because we dont ride the horses in the summer months.....june to August.... we have decided to allow mine to go to an aquaintance for 3 months loan this summer for her daughter to PC on etc.. I have never done this before & am a bit worried about legalities & responsibilities etc. I wondered if anyone here had put a horse out on short term loan like this & could advise on what to do or not to do & paperwork etc?

Sam - there is a good example loan agreement on the BHS site - its pretty comprehensive and you can add points as you wish. I was considering loaning out my pony (until she got kicked and went down with laminitis so now she's staying here) and I took the agreement from there and edited it as chose.

Here's the link http://www.bhs.org.uk/Welfare_leaflets/Loan-Agreement.htm

I was very clear in the agreement about things like Shoeing (Maddie is barefoot and I didn't want her shoeing), usage, turnout etc etc

Make sure the prospective folk sign it and get it independently witnessed.

Also - don't know if you have a passport for the horse, but if you do you must retain it as proof of ownership.

Have read some horror stories, event between friends, so best do do it by the book.

definately put everything in writing and get it signed and dated by both parties. There is a woman in my area who has had at least ten horses on loan over the last few years and sold them all.........the police have only managed one prosecution, and then she got off with a fine......

Insist they have insurance if you haven't already. When I was about 19 I had a pony on loan and assumed the owners had it insured and they assumed I had. I then had to find a couple of hundred pounds vet fees when she got colitis and more again when she dislocated her off hind leg. :-( I wasn't working at the time so as you can imagine it was a bit of a nightmare!

All the horses I ever had were on loan, including my daughter's pony (who was subsequently given to us, and she is now out on loan to another person (the pony, not the daughter, although that would be preferable.  Much easier to look after one pony than an 18 year old!))

Make absolutely sure you have everything sewn up as you want it in a watertight contract.  The BHS one is great, as someone else has already suggested here.  With my daughter's pony, I check up on her from time to time - this is hard to do if distance as an issue, but I fairly frequently "drop in" and check all is OK. You hear so many horror stories over loans that you can't be too careful, but it is really common sense.