OR Interview over...............

Got2change

I actually feel as though I have been hauled over the coals for nearly 2 hours.
She is (as proven by her dealings with the car on Monday) totally fair and - up to a point - non-judgemental.
The main thing that has left a nasty taste in my mouth has been the talk re. my horse. Here's the situation;
Bought him in 1996 for £800 - he was then 15 years old. Husband paid for him, I paid for his keep - then complaints about the amount of time I spent with him (horse), affairs x 2 and him (husband)off into the sunset.
Fast forward a few years and horse still around but he's retired; he lives for nothing on a friend's farm and costs me next to nothing. He's now 27 and on his last legs but can still canter crazily down the field if he thinks he's being ignored and loves his food and still has a light in his eye.
I am the first to admit that he is a bit of a millstone around my neck - in terms of time and other considerations re. his cuckoo status at the farm - but somehow cannot bear to have him destroyed (no I will not sugar coat it...) while he doesn't seem unwell.
He is very very thin even though he is fed really well and the spring grass is coming; he is rugged up day and night and if love was nutritious he would be as fat as butter..........
......and yet, he is to be listed as an asset :rotfl: on the details that go to my creditors. It seems really crazy.
As I seem to have built a good relationship with my OR, she knows all of this but the only reason is because I was asked what I spent my £25,000 divorce/property settlement on (another story) and I told her a trailer/horsebox and a Shogun(very secondhand and it blew up and horse hated the trailer anyway) in 2005-6, and stupid me but not a liar told her about the horse and besides I am superstitious about lying about his well-being or whereabouts. (That was a really badly constructed sentence, apologies). Anyhow, she said I should get rid of him (and of course, I do know that it isn't enforcable). At his age and in his condition that can only mean one thing. And it would cost £290. Great.
I know I never come on here with anything positive to say but I thought I would try to talk to my forum friends about this because, to me at least, it isthe unseen side of Bankruptcy. Sorry to be a moaning minnie again.....
I thank God (or someone anyway) for this forum, it has saved me and continues to every day.
x
Oh, he was once upon a time a valuable beast - he went through Doncaster Sales aged 7 for 27,000 guineas. Funny how they depreciate isn't it?

fiveyearplan

Sorry to hear that. How much is the horse worth and how much does he cost to keep. You said he doesn't cost much so I can't see why you would need to get rid. Can you say he has been taken off your hands by the friends who keep him?

JulesJay

Hi Got2change,

Sounds like you have been through the mill, but you made it through well done hun.

I can't see the OR being able to force you to get rid of your old fella, that would seem really mean considering he is a veteran horse.

Have you got a local ILPH representative near you or a Horse Rescue place that you could chat to re his future?

I know you can sign them over and they don't put a healthy horse (however old) down, they have a wonderful retired life with them and you can always go and see them anytime you like.

Sorry can't be much more help, but well done again, hope things work themselves out for you.

Take care

Jules x

Got2change

I am sure the OR won't force the issue with him - it's as I said, it has just left me with a nasty taste in my mouth so to speak. The fact that he was brought into it at all is my fault for mentioning anything to do with horses (the horse box was on a bank statement not sent to the OR; my CAB 'Adviser' said not to list him as an asset simply because he isn't; equally,there are no costs involved with him because my friend covers it 'all' (he is one of several horses there that they own so his costs are included with overall re. feed/bedding etc).
I have worked in Animal Rescue and could never hand him over; I have brought another horse back from the brink and lost her due to my husband's wishes, it can't happen again. He is very close to having to be put to sleep anyway - but becuase he is thin isn't good enough IMO. It would be like euthenasing and old person who was simply physically infirm but still had all their buttons sewn on if you get me. I know that horses are different but he hasn't done anything wrong and he's all I've got so why should he die simply because I (to use the OR's words) managed my money badly (there's an oxymoron).
- I feel a bit schizophrenic today x

Persolv0

Hello again Got2 :hello:

I think you ve two options here both of which have already been mentioned by fiveyearplan and jules.

As you say youve got a good relationship with your OR and thats certainly no bad thing.

To help keep the OR sweet and balancing with the horse id go initially with a trade off...could you sell off any of the things originally bought for the horse?(eg the horsebox) and ask friend to take!!!!!! the horse for you

I think the idea of finding a horse rescue centre is a good one and it might be worth looking at the retired racehorse charities also as to have sold for 27000 G twenty years ago he must have done something right.

its a very emotive subject and i must admit the circumstances pulled at my heart strings when i read your post.

best wishes and good luck(Ps:hope the rest of the interview went well )

Rich

just editing after reading your second post....id go for a trade off of selling surplus equipment and asking your friend to say he/she is happy to look after him..........

JulesJay

Got2change wrote: »

I am sure the OR won't force the issue with him - it's as I said, it has just left me with a nasty taste in my mouth so to speak. The fact that he was brought into it at all is my fault for mentioning anything to do with horses (the horse box was on a bank statement not sent to the OR; my CAB 'Adviser' said not to list him as an asset simply because he isn't; equally,there are no costs involved with him because my friend covers it 'all' (he is one of several horses there that they own so his costs are included with overall re. feed/bedding etc).
I have worked in Animal Rescue and could never hand him over; I have brought another horse back from the brink and lost her due to my husband's wishes, it can't happen again. He is very close to having to be put to sleep anyway - but becuase he is thin isn't good enough IMO. It would be like euthenasing and old person who was simply physically infirm but still had all their buttons sewn on if you get me. I know that horses are different but he hasn't done anything wrong and he's all I've got so why should he die simply because I (to use the OR's words) managed my money badly (there's an oxymoron).
- I feel a bit schizophrenic today x

Good for you sweetie, you know what is right for your old fella.

Sounds like he has got a wonderful mum

Jules x

oneandonlyboy

Hi,

After reading your post, i cant see how the old fella is an asset.
I'm not too sure how old horses live too but im guessing he's past his best
and not worth alot of money.

I would just keep him, and if the OR comes back i would say he's worth nothing.

dalip

Hi
If as you say you have a good relationship wth your OR. Wy not leave it few days then ring her back and ask if she has had any more thoughts about your boy. Then use that opening to say that you have had a good think about the horse and have decided that you will care for him out of your surplus(the same way people do with their sky tv), that he is the only thing you have ect ect. Then see how the land lies. She may have had time to reflect on your situation by then and may well change her mind.

Good luck and glad to hear you sound little better in yourself X

Got2change

Thanks for your replies - I was OK until y'all started being nice (but please don't be mean......) - now I've got leaky eyes.
Hi Rich:hello: - nice to see you again...

Everyone has their Achilles heel don't they - and he is mine. I have tried hard not to feel that he is a burden and equally it is unfair (on the animal) to have an animal be the one who "saves you" - but that is sometimes truly the case.

A lot of my sentimentality has been knocked out of me over the years but there is no question that he stays with me until the end and that day is my responsibility; I would never forgive myself for taking that step for the wrong reasons.

I went bankrupt owing a total of £9800; this was made up of about £7000 on age old CCs and a big(ish) loan from HSBC that I defaulted on when my husband left. The rest was a v big Scottish Power bill that came about from cancelling a DD when advised of redundancy and failing to catch up, Council Tax when I messed up after 2nd redundancy in three months and water bill for the same reason. Had the jobs not gone belly up, I wouldn't have gone BR (had I been more savvy, I would have gone back to the CCs and reclaimed the charges that made up approx 75% of the o/s balances) and I would have carried on paying my way and living on the breadline.
The main issue for the OR was my stupid spending of the property settlement (she made me list everything I had spent it on which was a bit crazy as I didn't track it at the time so how the Hell I should remember is beyond me) of £25,000 and the fact that I didn't clear my then £7000 debt.
As we talked I remembered that I helped my mother pay for her life partner's funeral and also started a fund for the treatment of a woman at work's brother - I gave her £500. (As an aside, she and her sisters now threaten me if they see me out in our local town. Go figure. The brother died anyway and they cashed the cheque two months later - I only checked this lately.)

I haven't had a Credit Card or an overdraft for 5 years and no credit either. The OR kept asking me what I thought was going to happen about the Scottish Power bill (the main reason that even if I still had a job, Br looked to be best....)and I had no answer - I sort of hoped that my Father (quite wealthy and the "hero" of another and not particularly relevant story....) might help. No chance. One day I shall write a book about my family - working title "Don't come to me if you want a kidney" .

xxxxx

PS - Shogun and trailer long gone (he hated the trailer!!!)

Cinderbrook

I really sympathise with your situation. But how much does your OR really know about horses? How much does she think your retired Red Rum is worth? Maybe OR's collectively are told that horses ie showjumpers etc can command several thousands of pounds and she hasn't really understood. Pets expenses are allowable in the IPA payments, so why not tell her how much your horse is worth ie nothing financially speaking and just claim the maintenance of him on your income and expenditure. They can't force you to do anything with him that you don't want to do. Surely it's not so different to having a couple of dogs.

PS: Bit of a Cinderbrook special idea this, but if you have to give him to a horse rescue place and find they are full, Liz Jones who writes in the Sunday Mail (I don't buy it honestly!) writes about her rescued horses and you never know.......

Got2change

Cinderbrook wrote: »

I really sympathise with your situation. But how much does your OR really know about horses? How much does she think your retired Red Rum is worth? Maybe OR's collectively are told that horses ie showjumpers etc can command several thousands of pounds and she hasn't really understood. Pets expenses are allowable in the IPA payments, so why not tell her how much your horse is worth ie nothing financially speaking and just claim the maintenance of him on your income and expenditure. They can't force you to do anything with him that you don't want to do. Surely it's not so different to having a couple of dogs.

PS: Bit of a Cinderbrook special idea this, but if you have to give him to a horse rescue place and find they are full, Liz Jones who writes in the Sunday Mail (I don't buy it honestly!) writes about her rescued horses and you never know.......

She used to have horses so is well aware that no "happy hacker" is never going to be sitting (lierally and metaphorically) on a fortune; he was a point-to-point star many years ago but I didn't know that when I bought him.
I don't think she willmake me do anything anyway - it's just c****y that he even gets a mention in a such a scary context.

She did actually ring me a short while ago to check where I used to take him in the trailer, which is quite funny because he was far too much of a snob to go in a trailer don't you know, which is why I sold it a month after buying it; ditto the Shogun with it's nicely rebuilt engine. The plan was to take him independently to a local National Trust property where my Mother then lived. I had been going in the lorry belonging to the farm but my best friend died and it never seemed right (she and her husband own/ed the farm) after that.

Love the suggestion Cinderbrook (and I don't read the Mail on Sunday either) but I have to say that, OR or not, he is safe with me until the end.