A pony for Christmas?

[monica1979]

That's every little girl's dream, right? I was no different, except I understood pretty soon that dream would never come true. When I was a little kid even taking riding lessons was something for "rich kids

Comments

[fbi_woman]

I don't really know what the horse industry is like there, but here, there are more people who aren't what they seem than legit, honest businessmen/women, so I think my concerns about the situation are a bit different than everyone else's.

Do you know anything about the horse's medical history? Does he require any maintenance? You don't want to get stuck with a bunch of vet bills because something wasn't disclosed - I'm currently in that boat right now. Fell in love with a horse, thought the trainer selling was reputable, got the horse home and discovered she had a lot of issues we weren't expecting. 2 years later we still don't know what's wrong with her, and we've poured a ton of money into trying to find out and fix it.

Would the BO be willing to sign a bill of sale? Or is he thinking more that you'll be free leasing it from him? If the horse does legally become yours, would the person interested in sharing costs be willing to sign a half-lease or part-board agreement? You always want to have the terms down on paper so no one can pull any crap later. Have seen that happen a lot too.

Are you going to have to buy your own tack for him, are you still going to be allowed to use the tack he has now, or do you already have your own tack? Right now I'm getting a really good deal on leasing a horse, but said horse goes in completely different tack than I have now, so even though I'm getting a discounted lease fee, I'm investing another thousand dollars in new tack, blankets, etc.

Just a few additional things to think about. I'm the queen of budgeting too tightly or jumping the gun because I'm excited and then realizing later that there's a bunch of costs and potential problems I forgot to consider.

I don't want to be a downer, because I do think it could be a really great opportunity, but in North America it's smartest not to trust that horse professionals have your best interest at heart and to double check that everything is on the level, so that's the mentality I come from. I do know a handful of honest trainers, one of which had one of my old ponies semi-retired at her barn and gave him to a little girl for free under the condition that she be his forever home, so I do believe stuff like this can be on the level. I would just do some thorough homework to make sure it's the right scenario.

*hugs* good luck!

[monica1979]

I know that a free horse sounds fishy and I might feel the same way had I not been riding at this barn for the last 3 years. I actually found out about it through my brother, who's been a friend of the BM for years. He's also friends with a girl who boards her horse there and half-leases him for lessons. That horse has some serious attitude problems, but that's another story.

Regarding the horse's medical history, the BO was upfront about it from the beginning. He told me that this horse has had a knee injury in the past and I knew he'd been on stall rest a few months last year due to a case of splints, but he's made a full recovery.

I don't have my own tack yet, I intend to buy it but in the meantime I can use the tack he has now now. He is going to need a new bridle soon, cos his throat latch is falling apart.

This is going to pretty much work as a free lease, but me and th other leasee will be making all the decisions while we pay the bills. If at any point we become unable to financially care for this horse, the BO will take him back. But I still haven't met the other leasee and we still have sorted all the legal aspects of this.I'm alo thinking of getting th horse insured, since he is still pretty young (he's 7 now), but I'll have to discuss the matter with the co-owner.