Do sharers exist?

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Abacus

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Have been trying to find someone to share or loan my horse - he is kind, jumps, hacks, does everything... the only reply I have had is someone who wants him 4 days a week and can pay £100 / month towards his keep. Now I do need him ridden but that doesn't seem much of a contribution (if I add everything up he costs £600/month easily in winter!).

I'll keep looking but am beginning to doubt the existence of this 'sharer' species some of you talk of...
 
Tricky as your costs seem quite high.

When I worked mine out it came to £70/week so my contribution was £10 a day. So for 3 days a week I charges £130 a month which is the standard rate in my area anyway.

Is your horse on DIY or on part/full livery?

ETA if you are loaning because you need him ridden then maybe it is worth it? As it would cost you to have him exercised? I have never needed a sharer to help me with exercise.
 
My friend has had a few sharers for her horse over the years and in the past they have paid quite a decent contribution. However this year she has had to take on a sharer who makes no financial contribution because no one was interested in paying. On the plus side her sharer is extremely reliable and even does her days when she doesn't have time to ride due to work commitments. I guess it depends why you need a sharer for my friend it is more about time than money. Good luck I hope you find someone x
 
They do exist. I have a sharer for my haffy & my mum has a sharer for her cob & both sharers pay £100 a month each they don't have to do chores. My sharer rides twice a week can do more, but her choice not to & she just hacks. My mums sharer rides her cob 2/3 times a week mainly hacks, but started having jumping lessons. Both very reliable & never had any problems.
 
The offer sounds fair, what is the problem?

To be honest I've never paid for a share, I'm doing the owner a favour by riding and doing jobs and the owner is doing me a favour by giving me a ride.

£100 a month is probably similar to a weekly riding lesson, but a sharer isn't getting tuition and is doing jobs.
 
Wow, I can keep 3 horses for what your one costs! If you wanted half costs for half time say, then you'd be asking £300 per month for 3 days. Someone could keep a horse of their own for that so you'd be unlikely to find anyone.
 
Very expensive horse! Owch.

There are several sharers at my yard - they seem to all have different arrangments but all are working very well - although some times it didnt work initially and rules had to be re-agreed.

Maybe you need to change your criteria a bit - be more flexible? Might also be worth advertising in a different way or place?

Try word of mouth first then local saddlery shop, equine college, riding clubs. When I was looking I found a loan horse via Horsequest or similar.

Facebook groups last of all.

good luck
C
 
I've shared a horse and I think I paid about £20 a week, but equally mucked out and looked after them on the 3 days I rode. Going rate seems to be £20 - £25 a week with some stable duties and a little more if the horse is on part livery. Unfortunately the horses I've shared keep being sold, so I'm going to buy one and hope I can find a sharer.
 
£100 a month is probably similar to a weekly riding lesson, but a sharer isn't getting tuition and is doing jobs.[/QUOTE]

Depends which way you look at it. I pay £130 a month so that I don't have to go to a riding school and have lessons - and get to do the horsey jobs- that I like as much as the riding! :)
 
Well that's on full livery and including EVERYTHING:

£150 / month for stable
£75 hay
£50 bedding
£40 insurance
£54 shoes
£40 feed
£150 services

That makes £560 so ok, a bit less than £600. Can it be done for very much less? - the services are optional if someone wants to do it themselves on their days.
 
Am trying to find a sharer for my mare at the moment. 16.2hh school mistress mare, very well schooled and reliable, has done XC, eventing and dressage, a good allrounder really. I have specified no complete novices but that is the only stipulation I have made on the advert (would prefer to see/talk to people and judge if the match is good or not and go from there rather than limit who comes forward!) well I have had one enquiry in total, she is advertised in a few places. That one enquiry was from someone who even though it specified location in the ad then decided it was too far. Oh and I am asking a mere £20 a week for 2-3 days (their choice!)....
 
Abacus said:
Have been trying to find someone to share or loan my horse - he is kind, jumps, hacks, does everything... the only reply I have had is someone who wants him 4 days a week and can pay £100 / month towards his keep. Now I do need him ridden but that doesn't seem much of a contribution
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Are you me?! Mine's the same and I just need him ridden more. I personally think £10 a time is fair. If you don't own your own, then you should, IMO, be prepared to put up some money, especially if you don't need to bring it on. I don't want chores done, I just want someone to have fun on my boy in exchange for a minimal amount.

I paid that much five years ago and thought it was cheap!
 
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But you choose to keep a horse, you can't expect someone to fund it for you. Most of those costs are the same if your horse is working twice a week or six days a week. If you want to have your horse exercised most livery yards will charge you extra, a sharer is saving you that money and costing you very little extra.

I suggest that you advertise a price you want and say that it will be reduced in exchange for jobs if your sharer prefers.
 
Almost all the horses on my yard have sharers (except mine :p poor guy) i think 100 pm is about standard tbh, when I shared I wouldn't have paid more than that x
 
Yes, he is expensive - it's an expensive area and a lovely yard, and generally prices of everything are steep near us.

It would certainly help reduce the service bill if someone wanted to do the work themselves. I don't expect even half of his costs but I felt that £100 was low for someone who wants a horse 4 days / week - that's about 18 rides per month, so much cheaper than a riding school.

Your comments are interesting though - perhaps I am hoping for too much...
 
Hang on, if your horse is on full livery why do you need a sharer? You are paying for your horse to be fully cared for and exercised. :confused:
 
If they can do the services four days a week, that saves you £75 quid a month (at a guess), which means they're actually contributing £175 towards your costs - more than reasonable for a sharer.

You effectively seem to be paying about £120 per week for full livery without exercise - is that right? That sounds very expensive - my part livery is £63 per week including all stable chores, feed, haylage and bedding!
 
Kat said:
But you choose to keep a horse, you can't expect someone to fund it for you. Most of those costs are the same if your horse is working twice a week or six days a week. If you want to have your horse exercised most livery yards will charge you extra, a sharer is saving you that money and costing you very little extra.
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That's my take on sharer adverts asking stupid money each month for the sharer to actually help the owner out.
 
Kat said:
The offer sounds fair, what is the problem?

To be honest I've never paid for a share, I'm doing the owner a favour by riding and doing jobs and the owner is doing me a favour by giving me a ride.

£100 a month is probably similar to a weekly riding lesson, but a sharer isn't getting tuition and is doing jobs.
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Some people don't have sharers because they need help though..... I part loaned my old boy as I knew he could teach a young girl a lot and he would have a lot of fun doing it. I needed no assistance with him at all, but I didn't feel they should benefit from him for free.
 
Cinnamontoast - thank you! At least I'm not the only one!!

I agree that I chose to keep a horse and of course it's my responsibility to fund him - I don't expect someone else to. Unless, of course, they want to enjoy the use of him, in which case I don't think it's unfair for them to pay a reasonable amount - not necessarily his entire keep - for the days they use him.

I used to pay £25 a week (which was half the cost of the horse) when I shared, and thought it was absolutely fine. Times have changed!
 
I'm a sharer! I found idiotpony on equine adverts.
I pay for the farrier to come trim his shoes but thats it, so about 25 quid every 6 week. He was advertised as a free share to help school him on and break his bad habits for his novice child rider, but I felt guilty about that so we arranged that as form of payment. :)
 
Why should a sharer essentially have a horse of their own on 'their' selected days for free? They wouldn't get this anywhere else. Sharers gain from sharing a horse - they get to ride and effectively often do everything they would do with their own horse give or take, I am even open to the idea of letting a potential sharer show with her, have lessons with her if they want to etc. Why should I give up my horse on selected days for free?
 
I having been looking for a share for nearly 2 months and have been unable to find anything suitable. Based in Caterham, Surrey. Then when I did they want £150 a week for 3 days plus her other horse on my days.

So there are definately people out there perhaps not looking in the right places or expecting to much.
 
I have a sharer and they pay £15 a week, they do her 3 days a week and do the chores on there days to be honest i wouldnt mind if they didnt give me anything for her as its more the fact that they help me out a few days a week, they are the best sharers i could ever wish for and love my pony to peices so thats more important to me really i know shes in god hands the days they do her. no idea how you could afford £600 a month lol!! my mare only costs me about £200 - £250 lol x
 
matt_m said:
Why should a sharer essentially have a horse of their own on 'their' selected days for free? They wouldn't get this anywhere else. Sharers gain from sharing a horse - they get to ride and effectively often do everything they would do with their own horse give or take, I am even open to the idea of letting a potential sharer show with her, have lessons with her if they want to etc. Why should I give up my horse on selected days for free?
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Think the difference comes over why you're looking for a sharer. Galaxy makes a good point about how she didn't need one help wise but found an ideal situation and yes, money should be present in that sort of situation.

However, why should someone pay to help an owner out just because they've not got the time to do their own horse and NEED help, whether that's riding out, yard work etc? The sharer's doing the owner a favour and helping them out, why should they pay for it? In the same vein, you see adverts asking for riders to pay to bring on/school a horse for the owner? IMHO, in that sort of situation, it should be the other way round...
 
I actually think £25 a week plus chores sounds quite reasonable as probably what most people would pay for an hours private lesson and by doing the chores they would save you money as well. I have never been a sharer neither do I wish to share my horse so I am probably not the best person to comment. I hope you find someone who can meet your requirements :)
 
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