How much can I charge for share of a super pony?

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DuckToller

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Daughter has outgrown pony and two friends have been riding him over the last year.

OH wants me to sell pony but the two girls get on well with my teenager and it means she has someone to ride with (we keep our horses at home). So I thought I would make it worthwhile keeping him here and OH will be happier.

However while I don't want to make money on him, I am fed up subsidising other people's children! He is a big lad and eats tons, and he is talented and a super all-round PC pony - he can jump 1m courses yet you could put your granny on him. One is mainly happy to hack and had a pony on loan briefly (not here) so she knows how much things cost, but the other is keen to compete and do PC stuff and her parents have no idea what a pony costs.

So how much to charge a month? DIY livery round here is at least £100 just for the box, and a riding lesson is £25. Although both girls will muck out when they are here, it's still me that will do every morning and evening. They can have one day at the weekend each and two in the week, although I doubt they will ride more than twice in total a week, maybe more in school holidays.

(also in Soapbox by mistake, just off to delete!)
 
Might be worth discussing it with their parents and trying to come to an amicable arrangement. Whatever you get will be more than you are currently getting anyway! They get a pony to ride and compete and you get some recompense for a pony you really don't want to sell on.
 
Will the girls parents be willing/able to pay anything? What if one does and the other can't? You'll probably find there is a shift in all things once money is introduced
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one idea is to calculate monthly costs then divide my howmany days they each use - at least it would be fair!
 
Both are anxious to pay and both want to know how much!

I am fed up doing all the work while other people enjoy my ponies and have got to the stage whre I would cheerfully sell, except the pony is sweet and is very settled here.

The first lass (who only wants to compete) briefly had a pony on loan and paid £100 a month for a DIY box plus everything else, but the owner took the pony back after two weeks because she said she wasn't ready to give it up (I wrote about it on here as girl was devastated). She came back here and has been contributing to this pony but only to ride one day a week. Now she wants more at the same time as the other lass.
They are coming round to talk about how much later so give me some figures pleeeeease!
 
Yes, that's what they have suggested, but it's my labour that annoys me most about these arrangements as in I have to do the majority of the work because I live here. Teens are great but hardly the most self-motivated when it comes to poo-picking and spending half a day sorting out the farrier or dentist etc
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If I just added up the costs, it would only be about £50 a month in the summer - so that's not reflecting the true cost to me of keeping the pony. I would be better off renting out the box and having another adult to share the work, although I like having the two girls around.
 
Okaaaaay, in that case, as KK says, add up what ned costs you in terms of shoeing, vacc.s, feed, percentage of running costs of having the stable and the grazing, tack, rugs and divide by days.

If you wanted, you could work it out as though ned was on livery, which would give you more cash, but might be harder to discuss with parents as ned is at home, so maybe do some percentage work such as in para. above.
 
If they bought the pony and took it to the local diy yard, it would cost them £120 a month just for the box.

Then add in hay, feed, and daily turnout and mucking out in the winter as neither can do mornings.

So I was thinking an amount somewhere between what it costs me, and what it would cost them if they did it alone. Both can afford to pay the going rate and both have previously looked in to having a pony on their own.

Neither set of parents is even vaguely horsey though, and both found it quite stressful when they looked into having a horse on DIY (what - I have to come up every day? even Christmas?
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). And this is a pony in a million, in that you really could put your granny on him one day and compete him the next.

Am I being too greedy now?
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<snipped> So I was thinking an amount somewhere between what it costs me, and what it would cost them if they did it alone. Both can afford to pay the going rate and both have previously looked in to having a pony on their own.<snipped>

Sounds fair enuff
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. If they say is too much, you can negotiate if you want. Will any of this have any effect on your insurance, etc.?
 
Could you work out how much it actually costs you to keep him a week. Then add in shoeing, insurance and your labour (maybe 5 or quid a day). Then work it out as a percentage per day and charge them that. If you have it all written down so they can see where the costs are coming from they can't really argue.
Also who will take the girl to shows etc? Presumably you.
I don't think you are being greedy. They are getting a pony as and when it suits, so yes, they have to pay.
 
Llewelyn, no you are not being greedy. If its your labour and time thats included, then no you most definitely are not. However, I do agree that sometimes it a bit dificult to convey this to people, particularily if they dont want to do the work yourself. I dont know how much full livery or part livery would be in your area, but you are providing near enough that service anyway, even though it is at your home.

I agree with your feelings. Until earlier this week I allowed the sister of one of the liveries to ride my beloved horse twice a week. He is on full livery, so all she needed to do was tack up and get on. She did not get paid well, and she helped me out, until this week. Both her and her sister have been pressurising to allow her to ride him 5 times a week by saying that she can ride him during the day and I can ride in the evening. He is 16 years old and a happy hack/hunter and she wants to school and go to shows.

Its all blown up this week with a lot of people chipping in and getting involved and its got nasty. I dont want to go into detail as I've been very upset and its all been smoothed over by our YO who has been totally fab, but I nearly handed in my notice just to get away from the people concerned. He is, after all, my horse. However the upshot is that I will not allow my horse to be ridden by anyone else as a sharer whether they pay or not. What makes my blood boil is that people expect something for nothing when they share horses. I will never attempt to share him with anyone else - it was just conveninent due to business commitments. No, you are not unreasonable and I would go for it.
 
how about saying that you need to draw up rota, if you ride then you have to do the chores as well, also contribution to the costs as well.
 
I know how you feel. When I was 8 months pregnant I had two horses which I was looking after but a teenager rode one of them in return for helping (no money). She did however take the mick and would come and ride and if I was not there she would leave the box assuming I would do it. I was not best pleased!

I would make it a condition that they at least pooh pick once a week - at my old yard we had to pick a number of trug buckets each per week so could you get some of them and say they have to fill them (if you say barrowfuls you can guarantee they won't be full!). If they are up to ride why can't they also sort the box that day.
 
[ QUOTE ]
What makes my blood boil is that people expect something for nothing when they share horses

[/ QUOTE ] Exactly!

Sorry to hear it went wrong for you, I have had a similar problem in the past, except I was the sharer and I wanted to compete on my friend's mare. But when she said no, I accepted it straight away because at the end of the day it was her horse and she paid most of the bills. He who pays the piper after all
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The insurance thing is a good point Mrs M - I wil have to check that out. Maybe I should just get the teenagers to poo pick all weekend and not charge for my time
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when i had a super little cob on loan and another time i ahd a 16'2 tb x i.d on part loan another girl i had to pay £ 60 a week but that included shoes and then i had do the horse and cob atleast to night during the week and then one day at the weekend. hope this helps
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i am looking for a share for my lad - basically have offerd min 4 days a week - weekends being no problem - no stable chores, no poo picking - ( i cant ride due to health issues but i do love the from the ground stuff) plus i have another horse that needs my attention so i would be up on a adaily basis anyways - put on add financial contribution required - to be discussed - had people offer £10 a week as that what 1/2 hour riding lessons cost so in their words not mine - i would be getting more riding done for nothing - hence i still looking - not only for maybe a little more financially but def for a better attitude
 
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