Would it put you off?

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RolyPolyPony

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I've had someone get in touch in responce to an ad i placed. They had a horse they are wanting to loan, it sounds perfect but is 28. The owner has told me he is still able to be ridden as a younger horse would be and i told them what i would want to do with it. I don't want to bomb around for hours on end, just to be able to go for nice hacks and the odd schooling. This is apparently no prob for said horse. Would it's age put you off if you just wanted a horse for this purpose? Also the owner said he has absolutely on medical probs at all. Thanks.
 
It wouldn't necessarily put me off with a loan rather than a purchase but you MUST get your loan agreement stitched up tighter than a duck's you-know-what. You don't want to find yourself tied into eg a year's agreement with full veterinary responsibilities for anything that happened in that time. You need to get written down: notice period required from both sides, who's responsible for insurance/vet/farrier/wormers/annual jabs, who pays for transport if the horse is returned, what happens in the event of a serious health problem (coz you won't get full insurance cover on a 28 yr old), what happens if tack/rugs are damaged, 3rd party insurance in case of eg accidents out hacking...all the things that COULD happen need to be discussed and agreed on. No disrespect to the horse's owner but 28 is a ripe old age and even if the horse seems more like 8 than 28 now, the years WILL tell on him if he's asked to do too much (legs, wind, fitness, staying power, recovery times, general stiffness) and old age illnesses start to be far, far more likely.
 
Ditto Box of Frogs.
I had an aged horse on loan - well the owner (who was also a 'friend') kind of just dumped her on me as I'd already shared her for 4 years. So no loan agreement was signed or anything like that! I got her insured after days of wrangling with insurers. Lucky I did as 3 weeks later she pulled a tendon. I ended up stuck with a horse I couldn't ride, she cost me a fortune, hours of rehabilitation, sleepless nights worrying about what I would do if she didn't come sound, guilt because she wasn't my horse etc. Then after all that the owner's parents intervened and came and took her away and I never saw her again, although I regularly see her advertised locally for loan... :(
I'm not saying what happened to my loan horse couldn't happen to a loan horse of any age, just please make sure you get a good solid loan agreement signed. I think there is one on the BHS website? Then you can have lots of fun without having to worry in the event of the worst happening.
Good luck!
 
Will you be responsible for his upkeep? Teeth usually need plenty of tlc and feed/supplements may be more specialized.

My old horse is quite likely to still be going strong long after I reach my 'sell by' date!
 
Wouldn't put me off but would be wary as did this once and from first month horse accrued vet bills of £160 per month(this was many yrs ago so was a lot then).Only kept for 3 months as vet said only 1/2 hr walk a week,it was weird you could actually SEE the pulse in the neck.Owner tbh must have known something was wrong prior to giving on loan as horse apparently had quite a lot of symtoms for cushings.Yea call me cynical!!
Agree with Box of Frogs get everything tightly laid out in a loan agreement(no matter how nice and genuine owners appear)
 
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