Horse Loan Arranger to the rescue

I had almost committed to a new livery yard for Count. It was seven miles from home base, so not ideal logistically, but the facilities and people looked good.



And then, my friend ( and riding instructor) Laura mentioned a young pupil of hers. Meg was nearly eighteen, and an enthusiastic, capable and sympathetic rider who had long outgrown her pony. She ached for an ex-racehorse, but couldn't afford to buy one. Laura's suggestion: how about letting Meg take Miraed on loan ?



Out of the blue, a whole new scenario to consider! Actually I didn't need to consider long. I'd felt for some time that I'd taken Miraed as far as I could myself. We'd got past the ex-racer tantrums, through the re-schooling, and right up to winning at dressage and taking ridden showing championships. It had been long and hard, but we'd made it and I felt a real sense of achievement.



But Miraed was bored with all that now. ( She's a Lara Croft type of gal, and likes action !) Miraed needed to be going on now, doing more jumping, hunting, eventing - whatever - than I am fit enough for these days. I'd been vaguely looking out for a young ( and fearless!) rider for her ..... And here, it seemed, was the answer. I'd never intended for Miraed to actually leave the yard - but now, if she did, it would make room for Count.



I've loaned out - and borrowed - horses before. It can work very well for all parties, but it can also go very wrong, and it needs lots of checking out and safeguards. This time, though, it was all looking good. Although I didn't know Meg, I knew the livery yard she used very well - the facilities, the proprietors, and several of the horse-owners. I go there regularly for shows and socialising. Miraed would be in a well-run yard, with the same farrier, and same instructor, as before. I would have plenty of 'spies' to monitor her situation! And, lots of witnesses to the nature of the arrangement, to avoid any possible future 'misunderstandings' or wrong-doing. Importantly, Meg had the enthusiastic support of her parents. It was about as safe as these situations can be.



Even so, I took it step by step. First Meg came to see and try Miraed . Her Dad came too - a good sign. Meg stroked and talked to Miraed in a way I liked. We went into the school and I rode first, as you do when showing off a horse. Miraed was not at her most obliging but, thankfully, not too stroppy. Meg then climbed aboard and the two got to know each other while I watched carefully. Meg was quiet and tactful. Miraed tried it on. She jogged, swerved, and ran about with her jaw clenched and her head up in the air. Typical Miraed stuff. Meg sat through it, and then made her behave properly. I was impressed. Miraed is by no means an easy ride suitable for a novice, but Meg quickly had her sussed. After fifteen minutes Miraed had given in and was going sweetly, while Meg wore a great, soppy grin. She was in love.



We discussed loan terms, and I was glad to see Meg's Dad (clearly a horse-lover himself) was actively involved. We agreed a two-week trial.



I delivered Miraed the following weekend. Getting her ready to go, with all her kit, was like sending your kid off to college - and just as emotional. Miraed was finally growing up and going out into the world. When I led her down the horsebox ramp, and handed her leadrope over to Meg, there was a lump in my throat.



Miraed was not in the slightest perturbed. She walked into her new stable, received all the pats and polo mints from the assembled welcome committee, and tucked into her hay. Grub's Ok, job's a good'un!



There was never any doubt about the final decision two weeks later. Meg, and her parents, were both besotted with Miraed, and the yard owners told me the mare had settled in well. I made sure that they, and everyone else, understood exactly the nature of the loan, and in fact the yard owner signed as witness on the formal Loan Agreement.



We used the template of the sample loan agreement from the British Horse Society website. It's very comprehensive, and can be customised to suit your requirements. The BHS strongly advises that a legal advisor checks through any contract you might draw up and agree, but having already checked and used this document in the past I knew it was sound for my purposes. The BHS also advises that you seek references for any potential new keeper of your horse before you agree anything, and also that the keep facilities are approved in advance . Sound common sense - I can't imagine letting a horse go without doing that.



The BHS sample loan agreement can be found at http://www.bhs.org.uk/ . Click on Welfare, then click on Leaflets (at the side). There is a link at the top right corner to the sample contract. Also on this page is an advice leaflet on Loaning and Leasing Horses, which you can download. The direct web page address for this is http://www.bhs.org.uk/content/leaflets.asp?id=20&page=Welfare&area=4

Ex-racehorse livery needed!

Count’s arrival presented me with a problem. Where was he to live? The yard had no spare stable for the winter, and even the summer grazing was just about full to capacity.(Yes, it would have been sensible to sort this out beforehand. But sensible and ex-racehorses seldom go together. Sensible can mean missing golden opportunities. I try not to do sensible these days.) I had to find somewhere for Count long-term, with the right facilities for re-schooling a racehorse – and I’d been given only three weeks to do it!

Finding the ‘right’ livery yard ( for those of us without our own personal country estates, ie most of us) is always tricky. So many things have to be taken into consideration: facilities, like types of stabling, amount and condition of grazing, outdoor and indoor schooling areas, off-road riding, and so on; number of other horses present; distance from home; care and management packages offered, safety and emergency measures, and, of course, cost. Not only that, but for people like me, who like to do as much of the ‘looking after’ stuff with their horses as possible, it is also important that the yard owner/manager, and any staff, are happy with this, and don’t get upset by owners coming in and messing up their tidy routines.

The people at the yard are almost as important as the horse facilities. If the management is any way unsympathetic, unreasonable, unhelpful or inefficient, it can affect a horse’s wellbeing and make an owner’s life an anxious misery. Every bit as bad, for an owner anyway, is any type of feuding, cliques or bitchiness.

It’s also a good idea to check out the other horses at any prospective new yard. Ideally you are hoping for happy, calm, well-behaved animals that will be a joy to accompany when out hacking, and will befriend your own horse in stable and paddock. Any nastiness ( eg persistent kicking, biting) , or infectious habits like weaving, or refusal to be caught, or bad behaviour in traffic, should act as big warning signals.

Finding suitable accommodation for an ex-racehorse, where his rehabilitation and retraining can make calm and steady progress, means considering all the above plus some additional ‘ex-racer issues’. Here is a list of what I look for.

The ideal yard for ex-racehorses should have :

Large and airy stables, with other horses in view for companionship.

Facilities for daily turn-out, all year round. Preferably grass paddocks, but an outdoor school, lunge-ring or sandpit is better than nothing. All horses love to roll, buck and stretch their legs, and it’s a great way for up-tight ex-racers to let off steam and relax.

Sound, safe, and well-maintained fencing and gates. Avoid barbed wire if at all possible. Electric webbing fencing is fine so long as the current is ON at ALL TIMES. Slack pig- or sheep-netting is just great for getting horses feet caught in it.

Constant clean water supply, in field and stable.

Well-maintained, clean and plentiful grazing, for summer at the very least. A regular poo-picking regime is a must.

Safe schooling area. Outdoors or indoors ( both would be great ) Indoors is super-safe for scatty recently-retired ex-racers – but used exclusively does not fit them for riding outdoors later on. An outdoor manege with a high, solid-looking fence ( post and rail, sleepers, etc.) is fine for all re-schooling activities, and will help your horse to learn to work despite distractions. NB: attempting to school an ex-racehorse in an open field is optimistic, to say the least. In fact – as you soon learn when your ex-racer gets fed up and high-tails it into the sunset, with or without you on board – it’s downright crazy.

A regular, appropriate and strongly-enforced worming policy that covers every horse on the site. ( No good worming your own horse if someone else’s poor worm-raddled beastie is constantly re-infecting the pasture.)

A sensible isolation policy for new horses coming onto the yard. ( Ex-racehorses, having in many ways led cosseted, high-maintenance lives where they have seldom had to rough it , can have lower natural immunities than their humbler horse-cousins. And, if they are unused to field turnout, they may be bullied by their tougher new fieldmates.)

Clearly-displayed safety-and-emergency signs: No-Smoking, Fire Drill, Emergency Contacts, etc. A noticeboard for news and messages is also a good social tool.

Somewhere safe to store your stuff – Grooming box, First Aid kit, lunging line and whip, exercise boots, etc etc. ( I always take my saddles and bridles home with me, as so many yards are burgled for tack these days.) If you are providing your own feed, you will also need somewhere vermin-proof to store it.

Knowledgeable, conscientious and sympathetic yard owner/manager, who cares about the horses in the yard and is neither nervous nor dismissive of ex-racehorses.

Personnel on-site 24/7. I need to know that my horses will be checked last thing at night, and if one starts with colic at 2.00am someone will hear it and take appropriate action.

At least one friendly, sensible person with a quiet horse to ride out with when my ex-racer is having one of its ‘there are wolves out there!’ sessions.


OK, so 13 may be unlucky, and you’ll certainly be very lucky to find all of these points together in one place. You’re likely to have to compromise on something – you pick. I spent a couple of weeks travelling round my locality visiting different livery yards and weighing up the pros and cons for each, trying to discover which would suit Count, and me, the best. It wasn’t easy to choose. And time was running out.