Loan or sell?

[ThatchersCold]

All a bit hypothetical at the moment, but I’m going to see a pony tomorrow that is in its 20s, a been there done it sort. At present we have a pony who is rising 6. Only had him since January but it’s becoming clear that he’s pretty green in all respects and my daughter just doesn’t have the confidence/experience to deal with him when he’s being a teenager. He’s not nasty at all, if a more experienced kid or adult is riding him then he’s fine, he just needs putting back in his box sometimes and my daughter can’t do that.

Thing is, I really don’t want to sell the pony we have, he’s such a lovely boy and he will be a great all rounder with a bit more experience under his belt. I know selling him would be the logical thing to do but the thought of it actually breaks my heart .

If we did buy the other pony, I won’t be able to keep the one we have. Maybe I could have them both over the summer but there’s no spare stables and the yard owner wouldn’t want another one on the ground over the winter. So I would either have to sell him, or I was wondering about loaning him out for a year or so.

Do you think that’s realistic or a bit piss takey? In terms of if I found him a loan home I would want it to be with someone who would bring him on, take him out and about and further his education. He is a fab pony for a confident rider, but he does take his confidence from his rider. He’s been professionally schooled, will jump a little course and is lovely to hack, so it’s not like I’d be asking someone to break him in for me. But not sure if it seems a bit cheeky to basically get someone to bring him on for a year and then give him back. It could end up being longer than a year, depending on how dd gets on with the other pony (if we get it). I am well aware of the dangers/pitfalls of loaning, that’s another possible issue.

He’s chunky and just under 14hh so could be ridden by an adult or teen.

Help! I felt like such a traitor seeing him tonight knowing we were off to see another one tomorrow. He’s got my heart in a way that no other pony ever has, which I know sounds bonkers as I’ve only had him 3 months.

This is a very long winded WWYD, thanks for making it to the end

I think a lot of people wouldn’t take on a loan that needs work.
Also in the current market there are a lot of frankly utter morons with tiny budgets looking for horses that should instead be buying a goldfish.
I suspect you’d probably get a lot of these and not anyone decent.

I personally would never loan a horse as I’ve heard 1 too many horror stories about it. Police are generally completely disinterested if they get sold from under you.
I’d rather sell. It’s a good market you’ll easily get back what you paid.

Personally I don't think it's piss taking since the pony is ready to go off and have fun with, so long as you are absolutely upfront about the fact it's a years loan and you will 100% be wanting him back - I would say cheeky is as you say trying to get a unbroken or problem pony started off or re-schooled for free or pretending it's going to be a permanent or very long term loan when you always have the intention of having the pony back. There's someone on my local facebook group advertising her broken horse to be loaned for someone to essentially rehab him for free, he can't be ridden for 6 months due to injury so she's offering an 'opportunity to make a big fuss of him and take out for regular in hand walks' (and of course pay all costs) for 6 months until he can be ridden again (when she will promptly have him back) , that I would say is both taking the piss and also highly risky since the people replying saying they are interested must be at best naive novices who can't get/afford anything better and at worst chancers who will probably try and ride the horse or even steal/sell him.

Since you say pony is a fun and safe ride for the right rider ready to go out and compete, I would have thought you'll have your hand bitten off. Like LastQueen says I think your bigger problem will be vetting potential homes to really make sure it's someone competent and genuine who will take good care of him. You'd want them to be reasonably local as well so you can keep an eye on pony which will limit your options further. Would you possibly be able to get a sharer instead - if they made a financial contribution would you be able to pay livery for two? Or is there definitely no space for him where you are?

I would loan not sell as the pony you describe with another year or two of the right experience would be very expensive and difficult to find.
Just be careful who you loan to and keep an eye on how the pony is progressing as it as easy for them to go backwards as forwards.
Can you ask if any friends, local instructors or pony club people know someone suitable?
If the pony is as you describe then you are offering something worthwhile, not taking the micky at all.

@maxelly yes that is the very definition of taking the piss 🤣. I also saw someone trying to loan out a 17.2hh broken down gelding the other day as a companion, with a long list of exact requirements of how he must be kept .

No there’s definitely no space at the yard for me to have two, unless someone leaves, which is unlikely.

It’s a real dilemma. Like @FreedomFromLockdown said, if he gets some more experience he’s the sort of pony who in the current market could easily be £8k plus in a year or two (and well out of my price bracket). And also there’s always the risk with older ponies that they can go downhill quite fast and become suddenly unrideable for whatever reason. Happened with one I bought a few years back who was in her early twenties, she was sound and full of beans when I got her, a year later arthritis had really taken hold and she was diagnosed with a heart murmur and that was that for riding her. And if that happened to the one we’re seeing today it would be good to get the pony we have now back.

But finding the right loan home is a minefield, I appreciate that.

I can think of 2-3 competent savvy teens at our yard who would snap this up. Not all families are ready for or able to go for ownership, especially non-horsey families with horse mad teens who will probably go to uni in 2-3 years. I did pretty much similar as a teen as although my parents supported my sister and I riding (and paid for it all!), ownership was simply never an option for us, financially/long-term commitment wise.