cattle and sheep fed on it, and over stock and horses used in husbandry. Hypothecation Hypothecation is the practice where a debtor pledges collateral to secure a debt or as a condition precedent to the debt, or a third party pledges collateral for the debtor. A letter of hypothecation is the usual instrument for carrying out the pledge. A common example occurs when a debtor enters into a mortgage agreement, in which the debtor's house becomes collateral until the mortgage loan is paid off. The debtor retains ownership of the collateral, but the creditor has the right to seize ownership if the debtor defaults. The main purpose of hypothecation is to mitigate the creditor's credit risk. If the debtor cannot pay, the creditor possesses the collateral and therefore can claim its ownership, sell it and thus compensate the lacking cash inflows. In a default of the obligor without previous hypothecation, the creditor cannot be sure that it can seize sufficient assets of the debtor. Because hypothecation makes it easier to get the debt and potentially decreases its price; the debtor wants to hypothecate as much debt as possible but the isolation of 'good assets' for the collateral reduces the quality of the rest of the debtor's balance sheet and thus its credit worthiness. The detailed practice and rules regulating hypothecation vary depending on context and on the jurisdiction where it takes place. In the US, the legal right for the creditor to take ownership of the collateral if the debtor defaults is classified as a lien. In consumer and business finance Hypothecation is a common feature of consumer contracts involving mortgages the debtor legally owns the house, but until the mortgage is paid off, the creditor has the right to take ownership (and possibly also possession) but only if the debtor fails to keep up with repayments. If a consumer takes out an additional loan secured against the value of his mortgage (known colloquially as a “second mortgage”, for up to approximately the current value of the house minus outstanding repayments) the consumer is then hypothecating the mortgage itself the creditor can still seize the house but in this case the creditor then becomes responsible for the outstanding mortgage debt. Sometimes consumer goods and business equipment can be bought on credit agreements involving hypothecation the goods are legally owned by the borrower, but once again the creditor can seize them