first loan - any useful advice?

[dizzyhoneybee]

My DD has just got her first loan, a welsh cob. She's been riding for 7 years but always on riding school ponies.

Any useful advice would be appreciated please.

[Littlebigbum]

Yes enjoy!!!!

[N0tinmylife]

How exciting for her! What kind of advice are you after?

[Callisto]

Get lessons for her on the cob. Riding school ponies are dead to the leg and have iron mouths. Your cob (hopefully) will be neither and won't appreciate huge thumping kicks and yanks in the mouth.

Also, has she had stable management lessons and does she have any expert back up where you're keeping him? It is very easy to mess up a horse through ignorance and with the best will in the world, riding once a week at a riding school is very different to owning your own.

[dizzyhoneybee]

Thanks, I don't know what advice we're after to be honest. She's been riding for 8 years and has passed 5 of the BHS stable management tests (sorry, that looks like a stealth boast). He's kept on a livery yard and there are usually people around who will keep an eye on her, though I stay there when she rides so she is supervised.
The livery yard owner or her staff do the feeding and so on, DD grooms him and rides him and turns him out; she doesn't collect him from the field as other horses are in the field and the owner doesn't want her doing that because of the other horses in there.
He's 25, he's basically gone there to retire but can still be ridden, he's not suitable for the riding school as he sometimes decides to go for a canter and needs a rider who will recognise that and rein him in or deal with it, the livery yard owner thinks that DD can cope with that; she has taught her riding for the last year.

[Callisto]

Sounds like you've got everything covered. Have fun with him and don't sweat the small stuff. Oh, and make sure your loan agreement is watertight.

[dizzyhoneybee]

We haven't got a loan agreement! Basically we pay £40 a week and DD can go and see him as often as she likes and ride him 3 or 4 times a week. He isn't shoed so if she wants to go on a lot of hacks we need to pay to have him shoed but in the school he's OK not shoed.
He's owned by the owner of a livery yard.

[Callisto]

Ok, so it's not a full loan really. Still, I would get something down in writing - I have heard so many horror stories about loans gone bad from both sides. Perhaps start another thread asking for advice on this point? There is a brilliant loan template on the BHS website that I used when DD's lead rein went out on loan, and I'll use it again. It covers everything, but can be radically amended to suit.

And to me £40 a week to ride in the school a few times seems quite a lot on money. But then I am completely out of touch with this side of things and generally get paid to ride, and if I want someone to exercise/school one of DD's ponies I would pay them.

[Callisto]

Sorry, that probably sounded overly negative and if it suits you then it is worth it. But please do think about getting something down in writing.

[Mirage]

I would definitely get something in writing.Are the days your dd rides him set days? What happens if she wants to take him to a show or an event and someone else has him that day? Who is responsible for vet fees if he gets injured, or your dd is hurt whilst riding him? Are there any activities he isn't allowed to take part in? We've used the BHS template for both our loan ponies and found it worked well,as both parties knew exactly where they stood and who was responsible for what.

[dizzyhoneybee]

Nobody else loans him, it's only DD that rides him. She doesn't plan to take him to a show/event because she doesn't like that (but she could if she wanted to, nobody else would have him that day)
I thought £40 was OK because it's £20 for a half an hour lesson whereas for £40 she can ride 3/4 times a week. I don't know if it's expensive or not to be honest.
I'll talk to the owner about an agreement. Thanks.

[Callisto]

Sorry Dizzy, we are a bit doom and gloom. I'm sure your YO is lovely and genuine. And never say never about shows and stuff. It only takes one small competition...

[ChildrensOutdoorfun]

Don't take on a welsh cob

[dizzyhoneybee]

Thanks Callisto. Childrens, why not take on a welsh cob? She has ridden several of them over the last few years and the YO picked him for DD as she knows her riding style and ability.

As for shows, we'll see but I think it's unlikely as she doesn't enjoy competition in any of the sports she does - either doing or going. We haven't got the means of getting him there anyway, my car can't tow anything.

[Callisto]

Childrens -you might like to qualify that comment.

Dizzy - I predict your next car will have a tow hitch.

[Floralnomad]

It sounds like quite a good arrangement to me as a starting point although I would get something in writing about your agreement . At least this way your daughter is getting lots of experience ( riding and care) without the responsibility of having to source feed / hay / bedding etc. you can move on to that later . £40 sounds like a reasonable deal for lots of riding and no responsibility!

[dizzyhoneybee]

Haha, good prediction but sadly not - we're having my Mum's car when she buys a new one and that has no tow hitch either.

We just got back from the stables, the owner got one of her staff to take DD on a hack across the fields :)