I left mine to my trainer. I know they’ll find him a good home. They are aware that’s how my will is written.
I’m glad you guys are giving this some thought. As an equine lawyer, I’d like to give you a few more things to consider:
Unless you have a spouse at home who can legally step in to care for them, you something more than just words in your will about where your horses go. Horses are considered property and if you die NO ONE has a right to your property - even temporarily - until the will enters probate and an executor in sworn in. That can take weeks or months. In the meantime, the local authorities could very well have your animals picked up by animal control, because they CANNOT let someone else take them without written authorization by you or your executor.
There is a way around this and that is having a written binding contract with someone who agrees to take and care for your animals until they can pass to the named beneficiary according to the terms of your will. That way, if something happens to you, they show the contract to the authorities and take the animals. Usually you’d also leave to that caretaker, via the written contract, a certain sum of money for their care each month - or a provision in the contract and the will that the executor will reimburse that caretaker from the proceeds of the estate. Commonly called a Pet Protection Agreement, I highly recommend that all pet/horse owners have one in place.
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Agree with Sonesta. In my case, IF Jr. lives on the farm now and plans to stay. He knows a great deal about horses thanks to having a horse crazy mother. So he will get whatever horses are there per our wills. And keeping them as field ornaments will not be a problem. But I am very lucky in that regard. What I am not doing is acquiring more horses and I am selling the youngsters that I breed. I am hoping that we end up with a bunch of golden oldies who eventually cross the rainbow bridge and are buried in our fields. Eventually I will join them as I want to be cremated and scattered to grow grass for horses.
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Good thread, good info, thanks. We are in the ‘need a will’ category too, and I think about this a lot. Used to be I had a friend I would happily gift my horse to if I died, but no more.
So now what? Absolutely nobody in my family is horsey, so that’s out. Any competent friends I have are older than I am. I have no idea at this point.
The poster that pointed out your horse should be well skilled is right, if it is going to change hands then being a useful sort is much easier than a difficult one.
The horse I have now is not a horse I could give to just anybody either.
Honestly I think the kindest thing for mine would be PTS.
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I have set up a trust with enough money to feed each of mine for a year while they are dispersed. I have very specific directions on how to place each one. I’ve put my son in charge of seeing it through when the time comes. If he is unable to do so then my daughter is listed as the next in line to see that my wishes are honored. I’ve been the in ‘that’ spot with friends horses in the past.
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My horses are all near 30 and extremely expensive to keep. I don’t expect anyone to take on the burden of caring for them. I have it set up so that the vet will come and euthanize them, they will be cremated and buried with me. I wouldn’t be comfortable with any other situation, since they’re horses that would likely have a bad ending otherwise.
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Just make sure that if you are willing your animals to someone, that the person is telling you exactly what they believe about animals.
I had dogs for many years, but no way my relatives would care for them, so a close friend was my beneficiary for everything, and with the proviso that she would care for them the way I did. About five years ago, we were talking on the phone, and she made a nasty remark about a family friend’s decision not to get more house pets as her animals passed on, because she was worried about their care when she dies. I thought I misunderstood what she said, and asked her what she thinks should happen to pets left behind by the owners death. She actually said that it was nothing to worry about, and she would simply turn them lose. Guess what paperwork I changed the next day? And I’ve since decided that I no longer could associate with someone is so heartless. So, my last dog was my last pet ever.
I have a will. Executor knows what I want. His guardian knows. He comes with a year paid of expenses. All in writing.
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I’ve been working on Pet Protection Contracts for my horse and my cats that include bank accounts with caretakers named as beneficiaries. In Maine horses are livestock, cats are pets. The attorney handling my mother’s estate has seen many problems, especially with horses, when people rely on word of mouth, trusts, and wills. A half dozen of us have said to the BO “if anything happens to me the horse is yours.” Her question is (half kiddingly) what I am supposed to do with 6 more horses. If somebody says yes, they will take care of my cats, it’s not a significant logistical challenge to go to my house, catch them (may take a while), put them in carriers and take them home. It could be their forever home. Horses? Entirely different can of worms. Anyone can say they would love to take your horse. You can tell them what your wishes are, but that person may not have the knowledge or money. They could ignore your wishes altogether. The horse could suffer from neglect or abandonment. If board is unpaid the current BO could place a lien. The horse could be seized, sold, given away, or euthanized. If no one has any legal obligations spelled out on paper anything could happen regardless of your wishes.
You can’t sent up a trust for your horse. He’s property. It has to be for a person. As Sonesta said, a will doesn’t do anything until it is probated and the Personal Representative is appointed. Powers of Attorney are invalid at your death. We couldn’t find mom’s will and had to file with the court for a Personal Rep. That took a couple of weeks. I’m setting up separate contracts for my horse and my cats. The contracts must be signed by both parties. Bank accounts for $10,000 for the horse and $3,000 for the cats remain in my control. The caretakers are the beneficiaries and gain control at the time of my death until the provisions of the will take effect.
The other thing is to make sure your wishes are on file with your vet. I’m planning to include instructions if I am incapacitated and unable to make decisions. It may not be realistic elsewhere, but my vet has instructions for my horse and is authorized to charge my credit card for certain services.
My estranged sister with Alzheimer’s is my only living relative. I’m 72 and I checked to be sure the math is correct. My “surrogate” granddaughter wants the house and the horse - he’s 26… At least two others have claimed dibs on the horse. I’ve been “adopted” by a family here. If everything isn’t in writing and signed, my wishes for my horse and my cats (and me!) aren’t protected.
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I haven spoken with my horse’s breeder about him being able to return to her if something were to happen and my family could not care for him anymore. I have also designated an amount of my life insurance policy to send with him for his care for 10+ years.
Get a life insurance policy and make a will. That’s what I did. Then I left horses with money to people I ASKED to make sure they are taken care of.
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This is such a fraught question. Yes, you can create a trust “for the benefit of a pet/horse/wildlife/whatever” as you cannot leave money directly to a non-human living being. Even if you have selected THE right person, and provided future funding, for the right person to take over where you cannot, it isn’t possible to predict what might have changed for that person at the time of your passing; they may end up simply unable due to life circumstances to take over. Example, here, I’m a retired estate planning paralegal with decades in the business. We had prepared a pet trust for an elderly client. A well-funded pet trust. The appointed caregiver for this lovely little cocker spaniel was loving, capable, and willing. Two days after the client passed and we were finally able to reach the caregiver’s family we learned the appointed caregiver had become a traffic statistic and no family was interested in helping this little dog. For household pets there seem to be more organizations stepping up to the plate to assist with caring for and possibly rehoming the dog/cat/bird/ferrett or other beloved pet during lengthy hospitalizations, hospice, or passing. Not so much, however, where the beloved four-legged family member is a horse (or alpaca, llama, pot-bellied pig, etc.). To my way of thinking based on what I’ve noted over the years, having an appointee, a backup appointee, and appropriate funding in place and all the legal documentation signed, witnessed and notarized, under whatever laws exist in your state, is the best one can do.
Because most if not all veterinarians will NOT honor a last request to euthanize a perfectly health animal.
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This is such a fraught question. Yes, you can create a trust “for the benefit of a pet/horse/wildlife/whatever” as you cannot leave money directly to a non-human living being.
yeah if the money was left directly to the horses they would not spend it wisely
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My will states my two horses go to a good friend along with a chunk of money to take care of the 1000+ lb dependents. Her will states the same with her horses and money to me. We’ve been frank with each other that some of our horses are likely pasture pets as they’re not young and we will euthanize when necessary. My will states mine aren’t to be sold but of course I won’t be around to prevent it; her will states I may sell anything I wish. We have the same views on horsekeeping and trust each other.
Both of our partners are not horsey and are more than happy to leave the details to us.
So as long as we don’t die in the same accident … the advice to have a backup plan is sound and we need to get that set up. Good reminders to take the time to make sure our four-legged friends are safe and will have a good landing if something happens to us. They deserve it.
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Sadly, a timely post. A boarder horse will likely outlive his owner within the year. He’s early 30s himself so of course anything could happen at any time but he is generally in good health. His owner expects not to be able to work full time soon and will not be able to afford his board :no: We will keep him going regardless of her financial situation, but as of now she does not seem to have a plan for him after she passes. He has special dietary needs and does not get along with other horses, so he’s not a great candidate for rehoming. It’s a very sad situation. Please come up with a plan so your barn owner doesn’t need to 
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I’m meeting with a lawyer to draw up a will later this week and have been researching options for my 20 year old horse. He is in good health now, but I don’t want him to be sold or rehomed due to the number of older horses I have seen suffer neglect or end up in the auction yard. Has anyone set up a contract with a retirement facility so that the horse can go there upon your death along with a lump sum fee covering their care for their remaining years? I would prefer to have a business contract such as that than a trust situation that is an enormous amount of work for the person left in charge of the trust.
I opted to leave my horses with trusted friends along with enough money to care for the horse until they pass or are out down. I did this so the decision would be made by someone who had mine and my horses best interest art heart.
I’ve left my horses to my trainer, together with a lump sum to cover their upkeep.
Set up a Pet Protection contract which I wrote about above. It covers the gap between your death and when the will comes into play. That’s when big problems can crop up. You put everything in the hands of someone you choose using a formal agreement you both sign. Set up a bank account that you control until you die, when it transfers immediately. Your bank should help with that. Your attorney should be able give you some assistance, including linking the care contract to the will. That way you could leave the horse to that person or someone else. I’ve done some research including having my guy cremated if he cannot be buried on the farm. They don’t need any notice ahead of time. I just have to make sure the details and enough money are covered. A trust is a legal entity set up to manage assets for people not horses or dogs. That’s why a contract is preferable. You can specify your wishes and leave enough money to do it. The retirement farm should be able to say yes or no about setting up an agreement. I also will include language that leaves any excess to the refuge barn.
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