Poll: Imagine you had a horse out on loan...

[Natch]

Imaginary scenario, just interested in the results due to several posts over the years on here.

You have loaned out your horse to another person. You have a BHS style loan agreement. How often do you visit the horse?

 

[Abbeygale]

If I loaned my girl out I would want quite a lot of contact with her - she is my little angel, and I would need to know she was ok!!

However, I know I am a bit of a worry wart with my horses - I sold one of my horses nearly 2 years ago, and I still keep in very regular contact with her new owner to make sure she is ok!!

 

[ester]

1st Q prob after a week, then after another 2 then if ok monthly

visits would decrease if : long time/ local friends (ie I saw horse out hacking/shows etc)/ regular updates

 

[Three]

I have loaned two of mine out before; one for a few months (until the loaner mysteriously disappeared and I had to pick the horse up unexpectedly!

) but I was visiting every two or three weeks as they were very close.

The other one was on loan for about a year. I visited every couple of weeks to start with and then dropped to monthly or six weekly. There were some issues and I started visiting more regularly with the horse returning to me within a month or so (another very odd, but long and dull story here).

If I were to do it again (and I would hope not to have to) I would def visit weekly/fortnightly and drop to monthly/bi-monthly if there were no problems but be prepared to increase at the slightest hint of problems.

Of course, it depends on the location and one's transport situation but my horses welfare will always come first.

 

[MrMeldrew]

For me it would depend on a few things like how far away the loaners are and whether I knew them beforehand etc.
Supposing it were a stranger and within reasonable travelling distance I woud say monthly at first and would increase to quarterly, all being well. Never longer than that. A lot can happen in 3 months!
Equally, if I were the loaner I would be happy with that too.
I think its a reasonable balance between leaving the loaner to it and not interferring and keeping an eye on your animal.

 

[henryhorn]

We've had a pony out on loan for years, and I don't see him often. I did however spot him in the field the other week looking ribby, so I emailed the owners suggesting he gets turned out a bit more or they up his forage intake (he's old and laminitic).
I also suggested perhaps it was time for him to come back home now their children have outgrown him.
I will be popping in to see him later this month and hopefully they will have listened and he'll look better. I know it is only because they are scared of lam he looks like that, not because they don't feed him; it's getting a happy medium is the problem.
I would expect to receive the odd email pic from someone with a loan animal living too far to visit regularly, but actual "seeing" the horse isn't a priority provided the pics looked ok..

 

[LankyDoodle]

I ticked I'd visit monthly and then other, as it would never decrease - still my horse and regardless of the suitability of the loan home, only I can be fit to judge whether the horse is happy and being looked after, and I'd want to keep contact with the horse.

 

[MurphysMinder]

Our pony was out on loan twice, both times she was local to us,because we were only prepared to let her go locally. I ticked monthly, but in reality, particularly in the one home, it was more frequently than that as I drove past weekly and could see her in the field. Slightly different, but I previously had a pony on loan from ILPH and they visited every 2/3 months, this didn't change over the 16 years I had her.

 

[the watcher]

I have a horse out on loan, to somebody who was intially a stranger who has become a friend. I rarely visit, I know that if she has any concerns I will be told and to all intents and purposes she treats the horse as if he was her own. It is an arrangement that suits us both but I guess it was a year or so before we settled down to this and I visit him very rarely.
He could not be more happy than he is in his present home and I know he has a home there for life - which is not something I propose to change.
However i do know that if there were to be a dramatic change in circumstances he would come back to me, and I am always prepared for that.

 

[wildpoppywild]

abby is on permenant loan to me, i've had her 2 yrs in feb and her owner hasn't been to see her. she live in the south of england an i live in scotland. in contact via email pictures etc..... she knows about all the heath problems we have encountered since we hav had her..... vet thinks she has had these problem her whole life and i wasnt told

last time i emailed her she said she didnt want her back and couldnt help me with all the vets bills in any way

but i dont mind she's here and happy with me and is spoilt rotten

 

[chestnut cob]

Mine was out on loan for 2 years before they bought him. Initially I visited about once a month, for about 3 months, then probably every 3-4 months unless they asked me to go over (like when he went lame). Didn't feel I needed to go any more often as I trusted them.

My current horse is on long term loan, had him over a year and owners visited him once in the first month and not since. They also don't ever call or text, though they do always respond when I contact them.

 

[fingers_crossed]

I go about every two weeks, once a month we hack out with her other horse. If she was further away it woyuld probably be monthly. I visirt so often more because i miss him than out of concerns for his welfare - she loves him as miuch as i do!