What to do if owner passes away, with horse?

Question

If lets says something happened to you or me, who do we leave our horse/s to? And if no one, then what? I'm thinking of a riding stable that helps handicapped children for my girl, but really what should be done and how do you do it. I've got no one that I could or would leave her too! Thanks for your thoughts, and ideas:)

Answer 1

Well, my sister is the administrator over my pets if something happens to me first.  She is charged with finding quality homes for the sound ones, keeping my DSLD gelding till he passes, or euthanizing them if times are such that either is impossible.

I also have this funded with a trust from my estate.

Remember, it's one thing to ask somebody to do something for you, and another entirely for a person to put their money where their mouth is.

Answer 2

When you put your will together with your lawyer, tell them that you want to leave your horse to a specific person/organization. And be sure to go back and make changes when you acquire other animals, too. That way, no one is left without a home.

Think carefully if that place would be the best place for your horse. One barn I worked at acquired horses through donation, but the horses were unhappy with their new lifestyle and weren't calm enough or suited towards being a therapy horse.

Your lawyer would know what to do. Don't just leave a piece of paper for someone to find that says you want the horse to go to so-and-so. The only document really accepted by the courts is a proper will.

EDIT:

And be sure to make arrangements for somebody to care for the horses until the will is sorted out. It takes a while to go through all the proper paperwork before the horse can be turned over to whomever you designate as the next owner.

If you have your own farm and take care of your own horse on your property, be sure to have someone visit every few days, just to make sure you're still alive. I know it sounds terrible, but if your horse is stuck in their stall for a week without food or water, they can go downhill quickly. If you board your horse somewhere, make sure the owner recognizes that you visit at least a few times a week (or whatever) and that if you don't show up for a certain period of time and haven't paid your  board, something may have happened to you. Let them have phone numbers, and give them a check for an extra month's board to be used in case something does happen, so the horse doesn't necessarily become property of the stables and won't get shuffled off somewhere else.

Answer 3

get in to 4-h and then your leader will help you myn does

Answer 4

You can put things like that in your will. You can say you want the horse to go to a handicapped organization. Or you can even call one up and say, that if you pass on before your horse does, that you would like to leave her in there care. That's what alot of people do.

And its not very weird that your friends dont want to own a horse. Most of my friends like them, but dont really like riding, or owning a horse. One of my friends even hates them. Animals dont really decide who you are friends with.

Answer 5

one of my friends is giving it to her best friend, who cant get a horse till after college.

mine is goin to my best friend

send it to a best friend that loves horses, or a friend that has a horse. or a family member that likes horses. or if your girl is handicapped, then sure send it to that stable

Answer 6

To answer one of your questions, if nothing is specified, all your possessions will be distributed to the next of kin.  First, your spouse.  If none, then your kids.  If none, then your parents.  If none, then siblings.  After that I guess they keep looking to find the person who is the most closely related to you.

If you make a will you can specify what is to be done with your horse.  You might want to have her evaluated by the handicapped riding people while you're still alive, to make sure she'd qualify for the program and they'd use her.  I've heard the horror stories of people donating horses to charities who then sell the horse at auction to get the money because they think the horse is not suitable for their program.

Answer 7

The best way would be to include your wishes in your will.  You could even take the same course of action as if you had a child under 21:  choose a guardian and an alternate guardian.  But instead of naming a specific facility to take them, you might instead want to consider leaving the horse(s) to a person you trust, like a sibling or child, and then let them know your wishes so that they can carry them out.  Rescues and centers might close or become less than reputable, but if they are named in your will at the time of your death, then that's that.

One more thing:  when you sign your will, ask to have an attorney present as one of the two witnesses.  An attorney doesn't HAVE to be present, but it's much better if they are one of the witnesses just in case your will is ever contested.  Wills that were witnessed by an attorney are rarely contested.

Needless to say, keep your will updated and always let your attorney know if you already have one on file somewhere.  They should check that out, anyway, but you'll need to sign a separate form giving your attorney permission to withdraw and destroy the old will, so you might as well sign that form at the same time you sign your updated will.

EDIT:  You might also want to designate a specific amount of money or part of your estate to the person you choose as the horse's guardian, and make the wording in the will clear that the funds are to be used for the horse's care only.  Discuss the situation and your wishes with the attorney that draws your will up - they will be able to include it for you.

Answer 8

If you don't leave specific instructions of where the horse is to go, it will become part of the estate and can be sold and the profits split between family members. You have a specific request, it needs to be in writing so it's honored.

Answer 9

Leave it to a friend or family member who likes horses. Or you can make arrangements with a trainer in the area to sell it for approx $xxxx and give ~75-80% of the sales price (less exepenses incurred during the selling period) to a family member to do whatever with. Just make sure to make arrangements for the horse's care during the process as well.

Answer 10

see ur lucky you have to to plan

the stable across from my stable the owner who owned about 35 horses passed away without leaving them to anyone =/

if you know that someone in your family would like to keep her then you should give her to them and let her be happy

but if not then i think a handicapped stable for childeren is perfect for her just make shure shes supper broke!!!!

i used to voulenteer there once and we would make the loudest noises and they would just stand there

Answer 11

Give it to family member or trusted person.

Answer 12

You brought up something that I haven't even thought about. I think the idea of donating to an equine therapy facility is awesome!  

Answer 13

If you have insurance on the horse there is a paper that has you put who the horse will go to if something would happend to you kinda like a will.

If there is no writing or something thats in a will the horse will be sold with the estate.

Answer 14

Most people will include pets in their will, but it is often good to ask friends and family members if they would be willing to sell the horse on your behalf or if they could keep it.

Sending it to a therapeutic riding centre is a really good idea if you think your horse would be good for it. I work at an RDA and horses for it are always in short supply, and good horses aren't cheap either. Being given a suitable horse would be a dream come true for most places, and you would know that your horse would be happy, healthy and be helping so many riders with disabilities.

The thing is, you always know that these disabled riding centres want horses. Friends and family may be unable to care for your horse and may have to sell it, so a disabled riding place really is a good idea. If you really are set on this idea, tell your family so that they can arrange for your horse to go to one if something bad did happen do you.