What should we/shouldn't we put on the loan agreement?? Can we say this...

coreteam1

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My sister has just found someone to have one of her horses on loan. He will remain at our yard but we aren't sure what should and should not go on the loan agreement.

We know the basics but we also want to put things like the fact my sister doesn't want him travelling in a trailer (long story) but she's fine about him going in a lorry.

She doesn't want him hunting this season as he has been out of work for four years (another long story :D)

My sister pays for and will continue to pay for his insurance, should she get the loan person to take out rider/personal injury insurance?

My sister also wants to give her a six month agreement to start with just to see how things go. We also want to put something in it like the following but don't want it to sound harsh or like we would take him back on a whim?
''The horse can be taken back without notice at any time during the loan period''

What else should she put, has anyone any suggestions or can you think of something major we might not have thought about?

(also in competition section)
 
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i should think you can put what you like in the agreement,after all its your horse. you could stipulate that the loanee sings a longway to Tiperary twice a day whilst paintings its hooves with pink nail varnish,it thats what you want.
The BHS do loan agreements,maybe getting one of theres and tweeking it to suit your and your horses circumatances might be a good idea.
 
Take a look at The BHS website.

Maybe include costs what has loanee got to pay for...everything or just shoes?

Maybe include that loaner must have insurance for horse?

Also my view on the taking the horse back with no notice bit. Would be to maybe word it differently like with terms and conditions? As I personally would not sign a contract where I could put in months of work and £'s for the owner to turn around at any point and say I want my horse back NOW!! 'If at any times any of the above terms are broken I the owner have the right to take back the horse'.

Good luck :)
 
My sister has just found someone to have one of her horses on loan. He will remain at our yard but we aren't sure what should and should not go on the loan agreement.

We know the basics but we also want to put things like the fact my sister doesn't want him travelling in a trailer (long story) but she's fine about him going in a lorry.
Say anything specific you like, he's your horse!
She doesn't want him hunting this season as he has been out of work for four years (another long story :D)

My sister pays for and will continue to pay for his insurance, should she get the loan person to take out rider/personal injury insurance? yes absolutely - BHS or WHW are the usual places to get this through gold membership. There is also a 3rd party insurance they will need - also covered under these memberships.

My sister also wants to give her a six month agreement to start with just to see how things go. We also want to put something in it like the following but don't want it to sound harsh or like we would take him back on a whim?
''The horse can be taken back without notice at any time during the loan period'' Yes - I think this is standard anyway. See the BHS website for a sample loan agreement and adapt that to your purposes.

What else should she put, has anyone any suggestions or can you think of something major we might not have thought about?

(also in competition section)

As above, the BHS do a good legally sound document you can adapt for your purposes. I would put anything you like in it, in fact the more specific the better so that its there in black and white that both parties understand it. make sure you have their contact details and that they are verifiable, i.e. go and visit them at their home address, ask for a passport or driving licence to confirm it, get landline as well as mobile phone numbers etc.
 
Hiya you can put what you want in the loan agreement, i loan and i cant take him hunting full stop so its perfectly reasonable you out no hunting this season.

As for taking him back at a whim the usual notice is a month either way, apart from if you feel there been ill treated and you can take without notice at your own cost.

As for cost just state what you are going to pay for and what they are going to pay for. Also work out who will pay the excess for the vets fees in case of an acciedent as the insurance is in your name, the vets bills will need to be, so are you going to pay vets fees? To be honest ive got a pony out on loan and am alos loaning now, i pay the insurance for the pony im, loaning and the loanees pay the insurance for the one own out on loan, thats the norm.

As the others have said take a look at the BHS thats what ive got for both of mine just tweaked to suit the pony.

Mine also has in it, for the pony im loaning, no others to ride him, hes to be stabled at night in the winter and not to be turned out on his own. I have in mine for the pony i own that shes not to have shoes put on unless i say so as she has really hard feet and dont want that ruined.
 
I think the standard is 4 weeks notice to and from each party, but you could have a clause in there saying if you are not happy with the care and after warnings it is not improved the horse can be withdrawn with no notice.
 
Personally I did a month trial first, that way if any alarm bells ring early on you have an easy get out. My loan agreement specified limits on my boys work - not to work on deep surfaces, no jumping over 3'3". nofast work more than twice a week, must be kept in at night, not turned out alone, not to be ridden by people unknown to me. I probably sound like a right pain, but my loaner is brilliant and has had no problems.Also because the agreement is so thorough, if she approaches me to ask about doing something differently I am more inclined to listen. To be honest she is just brilliant!
It is better to be honest ,than get into trouble later on which could have been avoided. I also specified something like ' the loaner is responsible for insurance. for any injury caused while the horse is in her care, owner is not responsible etc.). I can't remember the exact words.I based it on the bhs agreement with a few extras.
 
Dont forget everything you send with the horse saddles/bridles and even headcollars and their make/colour and that if they break the loaner is to replace them :)
 
Don't be afraid to put anything in that you want - it is your horse and you have every write to dictate what you do and do not want doing with your horse. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You'll only kick yourself later if you don't put something in because you worry it sounds too harsh or something, and the person loaning the horse does something you didn't want them to do (possibly causing problems with your horse).

I think it's pretty much standard to have an agreement for a time period (ie 6 months) but to also state that the agreement can be terminated by either party at any time - the owner without giving notice and the loaner by giving something like 2 weeks or a month's notice.

Put in everything that is important to you with regard to care of horse and tack, riding restrictions, travel and show restrictions, etc.
 
At the end of the day it's your horse so you can put what you like!
As others have said the BHS agreement is good as a template so you can tweak as you please to suit your horse.
Be sure to include anything the loaner will be allowed use of (such as tack) and whose responsible for its day to day care and condition and who should replace stuff in the event it breaks so that if you do take him back you aren't left with broken stuff caked in months of mud!
Also be sure to note vaccs, farrier, dentist etc, whose responsibilty is it to keep up to date with them and who pays the bill.
We had a part in ours which stated our horse had to be stabled in winter, wasn't to jump and if that if we decided to travel him any resulting injury would be our responsibilty (he was a nightmare no matter what the box/lorry!). Don't worry about sounding too bossy or harsh as really the more you put in the better as it will result in keeping both the loaner and your horse happy and safe.
Also our loan was set at 6 months at a time and was reviewed before renewal by both sides and if either us or the horses owner wanted to terminate at any point they needed to give a months notice. So in actual fact before she took him back she contacted us at 5 months.
Hope this helps and I didn't waffle on for too long!:eek:
 
You can put in whatever you like in terms of what the loaner can do with your horse.

I would strongly recommend that you keep the horse insured but ask that the loaner has their own policy to cover them for third party liability and personal accident.

In terms of the notice period I think to be reasonable you should state 28 days notice, unless there are welfare concerns. However you could work in a "probationary period" where the notice is less, a bit like when you start a new job! I think a six month probationary period might be a bit harsh.
 
Hi, I have just taken a pony on permenant loan from a friend, she was'nt bothered about a loan agreement but I insisted that we had one. I have had bad experiences in the past with inadequate ones on none at all.
We 'doctored' the BHS agreement to suit us, it was a great template to work from as there was so much in it we would'nt have thought to put in.
We managed to cover just about every aspect of the important stuff, agreed to our own terms for returning the pony as her owners are moving to France in July. So my agreement will have to be done again when/if they move.

As others have said you can put whatever you like in the agreement, this will protect you, the horse and the borrower should anything happen.
There is a section in the BHS agreement that states that if you are unhappy with horses care/condition etc you give the borrower an alloted period of time to improve things, if they dont you can remove the horse at your own expense with no prior notice. You can also visit unanounced if you wish to.
 
Put anything you want! It's your horse afterall. I'm not too sure about the having him back at anytime though. I would have second thoughts about signing a contract knowing the owner could just turn round and have him back the next day.
Maybe a 4week notice period?
 
make sure its clear in the loan agreement about what to do if he is injured/ill, not such an issue as he will be at your own yard still but friends loaned out their mare & she developed laminitis (sp?) after being turned out on 20+ acres of spring grass so loanee had her put down but diddnt inform Owners untill they did their 6 monthly visit to the yard to see her (they phoned loanee every month & got told all fine she has done X,Y,Z) talking to the YO the mare had been put to sleep 4 months prior despite the vets saying she just needed care, time & better management.
she is still fighting through the courts about it but it wont bring Milliemoo back.
 
We had a pony on loan that we couldn't take hunting, which was a big shame as she would have made a wonderful hunter (owner didn't agree with hunting).

When I loaned my horse I put in that feet should be attended to every 6 weeks and she was to be ridden on the roads in High Viz gear.

I think you can only take back immediately if there is a severe breach of the conditions, or a welfare reason, otherwise you have to give some notice.
 
I loaned mine to someone last summer: and we did a loan agreement.

You need to make sure that whatever you decide, both parties sign BEFORE the official period of loan commences!!! Sounds obvious but it needs to be an official date of commencement.

Also you should have details of who exactly will ride your horse; I'd be inclined to say just the loanee only, otherwise you could have a scenario where every Tom Dick & Harry is allowed to ride and the horse gets ruined without you knowing anything about it.

There definately needs to be an "emergency" clause, for if something awful happens: if I remember rightly the wording will usually be words to the effect of "in the event of serious injury/accident a veterinary surgeon will be immediately contacted as an emergency to attend the horse and every attempt will be made to contact the owner as a matter of urgency. In the absence of the owner the veterinary surgeon shall determine what treatment should be conducted, including immediate euthanasia if he/she deems it necessary for humane reasons".

Awful, but necessary.
 
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