Shortage of horses for Loan?

navaho

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 April 2009
Messages
1,311
Location
West Wales
Visit site
Just curious really, ive got our welsh cob gelding up for loan & so far the only enquirys ive had have been from people who live miles away in England. All serious enquirys & 2 were prepared to loan him without viewing him, surely there must be horses to loan more locally than coming to the outbacks of West Wales?
I have to say im wary of loaning so far away, how do people manage as regards checking the horse on a regualr basis if they are several hundred miles away? I think we will probably hold out for a local home but one of the homes does sound perfect & i do wonder if we are being silly not considering somewhere further away.
 
I had my pony out on loan 200 miles away, had the choice of two homes one local and the one further away. I picked the one further away as I just had a better feeling about the people. I went to visit home before she went, followed her up in the trailer, went back up a month later and then every six months. The family was lovely and they kept in touch and sent me pics. I would rather she was in a great home far away than on ok home near by. I was lucky though as I managed to find a great loan home, which I think is easier said than done.
 
Trouble is ive loaned to a "great" home before, this is my arab gelding, he was only there a month & this is what i had home:

P1020902.jpg


So for me a check every 6months wouldn't be any good...id be to worried. I wondered if perhaps people found someone close by to check for you?
 
can I speak up for all the decent loaners please. Ive loaned 3 horses, 1 came to me in awful condition, one wasnt great, the other was a great little pony, we've since bought him and hes now giving my niece and step daughter confidence and teaching them :)

We arent all bad!!

I appreciate there are bad loaners, as well as bad owners, its the risk taken when any horse is trusted with another person I guess.

Im looking for another, long term loan/LWVB after having to have my last perm loan horse PTS in Oct, and am really struggling to find anything sound and local to me in the east midlands.

This was him when I got him

Mac1stweekend.jpg


This is him after 6 months of TLC

MacMay09.jpg




were not all bad
 
I am in the middle of loaning my horse out and have had loads of enquiries!
I stated on the advert the location he must be kept in because I want him near enough to be able to check up on him. Despite this I have had enquires from all around the country!
 
I am in the middle of loaning my horse out and have had loads of enquiries!
I stated on the advert the location he must be kept in because I want him near enough to be able to check up on him. Despite this I have had enquires from all around the country!

ihatework (me too!!! LOL) - Where did you advertise your loan horse? We're looking for a pony to loan for our 12 yr old son but aren't sure where to look to find a trustworthy and reliable pony AND owner.

Was wondering if we should join one of those online companies which match up people looking?
 
ihatework (me too!!! LOL) - Where did you advertise your loan horse? We're looking for a pony to loan for our 12 yr old son but aren't sure where to look to find a trustworthy and reliable pony AND owner.

Was wondering if we should join one of those online companies which match up people looking?

He went on Horsequest. Best response was a text 'I want to jump BSJA please email me'

I mean seriously, first impressions and all that!
 
Little_Rou - I am with you on this one....after losing my lad end of 09 I am now in a position where I can have another horse...and am at present struggling to find any what I would call 'Decent' horses I have searched and searched and put wanted ads up myself and I am also a decent caring honest person that gives my animals everything they want...I go without before any of my animals and always will be this way too....

My Merlin had a fantastic last 10 years whilst he was with me...I got him on part share, then part loan then full loan and finally ended up buying him as the owner at the time didn't have time for him and when I took him on he had no shoes on...although nails still in his feet, the worst coat he has ever had, no sparkle in his eyes nothing....It took me the time and effort getting him right and I am soo glad I found him and shared the last years with him as I so grateful to everything he did...

I cannot find anyone wiling to let their horses go out to a loan home slightly further away, in some cases I totally understand but I can't stress to these owners enough that I can give a loving genuine home to their horses....so I am still on the hunt I thought I had found a lovely horse just what I have been searching for and this horse now is at a college being brought back up to standard as the last loan home failed him too....and it makes me sad that people can be like that to any animal....and I have possibly missed out on a good horse because of it.

So there are us genuine people out there...honest.. :D
 
MerlyWerly - Ive seen some of your other posts, its such a shame that horse didnt work out.

Its soo frustrating, I guess I will just have to wait and save and buy outright, its just sad that with soo many honest horses needing homes (Or so everyone seems to be saying) that genuine people cant offer a home. I own my own land, have stables, schooling facilities to hand, 20+ years experience, where are you based? I will keep my eyes and ears open for you x
 
Do those companies also deal with loans? if so can anyone recommend?

There used to be ones advertising the service of matching loan horses to people looking to loan back in the late 80's / early 90's. Twas before I had the internet so I must have gotten their contact details from a magazine advert. I contacted one when I wanted to loan out my show palomino and the service worked well for me. Said horse is STILL with the same woman they put me in contact with all those years ago. :)

Now we're looking I'm wondering if any of these 'match up' services are still operating. Found this one by Googling but don't know how good they are.... http://www.horsetoloan.com/
 
Last edited:
Little_Rou - I too have over 20yrs experience and so much to give a horse, I'd like to loan with view to buy ideally or if I cant seem to find one then I shall just have to wait and buy out right also.

What are you looking for? I can have a peek also when I do my daily search lol...
I'm in Colchester Essex and have a fab place waiting...

Thanks

Those companies I dont think exsist any longer - I have also tried looking for them...I do remember them from way back as a youngster..lol
 
Im in Northamptonshire, between Huntingdon and Kettering,

Im looking for the same as you, but happy to consider slightly smaller 14.1hh-15.2hh ish, happy to consider quirks/blemishes/projects, all I seem to find to find is unsound companions or 2 year olds!

let me know how you get on I will PM you if I spot any down your way x
 
righty ho I shall keep my eyes peeled for you also...I think I may have seen some like that actually your way...just got to remember where...I'll PM you with any possibles...

:D
 
Missed all the replies sorry :) just to clear some things up, i do know there are good loaners out there, my other Arab gelding has been out on loan for over a year & wants for nothing, but, all though he is 90miles away from me, he is kept on my sisters partners Uncles field & she only lives 2 mins away from where he is kept, so i know someone will let me know if there are any concerns. My only worry with loaning so far away from home is it isnt easy to keep tabs on them...not that im one of those overly protective owners & i do like to leave the loaners to it & have fun, but i do also like to know my horse is being looked after as well. I would have asked on here to see if someone would be willing to do home checks for me occasionally but i do remember someone getting shot down in flames for asking the same thing before...so wasnt sure it was a great idea?
 
2 of my loan horses owners have lived more than an hour away, I send regular updates via email, with pictures etc which soo far has worked OK

I totally understand why anyone would worry about the horse being soo far away that they cant be regularly visited, so not critising at all. I would be the same if it was the other way around, Ive just read a quite a few posts recently about bad loaners, just wanted to say where not all the same!!

I guess the only problem with asking other HHO'ers to check homes would be if there where problems in future, it could cause problems,if the hhO'er thought the home was perfect and it turned out they where dodgy dealers, or something happened to the horse, so I can see the pitfalls, however if you have any potential loaners in the east mids, I'd happily check a home for you

Hope you find the perfect home soon x
 
this one may be a little too big, 17.2 idxtb but with plenty of weight, bay mare. obviously has had some decent schooling previously, mind is willing but body wont comply yet so is a bit of a project in that respect. can seem to want to try it on, but all is needed is a firm leg and some confidence. she was a horse i shared (unfortunately for a very short time) but due to circumstances the owner has to sell her, at a v cheap price. im gutted cause with 9 months work, she would be worth ten fold what they are asking for her. i dont think i can justify buying her with other commitments right now as they want a quick sale. however, i am sure they would be happy to lwvtb. she is based in the Offolds, Cambs. near huntingdon. let me know if interested. advertised on horsemart
 
i've got a cracking little pony up for loan at the moment, but there's so many things going against him in the sense he's unbacked, quirky and i dont' want him going far away. ideally to be kept on present yard.

i have had people say (understandably) that i just want him loaned out to be backed. that's not the case, i just want to be sure that when he's outgrown he doesn't get passed from pillar to post. my kids will never ride him and i'm too big. i am too soft to sell him so a full permanent loan home is ideal solution!
it's just infuriating when people question me in the manner that they do, then they say they want to basically run him into the ground before he's had ridden experience.
 
I have to say for all us loaners out there....its so so hard. Its one of the hardest things i think ive ever had to do...call my horses owner and tell her hes seriously lame and that hes going to take months and months to get better and after all that will never be the horse that i wanted him to be :(

she must feel like im a demon, but ive only ridden him 3 times on two walking hacks and once in a school for half an hour....

ive had him 3 weeks....

i think ive just found something thats been missed for a long time and with time off etc, no one had noticed. Im not blaming anyone, i think its easily done when all your doing is leading to and from a field everyday!!! Infact i realy really liked his owner. It just made it soo much harder!!

there are no horses out there for loan that arent too old, competition loan, companion or unbroken. I guess most owners dont want to loan out their 7yr old warmblood thats completely sound with plenty of potential....why not when you can sell it??

I think ive learnt that loan is great, if youre very lucky. Or looking for a happy hacker or a childs pony.
 
Such a shame about your horse... :(

I have over the last couple of days been inundated with loan horses being offered... I have spoken to a couple of the owners of these and I have 2 that are BIG potentials and am really quite excited about seeing them they both sound sooo perfect for what I want to do.

They vary in height though...luckily I am tall...one is a lovely sounding 15.2hh - really quite excited about this one sounds soo sweet.

The other is 16.3hh and very nicely built again an nice hunter type...who would require further schooling as is only 5, but thats no problems....again very excited about him too.

And I have had a couple of others that are selling their horses too...but are way out of my price range sadly but they could be cracking horses for sure.

I have also had the offer for the 'older' ones, which would be not a problem if I didn't want to get out and about but I do....I've got the showing itch back and would like to scratch it.
 
i have got my first pony out on loan, he is only about 25miles away and went to the lady as she was a friend i tend to only check him twice a year, generally early spring to check he has his fly rug on and then end of autumn/early winter, he lives in the peak district on tiny lanes that as soon as it snows i cant get there I find he is well looked after. He was previously 200miles away and i would still only see him a couple of times a year, i think people need to trust loaners more so, try doing a visit to the house etc and yes if you have someone who lives more locally they can always check them over. I had a family friend who used to have a quick drive past to see he looked ok.
 
I have a lovely horse that I should really sell as i can't ride anymore....I am lucky in that he is with a friend and so I am in no rush to sell him.

I used to loan horses as a teenager and would have considered loaning him out but I am put off by the horror stories that you hear and also I am not in a position to have him back if the loanee's circumstances change - I think this is a very common feeling amongst owners and what limits the availability of horses to loan....
 
MerlyWerly - excellent news! hope one of those turns out to be the 'one' :)

Can I ask which site you are getting your responces as Im stilll looking and appart from one which Im waiting for information about, I dont seem to be finding them :(
 
Top