How old are your sharers?

sandi_84

sandi_84

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Wondering because there is a young lad (think he's about 12) that I know who isn't having the greatest time at the local riding school. He's a good little rider but I think he's quite shy.
His mum would like to get him a horse but atm doesn't have the funds or the knowledge to make this a viable option.
I was having a think about it tonight as he's coming up to ride my boy (his favorite when Loki was at the riding school) this Tuesday and I was thinking about maybe seeing if they would want to do a part share for him a couple of days a week. I was thinking of asking them to help me poo pick, groom, hay and maybe help me build some jumps instead of a financial contribution for rides but I don't know if this would work - obviously he'd have to work around school etc and I'd have to talk to my mum about it first to make sure she'd be ok with it too.
At the moment I have loads of time on my hands so it wouldn't be a problem holding their hands for the first few weeks/months.

So what do you think? Does it work ok with young sharers?
 
That is a very thoughtful idea and sounds like it may work out well. His mum may also enjoy being involved and learning about horses (if she doesn't ride already). That way if they are still keen you will have given them a good idea what ownership may be like.
 
So long as he is supervised and the horse is suitable, I wouldn't see it as a problem.

Sounds like a fair deal, and with the lighter evenings coming now too, he should be able to do an evening or two after school.
 
What a lovely idea - go for it :) I'm sure the boy will be over the moon!

I had a 14 year old girl share my pony for a while, it didn't work out but that was more to do with her family than her age.I did have to hold her hand for a while but if you have the time to do this at the start then as I said, go for it :)
 
That's such a nice idea. I'm 15 and have a share- the horse and yard are brilliant and the lovely owner seems happy with it all. I see lots of ads asking for no under 18s but personally, most under 18s I've seen have been very willing, happy and polite- sometimes much more so their older counterparts!
 
if you wanted financial contribution im sure they would be willing to pay
1. lessons arent cheap!!!
2. he would be learning alot more!
 
Go for it. You'll probably make his whole entire year! :)

I have an 8yo and a 42yo sharer, although for different horses! The 42yo pretty much full loans but keeps him here and the 8yo I teach to ride (in a sense) and she comes 3 times a week. :)
 
Hi I have a sharer for my old boy and she started when she was 14 (now 15) and she has been great :) and is taking him to pony club camp this summer yay, one whole week with no kids (my 2 are going also) or ponies what will I do ? :D
 
poppet said:
That is a very thoughtful idea and sounds like it may work out well. His mum may also enjoy being involved and learning about horses (if she doesn't ride already). That way if they are still keen you will have given them a good idea what ownership may be like.
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Aw thanks guys :D
His mum would love being involved, she rides once every 1-2 weeks too :) He'd always be supervised while there, I'll be there most of the time anyway as I'm currently unemployed but his mum would always be with him anyway.

My lad is very sensible and quiet and the only thing I'd not want him to do is hack out (Pippa would be left in the field alone and I'd worry myself sick incase anything happened) or jump while I'm not there as Loki can be a bit naughty with run outs so I'd like to be there to advise for jumping :)

Clement82 said:
I'd say go for it :) you might find that he is better than some adult sharers and will listen to how you want things doing. It sounds like you're really thoughtful and I hope it works out for you and him!
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I was thinking it would be good for him and good for me when I get a job too. I was also thinking it would be a good opportunity for him to unlearn some of the "lessons" he's been taught at the moment i.e winching a horses head in for "outline" :(

It's really good that people have had good experiences with younger sharers, that makes me want to really sit down and work it out in my head and gives me a bit more confidence in a younger person

TandD said:
if you wanted financial contribution im sure they would be willing to pay
1. lessons arent cheap!!!
2. he would be learning alot more!
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Tbh I'm not really worried so much about the money, I just think it would be nice for everyone concerned and if he really wanted I could do him little ridden lessons for a fiver or something :)

If I do decide to ask him I really think it would make his year :D He loves my horse and is always asking my friend to take him down so he can groom him ha ha! So I offered for him to come do a bit of riding over the holidays :D
 
My YO has 2x12yo girls loaning one of her ponies. The girls are best buddies and still go to a fairly decent RS once a week. They are smashing girls who treat the pony as if she were their own and spend plenty of time doing all the caring "peripheral" stuff - don't just fling tack on, ride and then b***er off! They are mature and experienced enough to be left with pony (YO is on site in any case) and are almost always there together, if not a parent usually hangs about. Having had the benefit of observing them and unconsciously vetting them over a few months I offered them the chance of helping get/keep my boy fit last week in addition to their loan and only once everything with her is done first. YO quite happy with this as hopefully they can soon ride together and for a little longer rather than splitting their saddle time. They had a sort of induction with the boy today and all 3 were very happy. YO had several false starts when advertising for loan but we seem to have struck really lucky with these two young ladies!
 
I'm sure it'd be great - especially if the Mum is on hand too.

Only thought that crossed my mind was insurance- I don't know the ins and outs of it but I've made sure that my sharers (who are admittedly older now but were under 18 when they started) had personal accident insurance policies.
 
I started sharing when I was 12, the ponies owner stayed with me for the first month or so and my mum stayed with me for 3months ish I think. I learnt loads and I was very grateful for the experience and oppotunity. I would suggest they got insurance though, just incase anything happened.
 
i have a 13yr old and a 14yr old, both are so small in build they look more like 8yr olds, they can ride my ponies as much as they want but in return they have to help the YO with any chores she wants done, the YO has done me a big favour in taking the ponies off my hands while i sort my life out so i've left it all up to her what she gets them doing and they understand and respect that.
 
I had a 14 year old sharer for my horse last time I was pregnant. She had to give him up when she moved house but it was good because I could give her lessons before baby came along, horse seemed to enjoy it and he was well looked after. The only problem was in my absence once my son was born an older lady at the yard 'took over' - she was well-meaning but didn't know my horse as well and told the girl to do different things - resulting in an overweight horse and a lami scare... So make sure that the teenager is supervised by 'sensible' people.
Currently I have a 15 year-old girl loaning my horse while I am pregnant again, this time from a livery yard where I know and trust the owner and the other liveries, and they are aware of my reasons for keeping my horse as he is kept! Again, I'm having to give her a few lessons but she is keen and it's a nice way for her to start out having her own horse. She is planning to buy one of her own eventually, and her mum sensibly wants her to learn the ropes first.
I don't think there's anything wrong with having a younger sharer, I had an older lady once whom I later found out would go off riding my horse with someone else's husband!!!!!! You can imagine what was going on there - and I dread to think what my horse has seen...
 
I have shares for both sasha and Dublin. Sashas share is a mum daughter share, they do mornings at weekend, and dublins sharer is a 17 yr old girl who has really brought him on in last year or so. She does everything for him they have a great bond, they both contribute towards keep but we are all flexible in what we do. And come Polocrosse season gareth has priority with sasha. I say give it a go with supervision, I kept close eye on my shares during initial period, but I relax now cos they are so good and always have horses best interest first.
 
Years ago I had a girl if 14 help me out with my old mare. She wasn't particularly bothered about riding but just absolutely loved grooming her, feeding her and just taking her for walks. She was such a super kid and lived very near by while I lived about 10 miles away by bus across the city for university. The bonus of this was that she was a Jehovah's Witness so used to see to her on Christmas Day and Boxing Day for me when I went back to my parent's house.

I had my mare pts while I was at that yard and it really broke my heart telling her. She spent an entire day up there with her from dawn til dusk before she went saying goodbye.
 
I would go for it. My grand daughter had a share pony for a short while at 12yrs old. She was waiting for her own pony to be backed. This gave her a chance to learn the basics of tacking up and grooming a pony that is in work. We paid for the share part and in return she had some valuable lessons away from the riding school environment. Needless to say she is an excellent rider and now she is 14yrs old. She is good at all the necessary work for her own pony. We are just waiting for our second pony to be backed and she will then have something larger to ride. My other grand daughters (twins) are 12yrs old and they are riding and doing all the necessary with the first pony and I would trust them with all of it. It is a good age to learn and you will get a lot out of it yourself as I find this age group are easy to deal with.
 
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