What Loan horses are out there & what do owners expect from a loaner?

Cat&Mouse

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As some of you will know I have got 2 horses on Loan at the moment & have been thinking that I may have to send one or both back.
I have had 1 for 5years she is semi retired love her to bits but unfortunately she is quite stiff & can not do too much now.
Also I have a TB who Cribs & loses weight easily but is great fun to ride & has got me back into competitions, costs a lot to keep.
It will break my heart to send either or both back but I think I may have to make some tough descisions, they are both veterans. I have been bitten by the hunting bug & would love to one day compete BE.

I definately can not afford to buy a horse so I have been told to open my eyes to the possibility of loaning something else more suitable that does not cost the earth to keep.

Anyway my question is, what sort of horses are there out there for loan? Also both of mine are off friends so also wondering what owners expect from loaners & what you would expect to pay for or not?
 

horseriderdeb

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I have a 15.3hh been there done it chap that I cannot find a loaner for. If it was full loan the loanee would pay for everything and do all the mucking out etc. Basically they would treat him as their own. Part loan I would expect the person to look after him at least 3 days a week. On those days they would treat him as their own and do everything. I would also want a contribution of about £25 a week and half towards his shoes.
 

chestnut cob

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Anyway my question is, what sort of horses are there out there for loan? Also both of mine are off friends so also wondering what owners expect from loaners & what you would expect to pay for or not?

I loaned out my last horse and have had two horses on loan myself. My own horse was a 12yo Welsh D (or may have been 11yo, but it doesn't matter) who just wanted a nice low-key home to have some fun in. He was lovely but he and I just weren't getting on any more but as he had a medical condition, I didn't want to sell. The family who had him on loan kept him for nearly 2 years and then eventually bought him. He's still with them, turns 15 this year I think, and couldn't be better looked after. The mare I had on loan was an older horse, had been quite a high level SJer I was told and I wanted more of a schoolmaster to teach me, which she did. She went back to her owner to retire. Have had my current horse for 2.5 years and I doubt he will ever go back to his owners given that I never hear from them unless I call them! He is also a horse with a medical condition that meant his owners didn't really want to sell him (shivers). I found both of my loan horses through friends, both belong to friends of friends.

In terms of what was expected from the loaners... I expected them to take care of his daily needs. They paid for feed, farrier, tack checking (the tack that went with him was mine but it was up to them if they wanted to buy other items), dentist, vaccs, teeth plus livery etc. I paid for his insurance so I knew it was kept up to date and they gave me the money for it. Essentially they treated him as their own horse but the final decision on anything serious would be mine. For the horse I have on loan, his owners have little more than a passing interest in him now. I called them when he first went lame with spavins and to get their approval for vet treatment but haven't bothered to since, as they aren't that interested anyway. They know I wouldn't do anything if it wasn't in his best interests so they leave me to it. Out of sight, out of mind, in this case...
 

Cat&Mouse

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The two I have now are on full loan they have moved to my field & as far as I am concerned they are like my own they are treated no differently to the family pets (the two ponies we had as kids). The one I have had for 5 years the owner has only been once but like I said they are friends. Do you expect loaners to do things your way or are they free to get on with it within reason of course?
 

MosMum

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I'm having a horse on loan, who is arriving tomorrow or Friday. He's a 15'3hh TB, started
to race and won a few, he's 12 years old and has been re-schooled, had an injury in the field and now has some swelling in the mornings which doesn't cause lameness or pain and goes when he starts moving.

I'll pay for everything including insurance, and documents will be signed that I can't subloan/sell etc, and if he becomes lame or unridable, he'll go back home but apart from that she doesn't want him back as she has too many in full work, so really a long-term/permenant loan which is perfect for us.
 

chestnut cob

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Do you expect loaners to do things your way or are they free to get on with it within reason of course?

To start with I was incredibly anal about everything but once I got used to someone else having my horse, I calmed down and left them to it. I did initially send him with a long list of things they could and couldn't do, how he should be managed etc. I'm sure they thought I bonkers but they went along with it anyway! There has to be a compromise and it took me a while to realise that other people might be just as good, if not better, at looking after my horse as I was. For the second year of the loan I just left them to it; think I only went to see him twice because he was obviously happy and well looked after so didn't feel the need to check up.

If I'd had particular activities he couldn't do then I would have put that into the contract and expected them to abide by that (ie, some contracts might state a horse can't go hunting, though I was happy for them to hunt him). Other than that, if I was in that situation again then I would let them get on with it.
 

charlie76

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I have a horse I want to loan (full loan), I would expect the loaner to pay the costs as if they own the horse. I have had only one person intrested. No idea why as he is only 11 and a bit of a dressage schoolmaster.
 

jodie3

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As others have said, if you take on a horse on full loan you would usually expect to pay all costs as if it were your own horse. It does vary a little from owner to owner but you always need to have a contract so both loaner and loanee know what is expected. Some owners like to keep on the insurance themselves while others expect the loanee to pay for it.
 

Charem

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Sorry to hijack but does anyone know of a nice, safe and easy, 14.3hh-16.hh, been there done it horse for loan?

Dad's OH bought unsutiable horse a couple years ago and has really lost her confidence on him. She just wants to mainly hack and maybe do the odd very small sj/ht competition.

Or alternatively if anyone is selling the above and would allow a few weeks trial???

Yard is at home in W Sussex. Will be kept with one other horse with a 10 acres of grazing and stable.
 

CatStew

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We will have had our horse on loan for 5 years in August. Without wishing to sound rude, her owner is VERY inexperienced around horses and doesn't even know how to put a head collar on. She bought her on a wim because her husband bought a motorbike and she thought that our horse looked pretty!!:eek:

Anyhoo, once she realised that she wasn't the best horse to learn on (she bought her as a 4 year old, fell off her several times and threw her in the field and forgot about her).

My mum heard about her through word of mouth and we shortly after took her on as a permanent loan horse. We do everything for her now, and pay for everything, I think her owner has come to see her about three times in the time we've had her and actually refers to her as mine and my mums horse as opposed to hers!

She's decided that wants me to give her and her 4 year old son lessons in the spring/summer which will be interesting! :confused:
 

galaxy

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A girl on my yard in going to loan out her 16.3hh Warmblood x ISH. He's rising 6 and just too big for her, so he hasn't done a lot and is fairly green. She's had him since he was 6 months old. When he goes he'll be totally the loaners responsibility. She will just pay his insurance. Think she wants him not to go too far so she can keep checking on him (but she would never be fussy! lol!)
 

Sam Wileman

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I have been looking for a horse to loan for ages, have a 5* yard lined up and would expect to take on all costs as my own but round near me there is nothing. Dont want anything flash dont even mind a little green.

It might be worth looking around in your area before letting the others go home
 
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