Pondering getting a sharer for hovis - thoughts?

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Hovis_and_SidsMum

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I'm working three days a week up in Scotland and it looks like this might be a long term thing.
Hubby is also working and is struggling a bit looking after the two boys, the dog, the house and work.
So I was thinking about options last night
Opiion 1. - sell one of them. Not an option to me at all
Option 2 - put them on full livery for the three days I'm away - more money but doable. Then if hubby can ride them great - if not they have 3 days off.
Option 3 - get a sharer for one of them to take the load of hubby. Omar is a bit of a nutter so Hovis is the best option.

So would there be people out there who would effectively want to have a horse for 3 days a week, access to our lorry etc plus the facilities in return for mucking out etc those 3 days? Or is that too strict? I wouldn't want any money but they would have to be very reliable.

Theres a local comp every weds and I have no problem with the person taking hovis there jumping and at the weekend i wouldn't mind the person doing a class when i take him out.

I'm not doing anything more than looking at options at the moment but feedback / experiences would be good.
 
I don't think a sharer would be a good idea if Hovis is a youngster (he is isn't he? lol)? If he is, a sharer may cause problems..the last thing you'd want is him possibly getting conflicting messages from another rider at this stage unless you can find someone experienced.

*waits for you to tell me he's 15*
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You're right he is still young and you make a good point.
He is fairly steady but I would want someone who rides better than me (not hard
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!!).
I'm not exactly falling over with excitement at this option but I have to look at all options as we want to keep them both.

Hubbys in construction so is having to take work when it comes and wherever it is at the moment, which is leading to really long hours.
 
I think it is do able and you aren't being to strict at all.

I had someone riding my mare for a bit, had eventer years ago, fantastic rider but had had a break to have a family etc and didn't have time to have one of her own all the time. It worked well for my mare as although she can be a dream she can also be a demon is horse clothing and the lady was more than capable.

There are riders out there like this...its just finding the right one!
 

I've got a sharer for Tia now (had two at one point) good rider, lovely girl..loves Tia but she's banned from doing any schooling - ever! so there's never the risk of interference or set backs for me on the schooling front, she's allowed to hack out and jump (I don't like hacking and jumping is too scary
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infact I just hate fun lol). Sharing can be really really great if you find the right person that you can trust
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I'm biased as I have the world's best sharer, but it can and does work. I let her do whatever she wants and trust her to use her judgement. She always phones me if she thinks there's something I should know. We have set days but we are also pretty flexible and swap days when we need to. The only downside is I had to give up a saturday as she works as well but she has since changed jobs and works every other saturday anyway. As she pays me some money I felt I had to make some concessions. If you don't want money I think you would have more bargaining power.

Yes Hovis is young but I think it's better for them to have a few riders as it stops them becoming over reliant on one rider or developing problems due to one rider's habits (not saying you have any lol!) He already has two riders, so one more won't hurt, especially if the sharer is very competent.

If you do go down that route insist on rider insurance, or BHS gold membership at least - that's the only thing I demanded. Just be clear what both sides expect. We don't have a written agreement but we both knew exactly where we stood from the start. Our arrangement has lasted over two years without any problems at all and I now have a new friend as well as a sharer.
 
I'd go for the full livery option personally, as long as you can afford it.
Purely due to my own experiences, it's hard to find a sharer who would be 100% reliable. Some sharers are great but they are often hard to find, I'd always have a contract drawn up and insist on rider insurance.
 
I think a sharer sounds a good option for you, especially as your hubby will still be around for Omar and so can keep an eye on Hovis and your sharer, and also help out to begin with while Hovis and the sharer get to know each other. just make sure you vet the sharer, get plenty of references and maybe agree a trial period before having to commit... best of luck, i'd be biting your arms off to get a chance to ride the one and only Hovis!!
 
I would look at a sharer - though Hovis is young, he has the sensible side of the clyde in him. I have a couple of teens hack Farra and/or Chancer out and they love them as they are so sensible, even though only just 5.

I ask them to do the poo picking in return which helps me and also my two don't always get enough hacking with me and it is so good for them to get out and about.

Make sure you have a comprehensive written agreement - if you want one, I have one I did when I have had horses on loan or loaned before.

Andy shared Cairo for several years before we took him on permanent loan, his owner shared my Fleur as she wanted something with lots more oomph and for us this was a perfect arrangement.

Try asking around or advertise in your local tack shop and see what comes up - I would not offer the lorry though as that could be a minefield of problems unless you are willing to drive them occasionally.
 
Sorry meant hubby would drive them in the lorry!
Yes totally agree about the share agreement - would want to make it very clear where i stood.

Yeah I'm really torn - the upside hovis gets someone else riding him who hasn't got my riding faults, Hubby is there, horse isn't moving off yard, he's reasonably sensible, Hov gets more riding

The down sides - He's my baby boy!! Hovis can be a handful if he's taking the pee, i'd want someone i trusted with him, i need someone reliable - this is supposed to be to help hubby not cause hm more trouble when i'm not there!

I don't know anyone who might want to ride the destoyer so will have to advertise around lincs and see what happens.
 
I know what you mean about your baby boy - Stinky is mine and Rex is Andy's big girl. The girls who ride mine are on threat of pain of death if they don't keep to my rules. Actually I had to tell one to be more strict with Stinky after he decided he wanted to keep on cantering - no faster but not stopping and she ended up falling off him - naughty boy.

She has now got instructions that if he does this, she can on the second request to slow give give him a good tug to stop - think she was terrified of me finding out she had pulled him up too hard.

Take your time and grill prospects until nicely toasted
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Those that are still there at the end will understand why you are so concerned and are probably the ones that will fit in with you. I personally like my two being ridden my different people, who are capable and confident - just about anyone can ride them and they don't fuss about new people handling them.

I would love to have a go on him, I was up at Grantham at the weekend showing Stinky so not to far from you - could have left a smaller hairy deposit in return.

Farra would have been delighted to have her mirror image come to play.
 
Do they desperately need riding on those days?

Personally, and I speak as one who works away a lo so know someof your angst, I'd go full livery or pay a freelance groom to do them.

Hub and daughters look after mine when I'm away, but I would have paid instructor to ride her mid-week. I didn't want to share Dizz in any way (that either makes me very mean, or very tjoughtful lol).

Hugs hun.
 
If Hovis doesn't get ridden for 3 days he's no different to if he's ridden every day.
He's that kind of boy.
Its more the mucking out / chores element which hubby is struggling with plus house, work and the dog. Hubby is more worried that hovis is ridden those 3 days than i am.
 
I had a sharer.It kind of worked. She was pleasant and to be fair quite good with the spooky one.I asked for £10 aweek as he was on partlivery and there were no real jobs to be done.It was really to get him more work. She only paid for the first couple ofweeks and then became very unreliable when coming to ride.However a good sharer can work very well.Perhaps best to advertize/ask around and then interview.Have trial period.Ask other people in your yard to keep a discreet eye out and report back.I am learning to be a lot more assertive and it works.I think you are offering a good deal to someone.
 
I decided to share (also due to change in partner's circumstances meaning time was tight). I've known people sharing on yards where I've been and it's worked well. Six months later - no closer to finding anyone suitable. All it's done is add to my time problems through occasionally spending time talking / meeting people.

I've had one who sounded great but decided the distance was too far, and one who came out to the stables but clearly didn't have the stable-management experience (I need someone who can fill a hay net unsupervised). Other than that, just dreamers (kids with no transport, beginners etc).

So, sorry to be negative, but remember deciding to get a sharer is the easy bit!
 
Just a thought, but if it's the chores side of things you need help with, is there anyone on your yard (or you could advertise locally) who could do with a bit of extra cash. I do 2/3 mornings a week for a lady near to me who has 4 horses at home and just needs help in the yard to give her more time to ride. Works out really well, gives me more cash to spend on Che, I don't really like riding other horses, love the work though, don't need to go to the gym any more. You might be surprised how many takers you get!
 
Agree that you need to get insurance and draw up an agreement if you are considering sharing. I also insisted on references. I had a sharer for one of mine for years and it was great, really took the pressure off me during the week. It actually did my horse good as sharer was very skilled rider, I put up an add with local university riding society and got her from there. Hope it works out for you!
 
My last share operated on a half and half basis - we halved all bills which ended up at £80 pcm, which I paid by standing order at the start of each month. For three weekdays and every other weekend the horse was, in effect, mine - I looked after him and rode when suited me. This sounded like a great arrangement.

It fell through for various reasons which I won't go into on an open forum - suffice to say I was neither the first nor last sharer to be driven away from this lovely horse by his owner.

I always had my own liability insurance and would get it again if I shared again. I have to say though, that while I would definitely welcome as much information and tips on how to ride a new horse, and would not mind limitations placed on a horse (eg a horse that couldn't jump for health reasons, or one that couldn't do superlong hacks, or one that shouldn't be galloped - that sort of thing) I would think twice about sharing a horse where the owners instructions were such that they placed me in danger - thinking of the girl that ended up falling off because she didn't dare pull the horse up! Sorry if that wasn't the case, but that is kind of how it sounded! There has to be some trust there and I think that includes allowing a sharer the discretion to ride safely and sensibly. I would advise trying to ride out with your potential sharer so you can see how they deal with problems on hacks and whether you are happy with this - at least once and maybe for the first few weeks as this will also allow you to show them good hacking routes as well as seeing that your horse is gelling with them.

There are plenty of kind, competent and sensible riders out there who just lack the money or time for a horse of their own
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