Been asked to get someone out of a hole

I have my horses out on my own grass field during the summer - they eat part of it and the rest is cut for hay. There is no water - I carry that up by hand, and no electricity so I have battery fence units.

I've been asked if I will let someone else use my field to get them out of a hole - and tbh I don't really want to as I've been bitten in the past. It will cut down the amount of hay I can make and it means that security etc will have to be altered with extra keys for gate and so on. I also currently have no insurance on the field so if there was an incident of any sort I suppose I'd be liable.

Bearing in mind I am ultra shy and find people difficult at the best of times and that I have never even met or spoken to this person, in your opinion should I say no - and feel guilty that I didn't help someone out or say yes and hope for the best?

If you think I should say yes what do you think I should charge taking account of the fact that the person is disabled and won't be able to get up to check their horse every day or bring their own water so I will have to carry extra and I will have to manage the size of the area it has and move it around and supply the electric fence unit and tape as I don't have enough spare, plus presumably get some insurance?

Thankies!
 
Ooops I've obviously been more negative than perhaps I should be. My gut reaction was NO!!! but I do feel sorry not to be helpful and some money would be useful.

Oh I don't know! I hate these decisions.
 
If they are only a friend of a friend I would say no and don't feel guilty. I too have been stung in the past. You will kick yourself if you run out of hay in the winter and will probably end up carrying water up/poo picking and checking the horse, moving all the fences which isn't too bad now but when the weathers bad won't be nice.
May be I am just selfish but it could be more work/trouble than its worth.
 
I do sympathise with you... I can be shy too. But hey, hang on a min.... it seems like you have a nice set up. You really don't want another person there do you? ( ie would you be about to advertise for a vacancy .... no ) It's very hard to say no. But I think you should.
Often its harder to get out of situations like this... than it is to get into them.
Say 'no'... 'sorry but no' . Go on... be brave...
 
I'd say no too. With prices for hay going up all the time, the more you can produce yourself the better.

What is you friend's horse?
 
I think i'd say no if I were you, it's all very well helping people out if you are sure you will not end up lumbered poo picking, haying and watering for someone else's horse. In my experience it normally ends up being more hassle than it is worth!
 
say no. If you feel you should give a reason - "because I need all the land to take hay off it". You are not being a bad person by saying no, and you don't "owe" them anything - you don't even know them!
 
im afraid i would say no too, iv had people do the dirty on me too many times and these were supposed to be friend, as i have found out the hard way look after number 1. also as its your field you shouldnt have to give a reason.
 
I thought you were rather self-assured when I met you!! How incredibly brave of you to come and meet me and Thistle (although I know you already knew her) in Cambridge!
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Back to your question, I would say no too.
 
I would say sorry no. At the end of the day it will end up costing you more time and money. I know it sounds hard and unfeeling but you have too think on yourself first.

altia
 
From the way you have worded your post, it is pretty obvious that you don't want anyone else's horse on your field, so I would just say that you have thought about it, but have decided that it is just not possible to have any one else's horse on your field. End of story.
FWIW I am probably a lot older than you, not shy
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and have been asked loads of times if I will have other horses here, the answer is always NO.
 
Follow your instinct and say no. it is not worth the additional hassle and worry, imho. there will be other people who can help this person out. i was labelled a "universal pleaser" by someone long ago because i always put other people first and bend over backwards to please them... finally learning my lesson though! people don't think any the worse of you for saying "no, sorry"... they just go on to someone else!
 
by the sounds of the tone of what you have written, it seems you have already made up your mind anyway. I wouldn't do it, it seems like it would be a lot of hassle and as you are not able to attest as to their character, it may get messy if it didn't go well.
 
I'd say no, no point worrying about more responsibility, they might aswel try and get a place at a well managed yard if they cant come down every day, that way the pressure isnt on you for yet more horses
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Stephen.
 
Thanks for your responses.

I'm being made to feel very guilty about even thinking of saying no and your responses have helped make me feel that I can be a bit more assertive about it. It's a client of a friend I see every few months who needs the space - so not really even a friend of a friend. I have offered friends grazing in the past - but they are people I know who have suddenly got problems - loan horse returned early, lame horse that needs box rest with company, sudden hospitalisation etc, not just someone who's moved into a new house and realised that a half acre paddock looks very nice on the property brochure but won't allow 24/7 grazing for a 16hh horse.

This person doesn't drive and there is no livery in the village where we live and public transport is limited, so it is difficult. I'm the obvious person because most other people are pretty short of land. However over night I remembered someone who is keen to get rid of her field sharers as they are an absolute nightmare and I will pass this other person's details on to her. Trouble is guess who will want a piece of my field then!!!!
 
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