The "Borrowing" thread!

My very novice (at the time) OH was having a lesson on our cob mare one afternoon and it was to be his first time of tacking up and getting her ready himself as I was at work. I'd left everything prepared and we'd practised. I knew the instructor would check everything anyway before he got on. Then a teenage girl who's horse was lame asked if she could ride the mare so I felt sorry for her and explained that she could WALK her as she'd be needed for the lesson later. She borrowed horse at around 10.30.

When I got home from work, OH was still at yard as his lesson had been for 4pm. He duly got home and I asked how it had gone. He told me mare had been "a bit "damp, for some reason" and that the saddle cloth must have fallen in a bucket of water as it had been removed from the saddle and left on our stable door to dry. Well of course I sussed that this (*^(*&*( girl had taken our mare for a blast and she'd sweated up big-time! I was SO :mad: Had I discovered this I would have cancelled the lesson but ignorant OH had sorted out the tack all by himself (he was so proud, bless) and proceeded to have the lesson. We later found out that the teenager had been out for TWO HOURS in the morning so poor mare must have been exhausted!

Never lent her out again!! :mad::mad::mad:
 
I don't lend stuff out anymore. Have in past lent my lorry and had it returned with no diesel and not cleaned out properly. Then cos I lent it to one person everyone on the yard kept asking. I did turn up at one yard I was on, which was also a riding school, to find someone having a lesson on one of the riding school ponies using my my saddle and my brand new sprenger stirrups I hadn't used yet. But that place was terrible for it! Had a whole bag of blue chip borrowed, rugs, gloves, feed, head collars etc. They even used my head collar on a new horse which had ring worm without asking and lo and behold mine got it too!
 
Finding my mucking out tools in other people's stables! I was ok with people borrowing my tools if they put them back after, but one day spent 45 mins looking for my fork, it was in another stable, with straw in it ( I don't use straw). Also people using my water bucket, spoon that I mix feeds with, knives etc. can't have anything these days! One lady borrowed my rake that I use for poo picking, didn't realise she had it until I was told it was in her locked container, then as I was planning to speak to her and get it back (was given to me), she moved yards and took it with her! Not impressed!!
 
At my old yard all my tack was constantly 'borrowed' by other liveries and the school horses. Their excuses where 'my tack was missing so I took N's, it looked like my tack anyway and fitted my horse' The fact that all my tack was clearly labelled with my horses name, my name and stable number was clearly ignored. When I took my tack back people got really angry with me and kept trying to take it back even though it was obviously mine! The amount of girths and numnahs I lost at that yard was unreal! I also had my brand new stable rug 'borrowed' by someone and never returned, I never did find out who that was...

I also used to share a pony at that yard with a girl who had outgrown it. I got told one day that the father couldn't afford to pay for the pony anymore despite the arrival of 2 30k dressage horse for her the following week :rolleyes: The pony got put in the school to pay for the other half of the livery which really didn't turn out well. I would turn up on my days to ride to be told by the YO that I couldn't as he was needed for lessons, A few times I booked a lorry and pre entered shows to turn up at the yard and find he was fully booked in lessons that day (despite the fact I had notified them months in advance and reminded them the week before the show-it was also written down in the diary, so they knew!) so I couldn't take him to these shows meaning I was about £50 out of pocket. The YO where fully aware of my days as it was written down in many places and they where constantly reminded when my days where. I was also told quite rudely by the head instructor that I could not ride my share pony in the yard show as they needed him for the Rs clients. I never was given days to replace the many I had lost and I still ended up paying for the days that he was used in the school!

It was the worst excuse of a yard I have ever been on!
 
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Not really borrowing but... I had a new 4yo and I asked for a lady on our yard for some help clipping as we didn't know what he would be like. When we got down the yard, we were surprised to find horse was clipped! But the lady was going to a&e after him booting her in the leg :( we had asked her to meet us there in the afternoon but she was free in the morning so thought it would be a great idea to grab him out his stable and clip him alone! I really struggled to sympathize with her, as we had asked for help handling etc not for her to clip our unknown youngster alone! Now said horse has to be sedated for clipping as after he kick she smacked and shouted at him, now he hates clippers :mad:
 
A few years ago, I had my cob gelding on part livery at a yard @6 miles away, and stored my trailer on the yard. The YO had the keys to the hitch lock/immobiliser clamp, just in case it needed to be moved. You know what it's like: sometimes trailers/lorries have to be juggled about in the car park.
As it was part livery, I was on the yard for, usually one end of the day only, on weekdays, but one particular day I unexpectedly had the afternoon off.
I arrived at the yard, and brought my boy in. I had him tied up on the yard, grooming him, when another livery drove in, with her 4x4 towing a green 505, passed by us, and went to park up in the field. I'd only glanced at it, and commented to someone that it was JUST like mine, and was it new? (I knew the other livery had a lorry) Oh no, it WAS mine!
The other livery's lorry was in for a service, the YO later explained, when I did my nut, and she had a dressage comp to go to. YO didn't think I'd mind, apparently......
I moved yards, without giving notice.
 
I saw my pony being offered to someone I didn't even know for a ride on another forum. Ok, it was a fairly small niche forum but it was one of the few that got through the IT filters I could read at work. The fellow livery was easily recognisable because of her pictures and she used my horse's name in the post (I guess she didn't realise that I might read that forum!)

There was a long discussion about how reliable the pony was and how she'd make sure that I was at work that day but that they'd have to be back before 3pm to give time for her to make sure that he dried off if he sweated up on the TRAILER, yes she was planning to take him off the yard!

I was very tempted to take the day off work, let her load the pony, give it 5 minutes and then call the police with a report of a stolen pony and the vehicles reg number, then press charges. Yes, I'm evil. The only reason I didn't is that she was a notoriously bad driver - the reason no one would go out with her, many horses went down in her trailer due to the appalling cornering - so I took a screenshot of the thread and printed it off.

I went to the yard that evening, was listening to her talking about her trip out - I don't know if she realised I could hear her, probably did but she was a very stupid woman - then started asking (casually) where she was going, who with etc etc. After a couple of minutes you could see the penny very slowly dropping so she tried to disappear then the fight started. She was told in no uncertain terms how out of order she was and how short the rest of her life was going to be if she even thought about pulling a stunt like it again, So...now the YO appears and tries to defend her 'pal', all about how there must be a misunderstanding - copy of thread handed over, all the info there in black and white - then I was told that it wouldn't have done any harm and really, I was over reacting. I don't think I have ever spoken through such gritted teeth for 5 minutes, without swearing once before or since while I told both silly bints their fortune.

I moved both my horses from there within a week. I believe that the yard also lost approx 50% of their liveries within the month because of this - not because of the original silly cow but because the YO was even more stupid to
to agree with it. I took great pleasure also in making sure that the story was spread far and wide even to the extent that I registered on the original forum to 'apologise' to the member that she didn't get a ride on a stolen pony...

Vindictive, moi?
 
Really don't get much stuff borrowed as a, yard is not really like that b, known to be a horrendously stroppy cow who will go into orbit. Happy to lend but must be asked.

YO has a sort of honesty box in her office. Basically collects all waifs and strays around the yard and sticks it there. It's not always humans moving stuff. Some of the dogs are b**gers at running of with gloves/boots etc!
 
I have had a lot of hay borrowed at a previous yard, My pony shared with another over a winter, living out. We'd take it in turns to check them and put hay out, but my hay seemed to be going down very fast! We used our own hay for both horses and the agreement was 2 big slices each. It turns out on her days, the other person was putting her horses hay out and then using mine for my horse, while I was putting mine out for both (which she knew). So that arrangement soon stopped!

Over one Christmas I was away for one day. I opened a new bale before I left on Christmas eve, with the instruction of 2 slices am and 2 slices pm. I got back Boxing day morning to find 1 slice left!

After I moved from that yard I was amazed how long my hay lasted! Seriously, twice as long while feeding more!

I also had my pony's advent calendar stolen from a different yard. No idea why, but I had my suspicions of who it was. Turned out I was right in the end though.

My friend had her stirrup irons swapped once. No idea who did it or why, but her nice new ones were swapped with rusty old ones!
On my yard now, nothing gets borrowed, its lovely!
 
I'm now on a yard with just my friend and me :) she is welcome to borrow anything she likes, tack, rugs, trailer or horse. But I trust her 100% and she treats my stuff and my horses as if they were her own. It's lovely!
 
I don't lend ANYTHING now.

At my last yard, me being one of only two liveries, all the YO's barrows had punctures, mine was the only one working. So they used to use mine - but never emptied it. Just left it sitting on the yard full of whatever, overfilled, and slowly damaging the tyre. If i wanted to use MY barrow, I had to try and push it to the muck heap - down four steps, out the gate, through slippery mud to the heap. With a bad back.

I also used to put tack on and not realise that the stirrup lengths had changed, or the noseband was on a different hole. That could have been so dangerous.

When I finally asked the YO not to leave my barrow full, it escalated and I left pretty sharpish after that.

Looking back on it, it was clearly a form of bullying, but it was horrible to go through. I would love to name and shame.
 
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Shysmum said:
I don't lend ANYTHING now.

At my last yard, me being one of only two liveries, all the YO's barrows had punctures, mine was the only one working. So they used to use mine - but never emptied it. Just left it sitting on the yard full of whatever, overfilled, and slowly damaging the tyre. If i wanted to use MY barrow, I had to try and push it to the muck heap - down four steps, out the gate, through slippery mud to the heap. With a bad back.
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I have to say I would have just emptied the barrow out where it sat and used it for my things - why should you have to empty it for someone else
 
I am sooo pleased I'm on my own, I know I am a very possessive person:(, I got really stressed when my OH borrowed my tidy/clean gilet to wear milking & returned it covered in cows**t. I keep telling myself to get a life! :rolleyes:
 
My horse has been ridden twice (to my knowledge) without permission. First time he was jumping upto 1m only a couple of weeks since being sound (had been lame all summer with previous owner due to losing a shoe)
Second time taken for a hack with the other liveries. The girl rang me in the morning to ask if i was going to the yard that day, I said no, then I found photos of everyone out riding.. Her with my horse!!! (Her mare was lame).
Also had headcollar and leadrope borrowed.. Leadrope was left outside my stable broken.
Now got everything locked up and tempted to put a padlock on my stable door!
 
I must be very old fashioned but I'd be quite embarised if I got caught borrowing someone's whip for 10 mins in the school let along borrowing their horse or lorry !!!!!

As for 'borrowing' hay etc. that to me is theft not borrowing.

I can't imagine the scene if I caught someone 'borrowing' something precious of mine - I couldn't stay on a yard I didn't trust the people/ YO!!
 
At one time I would have happily leant stuff.. but not any more. Over the years people have changed, and their attitude towards other people's stuff. I've had black buckets taken and filled with mud/sand and left broken because they thought they were their buckets. Haynets taken because they 'happen to look just like someone elses, but without the huge holes made by an impatient horse :mad:' I only have one of these nets left, and it's under lock and key, I paid £7.80 for that! (that will disappear if I use it!)..
Rubber feed tugs, paid £14 for one, and it 'disappeared'.. still have the other, not a happy person about the missing one. One rug disappeared from stable, no explanation (different yard on both counts) never to be seen again (yes it had a belly strap missing but that's not the point)..
 
Luci, we had a whip bucket at ours. The number of people who would come in mouthing off about someone pinching a whip... which had been dropped or left behind in tacking up area. Always asked politely if they were sure they'd left it with their stuff and didn't want to check the bucket.

Thankfully I only know one person who would possibly get a headcollar on one of mine. I need to get OH trained up but atm it's quite nice knowing noone else could after the last person she was trusting of attacked her :(

My other one I'd be happy to let someone try... Dont think they'd get far before realising it wasn't the wisest choice.

Had expensive things pinched, microchip reader, clippers etc but knew exactly who had taken them, when leaving and the jumps were pulled off their vehicle before unblocked!
No liveries would have without asking but people borrowed with permission all the time.
 
Loving reading this, having just moved yesterday off a horrid DIY tea leafing yard to a lovely private yard with lovely owners.
I have 2 horses and rented a separate stable for hay to be stored and purchased 80 or more bales and also lifted 40 bales in my trailer, which got damaged transporting it, and fellow livery on benfits had 4 horses. Needless to say my hay was long finished before his. I paid him to feed for me during the week and I was paying for him to steal, this only fully came out in recent weeks when 18 bales of hay lasted less than 10 days and you guessed it, my horses didn't have weight on them. He offered up my clean, newly purchased tarpaulin to cover someone else's round bale. I asked for it back recently and it came back ripped and covered in wet slimmy muck - thanks for that, no offer to clean and annoyed they couldn't use it as god forbid I needed it to cover the said 18 bales.
He offen boasted about newly laundered rugs he stole, jackets he stole blah blah, xmas light cables he cut to annoy liveries who had bought them. Yesterday when I moved the electrical cable, thankfully only to light up the trailer number plate was cut. Whilst I immaculately cleaned out my stables for 2 hours and loaded trailer with mats etc he verbally abused me, we used to be friendly and I always put one of his many horses on when showing and paid his entry, in fact he was getting a free lesson that very day with a top dressage trainer in the hope that he could lengthen the reins on his whinched in bullied horse. I laughed and smiled without retaliating as I gleefully drop out of the yard to him flicking the v - what I took from this behaviour was how desperately he needed access to my feed etc to survive. The yard owner has lost the highest paying livery and 50% of his weekly hay and bedding sales. That scummy livery apparently got 2 free stables as he was willing to feed for others that DIY didn't always suit - I do hope the fact he is feeding for prob 1 or 2 now and not half the yard that he loses the free stables now.
I've always been on full buy its expensive since 2nd horse came along but DIY is a false economy as always driving around delivering feed and nipping up to check feed not missing etc. My new yard is working out cheaper and both on full livery with a former top rider, much much better facilities, so nice and welcoming and the haylage I'd eat myself - he was disgusted at the hay I brought with me to wean them onto haylage with, absolutely disgusted.
New yard have already rang to let me know, without me asking, how the boys ate up last night and ow settled they were looking, great as one doesn't settle for weeks normally. My stables are 12 x 15 now as opposed to 10 x 11 :)
 
PM. We had it with hay. But there were three of us who would use eachothers if next load hadn't come in and they weren't low and just restock, same with bedding but was an agreement.
Amusing when someone else pinched round bale hay and was very obvious whose stable it was in!
 
came up to the yard one day (a few years back now) and another livery was using my saddle and saddle cloth. hadnt asked me either. id known her for years, we had never got on, her horse was absolutely wild and she encouraged it instead of trying to calm the poor lad down. when i confronted her she told i could wait til she was finished :mad: i was beyond enraged, YO wasnt home at the time to do anything, it was so frustrating just standing there while she was galloping the poor sweaty horse over jumps. when i did get my stuff back the saddle cloth was sweated right through and there was a scratch on the saddle from when she'd falled and her bloody spurs caught my saddle :mad: thank god that girl doesnt have horses any more!!!
 
Christ. These stories are shocking!

I got all narky when some one borrowed my shovel and didn't put it back. Its locked away now! I would be homicidal if someone ever rode my horse without my permission!!
 
weesophz said:
came up to the yard one day (a few years back now) and another livery was using my saddle and saddle cloth. hadnt asked me either. id known her for years, we had never got on, her horse was absolutely wild and she encouraged it instead of trying to calm the poor lad down. when i confronted her she told i could wait til she was finished :mad: i was beyond enraged, YO wasnt home at the time to do anything, it was so frustrating just standing there while she was galloping the poor sweaty horse over jumps. when i did get my stuff back the saddle cloth was sweated right through and there was a scratch on the saddle from when she'd falled and her bloody spurs caught my saddle :mad: thank god that girl doesnt have horses any more!!!
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I'd have marched in there and dismantled the jump in front of her. Possibly dragging away a pole or something, so she would be forced to get off to rebuild. Then I'd have just removed my saddle.
 
Karran said:
I'd have marched in there and dismantled the jump in front of her. Possibly dragging away a pole or something, so she would be forced to get off to rebuild. Then I'd have just removed my saddle.
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i wish i had! at the time i was only 15, i wasnt very brave and the girl had always been a bit of a bully, she was at the same RS as me and treated all horses like machines, i caught her sister skelping my first pony in the face one day for no reason aswell. so i will a bit wary of crossing her! thankfully she left a few weeks after that. she used to have a new horse every other month, she had 5 horses within 3 years and was so horrid to all of them
 
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