With everything going on in today’s world it has me thinking…
I’m single and don’t have a horse knowledgeable extended family. If something were to happen to me I want to make sure my horses will be taken care of, I need to have a plan in place. What are my options? What have others in my situation done to plan for a worst case scenario? I realize I need a Will, but what arrangement options can/should I state in the Will?
Are there rescues that you can make arrangements with?
I have talked about it with my DH before. He’s very non-horsey but would be able to feed them for a while and keep them alive. 
I think the important thing is to have a plan told to someone who will help carry it out. He knows my guy from New Vocations will go back to them. Could sell him and make some money but knowing he’ll land someplace nice and my husband won’t have to worry about selling is better for us.
Other guy we’d contact his previous owner and she’d help him sell/place him in a good home.
This is if I die sooner. If they’re old and retired he’ll care for them at our property closely working with the vet and farrier. He knows how to feed and recognize whether there are major issues. May not be the best but finding homes for old retired horses is hard. We’ve got plenty of pasture and a barn they could live comfortably.
My friends and I have a half serious half running joke about this. We always say if one of us dies the others assume custody of the animals. We laugh and tell each other not to engage in any high risk activities so we don’t get stuck with any more animals. I know we’re kidding but I also know that my friends would either take my horse or guide my family to finding a good home for her.
It’s kind of morbid to think about but this is really why I strongly believe you should teach your horses to be as worldly as possible so they could make it without you and not end up on the slaughter truck if they had to. My mare could go do dressage work, she could do the hunter/jumpers, she could be a 4H pony, or she could be a trail pony, or a broodmare, or a pasture ornament. Every time someone goes on about how their horse is so difficult that only they can ride it, I just think how bad that could be.
I’m lucky in that my mom is a horse person, if anything happened to me she would take my gelding. And if anything happened to her I would take her gelding. We co-own a 3yo mare as well.
Once my mom is no longer capable of being my safety net, than I’ll have to put more thought into it. My SO isn’t horsey. Life insurance would pay off the mortgage so SO is ok financially. Which means that I can allocate a lump of money to the care of the horses, assuming they’re all older by then they would just stay at the farm that they’re boarded at and there would be money for board, vet, and farrier. I trust the staff at the barn to make decisions regarding care.
The breeder of the mare would likely take her back or find her a home as another option.
our animals’ care is provided for jointly and separately in our wills… basically whichever child gets the house get the animals. Funding is set aside to provide for their care. I am pretty sure they are going to out live me as we have one pony that is now about 43 years old with no signs of crossing any bridge even though he once was a trail pony
You can come up with any arrangements you like, you just have to find people that are willing to ensure they’re carried out.
You can designate a friend, or trainer, to take over ownership of the horse(s).
You can specify that they’re taking the horse to keep, or taking temporary ownership in order to sell.
You can set aside a dollar amount for your estate to care for the horse(s) for a certain period of time, perhaps while friend or trainer tries to sell them.
You can mandate they be euthanized.
You can contact previous owner(s) to see if they’d want to get the horse back.
You can contact rescues local to you, I’m not sure how common such an arrangement is, though. Never hurts to ask.
You can pick a boarding facility for them to live at indefinitely, and set aside a sum of money to pay for their care until their final days. I believe there’s a retirement facility in Virginia, maybe NC?, that takes retirees with an up-front lump sum payment.
I outlived my horses already and do not plan on getting any more. But I did have a plan for them while they were still alive. None of them was worth much monetarily due to age. My sister-in-law, who had owned horses, was the person designated to deal with them when my daughter was too young. When my daughter became an adult, I only had her pony left. My daughter’s finances would in no way support even one horse, so my recommendation to her was to euthanize the pony if something happened to both her dad and me. The pony at this point was in his 30s. He died two years ago, so DD is off the hook for dealing with him.
Rebecca
Yes, a will is recommended. mmeqcenter offer many good suggestions.
Your horse(s) are property and if you don’t have a will that says what should happen to them, they may be liquidated as part of your estate. Just asking a friend to care for your horse may not be enough. I also put in my will an annual ‘stipend’ amount to go toward horse care as long as my designated caregiver was alive and the horses were alive rather than giving the caregiver a lump sum to use as they wish.
I have a trust set up for mine, and have 2 knowledgeable friends who are listed as 1st and 2nd to manage their care/ board should I still own a horse(s). The trust would cover boarding/vet expenses so no costs incurred by my friends. If I get a 2nd horse - depending on the age, will set up something the barn owner or manager will take over ownership so they could keep or sell as they choose. if horse is a senior the trust account would pay for his board and vet care.
As far as the state is concerned, horses are property. Often valuable property! You really need two things in place:
one, who is going to care for the horses if you are incapacitated or dead, is there money in an account that that person can access for care of the horses? That needs to be in writing, so that they have the legal ability to authorize vet care (including euthanasia) prior to the estate being settled. This is important if the horse is insured! It may take some time before the will and estate are settled, in the interim the horses are in legal limbo, unless someone is authorized. It usually isn’t an issue if the person is married with a horsey spouse, but otherwise it can be.
second: your will needs to clearly state what happens to the horses. And that needs to have been covered with the relative parties ahead of time, surprises in wills are only fun in the movies.
be sure to microchip the horses as there have been some cases where the “animal” in care of the trust has lived an exceeding long time, like three or four times the normal life expectancy
As for Horses being an asset of an estate… that would depend upon their use and what state you are in. Here is Texas a horse is a pet, just like a dog, unless it is used income production
Count me among the Needs a Will group :rolleyes:
My only family is a brother who is 1K+ miles away & would not want a horse in his life.
But I have thought things out and:
*my now-6yo mini - along with his carts & harness - will go to the granddaughter of a Driving Club friend who has loved on him since he was 2.
She is a knowledgeable Rider/Driver herself & Grandma has her own farm.
*now-20yo Hackney Pony will probably be euthed - he was broke to drive many years ago (before I got him) crashed & was deemed unsuitable to re-harness.
Though I can ground-drive him, I would not chance him landing somewhere not safe.
My vet might be able to place him, but if not, it would be kinder to put him down.
*18yo - guesstimated age - TWH was given to me with the proviso that old owner would take him back. But she & DH are nearing their 80s & her health is not good.
Right now, unless I could find new home through my vet, he would get PTS as well.
It does of course vary by state…but I for one have no desire to tangle with the IRS or irritated relatives over whether the horse is an asset or a pet. Horses and whether or not they produce ‘income’ is a notoriously murky question. Treating them up front as if someone is going to claim they are an asset (even if any sane person knows they aren’t) gives them a measure of protection.
My best horsey friend/trainer is the beneficiary of one of my insurance policies that should care for the horse for the rest of its life. She knows and my family knows that immediately upon news of my death, she is coming to pick up the critters.
Good you are planning ahead. One thought however, you sure you want to ‘give’ your best horse friend/trainer a large sum of money and hope they will spend it on your horse? What’s to keep them from selling or giving your horse away and spending the money on themselves or their own horses? What happens if there is money left after your horse is no longer alive? If you are okay with all these cases happening (and just saying they won’t doesn’t mean they won’t) then you are all set.
I put in my will how much my caregiver could get every year for each horse until the horse is no longer left alive. My trustee, who was not a horse person, at least would be able to limit how much was spent vs “giving” my horse caregiver a large sum and hope it was enough or that it would be spent on my horses during the course of their lives.
After I go, my mare goes back to her horse-mom/breeder/trainer. After my wife goes, the plan is to cremate her along with her crazy a** chesnut mare which no one would want. At least it will give my wife something to ride when she gets over the bridge.
I fully discussed this with my estate attorney when we drew up my will etc. Thanks, as you said things can vary from state to state which is why it’s best to use an estate planning attorney rather than something downloaded from one of the estate/will planning websites ( a friend did that) Some folks might want to see if their employer offers legal services benefits - you might have to sign up for it, but it’s not a bad idea to have for estate planning.
I didn’t go into it for brevity’s sake, but, yes, I’m sure. She’s actually my best friend. We have known each other a long time, and I’m closer to her than my own sibling. I trust her to make good decisions, and I’m happy for her to have any money left over. I won’t be using it.
My husband and I still need to make an official will, but unofficially I have agreements in place with a couple of horsey friends that one of them would assume ownership and receive funds to help pay for their upkeep. My horse is 19, and while still in great shape without physical restrictions, I would not want him sold or rehomed. He would be euth’d if there came a point my friends could not care for him longer. The mini donkey could also go back to her breeder as another option. DH and I have discussed this at length and are on the same page should one or both of us meet an untimely end.
A friend of mine recently passed away from cancer. She was a smart woman: she left the horse to another friend who is a very responsible horse owner, with board to be paid by the deceased’s husband for the horse’s lifetime AFAIK. Its all in writing, which is good because another barnmate assumed she could ride said horse and so on… which is NOT OK.
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