Options For Your Old Friend: How to Donate a Horse to an Equestrian College or Therapy Program

Donating a Horse to Equestrian Colleges, Universities and Therapy Programs

By: Jill Paxton, Director of Equestrian Studies and Equine Management for The University of Findlay, Findlay Ohio

Your horse has served you well. You were able to show, trail ride, meet new friends, and see parts of the country from a perspective others only talk about. Together you built a lifetime of memories. Now, for multiple reasons, the time has come to part with your old friend. What are your options?

You would love to sell him to a new owner who would value him as you did, but the market is down, the miles he traveled on your behalf have left him older, or he is in need of a some maintenance. What are your choices? Is there someone who will buy him for less than what you have in him? Are you ready to advertise online? Will you be forced to take him to a sale? If you aren’t ready to lose your investment and lose track of your old friend, think about donating him to a college, university, or therapy program.

Pros and Cons

In an equestrian or therapy program, your horse becomes a living textbook, educating the next generation. New riders will care for your horse and have an opportunity to benefit from the time and training you’ve already put in. What are the advantages and disadvantages of donating your horse to an equestrian or therapy program?

When you sell a horse, you sell him for his current market value. When you donate a horse, you do so for the value you have in him. That means you can write off his purchase price, plus the education you provided. This would include: training fees, showing bills, and clinics that increased his knowledge, ability, and worth. You cannot write off his daily care, such as feed, shoeing, vet work, and stalls at horse shows.

The greatest disadvantage to donating a horse to a university or therapy program is that once he has been donated, you cannot ask for him to be returned to you when the program is ready to permanently re-home him, unless you re-purchase him.

Start the Process

Begin by contacting the college, university, or therapy program where you would be comfortable donating your horse. They will probably request a video of your horse to do a preliminary soundness check and have a sense of your horse’s character, skills, and needs. If the program believes your horse is a good fit, the next step would include the inevitable paperwork.

This will include information regarding your horse’s health records, diet, farrier needs, and an appraisal. Some programs will require a certified appraisal, while others may ask for a minimum of two appraisals from professionals who know the horse, but do not directly work with the horse. It’s important to stay away from anything that could present a conflict of interest.

Once the paperwork has been turned in, most programs will accept a donation horse on trial for a specific length of time to see if he likes living in the educational environment and is appropriate for the level of their riders.

For a horse in a university or therapy program, it may seem as though they are living at a horse show 24/7. Many horses enjoy the hustle and bustle of the daily activity, while others prefer to bond with one person in the quiet of their own home. During the trial period, faculty and students observe how well he or she fits into the program. They may ride the horse, and a thorough vet check may take place. Most programs understand that many donated horses will require special care. If a horse is deemed not suitable for the university or therapeutic program, it is returned to the potential donor and paperwork is returned without being finalized. If not suitable for one program, the horse may be an excellent fit for another program.

In most cases, fall or early winter is a difficult time to sell a horse, but it’s the perfect time for a horse to join a university or therapy program. These programs can usually accept a horse any time of the year.

After Donation

Unlike a private sale, most university and therapy programs are transparent. Donors are allowed to visit their old friends and follow their horses through their new careers. Often, students will write and send pictures to the donors, especially at Christmas time. When the horse’s time at the university or therapy program draws to a close, most programs work hard to re-home the horses with riders from their past who fell in love with them and requested to know when they are available.

As the time comes for you to re-home your equine partner and to protect the money you invested in him, consider donating him to a college, university or therapy program. As difficult as it will be for you to separate from your equine partner, it may help to know that the training you put into your horse may open doors of opportunity for a new generation of riders.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Must the horse be 100% sound?

Most programs look for a horse to be serviceably sound, which can be defined by the needs of the program. Many donated horses need to be maintained. Some of the programs, such as the University of Findlay, have veterinarians in residence.

2. What do I need to know about taxes?

The first step for any donor should include a discussion with their tax accountant. It is important to discuss the value of the horse as well as your tax bracket. As a donor, it is important to be aware that if a horse is donated for $5,000 or more, the IRS and most programs require a professional evaluation of horse’s fair market value. If, for any reason the program can no longer use the horse and has to sell it within three years of when he was donated, the program must file an IRS form reporting the sale.

The value of the horse depreciates over three years. If the horse needs to be re-homed within the three-year period, there are concerns that both the donor and program need to take into consideration.

If the sale price is equal to or greater than the value claimed, there is no tax penalty to the donor. If the sale price is less than the donation value claimed, the donor will be responsible for income tax on the difference between the claimed donation value and the sale price. Clear communication of expectations between the program receiving the horse and the donor can prevent any misunderstandings.

3. Can he have vices (stall, ground, under saddle)?

A horse cannot be dangerous. Rearing, aggressive biting, or kicking would be examples of serious vices that would eliminate the horse from many of the programs. Vices become a bigger issue for therapy programs than for training programs.

4. What if he has special needs (e.g., diet)?

The simpler the horse’s needs, the more programs will want him. Special diets rarely would cause a concern regarding accepting a horse for donation. Cost prohibitive daily medications could become an issue for some programs.

5. Must he be 100% safe (what if he likes to get a few bucks out as soon as someone sits on him)?

The safety of the riders is of paramount importance in all programs. The importance of how a horse behaves would be dependent on the needs of the program. It might not matter to students in a training program, but it could matter slightly in the lesson program, and could be a major deterrent for a therapy program.

6. Any size, breed, sex requirements (e.g., ponies, stallions)?

Once again, the size or breed of the horse would also be dependent on the kind of program. Most programs adhere to the 20% rule, which states that a horse should not carry more than 20% of his body weight. Therefore, the size of the horse would need to meet the needs of the program. Smaller horses and ponies work well for children and some therapy programs. Big quiet horses are always a plus.

7. Does he need to have a skill? Must he have competed? (e.g., what about the basic backyard horse who’s only packed his owner around the yard)?

The special skills of your horse should be matched to the program to which he will be donated. Therapy programs prefer horses that are exceptionally quiet and unbothered by wheelchairs or special needs equipment. College programs may specialize in Western, Hunters\Jumpers, Eventing, or Dressage. Matching your horse’s personality and skill set to the needs of the program where he will be donated will increase the opportunity for success.

8. What if he has behavior problems? (e.g., What if he’s a bear to load?)

Open communication with the university or therapy program will let you know if this is a concern for them and for their students.

9. What, if anything, are the donor’s responsibilities? (e.g., What if on “Day 1,” the horse hurts a student? Is the donor liable for nondisclosure of a dangerous animal, even if the horse has never done that before in his life?)

Once the paperwork is completed, and a horse is accepted on trial, the program’s liability insurance should accept the responsibility for the horse they chose to accept on trial. If the horse has a history of rearing or some other unsafe act, and it is not disclosed prior to the horse arriving at the program for his trial, then the owner has left himself or herself open to liability.

10. If long-distance hauling is involved, who pays?

A few programs are able to pay for the horse to be shipped from the donor to the program. Most universities and therapy programs request the donor to include that fee or physically deliver the horse to the program site in the donation process.