is their any experienced sharers out there?!?!

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moodymare123

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rant really but i am having too put my competition pony on share too keep on ticking, at the start of the advert for him i clearly state 'DO NOT READ ON IF YOU ARE NOVICE OR IN-EXPERIENCED' but who are the ones getting in touch?! the ones that are still in a riding school and are complete novices!! ive even had a girl constantly BEG me too come and just try him and i keep finding myself saying too her 'i do not want you too get hurt so no.'but she claims she has just started riding 'quicker' ponies in the riding school! im so tempted too get her out and plonk her on him and say 'go on then gove him a big boot' but i am not that evil hehe. so come on perfect sharers where are you?!
 
Know exactly how you feel....... am advertising for a sharer for my boy and the only replies I get are from time wasters or people who ask questions that I have already answered in my ad..... like, must stay at present yard, yet still ask if they could move him to another yard!

Very frustrating.


moodymare123 said:
rant really but i am having too put my competition pony on share too keep on ticking, at the start of the advert for him i clearly state 'DO NOT READ ON IF YOU ARE NOVICE OR IN-EXPERIENCED' but who are the ones getting in touch?! the ones that are still in a riding school and are complete novices!! ive even had a girl constantly BEG me too come and just try him and i keep finding myself saying too her 'i do not want you too get hurt so no.'but she claims she has just started riding 'quicker' ponies in the riding school! im so tempted too get her out and plonk her on him and say 'go on then gove him a big boot' but i am not that evil hehe. so come on perfect sharers where are you?!
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There are experienced riders out there.

You will be lucky to find one to pay to ride (and school/compete/put miles on) your horse though. It has to be mutually beneficial...

And that's talking as an "experienced" rider who has shared before.
 
xloopylozzax said:
There are experienced riders out there.

You will be lucky to find one to pay to ride (and school/compete/put miles on) your horse though. It has to be mutually beneficial...

And that's talking as an "experienced" rider who has shared before.
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And there's the catch :-) I'm sharing and paying. I'm an ok rider I think but I don't have years and years of experience. Current share is not being very beneficial to me as I'm at a stage where I need to practice schooling but end up hacking out at walk pace. Well apart from yesterday when he spooked slipped and fell with me still on board.
OP .. It might just be worth giving a novice rider a try out. Carefully vetted of course so there are no mishaps. :)
 
TrasaM said:
And there's the catch :-) I'm sharing and paying. I'm an ok rider I think but I don't have years and years of experience. Current share is not being very beneficial to me as I'm at a stage where I need to practice schooling but end up hacking out at walk pace. Well apart from yesterday when he spooked slipped and fell with me still on board.
OP .. It might just be worth giving a novice rider a try out. Carefully vetted of course so there are no mishaps. :)
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i have tried having a novice sharer but they had him for a week and just couldnt handle him too ride, he is just too sensitive (sensitive meaning no kicking or squeezing just slight shorten of the rein!) he took off with previous sharer along roads because she accidentally squeezed him :-\ but the thing is once you get too know his buttons, and understand he isnt doing it too be horrible, he gets you so far like me!
 
They are out there!

I share because my job does not allow me time for a loan or my own, however I do not pay anything for current share horse as she is very green and needs a lot of work. The owner is happy with this arrangement as she does not have much time/experience to educate the horse, and would otherwise be paying for a professional to ride. I have had a few shares in the past with this arrangement.

As stated you may find it difficult to find an experienced sharer that would pay to share. Most may want to pay very little/nothing at all/want to be paid themselves if your horse can be difficult/needs work etc.
 
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tbh I think you will find it really hard to find an experienced sharer (depending what you mean by 'experienced'- do you mean someone who's competed before/bsja etc or just someone who's had shares before and has still hands/good position).

because normally if you want an experienced rider on your horse you will have to pay them!! but you may be able to find a teenager who used to have their own but has sold up due to school/college/uni??
 
moodymare123 said:
i have tried having a novice sharer but they had him for a week and just couldnt handle him too ride, he is just too sensitive (sensitive meaning no kicking or squeezing just slight shorten of the rein!) he took off with previous sharer along roads because she accidentally squeezed him :-\ but the thing is once you get too know his buttons, and understand he isnt doing it too be horrible, he gets you so far like me!
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He sounds like a nicely trained horse. I'd agree that it would be a shame to have someone use strong aids on him. Not that it sounds like he'd let them get away with it :)
 
A lot of the people on my yard have experienced sharers in the sense that they can ride to a decent level, usually it's because they don't have enough time to have a horse of their own but still want something a bit more than a RS hack etc so they are out there. My ex sharer was one of these, she could ride well enough though they weren't very experienced about management and couldn't pick up on subtleties like the horse being "off" unless it was dog lame.

In terms of finances, ex sharer used to pay half for shoes and livery and buy the odd pot of supplement or bag of food for free use 3-4 days a week. The way I see it, although the sharer could ride, my horse wasn't exactly being enhanced by the experience so we were in a mutually beneficial agreement, I didn't think it was unusual for sharers to pay some of the costs and to treat the horse as "theirs" (within reason) on their days, but it could be that I am wrong

Of course, another type I have learned to be wary enough are those people who can ride well enough who worm their way onto yards with some of the liveries and blatantly just ask to borrow horses to take to fun rides, hacks, shows etc. I resent these parasites, they usually don't care about your horse's wellbeing, they just want to have fun and your horse is the vehicle. It's doubtful this type will do your horse any favours either

eta sorry I probably sound very unpleasant here, I think I've become very jaded by some things that have happened to me at my yard over this summer. Clearly I need more chocolate
 
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There are good sharers out there. I think I'm a good sharer. i returned to riding after a long break and simply don't want the ties, cost or worry of a horse of my own. I pay for probably more than half of everything and although i can ride as much as I like the official arrangement is for 3 days. I'm a mature, quiet confident rider and have bonded with a beautiful Welsh sec D mare, who had a bit of a reputation. I was literally inundated with offers when I started looking just over a year ago (which was a bit of a surprise to me) and turned down quite a few offers before i found my perfect pony. In conversation with her owner she mentioned it had taken her 2 years to find me so although there are good sharers out there i think they may be few and far between. Good luck though it"s important you find the right person I've watched several come and go with others on the yard.
 
the thing is im a college student too so i just dont have the money too pay someone :-\ and i actually physically cant ride him due too a broken collar bone! i was jumping one metre courses on him before this has happened because i know how too press all of his buttons but i just get so worried watching other people ride him as i dont think they fully understand before they get on him how tricky he is but he really is the sweetesy/cheekiest pony i have ever met! and also so honest! he gets me out of some right tricky situations when showjumping! i dont really mind what the sharer does as long as he is working!! previous sharer was too scared of cantering him as he can be a right t*t if he doesnt know you!
 
and all im asking is £10 contribution in the week just too help over winter and ive seen people asking £140 a month for ponies like him for share! so i think im being pretty fair :-)
 
I think its probably really hard to hand your horse over to a stranger and it'll always be a risk but don't judge people too quickly, even an experienced rider needs time to bond to get the best out of a horse. In fact they can be the worst for being over confident and getting it all wrong and blame the horse rather than themselves! The relationship you have with a sharer is also really important with mutual respect for each other they also need to love the horse too :)
 
Tess Love said:
I think its probably really hard to hand your horse over to a stranger and it'll always be a risk but don't judge people too quickly, even an experienced rider needs time to bond to get the best out of a horse. In fact they can be the worst for being over confident and getting it all wrong and blame the horse rather than themselves! The relationship you have with a sharer is also really important with mutual respect for each other they also need to love the horse too :)
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Agreed. Those who consider themselves experienced often have their own ideas of how a horse should be ridden, and it can be highly annoying. Never happened to me but seen it between others.

Me and a friend currently share at a private yard. The horse she rides is an 18yo tb X who thinks she's a race horse (shes never raced) Even the owner isn't keen on riding her, as she can be a moody mare and if you get her near a stubble field... zoom!

Despite this, my friend is a novice (like me) and has been riding for roughly a year and a half. They both get on so well. We even went for a gallop yesterday and when her horse started to go into racer mode, she managed to keep calm and bring her back to walk. I've had a go of her myself and she was too much for me.

We also get in really well with the owners and we set out exactly what we wanted to achieve.

We were both straight out of riding schools. We still have regular lessons and know we have lots of learning still but our horses have brought our riding on so much. Although my share is more chilled out, he's just spooky instead of fizzy.

So don't tar every novice with the same brush ;)
 
i really have given novices a chance but he just too sensitive and sharp for them! after two years of owning him i still struggle with his strength but i know what to do to keep him level headed which can be tipped at rhe slightest thing which unfortunatly happened too a novice rider, i just really dont want them too get injured or hurt- like me! he is just your typical whizzy competiton pony with the strength of a devil lol! why cant horses be simple ey?!
 
I shared a pony for what would have been 4 years next month (unfortunately he was pts in July as he got grass sickness)

He was advertised as a recently broken 4 year old and no novices due to the fact he had a buck in him. I had been riding for 9 years at the time but this was only in a riding school. But in my defence I had 2 loans prior off the riding school, both of which were unusable (one a very naughty mare and the other an older BSJA Pony which was too much for some as was very sharp and could be nervous) and with my Aunt being the owner I used to get thrown on all the newbies ... so I have sat my fair share of bucks, bronks and rears.

I went to see him but fortunately I got a reference off Donny's owners instructor as she had also taught me. I got the works thrown at me when I went... Donny reared and bronked down the school when some horses got brought in, but I stuck on.

I taught him to jump and he turned out so well, we qualified for Trailblazers championship finals this year.. which we unfortunately missed as Donny collapsed on our way there. (his owner never jumped him- just hacked)

In summation, I wouldn't knock someone just because they're coming out of a riding school :)

edit: I'd just like to add that although Donny had a good bronk on him (that he threw at me at every competition we went to) he was soft as much ... and he was cut late so was very ... ahem spirited and was growing out of it ;)
 
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I had an experienced sharer. Who stopped paying and would text me at 10pm and say she hadn't done him on her days. Absolute crazy lady who it turned out had a reputation for doing this. Have a guy that rides for nothing who's experienced but I can't find anyone that will have him for £5 a week unlimited riding! And he's pretty good! Sorry for the doom and gloom. Experienced riders tend to have their own I think :-(
 
With the size of pony you have I expect you get a lot of children looking to move on from the riding schools but I think riding schools can give them a false sense of riding ability. I have recently ended a share for my pony to an "experienced" riding school person to find I now have a nappy pony that thinks they can turn round and go home at any point on a hack; quite frustrating really because all it took was a few months to do the damage so I won't be sharing again. At least with horses you can find more experienced sharers.
 
You will be able to control him better as he knows and trusts you and you know his buttons. Someone with 2 years or 10 years would still need to get familiar with him to get the best out of him, which wont happen straight away. You'll just have to take your time finding the right person and set up a trial for a few weeks to see how it goes.

Maybe you could insist the sharer uses the same instructor as you? (if you use one) as they would be able to help. someone may not have tons of experience, but if they have the right attitude and are willing to learn then that could be more beneficial for your horse compared to someone who "knows it all".

Like others said though, if you want a pro they will be looking for money.
I don't pay my owner a penny (neither does my friend) and we're novices. They're just happy their horses are being exercised and I'm taking mine to my first show next weekend! I do however, buy the odd bag of feed, hay or pay for shoes. Today I stopped myself buying him 3 new Numnahs just because I love spoiling him (I bought one)

Sorry, totally rambling! I love my share :D
 
Finding a good sharer (and likewise for the person looking for a horse to share) is like dating. It can take an awful lot of rubbish dates to find the right 'one'. There are good people out there, and also lots of wrong ones. Keep trying. Good luck. Actually, it's probably easier to find a good sharer than the right date, in retrospect!
 
I have shared and would only do it again under the right circumstances. Turns out I'm more of a control freak than I ever realised and, having had my own for a long time it was hard!

ETA, I was the sharer, having lost my old boy a couple of years ago.
 
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I think there is good and bad on both sides, owners and sharers alike and it's probably pure luck if the right two people/horses come together. What I do known is there are far more people looking for sharers than the other way round so will continue to share even though i could afford my own probably more than many i know that own i just choose not to :)
 
They are out there. I've had two really good people ring up about my mare when I needed a sharer, and they didn't need paying! One had worked for a rider that is regularly seen at Badminton and Burghley... She hadn't worked with horses for about ten years, and had suddenly started missing it, and wanted something more sporty to ride. Another person who rang up was fresh out of uni, had competed on uni teams and done a lot of pc and eventing before that. I myself stopped working with horses and didn't ride for years, and would have jumped at sharing a horse if I had known the area where I was living and thought of it (not many people shared in my previous stint with horses, it seems a more recent thing). I wouldn't have wanted paying, and am a AI. I would have just been glad to ride.

I did find with the more experienced riders, that they were very much "all about them" and didn't want to be around to help much! I have a more novice sharer that has ended up a much more suitable sharer, just because she is more committed and honest.
 
Put the cost of the contribution up - £10 a week is rather low and will be encouraging to kids and novices. £10 per week is WAY less than the cost of lessons, I'm an 'experienced sharer' I guess and I pay £150 per month plus 1/2 of her shoes, she is a competition horse (WB) and we will be going out doing dressage in the near future.

I will say this though - remove your 'NO NOVICES etc' line from your advert, if that is the way its worded in your advert it sounds very aggressive and makes you seem quite demanding. A big part of finding a good horse to share (in my experience) is finding a good owner too, a good owner makes the share experience much nicer and more enjoyable, so if you come across as hard work in your advert you are probably putting a lot of the more mature sharers off.

If I were you I'd charge between £60 and £100 per month depending on how many times per week you are offering. I can ride as many times per week as I want and she's on full livery so £150 is fair, especially with her breeding and potential. However if you were only offering 3 days per week for example and the sharer would be expected to do chores (mucking out etc) then I'd expect to pay less, around £80 per month maybe.

And one other thing - dont let someone just leaving riding schools put you off. I was riding for 18 years at riding schools (had a break for A-Levels and uni, then went back to riding schools again as an adult) then once I felt I'd gone as far as I could go with RC horses, I wanted a horse that would develop me as a rider and help me learn more, hence why I went for a share. I didnt have an easy share horse the first time round, he was quirky but he taught me loads and I really learnt a lot from him.

So if you get someone that sounds nice, is reliable but the only downside is they are fresh from a RC, let them come and try him. Especially if they show enthusiasm for having lesson with him - that's what I did with my first share, had a lesson at the yard every fortnight with him to help me learn how to ride a non-RC horse properly!

Perhaps post your advert here so we can review it and let you know if there is any way to improve it? I was always quite picky when looking at adverts when I was looking for a share, so if you let us have a look at it we might find a way to add some more info that will make it more appealing to a more experienced sharer.
 
I am currently part loaning as my girl has been turned away for the winter with lameness problems!
I consider myself a good loaner, have competed in sj/dr/xc and evented and treat my loan horse like my own! He's actually a lot better behaved than my girl!!! Hopefully she will be back on the road in the spring!!!
 
I put my mare up for sale in may, had a few people interested but weren't quite right so I decided to look for a sharer, she was on the Internet about 20 minutes and I had an enormous response. I think today's market is that people can't afford to buy or loan so sharing is perfect and can be very beneficial to you and the horse. So I chose a young girl, only 14 and has only ever shared, her sister owns a cob so she is sort of in the middle with experience. I often have to guide her but she gets on with the pony great. My trouble is the money. At first we agreed they could donate a little for shoes and pay for any entries/ travel costs. However, the girl rides her every day, I haven't used the shoes once. If I had the money I'd happily continue this way but I just can't afford to! Is it terrible of me to expect them to pay ALL ridding costs considering the girl gets to ride and do what she wants with the pony every day!? I think I might scare them away if I ask too much but the reality is the girl loves the pony and if they don't pay I will end up having to put her back up for sale :-(
 
kc100 said:
And one other thing - dont let someone just leaving riding schools put you off. I was riding for 18 years at riding schools (had a break for A-Levels and uni, then went back to riding schools again as an adult) then once I felt I'd gone as far as I could go with RC horses, I wanted a horse that would develop me as a rider and help me learn more, hence why I went for a share. I didnt have an easy share horse the first time round, he was quirky but he taught me loads and I really learnt a lot from him.

So if you get someone that sounds nice, is reliable but the only downside is they are fresh from a RC, let them come and try him. Especially if they show enthusiasm for having lesson with him - that's what I did with my first share, had a lesson at the yard every fortnight with him to help me learn how to ride a non-RC horse properly!
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Couldn't agree with this more!

Speaking as someone who wants to be a sharer in the near future and is currently going down the riding school route to get back into practice, we're not all bad or novice riders. I've never been able to afford a horse of my own and I probably never will, nor am I lucky enough to be in the horsey loop around here and know people who would let me ride their horses. It's a bit dispiriting to see so many posters scorning those of us who go to riding schools - for a lot of us, it's the only chance we've got!
 
Lexi_ said:
Couldn't agree with this more!

Speaking as someone who wants to be a sharer in the near future and is currently going down the riding school route to get back into practice, we're not all bad or novice riders. I've never been able to afford a horse of my own and I probably never will, nor am I lucky enough to be in the horsey loop around here and know people who would let me ride their horses. It's a bit dispiriting to see so many posters scorning those of us who go to riding schools - for a lot of us, it's the only chance we've got!
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And surely that's how everyone learns, right....?
We all had to start somewhere.
 
I would say I am an experienced sharer. I had my own until 6 years ago who I competed be intro and novice dressage. I shared a lot as a teenager and for a few years after I sold my boy. I'm just getting back into riding after a couple of years after having my daughter and you do have to kiss a lot if 'frogs' as it were.

The problem with sharing, when you have owned your own, is tar you have to find the right horse, owner and yard in the right location. I've had one share recently, lovely horse, I wish I could have bought him, but too far away with a yard that I didn't really like and owners who didn't do things the way I do. It was free though.

I'm just starting out now with a share with a friend from work, who I've known for 9 years, on her (slightly quirky) mare, who I have always liked, who has just moved to the yard I used to keep my horse on. I'm paying £150 a month but its part livery and I can ride as much as I like, have a friend to ride with who likes my daughter and she likes her. We also have the same instructor (she recommended him for schoolmaster lessons).

If this doesn't work then nothing will lol!! But I would think most experienced sharers would need it to 'work' on as many levels, if they have owned before as you have their own ideas. My friend knows mine and I trust her and I'd hope she trusts me so hopefully things will be great!!
 
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