Leaving your horse to Charity

[tamzin]

Never understood how this works. Can someone enlighten me? After reading the who supports the WHW thread I see a lot of people leaving horses to charities in their wills.

So a few questions to get started:-

Surely you would leave them in the hands of someone that knows them and that they trust to rehome or are you worried that there will nobody capable of doing this?

Do the charities sell them for you?

How do they make their money to look after your animals?

Do you have to give a large donation?

Are you means tested i.e. if you have a lot of money in your estate do they take expect a large donation? Or dont you have to pay anything?

[2 bays & a grey:D]

I am glad this post has been started as I was thinking of starting one myself.

To leave your horse to charity they require you to become a member, they also ask that you leave a 'donation' in your will, however, they can't enforce this as not everyone would be in a position to leave anything. I decided to leave mine to charity as I didn't feel I knew anyone who could ensure my horses went to the right home as no-one is horsey in my family. They don't sell the horses but foster them out, however, if they don't feel they could re-home your horse they would PTS.

I am re-evaluating my desicion though. I don't think you could ever trust anyone to take care of your horse the way you do as you know the animal better than anyone. I am not the most qualified of horse people or the best rider but I know i will never sell my horses and I always try and do the best by them, yes I make mistakes but I think (as a lot of people on this DG) try and work through the problems you have with them rather than pass them on, that would always worry me- them being passed on, and on, and on. When I am no longer here it would not be a concern of mine obviously, but if I can lessen my concern by setting things in place in the event of my death then that makes me feel better.

However, when you read stories and hear things about a charity you are entrusting your beloveds to you start to question would it be the best thing. . Anyway, I am intending to be around longer than my horses ;D

[tamzin]

Thank you nantesse just never understood how this works as I guess I have never looked into it. It is quite a good idea then, as you say if you can find the right organisation.

[marianne]

Jan 6, 2010 10:15:59 GMT 1 tamzin said:

Surely you would leave them in the hands of someone that knows them and that they trust to rehome or are you worried that there will nobody capable of doing this?

If you leave them in the hands of someone who knows them, just make sure you've made sufficient financial provision to enable them to do so!

I plan on leaving my dogs/horses to a charity should something happen to me sooner rather than later, but I'm also leaving them a 200k house to help pay for it This is primarily due to French inheritance law though, because it's harder to leave money to an individual "for the care of the animals" without tax penalties - and a charity falls outside this category.

[sandy]

I have left my horse to WHW in my will as I have noone even slightly horsey in my family. I have left a donation in my will. I didnt think that the horse would be pts if it cant be re homed, I 'll have to check that out. However with recent threads on here regarding the WHW I might have to re think. Hoping to get a horsey Grandchild in the future and then I can leave my horse to him or her!

[jill]

I have mine gifted to WHW in my will - I have no-one who understands them and their needs. Please don't let a slight amount of adverse publicity put you off - go and visit one of their sanctuaries and take a look at how they care for the horses. I feel a large charity like that is more likely to still be around when they are needed, and have the resources and expertise to take proper care.
If you have a problem with some of the politics, join and lobby for changes, please please don't turn your back on them, they do do a huge amount of good.
Of course, if you are in a Blue Cross or Redwings area you may prefer them, my only alternative is small hand to mouth sanctuaries, some of which are little more than thinly disguised dealers.

[megant]

I used to work at HorseWorld an equine charity in Bristol and we often had people sign their horse's over in their wills. I don't think a donation in the will is compulsory but of course it is what they hope for. Often what happens is the horse dies long before the owner but they still remember the charity in their will - a good reason for the charities to run this scheme! In my workplace a horse would not be put down if it couldn't be rehomed - worth checking the charities destruction policies and checking if you will be informed if policies change (whilst you're alive of course!!). We were always happy for owners to come and visit to see the yard, horse's and understand what would happen to their horse.

With regards to having someone else care for your horse I think some people use a charity as a back up e.g. I leave my horse to X but in the eventuality of them being unable to care for them it goes to Y.

[portiabuzz]

i hope they dont pts if cannot rehome...! Having visited both Redwings and WHW i was very impressed with the standard of care, and all the horses were happy & healthy....obviously this is only from a vistors viewpoint though....if there is no one else capable of caring for them i wouldnt see any problem with leaving a horse to them

[jaxnbreeze]

Megant - have pm'd you - Jacquie.

[ihavefailedahorse]

Jan 6, 2010 20:51:53 GMT 1 portiabuzz said:

i hope they dont pts if cannot rehome...! Having visited both Redwings and WHW i was very impressed with the standard of care, and all the horses were happy & healthy....obviously this is only from a vistors viewpoint though....if there is no one else capable of caring for them i wouldnt see any problem with leaving a horse to them

Redwings do pts. I know of one horse who was very defensive and was put to sleep when the handler at Redwings left the job, as no one else would deal with this horse (like my case). This may have been a one off, but they do pts if they feel they need to

[jennyb]

As above, WHW regularly pts if they cannot rehome. As I said on the other thread, you need to be aware of the charity's policy so that you can make an informed choice. If your horse could not be rehomed, it's best to make arrangements to pts at home after your death, than have them go on a journey to WHW and then be pts...