Possibly looking for sharer - advice please?

[TreeDog]

I'm likely to be looking for a sharer my gelding, and hoping to get some advice on a few things.

He's a 15.2hh, 9 year old happy hacker ridden bitless, lovely to handle and very sweet natured. He's on DIY livery in south wales near cardiff. The yard does have an arena but the surface is poor. Hacking is reasonable, there's a quiet lane right off the yard for short rides and if you go for longer you can get off road into forestry/mountain but some roads can be a bit busy. He's great in traffic and generally a very easy ride but I don't think he'd suit a complete novice, unless maybe if they were just looking to do walk/trot hacking down the lane.

I'm looking for a sharer who could do every other weekend (friday evening to sunday evening). They could probably have a weekday each week as well if they wanted. I guess one of my questions is should I be asking for a financial contribution, and if so how much is typical?

The other thing would be legal/insurance matters. What insurance should a sharer have? And would it affect my horses insurance, would I need to declare to them that I had a sharer? I really have no idea!

 

[YogaNurse]

I'm likely to be looking for a sharer my gelding, and hoping to get some advice on a few things.

He's a 15.2hh, 9 year old happy hacker ridden bitless, lovely to handle and very sweet natured. He's on DIY livery in south wales near cardiff. The yard does have an arena but the surface is poor. Hacking is reasonable, there's a quiet lane right off the yard for short rides and if you go for longer you can get off road into forestry/mountain but some roads can be a bit busy. He's great in traffic and generally a very easy ride but I don't think he'd suit a complete novice, unless maybe if they were just looking to do walk/trot hacking down the lane.

I'm looking for a sharer who could do every other weekend (friday evening to sunday evening). They could probably have a weekday each week as well if they wanted. I guess one of my questions is should I be asking for a financial contribution, and if so how much is typical?

The other thing would be legal/insurance matters. What insurance should a sharer have? And would it affect my horses insurance, would I need to declare to them that I had a sharer? I really have no idea!

I’m a sharer and have previously had sharers myself. I would just pop an advert up on Facebook or horsey sites. It sounds like you have some nice riding! So just be positive in your advert and say that he isn’t for a complete novice

I think having someone you can trust is worth more than the money side of things and to be honest with horses the contribution never seemed to touch the actual exepense of them! It’s entirely up to you what you decide to charge - I know people that pay nothing and others that pay up to £25pw

Regarding the insurance they can just get riders insurance from the BHS for example. I don’t think this will effect your insurance as it covers them as a rider on whatever horse they are riding!

Hope this help, good luck

 

[Shay]

From personal experience - if people are paying for something they take it much more seriously. A contribution won't really touch your expenses - but you will get a better sharer as a result.

You don't have to tell your horse insurance about a sharer - but if you do not already have third party liability you must take that out now. It is always worth insisting that any sharer has their own insurance too. You don't have to see proof - it is enough to state as a term of contract that this must be in place.

Always have a clear contract. BHS have a good template - but don't be afraid to refine it.

 

[YogaNurse]

From personal experience - if people are paying for something they take it much more seriously.

I don’t necessarily agree with this. I don’t pay at the moment and the lady who owns the horse picked me over people who were in a better financial position, as she thought I was the right person. I will be contributing when I finish my degree though!