Don't know where i stand. Opinions please?

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H_Venables

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Right, I need opinions about my potential new ‘share horse.’ He’s a 16.3hh Warmblood gelding, good allrounder – moves nicely and prior to purchase by current did a fair bit of showjumping so I’m told. I have not yet seen him jumped.

The conditions of the share are as follows:
£130/calendar month.
(Price includes livery/insurance/shoes and worming for equivalent of 2 days/week).
Riding twice a week and occasionally competing if fits in with owner.
If horse is ill/lame or if I am away, I still pay.
If I injure horse/damage equipment, I pay half/replace equipment.

All of the above I’m quite happy about, other than thinking it’s a little pricy for twice a week.

What I am uncertain about is the timetable of the horses’ exercise and where the cash is going. I pay for Sunday and Thursday. The horse has been shared with owner for a while and now the old sharer is pregnant so she is riding less frequently and not doing as much. When I ask about the terms and conds, the owner said I would be the sole sharer, but mentioned the other old sharer was around but would be stopping soon.

To me, the horse is being ‘paid for’ twice on a Sunday and I have no guarantee of when the ride of the horse will be solely mine on a Sunday. I just think it’s a little unfair for a horse that is worked most days to be ridden twice in a day – and surely we should be splitting the cost of Sunday rather than both paying.
Am I being fussy or unreasonable?
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full livery for my horse is £100 a week , I think you are being charged far too much, unless this is some top notch competition horse and the riding facilities are excellent.
 
The simple answer would be to ask for a date when the old sharer is going to stop riding, and pay from that date. I find all this a bit rigid, I share my horse but am much more flexible about when she is ridden.

You would need guarantees that those two nominated days are your entirely, or if the owner is going to compete on a Sunday, that you get another day in the week instead. I can also see potential problems if the owner has competed on a Saturday, and then wants to give the horse the day off the following day......
 
It does sound quite steep although wehn broekn down it works out as about £16 per ride and you wouldn't get a riding school hack for this price so by looking at it like this it sounds like a bargain. A horse that is shared at our yard tha sharer pays £10 per ride which is probably alot more reasonable.
 
sounds very pricey. As Alibabe said, unless very good horse and great facilities. I thought that sharing was sharing. i.e. you make a contribution to its upkeep. £130 pcm for eight days riding sounds like she's almost making money on it?!!
 
I pay £135 a month in winter and £105 in summer for 3 rides a week. If one of us is away the other has sole use of the horse. Personally I think it is a reasonable price.
 
ooops sorry totally misread post and thought it was £130 a week.

£130 a month makes £30 a week which doesn't seem so bad as long as your guaranteed your two rides a week.
 
I would not pay £16 per day to ride someones horse, then if you want a lesson you have to hire an instructor on top - say another £20 (cheap) - for £36 you could have a very good private lesson somewhere!

The only share I would consider would be flexible about when ridden, and the amount of times, and would only make a contribution towards shoes and food - no more than £20 a week.
 
The yard is pretty good and the horse is a decent allrounder but i wouldn't say a top notch comp horse.

The pregnant sharer will not be tiring the horse out, but i do not have a date of when she will stop riding. I think you're right - that's what i need to ask for.

Re: the competing thing - this is a problem i had with an old sharer. The horse was 'broken' a couple of times when i was supposed to ride.

It's a difficult one. I'm not sure what else is around. I have said to the lady i'm happy with how things have gone and she is really lovely, but i can't help feeling that letting two of us ride/pay for the same day is cheeky...

The horse is a real cutie but i don't want to be had or to be labelled as a timewaster. I've ridden it once and 'tried it' both in school and on hack prior to this.

However, the owner emailed both old sharer and me this morning, telling us what the situation was with us both riding on one day. I explicitly said the first time i spoke to the owner on the phone that i was not interested in being one of two (or more) sharers, so in that respect, i'm not getting what i wanted and clearly stated.
 
I used to be a sharer, and now I own a horse and have a sharer - if that all makes sense.

Is the horse on full livery? Do you just turn up groom and ride, or is horse on DIY? ie do you have to muck out, make feeds/hay nets etc?

When I was a sharer, the horse was on Livery Mon - Fri. I rode 3 times a week, and only had to muck out on the day that I did at the weekend. I used to do 2 days in week and 1 at weekend.

Now that I have a sharere for my horse, to me it's more that I get 2 days away from the yard at home with hubby, rather than the money. I have a lovely sharer who used to have her own and is v experienced. My horse is on DIY so she has to muck out, turn out etc etc. She pays for his shoes and thats it. If he's lame or out of work, I feel a bit mean asking her to pay for his shoes, so I normally go halves with her (this has only happened once). If I go on hols, she normally does extra days, and I don't ask for money, it just means that I don't have to pay someone to do him - so it saves me money! She has sole use of him on her days - I do nothing, don't even go up yard! If she wants a lesson, she pays, and I have transport so have offered to take her to shows (as I'm pregnant at mo, so gonna be a bit limited on what I can do). Would only ask her to pay entry fees I think, I'd pay diesel etc, cause at end of day my horse getting benefit.

The only thing I would say is if you injure the horse, you're expected to pay costs/vet etc. Not sure about that? If accidents happen, or he becomes ill when it's your day, not sure you should pay?!

So, in answer to your question, if he on full livery then price I guess is OK, if it DIY, then way to expensive and see if you can 'negotiate a little on costs'.

As for pregnant sharer, just explain politely that you don't like riding the horse when he has already been ridden and feel that unfair, so please could you have another day, or perhaps just ride once a week will she has gone, and reduce money of course!

Hope this helps!
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Thanks for that Martha. Yeah the horse is on full livery, or part, whatever you want to call it. It's looked after and the only thing i'm expected to do is clean the tack. Anything else is voluntary but appreciated.

I think negotiating with the day is a good idea, and perhaps i should suggest to her that i ride once a week until the other sharer has gone. That's a good idea.

I realise that the area the horse is kept in is pricey and that any service; shoeing, livery etc is going to be pricey. Maybe i should suggest riding once and paying half until the horse is free for my use on two whole days. After all, i don't want to pay that kind of money to plod around - i actually want to invest time and money into my riding ability and i'm not a bad little rider. I'm not amazing in any field, but have a good 12 years experience and am nice and quiet. Put it this way, i think my riding will be beneficial to the horse's way of going.
 
The more I read about this 'sharing' business the more of a rip off it seems.

Go and buy your own horse - or find one you can loan.

Talk about money for old rope...................
 
The problem is that i do a masters and i work full time in London and have a long commute home. I don't have the time or money for one now...maybe in a couple of years...
 
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The problem is that i do a masters and i work full time in London and have a long commute home. I don't have the time or money for one now...maybe in a couple of years...

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Fair enough. I still think that it is a terrible rip off though.

Find someone who want their horses exercised - there are plenty out there who won't make you pay for the privalidge, and will be grateful for the help. In fact ParkRanger on here has been looking for someone to help her with her horse. Admittedly on a loan basis - but economically much sounder alternative in my view.
 
In the end it all comes down to personal circumstances. What seems a bum deal to some people is the perfect awnser to others. Not everyone can afford the time needed to keep a horse and in those cases a share agreement is a good alternative. However I would make sure you are 100% happy with the agreement before you carry on.
 
I pay £140 per month (half part livery cost) plus half the farrier and haylage costs for 3 days per week riding of a schoolmaster and excellent hack. For this I can hack for as long as I want (usually a minimum of 1.5 hours twice a week) and school alone in a lovely arena. I think this is WELL worth the money - if I were to go to a riding school to do this I'd be paying at least £60 per week with far less flexibility and opportunity to do other things (e.g. sponsored rides, trec etc).

To keep my own horse on DIY would cost me more (factoring in feed, insurance, wormers, vet bills etc), and I don't have time to ride more than 3 or 4 times a week anyway, so to be able to just "turn up" and ride without all the worry and hassle of looking after my own horse is ideal.

So I think the price is fair, but I agree you should put your foot down about the other sharer.
 
I think £130 per month for darn sarf isnt too bad - and I know that you maybe thinking about the other sharer paying but I think you should get that out of your mind and think about how much the horse is worth to you? As long as you are getting two opportunitys a week to ride then you should be ok. BUT you shouldnt be paying Jack Shitt for the horse if its out of work for any more than a week!!

I am up in West Yorks and the going rate for sharers on my yard is £100 per month for a good horse, full livery, two day a week share.

I shared my last horse and I charged 100 per month all inclusive 3 days a week and all the days they wanted if I was on hols! Vets bills were my worry unless the loaner was fully responsible for the accident - and loaner must have rider insurance - all signed by a solicitor in a contract. :-) The money I got went into a horse account for any unexpected bets bills or equipment!

If you like the horse - just pay it - the pregnant sharer wont be around for long maybe? Good Luck!!!
 
Thanks peeps, i'm just requesting now that the owner lets me pay half the cost for the sole use of the horse for one day a week, then when the old sharer has stopped totally.

Will update with what she says...
 
TBH it sounds like a dud to me.
I would not want to have to still pay if the horse is laid up for ages-might sound selfish but you want to ride yes?
And the terms seem very strict ..but that's just me!
 
Sounds ok if it's full livery and in that area of the country. The only thing I would query is the continuing to pay if horse is lame. I wouldn't be happy with that - what if it's long term? If I had a horse on loan and it went lame with a long term condition such as arthritis and couldn't do what I originally took it on for then I'm sorry but I would send it back to the owner. I would query that as I don't think it's fair.
 
so glad i live up here.....that would more than cover the total i pay for my mare. ok its DIY but even taking livery into account it would be nowhere near that much!
 
I would expect there to be a month notice either way anyway, so if the horse does go "long term sick" you can give up sharing, while still giving the owner a bit of time to adjust to a cut in income.
 
TBH, the notice period is only one month, so if the horse was lame for more than a couple of weeks, i'd be realistic with it anyway. I suppose you could argue that if you ride an animal and enjoy it, you should be prepared for the ups and downs. I know what you mean though. Depends why it was lame - if the owner took it cross country and it went lame as a result, there's no way i'd pay for that month, but if it just went lame in the field, i guess it's sh!t luck
 
I'm in the SE and am looking for help with my two horses for £25 a week - sharer can ride as much or as little as they like, I have transport to go to shows and am happy for sharer to compete. I would ideally like a day off a week and ask sharer to look after them that day - or just give me a day of only riding and then going home and leaving them to turn out.

So yes, i think your being ripped off.
 
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