Loaning out my horse- pitfalls

[fadeintoobscurity]

I've come to the decision to put my horse out on full loan moving yards. I've advertised and got lots of interest. Planning to use bhs template for loan agreement but are there other pitfalls to avoid/ things to check when vetting people?
I'm going to ask if my insurance would cover another rider as I'd like control of knowing vet fees are covered. Please hit me up with any useful advise or cautionary tales! Thanks!

[Auntiedahlia]

What plans do you have if the loan doesn't work out? Will you be able to have your horse back at short notice?

[Mrsmorton]

Definitely Sort out what will happen with vets fees and not to worry you but I have heard (think it was on H&H forum) of loan horses being sold so I don't know about some sort of guarantor or reference or something.

[pinkpolo]

I've just had a nightmare loaning a horse. Turned out to be absolutely not as described and the owner refused to take him back. After much frustration and legal advice, she finally accepted him back. It's cost me a small fortune and I will never ever loan again.

Please please make sure you can take your horse back if the situation changes. I was advised by a solicitor that I could give the owner notice to sell if she continued to refuse to take him back.

[fadeintoobscurity]

Thanks- a reference is a good idea. I'll also be vetting the new home.
Yes you only read horror stories so I have put off loaning previously but it would be better for him to have a rider! I've been very honest in the ad and will only consider experienced riders over 18 capable of dealing with him. I could have him back any time as he would just come home and be back to being a field ornament!
It sounds like there are so many things to go wrong though. Urgh.
With regard to vet fees, if they're insured would the loaner pay vet call outs and fees and then I claim on my insurance if necessary? What's the best way for that to work?
Thanks for the input. I can't tag names but pink polo- that sounds awful. There are some horrible people out there.

[Moanranger]

We have loaned DHorse 3 times while DD completed uni. We were lucky in that he is very straightforward & sound. Advertised various places & found local rider FB pages the best. Used BHS agreement. Kept his vet insurance going ourselves but never had to use it. We had a one month break clause -the first two ended the contract early, & for the last one we ended it slightly early. We always visited, especially at the beginning. Do note that the loaners can end up having a change of circumstance, so be ready for your horse to come back sooner than you expected. We found loaning a good solution, but quite a lot of work went into finding a good home. He is back with us now - thank goodness!

[Butkin1]

We loaned one of our horses out and would be wary of doing so again. I think it's different with ponies with children always growing and moving through ponies but with horses it's most of a long term situation.

The biggest issue, as others have mentioned, is that most loaners don't have available capital and this can cause problems when horses get injured or need treatment.

Our horse needed the vet but the insurance didn't cover him for loss of use (which is very expensive and I'm sure not many ordinary folk take this out).

Therefore when he got a leg and needed both vet treatment and time the loaner was put into a difficult situation. She couldn't afford to pay for the vet and got herself into a terrible tiz. Eventually she called us and we went straight down and picked him up. It wasn't ideal for us to have an extra - unplanned - horse in our stable block but we made it work like any responsible owners would.

[TangledSlinky]

I took on a second horse as a loan when my youngster injured herself and had to be turned away for a year. I have him on permanent loan but would buy him in a heartbeat.

He's treated exactly the same as my owned horse, in fact he's probably pampered more as he's my main competition horse these days.

In terms of insurance, I pay the premium to his owner monthly and pay the excess on any treatment he needs. It should go without saying but I also pay for all call-outs, vaccs, dentist checks, physio and chiro treatment. He's essentially mine in all but on paper, and is therefore treated as such. I send his owner regular updates, which she appreciates, but is fairly hands-off with the day to day stuff which I really appreciate. It's worked really well for us, so not all horse loans are the stuff of nightmares

[fadeintoobscurity]

Thanks for the replies guys that's all really helpful and good to hear different sides to coin. I'll keep the stable free just in case he needs to come back short notice! Thanks!

[kitkat321]

Agree with above - ensure you have a contingency plan in case it end suddenly.

Also get references and if you can find a loan home through word or mouth that's the way to go but it does limit your options.

Visit the yard a couple of times before loaning out the horse - both planned an unplanned and again when the horse is on loan.

Draw up a clear contract partiularly around exactly what the sharer is responsible for.

I considered loaning my horse but like you, had heard so many horror stories - I ended up selling and found the perfect new home for him but if I could have loaned him out and felt confident in doing so I would have - I just worried I'd end up with him back at short notice and in a state!

[bluetrees]

Hi, I am looking for a horse to loan as I have had to retire my mare. I could get you lots of references from friends/livery yard if necessary. Where are you and what is your horse? Thanks. (You can pm if you prefer)

[NotYetAMummy24]

I had SOOOOO many totaly plonkers who assured me they were "advanced" riders and I would barely even class them as novices. My horse would end up ditching them on trial and it was a waste of everyines time and effort. In the end I started asking for references before I would even let people come and try him.

[Travelator]

We loaned a pony from a friend for almost 3 years with no loan agreement. Friend transferred the pony's insurance into our name and we paid the monthly premiums. The pony damaged ligaments / tendons (can't remember which!) earlier this year and we paid the excess on the insurance and kept the pony until my friend was in a position to take her back. Never occurred to me that owner would pay for the treatment as the insurance was in our name. We would have kept the pony until she recovered but my daughter was just at the point of outgrowing her and so we gave her back. Pony is now fully recovered and out on loan to someone else.

Just started loaning a horse. Different experience this time. The owner lives near us and we know them vaguely but have friends in common. One of our mutual friends (who now loans the first pony) suggested the owner loan to us. Daughter tried out the horse a couple of times in front of the owner so we could all check each other out.

Owner gave us a loan agreement to sign which is based on the BHS loan agreement The owner has insurance in their name and we transfer premium payments to them. Horse has just had her annual dental check (arranged and paid for by us) and the vet suspects there's something wrong because she's eating one sided. We've got to have xrays done to see if there's an underlying problem. Wasn't sure who would be responsible in this case because the insurance is in the owner's name but checked and the loan agreement says we have to pay all vets bills. The treatment will be covered by the insurance (owner has checked) but we'll be paying the excess.

Anyway, we're quite happy with our experiences. I think we're nice to loan to! I do think it's safer for everyone to have a loan agreement and I think the BHS one is a good one.

Current horse is lovely but owner is quite uptight and checking on her very regularly; she checks every inch of the horse all over (not exaggerating, she runs her hands all over her), asks my daughter to make up feeds in front of her etc. The vet says she's in superb condition but the owner says she's looking thin. We've only had the horse since the beginning of the summer so perhaps the owner will relax in time but if she carries on like this I can see us giving the horse back just to get rid of the owner.