Providing for your horse when you cannot

Introduction

Although we may love our horses dearly whilst we are alive, it appears that there are still a substantial number of us who are not giving a great deal of thought as to what will happen to them after we die. Although research shows that over 1.5 million people have apparently provided for animals and pets in their Will, this still means that as many 1 in 10 have not made any formal provision. With over 1.3 million horses in the UK, that equates to a substantial problem and one that continues to grow as ownership increases.

The law regards a horse as property so there is no reason why horse owners cannot make provision for them in their will - ensuring not only that their wishes are carried out in so far as who inherits a horse but also that the horse is properly looked after following your death. It seems that the main problem is a general reluctance by us all to face the fact that we will inevitably one day die and that when that happens someone else is going to have to deal with our property and possessions, including horses, afterwards.

However, it is not just on death that we need to give thought to how our horse is looked after. We may be injured and unable to attend to its needs or become physically or mentally incapable of doing so. Therefore, we need also to give thought as to who will take over in these circumstances.

Planning ahead

The first, and possibly most important step, is to plan ahead and think through what you would like to happen to your horse should you die before it.

Whatever long term option you choose - and we have listed some of these below - you will need to think about the very short-term (i.e. the days immediately following your death) and the medium term (i.e. the period up to when a permanent solution is found). We have looked at this in a little more detail below, but in essence there are six main things for you to do:

Make sure that there is someone who can, if necessary, step into the breach and look after your horse in the days immediately following your death;
If it is not a close family member, make sure that someone in your family knows who will be looking your horse in those first few days;
Make sure that you keep accurate records of your vet, farrier, stables etc so that whoever is looking after your horse can make sure that they do it properly;
If necessary, put aside a sum of money ready to give to the carer which is likely to be sufficient to pay for your horses immediate needs;
Carry a card stating that you are a horse owner and who to contact in the event that you are injured or killed - remember you may be in hospital and unable to alert others to the fact that you have a horse that needs caring for;
Appoint an attorney under a Lasting Power of Attorney who either knows what to do or knows who knows what to do.

Leaving your horse in your Will

It is possible that you know of someone who would love to inherit your horse - for example a niece, a friend or relative or even someone at the stables where you keep your horse. If that is the case then a specific gift in your Will should be sufficient to pass ownership. So long as you make sure that your executors know where your horse's passport is kept then transferring legal rights will not be a problem. There are, however, a number of issues you may wish to plan for even in this simple scenario:

What is to happen to the horse pending its transfer to the new owner? In other words, who is going to make sure that it continues to be looked after and fed if you are unable to do so?

If your horse is liveried at a stables run by someone else then you may be able to make arrangements with them to continue to look after it until ownership passes. However, remember that the majority of livery stables are businesses and they will need to be sure that their costs are going to be covered at some point. You need therefore to make sure that your executors will pay any livery charges as soon as possible after taking over the running of your estate.

If your horse is not kept at a stables but is kept at home then, unless there is someone else in your family who is willing and able to look after it, you will need to make arrangements with a neighbour or local horse owner to look after the horse pending it's transfer to a new owner.
Is the person to whom you are planning to leave the horse sufficiently knowledgeable about horses that they can take over where you have, rather suddenly, left off? If not, you may need to make some interim arrangements until such time as they can gain the necessary knowledge and may need to ensure that money is set aside to effect this.
Is the person to whom you are leaving the horse able financially to look after it? It is all very well inheriting a horse but finding the money to keep it can be another matter altogether.

With DIY stabled livery costing £30 to £50 per week and full livery costing anything between £100 to £150 per week, the costs of keeping a horse can be very high - more than many average families can afford. You should, therefore, check with the intended recipient (or their parents where appropriate) that your horse will be seen as a gift and not a burden or perhaps think about leaving a sum of money to the person inheriting the horse to help defray the costs of its upkeep.
Is the person able to take responsibility for the horse immediately or is there likely to be a gap while they acquire a paddock, sort out stabling or make family/job arrangements? Bear in mind that looking after a horse can be a substantial part of anyone's life and if the proposed recipient has job or family commitments that are incompatible then they may need the time to adjust. If so, then you may need to set money aside for the horse to be stabled on full livery pending the handover.

Bear in mind also that you may own the horse jointly with someone else rather than owning it outright. If this is the case then ideally you need to take steps to make sure that the other joint owner(s) is/are happy with your proposed arrangements and that, if you were the one who physically looked after the horse, that they are aware that costs may need to be incurred in the event that anything happens to you.

Making arrangements for your horse to be sold

If there is no one whom you can think of that would be able to inherit your horse, then you need to make sure that your executors are able to put in place arrangements for it to be sold. You will almost certainly want to feel that were anything to happen to you then at least your horse will end up in a good home.

There are two ways in which you can achieve this.

The first, and possibly safest way is to make sure that you appoint at least one executor who knows about horses, cares about their welfare and who will be willing to take on what might prove to be an onerous task. Bear in mind that selling a horse, especially one that is perhaps, for want of a better phrase, less than perfect (but probably no less loved by you despite that) can take some time.
The second, and perhaps slightly more uncertain way, is to leave clear instructions to your executors as to what to do in order to sell your horse and what to look for in a good home. Clearly you cannot be sure that in the event they will take any account of your instructions - but at least you will have tried.

Make sure that they know what to do to sell the horse, how to describe, where to advertise it and how much they should be looking to get for it. Provide some guidance on whether to sell the horse direct or through an agent. Provide them with a description of the horse (they may not be able to describe it other than as a brown thing with a leg at each corner) including its markings, cuts, injuries, or scars, its habits, strengths (likes children), weaknesses (perish the thought), what it's been trained in/by, whether it has been bred/foaled, if it has won anything and so forth. Finally, give them some pointers on what to look for in a new owner.

As with leaving your horse to someone else, you will need to make sure that you have made provision for the care of the horse pending it's sale, that your executors know where its passport is kept, and that money is set aside for the upkeep of the horse pending its sale. This latter is especially important if the residuary beneficiaries in your will are not "horse people" and who might easily see every penny spent on the horse as a waste of the money they would otherwise have got. One way to get around this is for you to set aside a specific sum for the upkeep of your horse with whatever is left going to a charity such as the British Horse Society or alternatively to take out an insurance policy and to specify that the proceeds of that policy are to be used for the upkeep of your horse and any balance to go to a named charity.

Providing for your horse to be cared for

Not all horses are necessarily able either to be inherited by, or sold to, someone wanting to use them. They may simply be too old, too infirm or possibly just too cantankerous!

If this is the case then you may need to consider making provision in your Will for the horse to be looked after by one of the many trusts that are available. From Redwings Horse Sanctuary to the Horse Trust, there are a number of organisations whose role is to take in and care for horses that would otherwise be abandoned.

However, these organisations are expensive to run and often asking that they take on your horse after your death is a burden they can ill-afford to bear.

For this reason, if it is your intention to ask that your horse be looked after by a trust then you need really to think about making a donation to the trust which is at least sufficient to cover the costs of looking after your horse - if not more.

Many of the trusts are registered charities and so you can make gifts to them which are free of inheritance tax (and which, incidentally, reduce the value of that part of your estate which is subject to inheritance tax).

Even if you are planning to leave your horse in your Will or sell your horse, a legacy to one of the organisations providing care for horses that cannot be looked after in any other way would be a caring thought and one that would help alleviate the suffering that may be experienced by horses less fortunate than yours.

Powers of Attorney

A power of attorney is a document which gives another person the right to undertake tasks on your behalf, in your name and with the same authority as if you had undertaken them yourself. Whilst many are used by those who are unable to deal with their own affairs, for example because they are out of the country, others called Lasting Powers of Attorney, are there to deal with the situation where, due physical or mental problems, you cease to be able to look after your own affairs.

If you own a horse, and you cease to be able to cope with it yourself, then you need to know that someone who is able and competent can look after it for you until a more permanent solution such as sale can take place.

The ideal situation would be to appoint as your attorney someone able to look after both your affairs and your horse. Sadly this may not be possible. You should, therefore, ensure that you make arrangements for your horse to be cared for and that your attorney is aware of those arrangements. They could include having your horse looked after under full livery by a local stable, putting it with a neighbour or friend who also has a horse or making arrangements for someone to come to your property and take care of your horse pending sale.

Whichever option you choose is going to cost money - whether it be livery costs, feed costs, vets bills or the cost of farriers. You must, therefore, make it clear in some way to your attorney the kind of level of costs that might reasonable be incurred. Because you may not be able to pass on this information in person, you may therefore wish either to speak with your attorney about the matter or leave some form of written instructions.

Conclusion

While ever you are alive and well you can look after and make provisions for your horse yourself. It is when you cease to be that the problems start.

If you own a horse and you have either not made a Will, not made provision in your Will to deal with your horse or have not put in place provisions that will cover you being unable to look after your horse then, not only is your horse at risk but also your family and loved ones might have more of a problem than they would have liked on your death.

The best way forward, therefore, is to contact a specialist firm of solicitors who can provide you with the appropriate advice and ensure that your horse gets the best care - come what may.

This article first appeared in the January/February 2012 edition of the British Horse Society magazine British Horse.