Going to see possible share horse tomorrow - any hints/tips?

[niaismyname]

Ahhh! I've posted a fair few posts relating to him & stuff, but tomorrow, (finally) i'm going to see him. From his description he sounds perfect, a 9 year old skewbald irish cob, 15hh. He's a keen jumper and lives 10mins away from me, with a school and good hacking. The owner often gets an instructor down to teach, and theres a large livery yard a few yards down the road, with small competitions every summer.

He's a share, so i would be paying £20 pm for 3 times/rides a week, but i think its all negotiable.

Does anyone have an hints/tips for what i should ask & stuff, because i've only tried out one horse before and my dad spoke on the phone for that one, so he did most of the talking, but this time he refused to phone so i have spoken to the owner a couple of times, therefore my parents knows barely anything at the moment, only the basic info that i've told them.

Thanks

Im so excited i have butterflies, i've been waiting for this for ages and i really hope its worthwhile.

 

[Jellicle]

Good luck! As with buying a horse really - ask if you can ride him in the school and on a short hack.

Also ask if you would be able to compete on him, if there is any transport available for going to competitions, how much contact you would have with the owner, who covers vets bills, when and how you would arrange price increases, whether they've had a sharer before, if so, why did they stop, could you contact a previous sharer. Any quirks you should know about? Does he hack alone?

 

[daydreamer]

Hi,

I hope it goes well for you tomorrow!

Erm a few questions i would probably ask....

how long have they had him, what has he done before, what is he like to hack - does he ever get spooky, are you expected to do any stable duties/poo picking/tack cleaning, what days do they want you to do - or will it change each week, does he live in/out, can you have lessons on him, if so do you have to use their instructor, is there any chance of competing on him, is he generally in good health, are they expecting you to make any other contributions, e.g. to shoeing, how fit is he/how long do they normally ride for

try and get a sense if they are very particular about how things are done e.g. do rugs have to be folded just so - as that could get anoying!

If enerything seems to be good make sure you sort out a contract, a trial period might be a good idea too.

 

[niaismyname]

Thankyou, i know he's kept out for most of the year as he's pretty hardy, that he's a very good doer, so therefore they only feed him hay in his stable, and obviously the grass in the fields. He's often competed at the livery stables.. i'll have to ask if i will be able too.. and that they had a previous sharer.. but she didnt say much, so i'll defineatly be asking about that. Apparently they bought him as a happy hacker from Ireland.. but now he does abit of everything, so he must be alright to hack.

 

[chocolate86]

Dont assume anything... write a list of things you want to ask.
Ive been on both sides of the sharing and have had some very good experiences but a few not so good ones.
Make sure you get your own rider insurance. Check what will be expected of you and get it all written down and get both parties to sign contract