Loan horse

Vix1

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Hi all,

I'm looking at getting a part loan horse 3/4 days a week. Im looking at a Hanovarian Cob later, he is 19 and t
It will be £37.50 a week, and I will need to sign a contract for a year. Apparently he can't do small circles and can't be jumped. Any advice on what else I need to know as I'm a novice at this.

Thank you in advance.
 

ihatework

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If he can’t do small circles and can’t be jumped it means he is injured/lame.

Now that doesn’t mean that he wont be suitable for some light work to help teach a novice but given you are being asked to enter into an annual contract I would ascertain the following:
1. Is there a notice period? ie can you give a months notice and end the share?
2. If the answer to the above is no, should the horse be too lame to be ridden are you still expected to pay for an extended period of time?

Id also want to know what the horses diagnosis is and how the owners manage it. Does the horse have any pain killer? Will other people also be riding or is it just you?

What do you wish to achieve from this share, then just make sure that the situation will help you reach that goal
 

Littlebear

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The horse sounds like it has a fair amount of soundness issues - why can’t it do those things?. Is it on full livery or do you have to do jobs also ?
I would be hesitant to sign a years agreement without a fair trial period to be sure he is suitable for you and isn’t going to be lame every 5 minutes.
Who owns the horse is it a riding school or a private person on a yard?
 

Vix1

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If he can’t do small circles and can’t be jumped it means he is injured/lame.

Now that doesn’t mean that he wont be suitable for some light work to help teach a novice but given you are being asked to enter into an annual contract I would ascertain the following:
1. Is there a notice period? ie can you give a months notice and end the share?
2. If the answer to the above is no, should the horse be too lame to be ridden are you still expected to pay for an extended period of time?

Id also want to know what the horses diagnosis is and how the owners manage it. Does the horse have any pain killer? Will other people also be riding or is it just you?

What do you wish to achieve from this share, then just make sure that the situation will help you reach that goal
Thank you very much,

I am hoping it will help me with the knowledge I need to get through BHS stages 1 and 2 care and riding. I am worried though if he is lame ? xx
 

Vix1

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The horse sounds like it has a fair amount of soundness issues - why can’t it do those things?. Is it on full livery or do you have to do jobs also ?
I would be hesitant to sign a years agreement without a fair trial period to be sure he is suitable for you and isn’t going to be lame every 5 minutes.
Who owns the horse is it a riding school or a private person on a yard?

I will have to do everything 4 days a week, a lady owns him on a private yard. Im thinking it might not be a good idea. Thank you for your advice x
 

Pippity

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My first share horse was a 20yo mare who couldn't do small circles and couldn't be jumped. She was a perfect first share horse. I wouldn't be too put off by that - the horse could just be a bit arthritic and creaky and the owner is taking suitable care with his workload.

However, the price seems VERY high. I paid half that for my first share horse, and didn't have to do any chores.

I'd say go to meet the horse and the owner, but keep your eyes open. Be prepared to walk away if you get a bad feeling.
 

Errin Paddywack

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If you can't ride him in circles and can't jump him at all, what can you do with him, is he a safe hack and are the roads suitable for hacking? Strikes me all you will learn is how to handle and look after a horse. Not worth £37.50 a week, especially with a year's contract.
 

Vix1

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My first share horse was a 20yo mare who couldn't do small circles and couldn't be jumped. She was a perfect first share horse. I wouldn't be too put off by that - the horse could just be a bit arthritic and creaky and the owner is taking suitable care with his workload.

However, the price seems VERY high. I paid half that for my first share horse, and didn't have to do any chores.

I'd say go to meet the horse and the owner, but keep your eyes open. Be prepared to walk away if you get a bad feeling.

Thank you for this, I have no idea of cost as I have never done this before but your not the only one that has said it see seems high.
 

Vix1

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Thank you for this, she said the reason for the contract is to ensure that someone doesn't just want him for the summer then backs out when its winter.
 

ihatework

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I think this needs to be put into some perspective.

It is perfectly possible to get a cheap/free share. BUT quite understandably when an owner lets a stranger look after their horse they are going to want a certain level of competence and confidence in that person that they aren’t going to do something super daft that hurts the horse. This is called EXPERIENCE. Once you are an experienced horse sharer you have much more bargaining power.

As a truely novice horse sharer it’s would actually be pretty difficult to find a share on a desirable horse I’m afraid. The amount of oversight a good owner would need to invest in a novice makes sharing not worth the effort.

I think to provide a horse to a novice so they can learn, it’s perfectly acceptable to charge. To do your BHS horse care and riding you can learn loads from a 1:1 horse share scenario even if the riding aspect isn’t going to be perfect.

So yes you are going to be paying to look after someone else’s horse for them. No you are unlikely to be doing any whizzy fun riding. But it’s a cheap way to learn and should give you a lot of enjoyment.

All I would say is don’t get tied in long term financially. You need a get out. Then you can keep going as long as it’s working for both parties.

It’s often better that older creaky horses get kept ticking over under saddle. So I wouldn’t run a mile just yet.
 

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£37.50 seems a very precis amount, and I would like to know what it covers. If it covers everything, feed, shoes, insurance, livery and you have a guaranteed amount of time to ride it could be a fair deal. Like others have said, what if its lame, or you get blamed because its stiff, if you are doing your BHS stages you will have to spend some time in a school which is harder on an old horses joints.
I used to share out my daughters horse which although 18 was not stiff, but didn't jump and and adult rode him twice a week, and fed him and put him the stable, which was already mucked out and the hay in, or in summer turned him out. I never charged as it was just nice to have two evenings a week off.
The ponies that we shared when the children were younger, they rode and supervised by me, but were an extra pair of hands for mucking out, riding the larger pony and helped out at shows. Usually they got to do a least the clear round or a novice class. You may find that in the long holidays a PC mum would be grateful for extra help and someone else for the children to whine to,
 
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SaddlePsych'D

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My doubt here is with any share contract that lasts for a year - Surely most agreements allow one month's notice to terminate the share. On either side.

My first thought was he's a horse not a broadband package! I know people want sharers who are going to be committed/not waste their time but equally why tie someone in to an agreement that long, where either party's circumstances could easily change? Is this usual of share agreement or do people tend to go month by month?
 

Myloubylou

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Hmm, I don’t jump my 21 year old or do small circles as am working with age related stiffness. She’s not lame or injured & am trying to keep it that way! If horse is good in all other ways then can’t see issue unless you are wanting to jump or do more than light schooling. Cost wise depends a little on what jobs you are expected to do. I do think signing up to a years contract is too much, months notice either way is normal though not always adhered to. At the end of the day depends on how suitable horse is for what you want to do and whether you can afford
 

milliepops

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I think this needs to be put into some perspective.

It is perfectly possible to get a cheap/free share. BUT quite understandably when an owner lets a stranger look after their horse they are going to want a certain level of competence and confidence in that person that they aren’t going to do something super daft that hurts the horse. This is called EXPERIENCE. Once you are an experienced horse sharer you have much more bargaining power.

As a truely novice horse sharer it’s would actually be pretty difficult to find a share on a desirable horse I’m afraid. The amount of oversight a good owner would need to invest in a novice makes sharing not worth the effort.

I think to provide a horse to a novice so they can learn, it’s perfectly acceptable to charge. To do your BHS horse care and riding you can learn loads from a 1:1 horse share scenario even if the riding aspect isn’t going to be perfect.

So yes you are going to be paying to look after someone else’s horse for them. No you are unlikely to be doing any whizzy fun riding. But it’s a cheap way to learn and should give you a lot of enjoyment.

All I would say is don’t get tied in long term financially. You need a get out. Then you can keep going as long as it’s working for both parties.

It’s often better that older creaky horses get kept ticking over under saddle. So I wouldn’t run a mile just yet.
agree with all of this.
signing up for a year sounds risky but a notice period either way could be a good compromise.
 

Widgeon

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I find the very precise amount and the year's contract thing a bit weird to be honest. When I shared it was on a month by month basis and I was paying £100 per month for a sound pony. I didn't really have to do any jobs either. I think £37.50 (!) per week is a lot for the privilege of caring for someone else's horse. But the main thing is that I wouldn't want to be tied into a year's contract for a horse that *might* turn out to be lame a lot of the time.

I'm not saying that the perfect share should be cheap and easy, but from the details you've given I just think this situation sounds a little bit strange.
 

Chappie

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Hi Vix1, I've had a horse on loan for 5 years, and before that had another on loan (a mare in her twenties who could only do light work, I was still very happy to loan her as it was a suitable situation for me and the mare at the time), plus am based at a yard where quite a few other people loan, so have a little experience with loaning.
From what you wrote in your post, the thing that initially jumped out at me as a concern is having to sign up for a year. Would you get a trial period first to make sure you and the horse are suited? If you don't, for whatever reason, get on together, is there an option to loan any other horses? Check out the notice period required - if your situation changes for whatever reason, you may need to stop the loan, and you need to know what is required of you.
The breed, age and restrictions of the horse you mentioned - this depends on your level of riding and if you are going to want to school a lot or jump; if so, it's not going to be suitable. But if you have not been riding very long/this is your first loan, this could be a good opportunity to get experience doing some light hacking and general horse care? Will you be supervised and/or have other experienced people to turn to for help? Is there an instructor available or can you hire one of your choosing? I'd check out if there will be other friendly people of similar experience or more experienced for you to go on hacks with? eg not people who are going to want to gallop about fast. Is there a possibility for you to hack out alone in future?
Very good advice mentioned already from other posters about enquiring about the horse's soundness. If it's an older horse with soundness issues, they will not be able to do as much work and you have to be extra careful with things like hard ground. You will have to be sensitive to how they feel to ride and be able to notice stiffness and acommodate that, by doing things like a suitable gentle warm up, and not trotting or cantering on hard ground. An instructor or maybe the horse's owner will be able to advise you on this.
Also find out what will be required of you in terms of taking care of the horse, what days and times you can ride and if anyone else will be riding the horse. £37.50 per week is perhaps dependant on the area you live, the sort of livery the horse is at, and how much access you will have.
Also important is to check out the general attitude of the people you will be loaning from and the atmosphere of the yard and how it is run. You will be spending a fair bit of time and money there with them so you need to assess whether you will be happy and fit in, do you get good vibes from the set-up?!
Best wishes, I hope it works out for you! (sorry if you already knew some of that advice, I tried to cover a few points!)
 

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I’d go for something a little simpler. You say you’re a novice and this horse may have extra needs (we don’t know why it can’t do jumping and circles) could be anything from an old tendon injury to something like navicular.

now I don’t mean to come across as rude (genuinely) but if I had a horse that couldn’t do certain things, I wouldn’t want a novice sharer who could potentially compromise the horses soundness through sheer lack of knowledge. As for signing up for a year, that’s crazy really. If it was a full loan then yes maybe, but for part loan of a horse that’s potentially having lameness issues, I wouldn’t want to commit for that long initially though I do get where the owner is coming from with regards to being dropped in winter - a lot of loaners/sharers realise that horses aren’t fun in winter.
 

Vix1

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I’d go for something a little simpler. You say you’re a novice and this horse may have extra needs (we don’t know why it can’t do jumping and circles) could be anything from an old tendon injury to something like navicular.

now I don’t mean to come across as rude (genuinely) but if I had a horse that couldn’t do certain things, I wouldn’t want a novice sharer who could potentially compromise the horses soundness through sheer lack of knowledge. As for signing up for a year, that’s crazy really. If it was a full loan then yes maybe, but for part loan of a horse that’s potentially having lameness issues, I wouldn’t want to commit for that long initially though I do get where the owner is coming from with regards to being dropped in winter - a lot of loaners/sharers realise that horses aren’t fun in winter.
Thank you for your reply, I will find out more later but I am thinking its not a good idea now, although the owner will be there to guide me as she lives next door and has just bought a 4 year old so is at the yard a lot. A lot of people are also saying its very expensive. Thank you again.
 
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It is expesnive for what it is and signing up for a year at a time is a bit OTT!

Go along anyway as the experience will do you good. If you like the person and the set up you may be able to bargain. If the horse is very good to hack then the owner may be grateful if you would hack out with her and her youngster to give him education as well.

If it's not for you then be honest. Say it's not what you were looking for, thank them for their time and you know have more experience looking for another horse.
 

Vix1

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It is expesnive for what it is and signing up for a year at a time is a bit OTT!

Go along anyway as the experience will do you good. If you like the person and the set up you may be able to bargain. If the horse is very good to hack then the owner may be grateful if you would hack out with her and her youngster to give him education as well.

If it's not for you then be honest. Say it's not what you were looking for, thank them for their time and you know have more experience looking for another horse.
Thank you very much,

I will go along and your right at least it will be experience.
 
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Vix1

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I’d go for something a little simpler. You say you’re a novice and this horse may have extra needs (we don’t know why it can’t do jumping and circles) could be anything from an old tendon injury to something like navicular.

now I don’t mean to come across as rude (genuinely) but if I had a horse that couldn’t do certain things, I wouldn’t want a novice sharer who could potentially compromise the horses soundness through sheer lack of knowledge. As for signing up for a year, that’s crazy really. If it was a full loan then yes maybe, but for part loan of a horse that’s potentially having lameness issues, I wouldn’t want to commit for that long initially though I do get where the owner is coming from with regards to being dropped in winter - a lot of loaners/sharers realise that horses aren’t fun in winter.
Thank you very much,

I have a lot to think about, you have all been super helpful.
 

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This does sound expensive to me but that would be my only proviso. I have had the ride on an elderly horse for four years. (only not riding now due to C 19). My (their) horse certainly could not be hammered around on hard ground, or jump/hunt to the extent he used to do, but even at 26 he still could beat the youngsters at indoor trec and is a wonderful safe and mannerly hack. So don't be put off by a horse's age. They can teach you all you need to know for your stage 1/2 especially if they have been well schooled in the past.
 

Vix1

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This does sound expensive to me but that would be my only proviso. I have had the ride on an elderly horse for four years. (only not riding now due to C 19). My (their) horse certainly could not be hammered around on hard ground, or jump/hunt to the extent he used to do, but even at 26 he still could beat the youngsters at indoor trec and is a wonderful safe and mannerly hack. So don't be put off by a horse's age. They can teach you all you need to know for your stage 1/2 especially if they have been well schooled in the past.

Thank you very much,

My main hope is that he can teach me and help me get through the stages and build confidence. I can always have riding lessons at the riding school I go to if I want to do any technical stuff. I think I may ask if the price is negotiable. Thank you again.
 

TheHairyOne

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My sister and I have a couple of sharers for our herd and I think maybe some things havent been considered.

The £37.50 a week wouldnt get you an hour in a group round here at some riding schools, and certainly no time around them afterwards. That would be put your hand in your pocket to pay to muck out!

I dont know how experienced the OP is around horses/riding wise, but if they truely dont know very much at all then for us it wouldnt matter how nice a person they were, we dont have time to do 1-1 supervision so sadly no riding with us for the inexperienced - which as someone above said can be 'dangerous'. There are some owners on our yard we'd not have as sharers. :)

So OP depends what the deal is. If its 4 lessons a week from the owner (and they are any good) it sounds very cheap! If you have something to bring to the table as well as money and being nice you will almost certainly find cheaper on a more capable horse, especially when more and more people (hopefully) get back to their normal lives.

Good luck. They are just such fabulous creatures. :)
 

Vix1

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My sister and I have a couple of sharers for our herd and I think maybe some things havent been considered.

The £37.50 a week wouldnt get you an hour in a group round here at some riding schools, and certainly no time around them afterwards. That would be put your hand in your pocket to pay to muck out!

I dont know how experienced the OP is around horses/riding wise, but if they truely dont know very much at all then for us it wouldnt matter how nice a person they were, we dont have time to do 1-1 supervision so sadly no riding with us for the inexperienced - which as someone above said can be 'dangerous'. There are some owners on our yard we'd not have as sharers. :)

So OP depends what the deal is. If its 4 lessons a week from the owner (and they are any good) it sounds very cheap! If you have something to bring to the table as well as money and being nice you will almost certainly find cheaper on a more capable horse, especially when more and more people (hopefully) get back to their normal lives.

Good luck. They are just such fabulous creatures. :)

Thank you very much,

I have always ridden and would like to think I'm very competent, but that's it after the lessons are over I go home so I'm a novice when it comes to care. I have taken on board everyone's comments and and very grateful. Thank you again.
 

Vix1

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How much riding have you done? Is not being able to jump a problem for you, for example?

I have had lessons on and off since I was a kid, im 40 so a very late starter when it comes to doing my stage 1. I'm not at an advanced stage of riding, my main aim with this is to learn about how to care for a horse properly and to a level that would get me through stage 1 and 2 for now.
Thank you very much for your reply.
 
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