6 Years ago I loaned out my pony & I have now lost her...

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

I loaned out my pony 6 years ago, kept in contact for a year, gave them money for a new saddle etc. Then they said they were going away for a year and they had sorted something with a local stable yard who were going to use her for that year. I have heard nothing since. It had been in the back of my mind for ages, we have moved since then and have no details for them. All I know she was in a yard in Basingstoke about 5 years ago :( DOes anyone know what I can do? I have been scared to start the search incase it ended badly, but I need to find her. She is a 14.1hh dark bay welsh X called Vanity, about 16 now. I have no idea how I would even prove ownership. :(

[RectalNourishment]

Did you make any progress OP?

[Lucyinthepie]

It was only 6 years ago, I took my horse on loan then and there was plenty of emphasis on loan agreements. I agree that Op was young (although 18 isn't really that young is it) but by the time the pony was put in an unspecified riding school she was 19, and she's now 23. So plenty of time for adult reflection and action.
I think my reaction came as a result of op posting "I have no idea how I would even prove ownership." Why would she even want to? Hopefully find the pony, hopefully discover that she is fine. Surely that's as much as she can hope or morally expect to do?
Anyway, the advice given somewhere above to contact Missing Horses On Loan is a good idea I think.

[seeker]

Sorry - I still think this is outrageous. I don't care if she wants the pony back or not - the OP is the legal owner of the pony and therefore ultimately responsible for it. And she let it go to another home (a riding school) without checking it out, and has "had it in the back of her mind" for 5 years while doing sod all about it.

[Lulumaam]

she also said it had been at the back of her mind for 5 years, but never done anything..

[WhyHavePets]

Lucy, I realise that people are disagreeing with what the opp did... six years ago when she was 18... did nobody else do anything a bit silly and trusting when they were that age then? Or is everybody else perfect?

FWIW I loaned a pony about 6 years ago with no agreement, no check of the stables etc but the his owner was very much in love with him and cared very much. In our case her trust was well placed and everything went well. As I recal there was less emphasis on home checks and agreements then - it certainly seemed to be the exception more than the norm IME.

[Lucyinthepie]

I think the "op bashing" is because op let the pony go off to a new home without doing a home check, to be "used" in unspecified ways. I'm sure many here realise that a lot of loan homes go wrong, and any responsible owner needs to check regularly to ensure the welfare of their (loved) animal.
I can understand why op might suddenly want to know that the pony landed up ok, and suspect that she'd have a bit of a fight on her hands to prove ownership. (One of her original questions was how could she prove ownership).

[WhyHavePets]

The fact is that the Op still, legally, owns this animal - ignoring all the emotional stuff. This is an assett and ownership has not been transfered. Therefore the op has the right to seek return of her property.

Adding back in the emotional this is the ops pony, yes she has been lax but it is not unreasonable to want to check that it is ok and being looked after.

Finally the op has not said that she is definitly seeking return of the pony, reading between the lines it seems that she will probably leave it if the pony is cared for and happy but may wish to take steps if she finds out that it is not being cared for.

Exactly what is wrong with that? There seems to be an awful lot of Op bashing here when all she has asked for is ideas on how to trace the animal not ideas on how to steal it away in the dead of night from teh poor angelic child who has loved it like her own...

[Lulumaam]

how can your contact details be the same if you've moved?

[Lulumaam]

I'm really sorry but I think that you cannot loan something as special/valuable as a pony without some sort of paperwork and at least full name address info etc.. and then 6 years later, worry about the animal !!

if you've moved several times and they've gone away for a year, and that was years ago, how did you think you'd all ever find each other again

I can understand your distress but it sounds like a disaster of your own making !

for 5 years it was a the back of your mind but not enough to do anythign?

someones been paying for your pony for a long time and oyu cannot turn up and just say she's mine

[Myleetlepony]

You say "they had sorted something with a local stable yard who were going to use her for that year." Did you go to the local stable yard to see what it was like? Did you visit her there?

[seeker]

YOu've had this "in the back of your mind" for the past 5 years? You don't know who's been looking after her, you let her be used in a riding school you don't know without finding out how many hours she would be working or what she would be doing......and you're now, 5 years later, wondering where she is?

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

I don't want her back, I want to make sure she is OK. Although I am not happy that they have dissapeared, when our contact details haven't changed and theirs have.

[Myleetlepony]

I used to dread the day that my little man's "owners" might turn up and claim him back after all the work I've done with him. However, since someone pointed out the amount of money they'd owe me, I've felt much more relaxed.

[NorthernLurker]

That's a good point about the bill - 5 years food and vets care would be a not inconsiderable amount!

[Myleetlepony]

I'm afraid I agree. Different if you'd been and checked the yard they told you that she was being moved to and checked to make sure she was OK from time to time.. At this stage, they probably assume you lost interest.
In fact, I have a pony that was left with me on loan, after about a year the owners just stopped getting in touch and I haven't heard from them for about 5 years. Not your pony by the way, he's definitely a gelding. If they turned up now and decided they wanted him back I'd give them a bill for 5 years full livery, as the initial loan agreement was for a year.

[NorthernLurker]

Hang on - you loaned your pony to a family 6 years ago then allowed that family to hand her on to somewhere else without you having any contact details? The people who have taken care of her have fed her and provided for her needs for 5 years and now you want her back - and think that you should just be able to demand her when and if you find her? I think you are behaving very, very unreasonably. I doubt you will find her and tbh I don't think you should even try. Presumably she is with people who care for her. Why should that relationship be discrupted because you've decided you 'need' her? This is not fair, not fair at all.

[MitchyInge]

any luck?

was scared to click on this thread, but there is still hope for a happy ending yet

[marge2]

What about putting the word out on local riding club websites? Or getting a flyer sent out to their members.

What about sending letters to the local vets. They wont tell YOU anything I guess, but they may pass on your contact details to a new owner if they have a horse of that name and description on the books. They would know from their vaccination records.

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

I think it's fair If she is happy I am not going to take her back, but they have dissapeared off the face of the earth. I have tried for a while, going to the house they lived at, ringing them and she was at livery at these stables and it sounded fine to me.

Thanks, I will try that yard.

[AliceandtheGinormousBaps]

I used to work at a big riding school just outside Basingstoke called Park Farm (in oakley) they are/were very well connected to the local pony clubs and hunts, they have/had a tack shop and feed store so very busy. May be worth a look? This was about 8yrs ago that i worked there

[Myleetlepony]

You could contact these people. www.missinghorsesonloan.co.uk/
Do you want her back? I'm thinking that you let the loaner put her at a local stables without going yourself to check the place, and you didn't really do much to keep in touch with what was happening with your pony. If you find her and she's fine, would it be fair to demand her back after all this time?

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

Thanks for the NED info though, it looks my best chance if I can prove she is mine :)

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

Kinda near, will get onto it at the weekend. She was out on loan when the passports came into force, I remember doing something with passport forms, but they did most of it. THey have probably put themselves down as the owners. I have found a similar match, but the NED give very few details. I will try over the weekend to track her down, then to register on some websites you need a crime number so better go down the police station if that is fruitless. I have no idea how I will prove she is mine, they could have sold her or anything. Why would anyone do this? She had 3 little girls, she must have known how awful it would be for someone to lose a pony (I was 18 when I loaned her out).

[Pixel]

Are you near Basingstoke? Could you go round saddlers/feed merchants etc putting up some pictures on ad boards to see if anyone remembers her? A bit of a long shot but then you might be able to find out which yard it was and go from there.

Do you think she still has the same name? You could try the National Equine Database, she might be on it. Or you can put her on there as 'missing on loan' or something like that.

There is also an organisation for finding horses that have gone missing on loan. I've seen links to them on the 'stolen' section of the Horse and Hound forum so it might be worth seeing if they can help, although too much time may have passed, I don't know.

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

I have nothing. Number we have hasn't worked for years. SHe has not contacted our old place (my mums) in all this time. She moved her a few times so we never knew where she was, just Basingstoke.