First horse share - confidence?

[merlin84]

I have just taken on a horse share with an experienced horsey friend who, in return for my monthly payment towards horse’s upkeep, will be ‘teaching’ me how to look after a horse.

Owning a horse is a lifetime dream for me- had on off lessons and volunteered at a stable for a bit as a child but £ always an issue. Have relearnt as an adult but still a novice and v aware of my many imperfections as a rider.

My question is - will my confidence increase over time? Can anyone share their experience of first time horse ownership/share/loan as an adult who didn’t grow up in the saddle?!

The horse itself is not ideal as absolutely darling but is only just abt to be backed (which I will be learning abt from her- she is v experienced in this) so I will be doing lots of groundwork (which I think is important for me to learn) rather than riding for a while. Obviously I always assumed my first horse would be a been there done it oldie but the chance to learn horse care rather than just taking the plunge on my own seemed to good to miss...

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I think it will be good experience for you to be able to work with the horse but actually I think your friend has a cheek expecting you to pay for the pleasure of handling her unbacked youngster. I wouldn't want a novice rider on my just backed youngster, it could be a recipe for disaster.

 

[be positive]

I am not from the group you are asking to hear from, I am an experienced YO/ instructor but have taught novice adults so wanted to put in my views on this arrangement.
Pros - you may learn a lot, you will gain some experience with handling a young horse, will start to do the basic chores without having to think about them they become second nature, all will help your confidence in general which will stand you in good stead for getting your own horse if that is your aim long term.
Cons- you are paying to do the jobs for the owner, many of these need very little input once you have been shown once or twice, you may learn how to do groundwork but unless you are confident this may be very limited, I certainly would be reluctant to let a novice do much with a young horse I am starting because it can so easily go wrong however well supervised you are, a just backed horse is rarely suitable for an inexperienced person to ride so if the idea is that you will be involved in riding at that stage or even within the first few months I would be surprised, so I can see this venture costing you money but with you in reality gaining less out of it than you might if you did find a normal share horse with a sympathetic owner to guide you in the early days.

I think paying towards the keep as a share is a bit of a con, not wanting to be negative but I do think if she were a true friend she would involve you as a friend and not expect you to pay, unless she is running a business in which case you would be paying for lessons not a share.

 

[merlin84]

Happy to hear from anyone with experience!

I suppose it is more like lessons really as we will have time together with the horse each week for this purpose. I am concerned though abt transition to riding- not ‘paying for nothing’ but equally not getting on till safe to do so!

Have looked at shares before but sadly all that I have seen charge and expect you to do horse alone on ‘your days’ so no real input into how to care for the horse. Plus most say no novices anyway - seems so difficult to make the first step from RS horse to privately owned.

 

[9tails]

TBH, the thought of leaving a sharer alone with my horse gives me the heebie jeebies so you'd be a perfect candidate for me! I don't need the help, I love spending time with my horse every day twice a day but I would be far too hands on for anybody who wanted a normal share to handle.

 

[merlin84]

I suppose I’m also thinking that, if the horse proves unsuitable for me to ride then I can always walk away but will have least learnt a lot in terms of stable management/groundwork in the meantime from someone whose expertise I value. Also knowing if I am cut out for the responsibility of having a horse- have children and FT job so need to ensure I can stick with it through the winter not just the summer!

 

[Shay]

There are a lot of options to transition from RS to share horse. Many owners - like 9tails - are a bit "helicopter" when it comes to sharers (me too!) and the last thing you would ever be is left alone. There is also the BHS horse owner's certificate if you want something a bit more formal.

It is great your friend wants to offer you the opportunity to be involved - but they are in fact treating you as a groom. You will be doing all the basic chores - for which she would normally have to pay - and still asking you to pay for the privilege.

If you are on the south side of London PM me. There are lots of options for you - it is just sometimes hard to know how to access them.

 

[Red-1]

It seems like a good deal for the owner, as backing a horse has a lot of parts where a second pair of hands is invaluable.

I would not, however, feel that you will get much out of it as regards value for money. You will end up doing chores and watching, mostly, as a baby is not really a safe vehicle to learn on.

If it were me, I would say to the owner that I would love to be able to help her but as the horse is not yet backed I would prefer to use my money for actual riding lessons to improve my riding.

If she is in effect charging for lessons I would wonder about the insurance etc too.

 

[merlin84]

What are the insurance issues Red-1? I have my own riders’ insurance now that I’m jumping etc but you mean insurance if someone gives private lessons as it were?

Will definitely PM you Shay- would definitely have liked something more suitable to ride although, in the meantime, am loving being around the horse! Accept that £ is an issue - does anyone know what the going rate around London is for a horse share per day (for a horse that is ready to ride!!)

 

[Red-1]

What are the insurance issues Red-1? I have my own riders’ insurance now that I’m jumping etc but you mean insurance if someone gives private lessons as it were?

Will definitely PM you Shay- would definitely have liked something more suitable to ride although, in the meantime, am loving being around the horse! Accept that £ is an issue - does anyone know what the going rate around London is for a horse share per day (for a horse that is ready to ride!!)

If you have your own insurance then you are probably covered for third party. Some people rely on the 3rd party cover on the actual horse, and if you are paying to have lessons with that horse then that can muddy the water.

If the person teaching you did something silly and caused you an injury then they probably have no cover unless they have a teaching policy, as I can see that this may not be viewed as a share as your primary goal is for lessons, and you are paying.

 

[merlin84]

Thanks Red-1. I will find out if she has a teaching policy as she works with horses (schooling/backing- hence professional in this area) but also teaches.

 

[Surbie]

I'm on the south side of London and have my first ever loan horse. I'm in my 40s, had a long break from regular riding, am not the most experienced rider and am absolutely loving having him. His owner is happy to answer my numpty questions if I have them and appreciates I just want to learn. My confidence with him is growing by the day - even on the more difficult days. I wish I'd done it years ago.

What has also helped me enormously in terms of initial horsecare and a refresher on stable management was volunteering at my local RDA. You can get supervised horse care there, and with looking after a range of horses it increases your skill set and confidence really quickly. I certainly needed the refresh but like others have said, most of the jobs you are being asked to do aren't ones that need consistent supervision.

Importantly for me, my horse is 12 and knows what he should be doing, even if he doesn't always fancy doing it. Personally I wouldn't go near a just-backed young horse in terms of riding it. I don't have the experience. I think your friend is being a bit cheeky in asking you to pay. There are a fair amount of horse shares advertised in the area at the moment that you could get more experience through.

 

[Scarlett]

OP - I have 4 horses and have in the past taken on sharers who were either coming back to riding and were a bit rusty or were transitioning from a RS like you.

I never just abandoned anyone with my horses, there was always a conversation about what was needed to be done and expectations on both sides and I never expect someone to turn up and just be on their own straight away. I always made sure I was there for the first few weeks just to make sure everyone was ok and would just gradually step away when sharer was obviously comfortable and I was happy. I have only ever taken on a sharer with the view that it will be a long term successful situation for both sharer and I and for that I am happy to help where needed - it's in my horses benefit after all! To that end I have just sold a horse to someone who shared him for 2 years and another horse is now on full loan with her sharer as sharer had to move away and couldn't part herself from her! I'm about to start advertising again for my big TB who really needs someone to come in and jump him whilst I'm busy with other stuff.

I usually ask £30 a week for a share, that is riding 3+ days and opportunity for lessons, clinics etc. I'm in Surrey so south of London.

Personally I agree that asking for money for sharing an unridden horse is a bit of a stretch in the particular situation you talk of. With what you are paying you could do Horse Owners Certs through a good riding school or find an older, ridden horse who's seen a bit of the world and share that. You'd need to be honest about your ability but any good owner will help through the initial learning period if you are up front about your aims. Do you want to ride as well as do stable chores? If so a freshly backed youngster doesn't sound like a suitable option, and I say that as someone who is currently backing my homebred mare. There's no way I'd let a novice on her, or tbh, handle her on the ground, as I would be too worried about a, novice rider getting hurt (which brings up insurance again) and b, horse not being handled 'correctly' and bad habits/ manners being formed.

Anyway, good luck

 

[merlin84]

Thanks again. Does anyone have any recommendations about where to find horse shares as have tried Horsemart/HHO classified/preloved/righthorse and nothing remotely suitable comes up- either competition horses needing pushing on or just nowhere near my area.

I think a reason this horse has been suggested to me as he is very quiet and docile, particularly as he is only 3, although I imagine that can change as they grow older? Have ridden a couple of very placid 4/5 year olds in the past and then a 12 year old who was keen to buck me off so I’m interested to hear how much risk/lack of risk is due to an individual horse’s temperament vs risk associated with youth that holds true for all?

Am absolutely loving just spending time with him, grooming etc but am realistic that I may need to walk away and find another horse share, if I can, as I will want to be able to ride without years of delay, both in the arena and hacking.

 

[Pinkvboots]

a friend of mine shares a horse at a local equine college as she is quite a novice rider and doesn't really have much experience looking after horses either, its perfect for her as the horse she rides has normally been groomed and there is no mucking out for her to do its just tack up and ride, she did recently do her stage 1 stable management exam at the college to learn a bit more.

you may not have a college near you but some riding schools do stable management courses you would better off spending your money on something like this and having riding lessons at the same place. or maybe see if you could offer some help to a nearby rda stables you wont get paid but at least you wont be paying out.

 

[Highflinger]

As the horse is quiet it may work out fairly well and you will gain valuable experience. I suppose it also depends on how much you are paying and how much time and "tuition" your friend gives you. I suggest you give it a go for now as you will gain some experience and make you more attractive to future shares. Longer term look at FB pages - there are various regional groups -e.g Surrey and a Surrey & Hants sites and there is also a website covering Hampshire and the New Forest - not sure if naming them exactly is allowed on here so I won't but they often have people looking for shares. Also as someone has already said an RDA centre would give you experience in a supervised environment and their horses are always lovely sweet souls.

 

[merlin84]

No idea where local RDA is so will look that up although time is short as have a FT job and child so not sure if there is a minimum commitment per day.

Local equine college does 1 day courses but was hoping for something more sustained but that still fits in with the more ‘mature’ person (sob!) who has a job already. Most equine courses available are for people who are training to be professionals.

Pinky boots I am in fact looking to do the grooming, tacking up etc as I already ride at a centre once a week and do a riding holiday once or twice a year so get to ride on a regular basis but want to learn about feeding, care of stable and paddocks, general care of the horse etc so that I can embark on the share—loan — own horse journey.

Horse very sensible and quiet at the moment from the ground but it may be v different when he becomes a mount.