Putting a horse on loan to buy another?

Cinnamontoast

Cinnamontoast

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This is a total pipe dream currently. The cob is 15.1hh, I'm 5.9. I feel massive on him, I think I look massive on him (no decent pics, sorry). He has an amazing, I mean truly fabulous sharer who is doing more and more for me. I'm used to doing two horses, the boy's best mate who recently moved away :(

Ideally, I want a 17hh built-like-hunter-type (I'm no slimjim, although that is in hand) mostly because I like big horses.

Anyway, point being, I'd love to hear some success stories of putting one horse on loan and getting another. Financially, I'd rather only be paying for one, hence the loan query. Anyone?
 
If you own two you have to be able to afford to keep two as you never know what's round the corner - they'll both be your responsibility and a loaner/sharer can give notice at any time no matter how good they are.
If the cob's not the right horse for you why not sell him (to sharer?)?
 
I put my 14.3hh Arab cross on loan when I wanted something bigger. It worked brilliantly. She went to a lovely teenage girl who did pony club stuff with her and both Moon and the loaner had loads of fun. Subsequently, the loaner outgrew her but I advertised and quickly got another loaner and when she wanted something younger - Moon was rapidly approaching her twenties by now but still full of beans, a friend of hers took her on. All three of them had a lot of fun with her and looked after amazingly well.

During this time I bought myself an ISH mare which sadly had to be PTS after two years and then my ISH roan boy. Moon came back to me when she became too arthritic to be ridden any more and she remained with me until she had to be PTS.

So, for me certainly, loaning out while buying another worked out well. No way was I ever selling Moon as I wanted full control of what happened to her when she did become too old and ricktey for ridden work. The same happened with my roan boy and I will never, ever sell Samuel, when I get too old and rickety I'll get a sharer or a loaner who I will vet thoroughly beforehand.
 
I was in an almost similar situation about a year ago. It was looking more and more like the horse of my dreams wasn't actually up for playing the same game as me, as wholly wonderful as she was on a good day, i really wanted to compete and she didn't really. I tried to just hack/ hunt and do the things she enjoyed but every time she started going well, part of me would be like, 'well lets just try one more time' she'd start off brilliant, double clears, going well then it would unravel again and we'd be back to square one and i'd be heartbroken. Then she had some health issues ulcers/ TMJD/ a lameness so we decided that once she was better, we would turn her away for a bit and look at buying something later in the year. Then my farriers girlfriend asked if they could have her on loan as a happy hack and the rest as they say is History!

She's been with M & L about 6 months now and all is going well, i trust them implicitly and she's having a ball in a home with no pressure and i think L loves her almost as much as i do! I'm so grateful for them stepping in at a really horrible/ hard time. We actually got Ruby before Pip went as i wanted to bring her back into work and check her soundness before she left and she too is going really well. I am 100% happy with the decision i made as everyone is happy, infact in hindsight i probably should have made the decision earlier and not tried to persuade my honest little horse to do something she wasn't keen on pursuing.
 
Ultimately, if you have two, albeit with one on loan you HAVE to be able/happy to pay for two for the duration OR be able to make the hard decision to sell/pts if needs be. No-one can guarantee how it will work out for you.

Many moons ago I had two eventers and a youngster at grass livery; I was working full time and the one eventer was going places, t'other wasn't. I was lucky in the first instance and got a sharer on the one that wasn't going places from a girl that had taken a year out of uni and worked for someone who was on GB event teams at the time. Three years on she left the area; next loan was a complete disaster and I had to pull the horse out with no notice. Horse was then retired and kept until his dying day - eight years later!
 
I had my 13 yr old Tb cross and my daughters horse. I wanted a bigger, more dressage oriented horse and my daughter was away at uni. So I had two to rehome somehow, while at the same time I bought my big 4yr old baby. I thought all was wonderful when a local woman wanted to take both mine and my daughters horse on permanent loan. She'd just finished her NVQ level 3, wanted a horse to ride herself and one for her children/grandchildren. Perfect!! Roll on 6 months (or less) my horse came back. Loaner couldn't cope. He had infected mudfever in all legs and a dinner plate sized infected rainscald on his neck. A couple of weeks later I had to go to their house and take back my daughter's little horse. He was standing barbed wire. I had checked them out thoroughly beforehand. It all sounded perfect. So, I ended up with three to look after and pay for! I sold my horse and gave my daughers horse away, back to the person I had bought him off. Moral of the story, I will never loan again, and if you do, be prepared for it all to go pear shaped and you have them back. Good luck!! sorry it's a sorry tale. :(
 
We own a welsh b that is my granddaughters at the time he wasn't right for her so put him out on loan and bought a welsh A. Fast forward 2 years we now have the welsh A out on loan and the Welsh B has come home, our choice. It does work but you have to be mindful of what you would do if the horse on loan has to come back.
 
I did this when I wanted an arab. My pony went out on loan, and new one arrived. Over the years I have regularly had both of them at home, plus a second arab, so obviously you have to be prepared for that. Sometimes I put the boy back out on loan quickly, and other times I kept him around for a while in between. He is now home permanently, although friends come and ride him with me, as he is getting on, and I want to keep closer control of his care.
 
We did that. Sec A is out on loan as he was too much for daughter so we bought something quieter. He is older and a first pony so would be fairly easy to loan out if the other comes back, but that said, we currently have 3 riders for the new pony, one of which may be suitable for the Sec A when he comes back. THe plan for the Sec A is that he is loaned out to wee kids that want but cant buy a pony and have the skills, which is what he is doing at the moment. I will never sell him. and the new one will be with us till he goes as he is 20.
 
Just recently done this, I had a darling little horse who I adore but he hated showing after having a nasty experience in the ring where another horse "rear ended" him. Decided I wanted to carry on showing but couldn't bear to sell him, fortunately I managed to find him a perfect local loan home with a lady who loves him and has no desire to show him. This allows me to have plenty time for my new mare and my old retired horse who is a companion. I wouldn't have done this though, unless I knew that I was in a strong position financially and have my own property so can have him back immediately if anything changes and not worry about the costs of keeping him or where to put him.
 
I did this 4 years ago. My old boy couldn't event any more and I still want to - he had too many medical issues to sell and I wouldn't want to anyway. He had three good loan homes over 3 years, one of which was staying at home with me. I have ended up taking him back though, and I won't loan him again now - I have had to accept that now I have two horses. I do have a sharer who hacks him. As others have said, you have to be prepared and financially able to take him back if/when necessary.

As your sharer is so good it would be a shame to lose her. Maybe find a second sharer for him instead so that he is covered financially, and then get the second horse? That gives a bit more flexibility if one sharer decides to move on.
 
I've done it twice under very different circumstances. The first time was with my first horse many years ago when I was in my twenties. I massively over horsed myself with him and ended up bruised and terrified, however, my friend clicked with him and loved him. She had him on loan and I bought an Arab cross native pony who was much more my type. We were both on the same yard and it worked brilliantly for a number of years until her circumstances changed and I had him back.
The second time was a little different. It was about 8 years later and another friend borrowed my little Arab cross to do an endurance event on. My pony took to it so well that my friend asked to keep her on loan to carry on competing. At the time I'd been offered a youngster to buy so I bought him and the pony went on loan. Again it worked out well for all of us. The only sad thing was that I always planned to have my pony back for her retirement but she got ill in her late teens (possible brain tumour) and had to be put down before she could come home.
 
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