Ten Tips for Loaning Out Your Horse

1. Decide exactly what you want before you start.
Be clear in your own mind what kind of home and workload you want your horse to go to, how far away, and for how long. You can always be flexible later if you choose, but don’t let other people decide these things for you. This will also help in your search for a borrower eg choosing local or national advertising, word of mouth, club networking, etc.

2. Check out all interested parties thoroughly, and don’t rush it.
Unless you know the potential borrower well, ask for formal references. Even if you do know them, check the grapevine and local gossip for opinions on their suitability. Don’t rely simply of personal recommendations (people can have blindspots about their friends.) Explore people’s motives and circumstances. (eg: if a person cannot afford to buy a horse, can they nevertheless afford to keep your horse properly ?) If more than one person is interested, take time to ‘vet’ them all.

3. Do mutual visits.
First, have the prospective borrower visit you and your horse at home, so they get to meet each other where the horse is comfortable. Watch how the ‘candidate’ handles your horse – catching, leading, grooming, tacking up. Then, if the horse is to be loaned for riding (and after you have given an appropriate demo) watch how the partnership tackles ridden work in the school, and maybe on an accompanied hack. If you have any doubts, say no.
If all seems well, though, do a visit yourself to the place where your horse will be kept. Check out all the facilities for safety and appropriateness to your horse’s requirements. If the new home is to be a livery yard, look up their website, and meet the Yard Owner/Manager. Ask him/her about the prospective borrower’s ability to look after and pay for your horse.
Ask about professional and emergency back-up (vet, farrier, dentist) and – especially if the horse will not to be kept on a big yard – cover for holidays and illness.

4. Make clear what the borrower will be taking on.
Take care to plainly point out any physical/medical conditions your horse has which will need special attention. Explain his diet, reactions to particular feeds, any allergies, and particular likes/dislikes. (Note the borrower’s responses to this information.) Make special mention of dates for flu and tetanus jabs, and any other regular treatments.
Be sure, before you agree anything formally, that both you and the borrower are happy with the kind of lifestyle and workload you want your horse to have.

5. Take are with identification
All British and European horses now need to have a passport, but it’s a good idea to take extra measures such as DNA testing, microchipping, freezemarking, etc. Make sure the prospective borrower knows these measures are in place.


6. Don’t be afraid to say ‘No’
If at any stage before making the agreement you feel that something is ‘not quite right’, or that a better loan home may be available, just say ‘no’. It’s your horse’s welfare and happiness at stake, after all.

7. Insist on a formal written Loan Agreement
Essential if you don’t know the prospective borrower – but equally important if you do! It’s vital that both parties understand and happily accept all the conditions of the loan, and that it’s quite clear who is responsible for what, and when, throughout the period of the loan. In particular, the exit strategy for both parties needs to be clear. Informal, verbal agreements (especially between friends) can very easily get forgotten or wrongly remembered – and much trouble and heartache can result.
When loaning to strangers, it may be best to use a solicitor to draw up the agreement. If you do not, then at least make sure you use a well-written document, like the sample on the BHS website.( http://www.bhs.org.uk/ ) Make sure you have it formally witnessed., and both you and the borrower have a copy.

8. Keep records
Take dated photos of your horse just before handing it over, to keep a clear record of the horse’s condition as it left you. This could prevent disputes later on if things go wrong.
Make sure you have all the borrower’s contact details easily accessible and backed up.

9. Stay in touch
Establish the fact that you will always care about your horse and want to be kept informed of its progress. Phone the borrower within 24 hours of the horse arriving at its new home, to make sure it has travelled and settled well. Ask for the borrower to send you photos at intervals (dateable ones are good.) Build in to the Loan Agreement opportunities for you to visit your horse, by mutual arrangement. Visit within the first two weeks if you can, then at intervals, to check on your horse’s wellbeing. Don’t natter – the borrower must be allowed to enjoy the loan! – but keep in touch, send congratulations if your horse has achieved something, enquire after it’s health if you hear it’s been ill, and always be available to offer information or advice if the borrower asks. Also, keep contact with any other people in your mutual network ( vet, farrier, instructor, friends, shows, social events) so that you can get information on your horse from other sources. This will also help to publicly reinforce the nature of the loan arrangement.

10. Amend passport
If the loan is working out well and you both want it to continue long-term, you can notify the horse’s passport issuers, who will note the loan on the passport and their records. This clarifies the owner/loaner situation to any outsiders who may view the passport.

And finally – however successful the loan arrangement is, never forget that the horse still belongs to you, and it’s welfare is ultimately your responsibility.