How much should I charge for part loan?

[Stacey_xo]

I want to part loan my gelding out but no idea how much to charge a potential loaner. He’s on a great competition yard currently which has really great facilities including a cross country field, two huge arenas with a full set of show jumps, as well regular clinics, shows etc. The sharer would have access to all of this and would only have to pay extra to the yard to hire the cross country or take part in the shows and clinics. My gelding is also on full livery so no yard duties would be required.

My gelding is suitable for all disciplines, hacking and available to be competed, his only negative is he is quite low mileage but will go beautifully with a good rider and we are now doing regular SJ and dressage competitions together at home and cross country schooling.

With all of that how much would you expect to pay either per ride or per month?

I’m quite flexible myself with my days and ideally I’d ride 3-4 days a week and have my sharer do the same, with opportunities to ride more if I’m on holiday at no extra cost as I’d rather charge a set amount per month than per ride.

 

[! Hackinghappy!]

Would depend on the number of days and baseline for your area but based on horse description, facilities and opportunities for completions/clinics maybe £50/£60 for 3 days?

I've previously charged £10 per day work no or limited chores but that was for a happy hacker on a relatively basic yard. This tends to be the going rate in my area.

 

[pistolpete]

I paid ten pounds a day but have seen horses advertised at much more than that. Depends how many days I guess. £160 a month for four days sounds steep but fantastic facilities. If the sharer has owned a horse before they will realise it’s actually a bargain!

 

[HashRouge]

Your set up sounds very good OP and your horse sounds lovely. I think you will be able to charge more as a result, especially as the horse is on full livery. I pay £20 a week to ride as many times as I like, but horse lives out and has no facilities. For what you describe, I'd be willing to pay quite a bit more.
I think working out how much a sharer should pay is quite tricky though. I really don't think they should be expected to pay 50% of everything, even if they are getting 50% of the riding, as they will have no real say in things like where the horse is kept/ what bedding is used/ what feeds/ whether the horse is on full or part livery etc, all of which will affect cost. They also won't have a huge amount of autonomy in what they do with the horse and will, I assume, need to fit round what you are doing. At the same time, if you are paying a fair whack to keep your horse on a very good yard with excellent facilities, then they should expect to contribute to that.
It's a balance though - have the price too high, and you won't get many people interested! I'd probably advertise something like 3 days a week for £150 a month and see what interest you get. You can always drop the price if you don't get as much interest as you'd like.
Whereabouts are you, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Andrew657]

I think first of all you need to determine what you're looking for from the share

1) A rider that will school and improve your horse (in this case the amount charged will probably be low or if a pro - you may have to pay them)

2) A rider that can share and enjoy your horse - and is experienced/capable enough that will largely keep it on track. I think in this case given how you describe the horse and unless you want to restrict days (eg no weekends) or can only do light work because you're competing regularly. I think I would start by dividing livery charges in half (so if you're paying £500/month - then £250/month) still a bargain for the loaner as you would still be paying most of the extras (vets/farrier/tack ...) and relatively low commitment (compared to owning) - although it sounds a lot. But if your horse is as nice as you say would be attractive (may be interested if anywhere near me)

3) You want the largest financial contribution - and you expect the rider to principally be learning from the horse - and you are willing to keep schooling to ensure bad habits/ upsets etc are put right - this is much closer to a commercial hire arrangement - and should be priced higher.

 

[asmp]

Just seem something similar for £200 a month ?.

Gone are the days when people were happy to have someone exercise their horse for free (I did it both ways at various times - rode a horse while owner at work and, at another time, got someone to ride my horse when I didn’t have the time)

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I saw one recently. Riding 3 days a week, but only allowed to hack and only in walk and trot.

£160 a month ??

Your set up sounds great though, so I would say £130-150 a month for three days riding sounds fair.

 

[Stacey_xo]

Your set up sounds very good OP and your horse sounds lovely. I think you will be able to charge more as a result, especially as the horse is on full livery. I pay £20 a week to ride as many times as I like, but horse lives out and has no facilities. For what you describe, I'd be willing to pay quite a bit more.
I think working out how much a sharer should pay is quite tricky though. I really don't think they should be expected to pay 50% of everything, even if they are getting 50% of the riding, as they will have no real say in things like where the horse is kept/ what bedding is used/ what feeds/ whether the horse is on full or part livery etc, all of which will affect cost. They also won't have a huge amount of autonomy in what they do with the horse and will, I assume, need to fit round what you are doing. At the same time, if you are paying a fair whack to keep your horse on a very good yard with excellent facilities, then they should expect to contribute to that.
It's a balance though - have the price too high, and you won't get many people interested! I'd probably advertise something like 3 days a week for £150 a month and see what interest you get. You can always drop the price if you don't get as much interest as you'd like.
Whereabouts are you, if you don't mind me asking?

I’m in South Wales ?

 

[Stacey_xo]

I think first of all you need to determine what you're looking for from the share

1) A rider that will school and improve your horse (in this case the amount charged will probably be low or if a pro - you may have to pay them)

2) A rider that can share and enjoy your horse - and is experienced/capable enough that will largely keep it on track. I think in this case given how you describe the horse and unless you want to restrict days (eg no weekends) or can only do light work because you're competing regularly. I think I would start by dividing livery charges in half (so if you're paying £500/month - then £250/month) still a bargain for the loaner as you would still be paying most of the extras (vets/farrier/tack ...) and relatively low commitment (compared to owning) - although it sounds a lot. But if your horse is as nice as you say would be attractive (may be interested if anywhere near me)

3) You want the largest financial contribution - and you expect the rider to principally be learning from the horse - and you are willing to keep schooling to ensure bad habits/ upsets etc are put right - this is much closer to a commercial hire arrangement - and should be priced higher.

Yeah I’d go with the second one as I’d rather him not develop any bad habits. And I’m in South Wales if you are interested.

 

[AUB]

I take 80/month for my horse - full livery so no yard duties, primarily hacking but all facilities on yard if the weathers is bad. My sharer has horse 2 days weekly + extra in holidays (and extra at the moment because I’m preggo).

 

[Stacey_xo]

Would depend on the number of days and baseline for your area but based on horse description, facilities and opportunities for completions/clinics maybe £50/£60 for 3 days?

I've previously charged £10 per day work no or limited chores but that was for a happy hacker on a relatively basic yard. This tends to be the going rate in my area.

Honestly I’m not sure what the going rate in the area is, the rate for livery yards are so different where I am so I can only imagine a horse on loan/part loan is different depending on the yard.

 

[Trouper]

I’m quite flexible myself with my days and ideally I’d ride 3-4 days a week and have my sharer do the same, with opportunities to ride more if I’m on holiday at no extra cost as I’d rather charge a set amount per month than per ride

I've no idea on costs - but may I respectfully request you factor in a day's rest each week for your horse.

 

[Stacey_xo]

I've no idea on costs - but may I respectfully request you factor in a day's rest each week for your horse.

Of course, I would sacrifice a day each week out of my time to ensure he has a rest day. ?

 

[benz]

Depends how much you need/want the money. You could price out a really good sharer who can’t afford to pay half the livery costs of a comp venue. I recently enquired about one with a similar set up (more facilities and no extra cost to use them but diy on weekends) and they wanted £250 a month. At that price I’d rather buy another than deal with the hassle of dealing with a share but I’m sure someone else would snap it up so I’d say just depends on what is most important to you. In an ideal world you would have a wonderful sharer paying half the livery and I’m sure it’s possible but I personally would be open to negotiating on the price, for a really good sharer

 

[HashRouge]

Depends how much you need/want the money. You could price out a really good sharer who can’t afford to pay half the livery costs of a comp venue. I recently enquired about one with a similar set up (more facilities and no extra cost to use them but diy on weekends) and they wanted £250 a month. At that price I’d rather buy another than deal with the hassle of dealing with a share but I’m sure someone else would snap it up so I’d say just depends on what is most important to you. In an ideal world you would have a wonderful sharer paying half the livery and I’m sure it’s possible but I personally would be open to negotiating on the price, for a really good sharer

Yes this would be my thinking too. If you set the price too high, you will price out quite a few potential sharers. Not necessarily a problem and you may well still find someone easily, but just something to be aware of if you were thinking of that sort of price. I keep my own horse for less than £250 a month, so couldn't really justify it on a share. I'm aware this figure was never mentioned by you btw OP! I have two retired horses, but share as well because I don't really want to own three horses. I couldn't justify spending too much on a share horse though, although I do think I'm very reliable and a good sharer.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I reckon £10 to £15 a day would be reasonable enough I think because there are no chores and you have great facilities you can charge a top end price ?

 

[Skib]

The livery cost for the day.

 

[Wishfilly]

I'd say about £15 a day, which I know sounds steep, but I know a lot of people charge £10 with some chores or less good facilities. I guess it depends what is most important to you- the financial support or getting the perfect person?

However, it sounds like you are planning to sometimes ride on the same days as the sharer? In theory, there is nothing wrong with this- a fit horse can obviously have two rides in one day. However, a lot of sharers are not keen on this, and prefer the horse to be "theirs" for the day. I think you'd be better off having 2-3 set days for the sharer, and then 3 days where you ride, plus the rest day being "your" day.

 

[Andrew657]

Yeah I’d go with the second one as I’d rather him not develop any bad habits. And I’m in South Wales if you are interested.

Sorry long way from North Yorkshire

 

[criso]

I always think of £10 per ride as a starting point so £100 pcm for 2 days and £150 for 3.

Round here I've seen up to twice that for what you're offering but it's an expensive part of the country with easily paying £50 at a riding school so that would influence how much people are prepared to pay for a share. You might not get so much in Wales.

 

[Leandy]

Why do you want a sharer? Honestly if you have competition ambitions yourself, which it sounds as though you do, I would be paying a professional a couple of days a week rather than dealing with random sharers if I felt the horse needed more work or bringing on. If it is that you need the money, how much do you need and do you know of any suitably competent sharers and how much are they willing to pay? Personally I'd be looking for the competent sharer first and foremost ie someone who is not not going to ruin my horse or be more trouble than they are worth, then take a modest financial contribution to try to ensure reliability. If you expect them to pay a fair slab of the costs of full livery then they will expect a fair slab of say in what they do with the horse and how it is kept and personally that would be an absolute no for me.

 

[criso]

Can't say I've seen people wanting more of a say because they pay more, in fact some of the people who paid a lot had ended up sharing after expensive but frustrating riding school experiences and were looking for something better than that but no input. The expensive shares tend to be on expensive full livery yards where a lot of horsecare decisions are made by the yard.

I've seen most issues with people who don't pay as sometimes you don't value what you get for nothing. Cancelling at the last minute which if chores are required leaves the owner having to go up at the last minute or pay for services. Some people i know made a rule that last minute cancellation meant arranging and paying for livery for the day.

 

[Stacey_xo]

I'd say about £15 a day, which I know sounds steep, but I know a lot of people charge £10 with some chores or less good facilities. I guess it depends what is most important to you- the financial support or getting the perfect person?

However, it sounds like you are planning to sometimes ride on the same days as the sharer? In theory, there is nothing wrong with this- a fit horse can obviously have two rides in one day. However, a lot of sharers are not keen on this, and prefer the horse to be "theirs" for the day. I think you'd be better off having 2-3 set days for the sharer, and then 3 days where you ride, plus the rest day being "your" day.

No I wouldn’t ride the same day, when I said 3-4 days I meant more on a flexible basis in that if I wasn’t able to ride on one of my days I would offer it to the sharer anyway so my boy still gets his exercise for the day, however I’ll probably advertise as 3 days per week with opportunity for more days on occasion. ?

 

[Hanno Verian]

I posted this previously on a thread - What Does Part Loan mean to you:

I'm in my first month of having a sharer, my horse is on full livery kept at the yard where he has been on for the last four years, my arrangement with the sharer is that she, I and the professional rider who he is on livery with ride him a set number of days a week, we coordinate days and what we are going to do to make sure that he is exercised consistantly and schooled by the professional to keep him the fit healthy chap that he is.
I have said to my sharer that I'm happy for her to do what she, wants with him, but that she runs it by the professional rider who has known him all the time I've had him, before doing anything out of the ordinary. At the moment she is having lessons on him, hacking him and also learning to lunge/longrein him and enjoying it hugely. I am happy that she could travel him to a competition or fun ride or indeed hunt him if she wished to, my only stipulations are if she wants to do anything out of the ordinary with him she asks in advance, if she notices a problem or concern that she tells me or the trainer - ranging from behaviour to illness/injury, she tells me if anything breaks and alway wear hi viz if she hacks.
In return she pays me a set rate that equates to X number of riding days per week - regardless of whether she rides or not and my Full Livery charge has reduced reflecting his not needing to be ridden four days a week.
My sharer is a delightful lady who adores my boy and is getting a huge amount out of it, she turns up does her thing and heads off home, she might like I do pop in every now and then to fuss him and see him, but doesnt spend her whole day there and doesnt inconvenience my trainer. My trainer gets extra income teaching my sharer and has been able to free up more time through not having to ride mine twice more in the week.
For me it means that I have someone else of similar ability riding my horse and giving me feedback, I get pleasure from other people getting pleasure from my horse and financially its cut my costs by several hundred £ per month which allows me more flexibility in terms of my work choice. An absolute win-win-win

I would add that my livery bill has now dropped because I no longer need to pay to have him exercised.....I have similar facilities 2 x arena, grass arenas both SJ & Dressage (long & short) as well as XC schooling

PM me if you would like more detail, but I'd prefer not to post specifics in the open forum

 

[Stacey_xo]

Why do you want a sharer? Honestly if you have competition ambitions yourself, which it sounds as though you do, I would be paying a professional a couple of days a week rather than dealing with random sharers if I felt the horse needed more work or bringing on. If it is that you need the money, how much do you need and do you know of any suitably competent sharers and how much are they willing to pay? Personally I'd be looking for the competent sharer first and foremost ie someone who is not not going to ruin my horse or be more trouble than they are worth, then take a modest financial contribution to try to ensure reliability. If you expect them to pay a fair slab of the costs of full livery then they will expect a fair slab of say in what they do with the horse and how it is kept and personally that would be an absolute no for me.

I’m not going to expect a huge chunk for the costs of the livery to be honest, perhaps a bit less than half but will be open to negotiate because I want the right person for my boy, I can’t keep up with riding 6 days per week and he has a lot of potential to do much more than he currently is, the ideal person would be long term as well and honestly if they had any suggestions for how the horse is kept further down the line then I would take it into account but obviously being on full livery he’s just on a set package and there’s not much to be changed anyway. ?

 

[Stacey_xo]

I posted this previously on a thread - What Does Part Loan mean to you:

I'm in my first month of having a sharer, my horse is on full livery kept at the yard where he has been on for the last four years, my arrangement with the sharer is that she, I and the professional rider who he is on livery with ride him a set number of days a week, we coordinate days and what we are going to do to make sure that he is exercised consistantly and schooled by the professional to keep him the fit healthy chap that he is.
I have said to my sharer that I'm happy for her to do what she, wants with him, but that she runs it by the professional rider who has known him all the time I've had him, before doing anything out of the ordinary. At the moment she is having lessons on him, hacking him and also learning to lunge/longrein him and enjoying it hugely. I am happy that she could travel him to a competition or fun ride or indeed hunt him if she wished to, my only stipulations are if she wants to do anything out of the ordinary with him she asks in advance, if she notices a problem or concern that she tells me or the trainer - ranging from behaviour to illness/injury, she tells me if anything breaks and alway wear hi viz if she hacks.
In return she pays me a set rate that equates to X number of riding days per week - regardless of whether she rides or not and my Full Livery charge has reduced reflecting his not needing to be ridden four days a week.
My sharer is a delightful lady who adores my boy and is getting a huge amount out of it, she turns up does her thing and heads off home, she might like I do pop in every now and then to fuss him and see him, but doesnt spend her whole day there and doesnt inconvenience my trainer. My trainer gets extra income teaching my sharer and has been able to free up more time through not having to ride mine twice more in the week.
For me it means that I have someone else of similar ability riding my horse and giving me feedback, I get pleasure from other people getting pleasure from my horse and financially its cut my costs by several hundred £ per month which allows me more flexibility in terms of my work choice. An absolute win-win-win

I would add that my livery bill has now dropped because I no longer need to pay to have him exercised.....I have similar facilities 2 x arena, grass arenas both SJ & Dressage (long & short) as well as XC schooling

PM me if you would like more detail, but I'd prefer not to post specifics in the open forum

That sounds ideal to what I would want in a sharer, minus the professional also riding him, it would just be me and the sharer to do what they want with him as he’s capable of doing everything. ?

 

[Wishfilly]

No I wouldn’t ride the same day, when I said 3-4 days I meant more on a flexible basis in that if I wasn’t able to ride on one of my days I would offer it to the sharer anyway so my boy still gets his exercise for the day, however I’ll probably advertise as 3 days per week with opportunity for more days on occasion. ?

Ah, I see.

From what you're posting, does your horse need very regular exercise due to a health condition etc? My one concern with this is that sharers can be unreliable at times (not all of them, obviously). If you *need* him exercised most days, I would consider maybe dropping the price if you can find someone with references etc who you think will be really reliable?

 

[Stacey_xo]

Ah, I see.

From what you're posting, does your horse need very regular exercise due to a health condition etc? My one concern with this is that sharers can be unreliable at times (not all of them, obviously). If you *need* him exercised most days, I would consider maybe dropping the price if you can find someone with references etc who you think will be really reliable?

No he doesn’t need exercising everyday or most days but ideally I want him in work 6 days a week at the most but if myself or the sharer couldn’t make it one day it’s not a big deal as he just gets an extra day in the field. ? The only reason I would offer the day to the sharer at no extra cost if I couldn’t make it is I feel like most people want to ride as much as possible if they’re able to, if the sharer can’t take up an extra day on the odd occasion then it’s no big deal as he’s on full livery and would still get all his needs met. ?

 

[FREESTYLER]

If you were in Stafford I would be willing to pay ??

 

[Stacey_xo]

If you were in Stafford I would be willing to pay ??

Haha if you ever move this way let me know!