Co ownership

[Tatonkas Dream]

I was wondering if any of you out there that co own a horse could provide some do’s and don’ts for someone considering this.

Any of your experiences good and bad.

How the overall process works, are all bills split in half etc. Who retains breeding rights or is swapping done?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance

 

[Genie]

I am not ignoring you, just have no idea, but would love to hear some responses.

 

[Katiean]

I co-own all of my horses with my neice. It works great. I pay the bills and she has all the fun. No, really, the reason they are co-owned is if something happens to one of us they are not left with someone trying to figure out how to sell them with papers. They are registered to me "OR" her. However, if I were to co-own with someone other than a family member they would have to be registered with "AND" rather then "OR" because that way one person has to have the other to sell or breed or do anything else with the horse.

 

[Tatonkas Dream]

Well Kathy your making me wonder about a whole nother ball of wax.

How many folks have there papers set up this way? I am a single person and my mom is listed as executor of estate.

God forbid I died is she going to have major issues selling my horses?

I realize as a non horsey person in another state she was going to need help in general but had not considered papers to be an issue she'd have to go thru.

I am looking at total non family member buying one of my horses and was considering co ownership rather than complete sale.

But Kathy's comment has me considering if I should be registering my horses differently - currently they are in just my name.... other thoughts from folks?

 

[Boinky]

Last i knew most registry's are under legal obligation to transfer papers to a willed person or to the executor of an estate (horses are part of an estate) Many will even work out paperwork if you were to aquire a registered horse that was seized by the state for abuse or neglect as long as you know the horses name/number and can prove the horse was confiscated. You'd have to of course show proof that you are now the legal heir of the estate. Your mother should theoretically not have a problem getting paperwork on the horses if she is the heir (given she know's all about calling the registry to get things changed ect). You also have another option rather than to sign over half the horse you can grant someone permission to be one of your "agents" who has the right to sign sales papers on a horse. the registry sent me a card that I signed my signature and had anyone i wanted as an agent sign it too (ie. my mother and a good friend).

I do not co-own any horses but i co-own several dogs. Co-owns are purely the agreement between buyer/seller. often times though the contract is more written by the seller and with the sellers best interests in mind. often times i've seen them set up so buyer must provide everything for the dog. They cannot breed the dog if it doesnt' have titles, they cannot do this or that or the other thing. Seller (co-owner) gets a huge cut in the "profits" with non of the work or any of the expense. I've seen some pretty aweful ones that i couldn't believe anyone in their right mind would sign! When i've sold my pups on co own i've tried to make ti very fair. I would only get say 1/3rd of the "profits" since my co-owners have to feed and care for the dog!! there is great expense and time in raising a litter of pups. I also will pay half of all hip/eye certifications. Basically it's all in what you both agree on and are willing to do!

 

[Katiean]

The biggest reason for my type of co-ownership is that none of the other people in the family even have a clue on the importance of the registration papers for the horses. No one has to sort through to try to figure it out. It is all taken care of.

As for the other kind of co-ownership, some people just go in on a horse together and split everything. I would never co-own where I as the buyer got the bills and was restricted by the seller. If I bought it, it is mine. If they want to retain some breeding rights as in stud fees for a lower price it still doesn't give them the right to say what you breed him to.

 

[Jill]

I think there'd be many different types of co-owner arrangements that would vary a lot depending on the people and the circumstances. I will say it's worked out like a dream come true for me, but then my "partner" is such a good horsewoman, considerate and honest to a fault When the horse we co-own, our stallion "Destiny", was showing, for me, it added so much more to it emotionally to have someone to share excitement over his wins with. It really added a lot and now this year, we are both expecting some much anticipated first foals by him -- and the first filly's already here

Probably a big key to making it work and keeping it working is communication and laying out what's important to you both from the start. I know over the years, the arrangement has evolved to accomodate our changing goals and concerns, but it's worked so well and it's also nice to have a stallion as part of your breeding program, but not have to "house" him year after year. It allows me to entertain the idea of expanding the stallion selection a little more knowing that we will alterate years on the outstanding boy we co-own. It would be the ultimate to find just the right "new boy" and co-own him on years that alternate with Destiny's years here

 

[LAZY J MINIS]

I CO-OWN A STALLION WITH A FRIEND AND WE SHARE. I HAVE ALSO CO-OWNED WITH MY TRAINER AND WE SPLIT,WE BOTH OWN WE BOTH SHARE. (SHE TRAINS AND I WATCH CAN'T BEAT THAT. HA!HA!) IT HAS WORKED OUT WELL FOR ALL.

 

[funnybunny]

Co-ownerships can be wonderful

or they can be horrible OH! .

We've experienced co-ownerships with dogs and with horses.

No matter how many contracts or agreements you have with the other party, the main ingredient is INTEGRITY AND HONESTY both on your part and the part of the co-owners.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I have never seen a co-ownership finish with the friendship intact.

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

I've been advised never to co-own a horse with a friend because they won't be a friend when it's over.

Having said that, I've done it anyway!

I currently co-own 4 horses with a friend. The registrations are Parmela AND Barbara so we are both required to sign everything. The horses happen to live on my property so she pays me 50% of what I charge to board a similar horse. All other costs are split 50/50. All of these horses are either show propects or breeding mares. We briefly co-owned a stallion and that got a lot trickier. We pretty quickly decided I'd buy her half out and we'd be done with that.

We split show fees for the one little colt we co-own. In the future he'll go to a trainer so we'll split that 50/50. All vet bills, farrier, etc we split. Granted I put more actual time into the horses since they live her but that's what the 50% board is for. It's worked out well because we both value the other's opinion. If one of us was really strong-willed and the other not so much, I could see it wouldn't be as easy as it is. However, I get some perks too. We co-own a Call Me Sir daughter that is in foal to a Buckeroo son. If her past foals are any indication, probably going to be a nice foal. I get to put my farm name on it even though we'll technically co-own the foal as well.

The most important thing is that the two of you talk, talk, talk. Discuss the possible scenarios and think of how you'd handle them BEFORE they actually come up.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

I have never seen a co-ownership finish with the friendship intact.

Jane and I have co-owned Field of Dreams for over ten years now. She does buy all the feed and owns the farm. I have a small trailer on it where I live. We split all vet bills. I feed and clean stalls, trim feet, help out fixing stuff, foal out the mares and watch the farm when she and her hubby go on vacation. I do have two of "my" horses and she has four of "her" horses and all the others are co-owned (about 20 or so). We do have favorites amongst "our" horses but they are rarely the same!

When any horse is sold, any outstanding"horsey" bills are paid with the funds and leftover is split. We just traded a horse for a used Jerald showcart that needs restoring (needs new patent) and Jane purchased the new repair stuff. Shortly after we sold a colt and his money went to Jane to pay the bill. Works pretty well for us! But we had been friends a long time before we got into Minis.

Lucy

 

[Boinky]

I think the trick to co-ownership is to have a FAIR agreement and an understanding from the beginning of what is expected by each party. I have have had no problems with any of the dogs i've co-owned so far but i feel my contract is also very fair compaired to most and i knew what the other party expected before hand while i was writing the contract. I think it can be done... just needs to be done right!

 

[Jill]

I have never seen a co-ownership finish with the friendship intact.

I consider my partner in Destiny a good friend. She's someone I care a lot about and appreciate very much. We've been in an arrangement since early 2005. I would trust her with absolutely anything that matters to me and without her as a co-owner of our horse, he wouldn't be nearly as accomplished as he has become (pretty up there in terms of what he's done).

 

[shorthorsemom]

I co-own one of my two minis. We are great friends becides. He lives at my home, I send her plenty of photos and share often, she visits as often as she can. Works well for us, but we also have very similar styles of training, handling, and I do respect and ask her opinion before I do anything different with him. I think that co-owning can be great under the right circumstances but I can see where it can become a battleground if personalities and styles differ. I wouldn't hesitate to co-own with her again, it really has been nice having someone with more mini experience than I do to bounce ideas off of and ask questions of. (Thanks Kim)