Newbie with a question.

Thank you that's given me some hope. I was a bit scared to ask incase people thought i was pushing my luck!

Im in Dorset, around the New Forest area.
I'd love a chance to learn as much as possible. I've learnt alot just from reading on here but you can't beat first hand experience.
Thanks again for reading through all that lol.

DAMN!!!!!!! *Considers moving from Suffolk*

I'd give my right arm to have you here. I've got far too much to do and need someone exactly like you. I've advertised for help out in return for free lessons and lots of experience, but all I get are teenage girls who mope around with a broom asking when they can start competing my horse.
 
I spent a year doing exactly that. Very little actual work other than grooming/feet/poo picking/mucking out and haynet filling but I learnt so much from talking to other people on the yard, seeing what a horse with laminitis looked like, how a horse with an abcess moved etc. Seeing what the realities of being a horse owner were (time, commintment etc) It was invaluable. I did very little riding it was more the stable management side of things. Made some super friends too who helped me out mentoring me when I finally got my own.
So in answer to your question........Yes I would take on someone like you :)
 
noseylurker do feel free to move! :)

scrat thanks so much have pm'd back :)

c2b that's what i'm after! I don't mind what I do I just want to learn how to keep a horse alive lol. I would love to have a share horse in the future but I know very little of the realities of just how hard it might be. The more experience I can get the better! :)
 
Hiya, one other thing to mention is using NFED (google it!) it's the New Forest Equine Directory, definitely worth trying, I am fine with being kept in mind :D
 
I am another RDA voluteer. It is great to spend time with the horses as well as the kids and you will meet local horse people who are bound to either want a bit of help or know somebody who would. It helps to get a foot in the door.
 
think its a lovely idea and jumped at it when a girl came to our yard unfortunately she knew nothing to the extent of the only task we felt comfortable offering her was doing the waters and even then she tipped them out IN the stable!! however i think you have to be pretty retarded to do that and most people would love the help just check with insurance and the usual problems tend to come up if you get kicked or whatever... :-) welcome though!!
 
That's exactly what I want :) Someone to show me how the care side is done and let me have the occasional horsey cuddle!

Ah, I see. If you were always supervised you'll probably find it a lot easier. I was thinking more of a non-riding type share where e.g. you might be turning out, bringing in, feeding etc by yourself after a little while. If you are thinking of being an extra pair of hands you just need to check that owner/yard insurance covers you. And you might need to buy a hat to keep it valid.

Have fun!
 
I was in the same situation as you, well sort of!. I had riding lessons as a kid, but i didnt just want to get on an already tacked up pony and give it back to someone at the end of the lesson to put back in it's stable. I wanted to learn how to care for ponies too!.

I put an ad up in a local farm supplies shop offering help, and got a lady to 'take me on'. She had a yard cycling distance away from where i lived, and i learnt so much there, from mucking out to plaiting and prepping horses for hunting and backing youngsters etc. it was just fab :)

The RDA idea sounds great as well, just go for it!!
 
maree t looks like RDA might be the way to go, lots of people have recommended it. Thanks.

lydia thanks for the welcome. I thankfully know a little. I can tie a horse up safely, give a basic grooming, never poo picked but it can't be that hard surely lol. Oh and i know water has to be in at least a bucket lol. Will remember to check about insurance issues. Thanks.

Tickles I'm only looking to be supervised for now. In the future once i've learnt enough to go it alone I will certainly get insurance but i'm confused as to if i'd need it now just being an extra pair of hands? I already have a professionally fitted hat, jod boots and plenty of clothes i'm willing to get dirty all i need now is a horse to help with :)

Podd77 that's how i feel. I don't want someone to do the work for me i want to learn to do it myself. RDA is def being looked into! :)
 
Hi Baylove
not read all your thread but just wanted to share my experience....I started riding at the age of 7 (now 21) and at 12, my mum decided I wasn't progressing anymore with lessons at the current RS. I started to look for a share - bearing in mind, all I'd done was gone to the RS, got the already tacked up horse, got on, ridden and put it back!
I had very little idea about the management side of it - I found a share pony and his owner was more than willing to teach me what I needed to know :) I now still share with her (different horse) 9 years on! :) she taught me how to muck out, groom properly, spot illnesses (VERY useful with my current mare...;)), feed, and gave me the opportunity to ride too :) I'm not the most confident of people and therefore sometimes need to be told step by step how to do something lol but thanks to the help I've got off the YO and Kelly's mum, I'm quite confident at being able to do all jobs and ride sometimes upto 3 horses! I am insured with PetPlan Riders Plan - I am therefore insured for any horse within my care; very useful.
It can be done :)
K x
 
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Hi Baylove
not read all your thread but just wanted to share my experience....I started riding at the age of 7 (now 21) and at 12, my mum decided I wasn't progressing anymore with lessons at the current RS. I started to look for a share - bearing in mind, all I'd done was gone to the RS, got the already tacked up horse, got on, ridden and put it back!
I had very little idea about the management side of it - I found a share pony and his owner was more than willing to teach me what I needed to know :) I now still share with her (different horse) 9 years on! :) she taught me how to muck out, groom properly, spot illnesses (VERY useful with my current mare...;)), feed, and gave me the opportunity to ride too :) I am insured with PetPlan Riders Plan - I am therefore insured for any horse in my care; as I now ride owners other horse and another mare on the yard too, very useful.
It can be done :)
K x

Hi KellysHeroes. Thank you for sharing it's great to know it can and has been done. Did you have your own insurance when you found your first share? I'm not looking to ride so i'm not sure if i need insurance but if i had the opportunity to have a sit just to build up my confidence again i guess i'd need insurance for that? :)
 
Hi KellysHeroes. Thank you for sharing it's great to know it can and has been done. Did you have your own insurance when you found your first share? I'm not looking to ride so i'm not sure if i need insurance but if i had the opportunity to have a sit just to build up my confidence again i guess i'd need insurance for that? :)

Not at first, but after a few weeks when I started to ride him alone, I got insurance - if you find this help at RDA or a riding school, you should be covered by their insurance, I'd guess! :) but yeah, definitely can be done - you'd have never found someone as inept as me with a pitch fork 9 years ago!!!!!!!
K x
 
Not at first, but after a few weeks when I started to ride him alone, I got insurance - if you find this help at RDA or a riding school, you should be covered by their insurance, I'd guess! :) but yeah, definitely can be done - you'd have never found someone as inept as me with a pitch fork 9 years ago!!!!!!!
K x

Lol thanks. I just have to keep my fingers crossed i find something now :)
 
On the subject of insurance, see the thread re: Freak Accidents! I would recommend some form of personal accident insurance even if working with horses 'on the ground', also, not sure on the Public Liability side of things, both for the person using your services (should anything happen to you on their yard) and for you (should anything you do damage the horse or another's property).

Sorry to be a 'damp squibb' :(, but in these days of litigation......

RDA is your best bet as already stated they'll have all the necessary.
 
BayLove, I got the chance to do exactly what you want to do. It was about 4 or 5 years ago and I found someone locally through a 'Mentoring' section on another forum I used to go on. Anyone with a horse and the willingness to share a bit of knowledge could post in the section, offering to 'mentor' newbies.

I was riding at a very hands-on riding school at the time but wanted some more horsey time. I met up with someone who had a lovely well mannered Section D. I helped her out and learnt loads. (I never rode him, by the way. That was never part of the deal and he was a bit sharp for me to ride at the time.)

His owner and I became very good friends, and still are! I am now sharing a horse at the yard she is at and I'm considering taking on a full loan.

(By the way, I did meet up with another prospective mentor but we just didn't click. You have to get on with the person helping you, or the trust just won't be there.)

Good luck with your search!
 
On the subject of insurance, see the thread re: Freak Accidents! I would recommend some form of personal accident insurance even if working with horses 'on the ground', also, not sure on the Public Liability side of things, both for the person using your services (should anything happen to you on their yard) and for you (should anything you do damage the horse or another's property).

Sorry to be a 'damp squibb' :(, but in these days of litigation......

RDA is your best bet as already stated they'll have all the necessary.

No thank you for that. Insurance would seem to be sensible if i'm not accepted to the RDA. There's so much to think about but i want to make sure everybody's covered in something goes wrong. More research to do me thinks! :)
 
BayLove, I got the chance to do exactly what you want to do. It was about 4 or 5 years ago and I found someone locally through a 'Mentoring' section on another forum I used to go on. Anyone with a horse and the willingness to share a bit of knowledge could post in the section, offering to 'mentor' newbies.

I was riding at a very hands-on riding school at the time but wanted some more horsey time. I met up with someone who had a lovely well mannered Section D. I helped her out and learnt loads. (I never rode him, by the way. That was never part of the deal and he was a bit sharp for me to ride at the time.)

His owner and I became very good friends, and still are! I am now sharing a horse at the yard she is at and I'm considering taking on a full loan.

(By the way, I did meet up with another prospective mentor but we just didn't click. You have to get on with the person helping you, or the trust just won't be there.)

Good luck with your search!

Thank you. That is exactly what i'm after. I'm really not looking to ride at all, lost too much confidence and the whole idea of riding scares me at the moment - a sit is as far as i'm willing to go and i'm not even really wanting to do that yet lol. I'm such a wuss! :rolleyes:
 
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