Considering Sharing my horse - What do I need to consider?

[Hanno Verian]

I'm thinking about sharing my horse, I only ride at the weekend, I have someone in mind who is a very experienced and competent rider but lost her horse and cant afford to replace it, she has ridden mine before and they get on very well. My horse is on full livery with my trainer who knows the other person and thinks that its potentially a good idea as she can only ride in the week and its a way of reducing my costs which can only be a good thing in the time of COVID uncertainty and means that I can afford to take a lower paying role if need be and not have to worry about being able to afford to keep my horse.

The intention is that the other party will pay a proportion of my livery, but this is new territory for me and I don't know anyone else who has done this, so I'm interested in peoples thoughts about:

Shoeing - Should I expect her to pay a proportion per month?

Insurance - I haven't looked at my policy yet or spoken to my insurer about this should I assume that she will have public liability cover from my insurance and my horse will be covered whilst being ridden by her? Should I be asking her to contribute to the cost of his insurance to in effect cover the time she is riding him? What about paying insurance excess if he is injured whilst she is riding him?

Tack & Rugs - He's fully kitted out and its in good condition, I wouldn't expect her to contribute to rugs etc?

Worming, vaccinations, teeth, back and physio - Should I expect to pass on a proportion of this cost?

I've known her for a couple of years, she is a close friend of a fellow livery who I've known for five years plus and trust, I have no concerns about her or her abilities, if I'm honest she's probably a better rider than I am. My horse is ridden by various people anyway, I know that anyone that my trainer allows on his back is capable and that if she had any concerns about my proposed sharer she would tell me and act in the horses best interest.

Apart from having a written agreement setting out the obligations that we both agree, not worth the paper its written on as a contract but invaluable in terms of making sure we both know what's going on.

What are peoples thoughts, is there anything that I have missed?

 

[Pippity]

The BHS has a sample share agreement on their website that would be worth looking at.

When I shared, I paid the owner a flat fee per month, generally working out at around £10-15 per day that I rode. There was no itemisation as to what the owner spent my money on, no additional costs were passed on to me, and I didn't get a discount if the owner had a 'cheap' month. There was the understanding that, if I broke something, I replaced it, but otherwise I wasn't responsible for cost of tack, rugs, etc.

I'd suggest she gets her own rider/public liability insurance. I get mine from my BHS Gold membership, but I believe Harry Hall offer something similar. The topic of insurance excess never came up. It's one of those things where you'd have to trust her to 'fess up if he got injured while she was riding, and she'd have to trust you not to claim that, no, he wasn't at *all* lame before she rode him, honest, so could be contentious.

 

[ITPersonnage]

I think you need to talk to her about it, it depends entirely on what she is planning for herself. I'm in a similar situation having lost my horse in February. I don't have any income at the moment (was a mature student) so although I'm riding a friends horse whilst she's at university, I can't afford to give her anything towards livery/shoeing etc. But that's understood, she only wants someone to hack the mare out to keep her sane & a bit fitter.

It sounds like your arrangement would be a bit more formal but if she's saving for a new horse for herself, asking for a contribution may make this a reason for her to decline the offer.

 

[milliepops]

When I shared, I paid the owner a flat fee per month, generally working out at around £10-15 per day that I rode. There was no itemisation as to what the owner spent my money on, no additional costs were passed on to me, and I didn't get a discount if the owner had a 'cheap' month. There was the understanding that, if I broke something, I replaced it, but otherwise I wasn't responsible for cost of tack, rugs, etc.

i think this is the typical approach and if I was sharing it's what I would expect.
passing on all incidental costs doesn't seem appropriate really, IMO the owner shoulders the burden for those because the horse is their responsibility and if they decide to end the share agreement they end up with the horse and all the kit a flat rate is probably easier for a sharer to commit to and budget.

 

[Hanno Verian]

That sounds remarkably sensible, I think its likely that she will have BHS Gold membership, but I do need to check with my insurer that he is covered if she rides him.

 

[ihatework]

It’s generally a set amount of money per day/week for x rides.

In my experience, the better the calibre rider the sharer is, the lower the fee.

What you get financially will really be between the pair of you to decide but it will only be a fraction of what the horse costs overall.

 

[ROMANY 1959]

You need to sit down and talk about what you both expect, when I shared my sons horse when he was in uni, I did most of the care, and sharer paid half the livery and did the days she rode, did the stable and hays. She never paid shoes or vet. Just half livery, she could ride when she wanted, if my son was home we told her what days he was riding

 

[Polos Mum]

BHS template is a great start for a share agreement - as you say legally enforcing is tricky but worth a clear understanding between the two of you. But from a financial perspective the 'normal' contribution is a drop in the ocean vs. the costs. Owners get someone to ride (which otherwise they might have to pay yard to do exercise) so that shouldn't be discounted too. As the weather has changed and Covid carried on there are loads of lovely loan horses and shares being advertised, if you're too keen on the price your friend will have lots of alternatives.

I would definitely agree a flat weekly fee - paid by direct debit in advance.

I have had lots of lovely sharers (and some not) the £10 a day left in the tack room was a pain to manage as was the pay per ride (who then didn't when it rained).
I offered free to start with (I needed time) but ended up with a nominal contribution (£20 a week ish for 3 rides a week) as it weeded out the fair weather people quite a lot. a

 

[Cob Life]

I don’t pay for my share, I school their other horse and do yard duties instead.
I have my own insurance with Harry hall (think it was only £40 for the year? And covers me for 2 or 3 horses)
if I was going to pay I’d ideally like to pay a flat rate so I can budget for it as my wave varies each month

 

[oldie48]

I don't charge my sharer for Rose as she rides better than I do and is improving her. I also pay half towards any lessons she has and all entry fees but this suits me and my sharer very well and I think, is the key to a successful share. Find an arrangement that suits both parties, be fair and talk through any issues that arise. Hopefully after Christmas I'll be able to do more but I'd still like my sharer to continue riding Rose provided she still wants to.

 

[Wishfilly]

It sort of seems like you are getting ahead of yourself here- have you actually asked her if she would like to share?

As others have said, sharers will usually pay a flat fee- around £10-15 per day is reasonable, but a good rider who is improving the horse may expect to pay less. In the past it was more common to e.g. pay for shoes, but then the sharer wouldn't usually pay any other costs.

It is normal to expect sharers to replace anything broken by their own negligence, but otherwise you would pick up all costs. I do think you are expecting more of a financial contribution than is normal.

I would expect to pick up insurance excess regardless.

I don't think it is sensible to rely on a sharer to cover your costs- personally, I would never take on a lower paying job due to having a sharer, for example.

 

[Sail_away]

Sharers usually pay a fixed amount per month, for a paid share I've known anything from 100 a month to 500+ for two or more days riding. It would depend on what he's done and how much she'd be able to do. £25-30 a week for two days is common for an average horse, more if he's very well schooled or she'd be able to compete him.
With insurance I would speak to whoever you're with - I think most people are expected to have BHS gold cover or equivalent.
Generally you won't make back the proportion of the costs you spend. So if you think she'll want to ride 4 days a week for example you won't get back 4/7ths of his total costs. Particularly if she's a good rider will she want to spend anything at all? Usually nice riders have plenty of rides offered and no need to pay for them.
I think it would be best to have a chat to her before planning anything and see if she'd really like to share him, then you can expand upon the details.

 

[Lady Jane]

The arrangement is what you want it to be. When I have shared/loaned my horse, the person paid a fixed monthly amount to ride a certain number of times a week. Vets bills/insurance etc were down to me and if they couldn't ride because they were busy that was down to them. If they wanted to ride more, so long as it was convenient for me, I let them at no extra cost. Two of my loaners were teachers so were keen to ride more in the school holidays and it was a good mutually flexible arrangement. The trickier things that need to be agreed are who they can have lessons with, competing, sponsored rides, hunting etc. As long as both parties agree and its understood there shouldn't be a problem. One of my sharers is still a close friend ten years after I lost my horse. My biggest problem was they kept getting pregnant! 5 got pregnant and gave up, one had 3 children and came back 6 weeks after the birth every time - I'm not exaggerating. I only had one sharer I wasn't happy with so was pleased when she got pregnant. All the others were people I knew already so I guess will more likely to be good sharers. Re insurance, I think you will find they are covered for public liability but not personal accident - they must understand what they are covered for. If they had an accident which incurred vet bills riding my horse, I wouldn't have expected them to contribute

 

[Hanno Verian]

Thanks everyone for the comments and advice, the lady has expressed an interest so we will take it from there, it quite appeals to me that someone else will get enjoyment from my horse.
We will thrash out the details and get to an agreement that suits us both.
Must speak to my insurance company to confirm that my horse is covered if he is injured whilst someone else is riding him.