Do sharers exist?

Abacus said:
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.
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Well - I spend approx £200 pcm each on my lot, so sharers do 3 days and pay half that. No chores and I'm happy to teach them for free, take them to shows etc. They seem happy with the deal they get!

Anyway - for yours. If sharer did 3 days fully, so that you didn't need services on those days, you'd save about £60 a month just there. So if they then paid £100 a month on top of that, you'd actually be saving £160 a month and getting your horse ridden and cared for you for 3 days a week. How does that sound?
 
First you need to think about why you want a sharer, is it for the money or due to your lack of time? If its lack of time why does it matter how much people pay, they are helping you out! If it's the money then maybe you could move down to part livery or share chores with someone to reduce your costs. I think the major problem with your share is the cost, most sharers share (rather than have their own) because they can't afford a horse. My horse costs me around £320 per month all in on a fab DIY livery yard, my sharer does 2 days a week and pays £80 per month. So for a 1/2 share in your horse they could afford their own!
 
OP your horse is so expensive :eek:
For two I go through a month-
£0 for livery as at home
£32 hay
£36 bedding
£30 feet
£15 feed
£30/40 for nick-nacks eg. fly spray

*toddles off happy* :D
 
this is a very interesting subject to me.
as teapot and galaxy have pointed out, it very much depends on what you as the horse's owner need out of the situation.

a lot of owners do appreciate some one helping with the exercise and stable chores especially in the winter.
im interested in this as i need something to ride myself. ive worked with horses for years so im a competent jockey, can school and always be relied on to be and do what/where i say i will.

i realised i had two choices, i could advertise looking for a horse to share where i pay them or alternatively as i work for myself and have the time i could advertise as a freelance groom exercising and mucking out for other people and get paid for that myself.

Back to the OP though, i cant imagine a sharer wanting to pay £250-300. although 4 days a week is a lot of riding and that should be reflected in their contribution.
slightly confused too why you arent getting exercising included in your full livery though but if you need the horse exercised as you dont ride during the week then seems like a win win situation
 
As some people have said - it comes down to why you are sharing. Actually it doesn't matter much to me if he gets ridden - I have plenty of friends willing to ride him. But I believe he has a lot to offer someone, which is why they should be willing to pay for it. 18 hours riding a month (or more if they wanted) plus the opportunity to compete, take him out for lessons, hack all day if they like, borrow my transport if they wish, and to have him both days at the weekend if they wanted, seems to me to be worth more than the cost of a weekly lesson. I don't expect them to pay £250 / month either but perhaps somewhere in between.

With regard to costs - I think if you work out the cost of EVERYTHING, as I have done, you might be surprised too. These are winter costs based on last years haylage prices. Summer is much cheaper - more like £300 / month.

Those that have suggested the sharer will reduce my service costs - no she won't, as she can only do weekday evenings plus the weekend (which is already DIY). So he would have to be fed and turned out in the morning and mucked out and brought in as well, as he will have to come in before she gets there at 5.30 in the evening in winter.
 
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They do - but you need to be realistic about how much you expect them to pay, and what you are able to offer in return.

I have had 2 sharers. The first started sharing my Tb 3 years ago. He was on full livery which was £75 a week and she used to pay me £20 a week and more or less ride whenever she wanted to (I had another pony) and obviously had no chores etc. Over the years the 'share' changed as our circumstances changed, and now 3 years on we are great friends, share a yard and share the horse in every sense really and see him as 'ours'

I recently had a teenage sharer for my pony. They paid me £25 a week again riding more or less whenever she wanted (usually 5 times a week) and taking him out to places etc. No chores to do except helping us with poo picking. They also contributed towards other costs such as saddler / shoes etc (at their insistence!) Again it worked really well and they only moved on as the girl wanted to jump more and my pony can't anymore. We have become friends and are still in touch regularly.

I think the key is being flexible, being around to help if they need it but leave them to it also if that's what they want, getting involved (I went out to events etc with my pony's sharer to help and enjoyed watching them have fun together).
 
Personally, I have been unable to get someone to ride my pony, he needs a good rider, but they are like hen's teeth, in fact no one has been to see him. Iwould be prepared to pay someone if they were good enough, I have to pay my instructor to ride him, but I think she feels she has done as much as she can do, one day a week.
I did have a yard where sharing would have been an option, the standard cost was £25 per week for a sharer, but no one suitable applied [that is to say there was one who thought it would be cheaper than paying for lessons, and had all sorts of other money saving ideas, like removing and re fitting shoes instead of new ones]
I really want someoone who likes the idea of looking after the pony for the day, rather than this being a chore, and sometime it may be mum who does this while child rides out.
 
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If I were looking to share (and when I did I paid half the part livery costs = £100 PCM) I would be put off by your attitude towards a sharer to be honest (and that's not meant personally, just an honest observation). Yes, your horse is your pride and joy, but you can't expect someone who wants to share him to pay the earth for the privellege of 18 days a month where they can ride him and benefit so substantially.

A sharer usually wants to share a horse not for the riding, but to have a taste of ownership - I did not ride my share horse every visit - probably 50% of the time I rode, the other times I'd just enjoy fussing and grooming him :D Like a real owner!

You need to rethink what you're looking for - a sharer won't pay the costs you're looking to cover (IMO £100 a month is a good offer) and someone who will come and ride for you will want paying BY you! You will be extremely lucky if you can find someone who will fit what you're looking for, and you may have to lower your expectations somewhat, but good luck anyway!
 
AprilBlossom - that's interesting. I think I have come across as less kind towards potential sharers than I really am - I want someone to love, enjoy and benefit from him, and for him to enjoy that too - this is my main reason for sharing him, as I don't have quite enough time for him.

I am offering a lot though - more than just needing someone to ride for me - as I said, they have the opportunity to treat him as their own, and to enjoy the ownership as much as the riding. I'm very flexible on days and they are welcome to have more than they are actually paying for. I have just been surprised that no one is interested in a quality event horse that has so much to give, albeit at a slightly higher price than some other shares.

When someone does come along, I will shower them with gratitude and do all I can for them!!
 
I’m a sharer, we are among you! I pay £150 a month for 3 days in the Surrey area.

Your horse sounds lovely so that can't be the problem.

I know the yard we are is expensive but if his owners wanted me to pay for half his costs I would want half his ownership if that makes sense!

I think most people have sharers to help keep their horses fit and give themselves a few guilt free evenings off. If you need a sharer primarily to help with costs I don't think you'd find one.

I share because I can't afford to own. So I’d feel a bit hard done by paying out half for the luxury of sharing.
 
Wizzkid said:
I’m a sharer, we are among you! I pay £150 a month for 3 days in the Surrey area.

Your horse sounds lovely so that can't be the problem.

I know the yard we are is expensive but if his owners wanted me to pay for half his costs I would want half his ownership if that makes sense!

I think most people have sharers to help keep their horses fit and give themselves a few guilt free evenings off. If you need a sharer primarily to help with costs I don't think you'd find one.

I share because I can't afford to own. So I’d feel a bit hard done by paying out half for the luxury of sharing.
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100% agree.
i dont think in all fairness owners can tot up their total monthly bill for owning their horse and expect to split it down the middle with sharer.
things like paying halves for shoes are acceptable. not sure whether expecting to go halves for expenses like your horse's insurance if it gets sick though would be. Every arrangement is different though.
 
I've been looking for someone to help get/keep my two fit for a good month now. They are both nice horses, one has done BS and BE, the other is a big quality hunter type that does rc/pc. I am an instructor, happy to help them with the horses (free lessons now and again) and they could do local rc/shows once the horses are fit again. I have my own yard, not asking for any financial contribution, just a bit of skipping out/tack cleaning when they are riding. All I want is someone who can be a bit flexible - they will probably be able to ride every day on one of the horses if they fit in around the family a bit (stepson is only here certain days and I am away half the week, the days just change a bit..). To me, it sounds like a good offer, and one I would have jumped at when I was younger, but I am struggling to find anyone. You would think it was all them doing me a favour from some of the replies I've had.
 
I'm a sharer, we do exist!! I pay £110 per month for my lovely Wilbur, that doesnt include shoes though (thats every 6 weeks where I pay half). I have him 4 days per week, can ride him for 3 days per week (he has arthritis so needs a rest day) and basically look after him as if he were my own on those 4 days a week. I can compete, have lessons etc, nothing has been ruled out really.

Dont give up waiting for someone to come along, there will be someone out there who is perfect to share your horse it just might take some time to find that person! Advertise your horse in as many places as possible and give as much info as you can (that was my main problem when looking for a share horse, all the ads were so short and you could never be sure what to expect when you turned up at the yard to see the horse!).

I think with the whole who is doing who a favour debate, the way I look at it is that I cant afford a horse of my own, I reckon Wilbur costs his owner around £400 per month as we are at a really nice yard so I am getting a good deal - great facilities, access to brilliant instructors (we have one guy who comes to the yard every fortnight and does jumping clinics, and he has recently qualified for Burghley young event horse), a lovely horse who I can do with as I please and lots of flexibility i.e. we can cover each other's days when we are on holiday etc.

Yes at times I do think I am doing the owner a bit of a favour (she is a bit naughty and tends to only skip him out on her nights so I have the bulk of the mucking out to do on my nights) but I honestly dont mind because I enjoy being around Wilbur and fussing after him, all the things that normally only owners get to do.

Dont give up hope, I'm sure someone will come along eventually!
 
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