to develop a natural sense of feel from hours in the saddle enjoying it IMO

 

[NiceChristmasBaubles]

Agree with TheMule, if you have hacking, just go for a wander down the bridlepath. Do things like a treasure hunt. If you have some small hills/banks, then practice going up and down leaning forwards and back - it's great for teaching balance. We were lucky and there was a playpark about a mile from the yard, so we used to ride there, son had a play on the swings etc., and rode back. It really is about making things fun. In the school, you can do things like bending cones, "barrel racing", riding between two poles placed pony width apart, etc. Most of all, just enjoy pony time with your daughter.

 

[Herewegoagain]

Just let her have fun- go out hacking, play games, teach her round the world etc. The best way to learn to ride is to develop a natural sense of feel from hours in the saddle enjoying it IMO

Round the world is such a classic! My mum and uncle came to watch my daughters lesson the other week and they were talking about doing round the world when they were learning to ride over 50 years ago.

The yard has a track for hacking so we will do plenty and try to keep it fun. The real test will be if my daughter still wants to ride in the depths of winter

 

[teapot]

Ditto what The Mule said - she's too young to properly learn how to ride (that comes aged 6-8) so just make it fun!

 

[Parrotperson]

We have agreed a loan starting this week.

The pony was lovely and my daughter had a little ride on her. The owner showed us where everything is and has written out instructions. The yard was lovely with great facilities.

We told her about being away for a week in august and she said that’s fine.

If anyone has any advice on teaching 5 year olds to ride that would be great. I’m going to continue with her lessons in the riding school for now so I will probably just try to replicate that on the loan pony.

I e taught plenty of 5 year olds to ride in my time (god I feel old!). Th ex main thing is fun!! Have fun.

Lead her over poles on the ground but pretend she’s jumping. Do some simple pony club type games. Do ‘round the world’ whilst pony is standing still (that’s where the child does a 360° turn in the saddle if you’ve not heard of it!). Buy some bean bags and get her to ride along dropping them in buckets. Shorten her strips right up so she’s like a jockey then walk around with her standing up.

Well you get the idea. All this does teach a lot of things but mainly teaches confidence. I’d keep your time with your daughter and pony separate from official lessons, which will be fun but you can just drop anything the pony is comfortable with!! Have fun!!

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Well done finding a nice share. I agree with those above - it’s just miles on the clock and fun at this stage. Make sure she helps with chores especially pony ones eg grooming, lifting feet, leading all in a safe way. Bareback riding is good too. Can we have a photo !!!

 

[Herewegoagain]

Well done finding a nice share. I agree with those above - it’s just miles on the clock and fun at this stage. Make sure she helps with chores especially pony ones eg grooming, lifting feet, leading all in a safe way. Bareback riding is good too. Can we have a photo !!!

I didn’t take any pictures today and the ones I have all have the owners daughter in so I wouldn’t want to post those.

I will get a nice picture on Tuesday. She is a standard Shetland, chestnut with a gorgeous flaxen mane. They do some showing with her and obviously must look after her mane really well because she literally looks like she could be in a shampoo commercial

 

[Herewegoagain]

Thought I would give a quick update on this…

We went to the loan on the Tuesday and had a great time, daughter was smiling ear to ear the whole time. We were so excited to go back on the Thursday. Wednesday evening my husband went for a ride on his motorbike and I got a call from him 20 mins later to say he has crashed and thought his leg was broken…

Right leg has broken tibia and shattered ankle, left leg knee cap in pieces. 3-4 month recovery according to the surgeon

Had to message the woman and tell her what happened and that we won’t be able to continue with the loan. She was so lovely about it and said message her when he is better and we can sort something.

The silver lining is he has said he is done with bikes and any insurance money from the bike can go towards a pony!