Horses on loan/part loan .... why so hard !

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HelenSamantha

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So I have recently decided to put my horse up for loan. She is a competition horse ( Competed upto Advanced Medium BD) . I put an advert out there stating no novices , this is only because i would love for her to carry on competeing to a decent standard and not because she is naughty , but the only people i have had contact me are wanting a first pony or just something to brush !! or people that want to pay £10 a week and have no idea what im talking about when i say what she has done. Does anyone know of any sites where you can advertise horses for loan that are competition horses ? I have tried the BD website but she has to stay on the yard where i am and the one response i had was wanting to move her away. Its can't really be this hard can it ?? Maybe i was a little naive but i honestly thought there would be loads of experienced people that would snap your hand off looking for a competition horse ??? Any ideas ?? :confused:
 
I would be one of those people! I will be dying for something like this when my boy gets sold.

Word of mouth, posts on local horsey facebook groups or horse quest would probably be your best bet.

You'll find someone but having him at same yard will limit the number of people so it will probably take a bit longer. Not a great time of year either. Hang in there, I'm sure you'll find someone!
 
Its possibly just the wrong time of year... does the yard have an indoor where you are at?

How good is the access to the yard? - have you a link to your advert ? i have no idea how much you are looking at cost wise for what type of access to the horse. How easy is it to get in the school etc ?
 
I would be one of those people too!

I am a sharer and have my boy 4 days a week, we are working towards our first dressage competition next year. However I will say this - when I first looked for a share, I had just come out of a riding school (had been riding on and off for 18 years, back at riding school once a week for 2 years before deciding to get a share) and I hadnt ever thought about competing.

So just because someone hasnt got any intentions at first to compete, as time goes on you never know! I realised I wanted to compete after seeing everyone at the yard going out and about doing dressage comps and watching them training inspired me, so here we are!

Perhaps you should look at this with the view that whoever takes your horse on part loan may be a bit like me, straight out of a riding school perhaps not thinking about competing yet, but may well change their mind once they have had the horse a few months!

The usual sites for advertising are Preloved and EquineAdverts, although Horsemart is worth a try too. Make it clear on your site that the horse is a competition horse and you would love someone to carry on with the competitions, however dont state she is at Advanced Medium as this will put some people off. Take me for example, my share horse could easily compete at Elementary however because I've never done a dressage test in my life we will be going in at Prelim and working up. If I saw a horse advertised who was already at a high level I'd be a bit put off because I would feel too novice for the horse.

So you are best saying that she is a competition horse but is also a good all-rounder (if she hacks out well, jumps nicely etc) so you dont put anyone off. It is good to say no novices, as you dont want her to become a happy hacker, but try and make it clear that she is more than just a good dressage horse as competing isnt everything!

Have you thought about getting a sharer and then paying someone to ride her once a week and compete her for you? There are plenty of people out there who advertise themselves as freelance riders (that kind of thing) who would be able to compete her for you. So you could have your sharer doing the general schooling and keeping her fit (and paying for it of course) while you have your professional rider competing her once a week? That might be an option if you cant find a sharer of a high enough standard.

But as I keep telling everyone who asks about sharing/part loaning - be patient! It can take months to find someone decent, we do exist but are hard to find!
 
Yes perhaps it is just the wrong time of year. Maybe more luck coming into the summer! The yard is just a normal livery yard, no inside facilities though but good school and its really easy to get to. In all the years ive been there i have never not managed to get up the yard. Its difficult to know where to advertise ? i have done local tack shops put the problem is that most people that go to a tack shop usually already have a horse. Word of mouth is the best really i suppose .. frustrating !
 
Yes thanks, i will put a bit in about being an allrounder too. She actaully has jumped Trailblazers and is a super hack. I think i may just have to be a bit more open minded !!
 
TBH I'm not surprised you are stuggling.

The part-loan/share market is dominated more by pleasure riders than riders suitable to compete an advanced-medium horse, so firstly your pool of suitable riders is going to be much smaller than for other types of horse.

Next you also have location to deal with - you start with a small pool of riders and then narrow that even further as the rider must live within access of your set location.

Then factor in cost. You are presumably asking for a fair contribution towards keep (not unreasonable, but yet another factor to consider). A rider competing and schooling to the level of your horse is going to know how much needs investing to maintain this in terms of training, transport, entry fees. Some may be reluctant to invest that into someone elses horse on top of paying keep fees too. Bear in mind riders of that calibre will often be approached about horses that are free rather than needing to pay out of their own money.

That all sounds quite negative, it isn't meant to be. There will be someone out there but I think it will boil down to approaching the right people and possibly a bit of flexibility in your own expectations. Spread the word around local trainers, physio's, competition centres etc.
 
Given you want her to stay at your yard the big national websites will be no good. Have you tried Preloved? I found some lovely sharers that way and it sorts by location so only people in your area will find the ad. Also as someone above said local facebook groups would be worth a try.
 
I feel your pain, i have a lovely Arab mare i would loan or sell, but she is very green so i have put in the ad, obviously, no novices & all i seem to get are novices replying. One lady even asked if she would be suitable to be used in riding lessons. Ive given up now, taking her off the internet & will readvertise in the spring, along with my other boy we were trying to find a rider for. I think its just a bad year for anything horse related.
 
I tried for quite a while to find someone for my old horse, he's 15 and a former eventer, still perfectly capable of competing and jumping to a reasonable level but also a good hack and schoolmaster. Like you I wanted him to stay at the same yard and was open to loan or part loan. It look a while but I found a fantastic girl who was willing to take him on full loan where he is. In my experience it is harder to find someone at this time of year but if you do find someone they stick around, unlike the ones that come for summer and give up in autumn! I advertised on Horsequest and Preloved. From Preloved I got loads of responses but frankly most weren't much good. The quality and experience of people was better from horsequest, even though the ad cost about £40 it was worth it.
 
We are having the same trouble - we have a cracking little 14.1 whos perfect for children and light adults to but can't find anyone for him.

Had one girl interested but she didn't realise that part loan meant she would have to fetch him in, turn him out, feed him, muck him out, groom him etc - she just thought she would be able to turn up and he'd be tacked up ready for her to ride and once she was finished we would do everything else!
 
Oh my goodness !! That sounds like the kind of people I have had call me . I think I will do the ad on horse quest in the new year and hopefully get some people call who are perhaps a bit more serious ! I may also try the bd website again as she would probably be quite good for a young dressage rider also .
 
MyLuckyStar said:
We are having the same trouble - we have a cracking little 14.1 whos perfect for children and light adults to but can't find anyone for him.

Had one girl interested but she didn't realise that part loan meant she would have to fetch him in, turn him out, feed him, muck him out, groom him etc - she just thought she would be able to turn up and he'd be tacked up ready for her to ride and once she was finished we would do everything else!
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Oh Lordy. Shouldn't laugh but it's such a chore isn't it?
The sort of person capable of riding an adv-med dressage horse aren't generally the sort who go for sharing horses on other people's yards....
 
Ive just found a sharer for my boy. Hes definitely more of an all-rounder sort but it wasn't easy or quick - I really thought he would have been snapped up immediately. I found my sharer through equine ads. I advertised locally via tack shops, riding clubs etc and only had 2 enquiries, both of which from time wasters. So no advice I'm afraid other than be patient, I'm sure that person is out there, if no joy perhaps look at the wording of your advert??
 
word of mouth may be the best option, then atleast you'll know they are genuinly interested and suited to your horse :) good luck, I'm sure the right person will come up!
 
Just an idea are you near a Uni or college ? If the costs are reasonable you may get lucky with a student who cant afford their own.
 
Try Merseyhorse,I put my boy up on there and about 10experienced riders were interested straight away!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
14.1hh section B Arab x for part loan...FREE.
Don't be put off because its free,only free because I do not care for money. I only care for my pony being loved.
NOVICES OR EXPERIENCED.
United Kingdom.
If interested in taking my girl to shows I will consider paying you.
If your interested just reply to my post.

A little bit about Cinders...

14.11
Section b
Arab x
palamino
4 white socks
all rounder
couldnt hurt a fly
fantastic weight carrier
layed back
trust her with my life

PLEASE REPLY, DESPERATE
Prefer age 8-20 no lower or higher:)
THANKYOU
 
Hi, I've both part loaned and have put my lad up on part loan. Great yard, fab hacking, easy to get to etc. Had one person who could ride but was put off by fetch in/turn out etc - even though full livery, one person who was great with care side and said she could ride - don't know what - penny slot donkey?. Eventually had to lower my price and got experienced rider - or so i thought - she was afraid to hack alone and quit after 6 weeks - gave up.

A great competitive rider usually has their own or if they want a full loan they're looking to move yards.

I should try local riding club facebook pages, ads at riding schools - may be a better prospect than preloved and horsemart etc.

:-)
 
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