please help!

weesophz

weesophz

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21 September 2011
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West o' Scotland.
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feeling quite disheartened, no one seems to want to share my boy!

ive advertised on gumtree (i know desperate measures im afraid), multiple fb pages, ad trader, asked all my horsey friends to ask their friends etc, no one seems interested (minus a 12 year old who emailed me then disappeared when i asked if her parents would like to contact me)

i know its a bad time of year to be looking for someone, but i really need someone as my sharer cant take him full time and im struggling with uni coursework between looking after fox and working to pay for him!

selling is not an option!

so where would you look for a horse if you were wanting to share?
 
Do you have a local uni with a riding club? If so contact their secretary and see if they know of anyone. Also worth trying local riding clubs, pony clubs (if you're happy to have a competent teenager) and even riding schools. Have you tried adverts in local tack shops too?
 
Have you tried an ad at your local riding school? A lot of people share as the first step from lessons to owning, they aren't necessarily numpties (some will have years of experience, and may even have owned before) they will be used to paying to ride so should find making a financial contribution reasonable. You could ask the owner if they know anyone suitable who might be interested.

What about local equestrian colleges? Equestrian students often need more opportunities to gain experience but have limited funds so could be decent sharers, they don't all have their own horse either.

The university? Lots of students sell their horse before starting uni or have to leave their horse at home and miss their horse time. They might be limited on financial contributions but may be able to make up for it in having lots of free time and flexibility. If your local uni has a riding/equestrian club see if you can put a notice on their noticeboard/facebook page/newsletter.

You could try the pony club or notices at local competition centres in the hope that someone sees the ad who knows someone looking for a share but people looking for shares generally don't have horses already so think about where you are likely to find horsey types who don't own a horse yet.
 
Look at some other forums, some allow adverts for sharers and loaners so you could try posting on them. Obviously advertising on here isn't allowed but you can make contacts on here in your local area and you never know what might follow.

Maybe do a post with your area in the title and see whether anyone local knows of any local horsey facebook pages or websites that you could advertise on or has any ideas for other places to advertise.....
 
Tack shops, local newspaper - place an ad? Riding Club websites - ask if you can put an ad on their website.
Remember also, that people who may want to share won't have a horse...they may be new to riding, or have taken a break for a few years, so they won't be in tack shops. You need to find a way to get the word out to these people - a local newspaper may be a good bet. How about a little ad with horsey picture on the board at the local supermarkets? or local convenience store / pet food store?
 
I've just looked at your ad, I think you need to sell him a bit better, and say what you want/can offer too.

What is he like to do, is he easy to handle for someone with limited experience? When he naps is he basically safe but needs confidence or worse? Would he suit a novice coming off riding school horses or maybe someone who is coming back to horses after a break? Don't make him sound worse than he is, and sell up what he can offer a sharer. Does he jump? What level of schooling does he do? Does he compete? What is your yard like? Does it have a school for evening riding? Are there people to hack with during the day? Is it DIY or part livery? Whereabouts is it? You don't have to give the address but enough info for people to work out whether it is doable for them. Is it accessible by public transport or close to a town centre?

Then what do you want from the share? How many days can the sharer do? Could they compete if capable? Do they have to do jobs or just ride? Is it £20 a week or a month? Do you need the financial contribution or could this be negotiable for the right person? Does the sharer need to do both ends of the day? Any restrictions on which days?

Then if you can maybe get a picture of him actually doing something, schooling nicely or popping a fence.
 
Kat said:
I've just looked at your ad, I think you need to sell him a bit better, and say what you want/can offer too.

What is he like to do, is he easy to handle for someone with limited experience? When he naps is he basically safe but needs confidence or worse? Would he suit a novice coming off riding school horses or maybe someone who is coming back to horses after a break? Don't make him sound worse than he is, and sell up what he can offer a sharer. Does he jump? What level of schooling does he do? Does he compete? What is your yard like? Does it have a school for evening riding? Are there people to hack with during the day? Is it DIY or part livery? Whereabouts is it? You don't have to give the address but enough info for people to work out whether it is doable for them. Is it accessible by public transport or close to a town centre?

Then what do you want from the share? How many days can the sharer do? Could they compete if capable? Do they have to do jobs or just ride? Is it £20 a week or a month? Do you need the financial contribution or could this be negotiable for the right person? Does the sharer need to do both ends of the day? Any restrictions on which days?

Then if you can maybe get a picture of him actually doing something, schooling nicely or popping a fence.
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this is a great help, thank you. hes not up to much on the schooling and jumping front, as he's had a though life i only really do hacking however my other sharer does jump occasionally (even if fox isnt that good..)
 
Sounds as though he might be nice for someone (teenager or adult) wanting something sensible to give them "ownership experience" rather than going to a riding school.

I would say that he jumps, and give an idea of height, even if it is just "happy to pop a small fence" if he is better than that say "currently jumps up to Xft but would do more with a suitable rider/more schooling" or something.

Even if his schooling isn't dressage schoolmaster level you could say something like "well mannered and safe in the school for a novice rider, quiet but responsive" or "forward going but safe in the school, would produce a nice prelim dressage test if required" or "Can be a little ploddy in the school but will work nicely when asked".

With regard to his hacking if that is his main job talk it up a bit. Does he hack well in company? Is he good if he is accompanied by a bike/walker (could make all the difference for a younger teen). Is he good in traffic? In open spaces?

What makes him nap, and what does he do? Is this avoidable? Perhaps say "safe and easy to hack in company or with a companion on foot but can be a little nappy/spooky when hacking alone. Will go alone but needs confident forward riding. Yard has lots of potential hacking companions."
 
if schooling and jumping are not his thing then he is not really suited to a competitive teenager, i would advertise him more for confident adult coming back in to riding-but the jumping and schooling issue will put many people off
 
I'd leave anything negative off. Eg 'would suit anyone from competent novice wanting to hack, to more experienced rider wanting to jump. Currently jumping x. Opportunity to do local shows with right person.100% with traffic, very safe, easy to handle. Kept on yard with access to good hacking & school. The charge includes x days'. Obviously don't include anything that isn't true. I would leave of the napping & explain when they call. If its no problem for an experienced rider you can say so. Or for someone less experienced is it a big yard where they could join others. Either way I wouldn't mention it till they call. And put in anything else good he can do. Eg 'would suit local mum wanting a safe ride to accompany a child'
 
littlelegs said:
I'd leave anything negative off. Eg 'would suit anyone from competent novice wanting to hack, to more experienced rider wanting to jump. Currently jumping x. Opportunity to do local shows with right person.100% with traffic, very safe, easy to handle. Kept on yard with access to good hacking & school. The charge includes x days'. Obviously don't include anything that isn't true. I would leave of the napping & explain when they call. If its no problem for an experienced rider you can say so. Or for someone less experienced is it a big yard where they could join others. Either way I wouldn't mention it till they call. And put in anything else good he can do. Eg 'would suit local mum wanting a safe ride to accompany a child'
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Depends how bad he is and how much patience the OP has for fielding calls I guess. I thought keeping in some carefully worded bits about the nappiness might help deter the total beginners. But if the OP thinks he is suitable for novices and is happy to weed out the unsuitables then, I agree sell him up. It does sound like the OP is focussing on his negatives a bit too much.
 
Kat said:
Depends how bad he is and how much patience the OP has for fielding calls I guess. I thought keeping in some carefully worded bits about the nappiness might help deter the total beginners. But if the OP thinks he is suitable for novices and is happy to weed out the unsuitables then, I agree sell him up. It does sound like the OP is focussing on his negatives a bit too much.
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i do that a lot haha :( in this instance im just wary of misleading people. i remember going to try a horse that was adveritised as for novices and the thing bronco'd everytime it went into canter.

have taken everything everyone has said into consideration though, and will redo the ads and let everyone see what they think, if theyre good enough then i'll print and ask to put them up in the riding schools etc
 
I'd leave out "would suit a competent teenager" - I'm a sharer and that would put me off in an add because i'm 27. I would assume they dont want an adult sharer - which might be the case for you - in which case leave it in!
 
Hot2Trot said:
I'd leave out "would suit a competent teenager" - I'm a sharer and that would put me off in an add because i'm 27. I would assume they dont want an adult sharer - which might be the case for you - in which case leave it in!
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Agree with this - I'm 25 and a sharer and that would put me off, even though when I've looked in the past I've looked at 15.2hh and above.

I think you need to mention facilities at your yard, that is important to me as a sharer especially in winter, having a school helps because that means I can still ride after work with the floodlights on.

As others have said, leave out the negatives (i'd just say something like "not a novice ride and requires a competent rider, but is a good allrounder"). You dont mention if he jumps/schools/XC etc, if he enjoys something in particular it is always worth putting that in.

Do you have any transport? That is always a bonus if the sharer is thinking about competing. Always worth adding what the sharer can and cant do on your horse, and what sort of involvement she/he will have - i.e. will the sharer do chores? Or is he full livery? Are there any extra costs (i.e. contribution to shoes) or is it just £20 per week?

As much info as you can give is helpful to sharers!
 
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