Pros and Cons of Sharers ?

[Potato!]

I’m thinking of taking on a sharer for my 6yo 16h welsh sec D x gelding. He is green and a little bolshy when he thinks he can get away with it. However he is just testing you as if he considers you not worthy enough as a leader then he loses confidence. This is purely on the ground however under saddle he is very good for hacking both alone and in company and he is a fab hunter but really done anything in the school. I tend to do my schooling on hacks as schooling in a school is my weak point. There is a nice flat field which he can be ridden if not too wet. But the big plus point is Dartmoor is only a 10 minute hack from me.

Now with working full time I very soon won’t have the time to ride Monday to Friday and as no school etc I just won’t have the time to ride. I was thinking of advertising for someone to ride two to 3 times per week for some good long hacks to get him fit and keep him fit over the winter with me riding him at weekends also the opportunity to hunt on Tuesday if they want to etc. I was thinking of asking for a contribution for shoes but not sure what to charge or if that’s too cheap or even if I should be asking for a little more of a contribution to his care etc as have never looked into this before

Please can you guys share your experiences both good and bad so I know what to look out for. Would anybody be interested in this kind of share?

 

[Antw23uk]

I LOVE my sharer. She is an amazing rider and she adores my horse. She is always happy to help out when its not her day and as of this morning's conversation she will pretty much ride him midweek when the clocks change because my riding mid week will be so limited due to work commitments and dark nights.

She can't contribute to his care due to a crap salary but to be honest I would rather have her and no money towards him than anyone else who could pay. She is worth her weight in gold and for me money isnt my priority because quiet frankly I would be spending the same amount if I didnt have her anyway.

I appreciate I'm very fortunate to have her

 

[lunginggirl]

I have had sharers and been a sharer. I have had a fair share of good and bad sharers but think it depends on the person. When I first started sharing I loved it! I couldnt afford a horse at the time and just wanted to love and care for a pony! Before I got my own had about 3 shares on my yard!!

I think having a sharer can be really helpful as I recently started full time work too so it means I am not down there late every night and gives me a break. I have had one of my sharers for 2 1/2 years now (owned the horse for 3) and she is really good. She knows him inside out and has brought him really far aswell. She carried on paying and looking after him even when he was on box rest and off for months when his had an infected cut on knee area. I charge her £12.50 a day which goes towards his fees and so on. I also know someone who will pay for her shares shoeing which is £60 for a full set.

As good as sharers can be I have had sharers who give late notice, forget to pay and generally have a bad attitude. The best thing to do is have a trial period. This gives them and yourself a chance to see how it is working and then go on to either accepting the share or not. It means that if the possible share is having problems too they can go on and say whether or not it is working.

I know other people who share at my yard and they are amazing (wish they shared my horse ) They go down and bring in ect when not their day, stay late for vet, help on extra days, have OCD on stable cleaness and generally love the horses!

Would recommend getting a share but dont just accept anyone make sure you feel comfortable and they want a share for the right reasons!! Good luck x

 

[HaffiesRock]

I have recently taken on a sharer and I LOVE her! She does 3 days a week, midweek during the day while I am at work. Saves me traipsing up to feed in the dark during the week, poo picking is done (lives out) pony is being well schooled and pampered, plus she contributes to the cost of hay. Only downside I can find at the minute is missing him when its not my days!

 

[Potato!]

I will insist on them having rider insurance and not overly fussed about them doing other things as I will be there every day as I have my gelding and a pony and they are kept halfway home from work. I guess it will be a little bit harder to let go a little as I am so used to doing everything myself and like things to be done properly.

My boy’s shoes are £76.80 for a full set of shoes every 7 weeks would it be reasonable to ask the sharer pay for them and maybe spend 15-20 minutes poo picking per day that she is there?

 

[Antw23uk]

I think as long as they are getting enough riding in you could ask them to pay for the shoes. How many days are you looking for?

I've seen adverts looking for sharers and they want £25 a week ... which I find amusing as thats the going rate for dIY livery round here so they are basically asking some mug to come along and pay there livery bill, lol.

 

[HaffiesRock]

I would say that is absolutely fine. I guess that works out at about £11 a week. I charge £10 a week as its not about money to me and the sharer is doing me a massive favour. Same with poo picking too. I ask sharer to do 1 barrow on her days. Field is small and if done daily only takes 10 minutes.

 

[Polos Mum]

Best thing about sherers are the people and the worst thing about sharers is the people!!

I've met some lovely people who are still friends years after the share ended and others who were madder than a box of frogs with a good sprinkle of people who struggle to tell fact from fiction !!

Get an add up an see who turns up - whether it works or not depends on how you and your horse get on with the person. Price wise £20 per week is pretty average for 3 rides a week, yes DIY might be £25 a week but that doesn't include all the other costs (farrier, insurance, hay, feed, dentist, saddler/ back person, wormers etc!!)

 

[Potato!]

I was hoping 3-4 times (ridden) per week but with a minimum of 2x good long hacks etc per week. I would still do the normal care mornings and evenings etc as the horses are on my way to works etc, Its just the riding etc i will be struggling with.

 

[Lexi_]

I've seen adverts looking for sharers and they want £25 a week ... which I find amusing as thats the going rate for dIY livery round here so they are basically asking some mug to come along and pay there livery bill, lol.

But looking at it from the other side of things, riding lessons are flipping expensive! I'm hopefully about to start sharing and if I look at it from a purely financial point of view, one 30 minute private lesson at my riding school is £23. With this potential share, for either £10 per day or a max of £25 a week if I want 3+ days, I can ride a really nice horse, do pretty much whatever I want with him and do some of the yard chores (which I really like anyway!). It's not a bad deal as far as the sharer is concerned

Plus those adverts you mention might end up with the sharer covering the cost of the livery but the owner still has to pay for feed/shoes/insurance/vet/etc.

 

[Suechoccy]

Indeed. I became a sharer (£15 a week) at a time when riding lessons were £15 an hour but my favourite riding school had just closed down where we all knew each other, it had an associated riders' club and competitions, and I knew I wouldn't easily find that in another riding school so I decided to spend the money on a share instead, and have the luxury of being able to ride 2-3 times a week instead of once, and learn about horsecare at the same time. Looking back, I chose a wonderful share (a little 14.3 skewbald cob mare, very kind, and a lovely, laidback owner) and it worked very well, and only ended because I moved to a new area.

 

[Antw23uk]

Get an add up an see who turns up - whether it works or not depends on how you and your horse get on with the person. Price wise £20 per week is pretty average for 3 rides a week, yes DIY might be £25 a week but that doesn't include all the other costs (farrier, insurance, hay, feed, dentist, saddler/ back person, wormers etc!!)[/QUOTE]

So if you didnt have a sharer you wouldnt/couldnt afford to keep your horse?

But looking at it from the other side of things, riding lessons are flipping expensive! I'm hopefully about to start sharing and if I look at it from a purely financial point of view, one 30 minute private lesson at my riding school is £23. With this potential share, for either £10 per day or a max of £25 a week if I want 3+ days, I can ride a really nice horse, do pretty much whatever I want with him and do some of the yard chores (which I really like anyway!). It's not a bad deal as far as the sharer is concerned

Plus those adverts you mention might end up with the sharer covering the cost of the livery but the owner still has to pay for feed/shoes/insurance/vet/etc.

But surely you would be paying for this anyway?
I do understand the concept of asking for money but owning a horse surely means you would have been spending that money anyway!

I have a sharer because it helps me out time wise, not to make owning my horse cheaper to do but each to there own i guess.

 

[splashnutti1]

OP i have a similar problem and have been considering advertising for a sharer to exercise my lad 3 days a week just general hacking as he is still young, i was just going to ask half his shoes and one days muck out in return for riding? Do people think this is fair?

He is a 15.3 4 coming 5 years old, irish cob

His shoes are £35 every 7 weeks so not expensive lol.

my biggest problem is trusting someone with my precious boy ( i am a bit over protective in everything after suddenly losing my horse of a lifetime last year) plus would have to be an experienced rider with him being young, although he is super safe he can be a tad excitable coming home on his own!

rider insurance would be a must

 

[webble]

I think as long as they are getting enough riding in you could ask them to pay for the shoes. How many days are you looking for?

I've seen adverts looking for sharers and they want £25 a week ... which I find amusing as thats the going rate for dIY livery round here so they are basically asking some mug to come along and pay there livery bill, lol.

Yes but on top of that you have vets bills worming feed shoes and all the other bits that you end up buying. Mine costs me about £250 a month so if I was to have a sharer charging someone £100 a month for 2-3 days a week wouldnt be unreasonable

 

[djlynwood]

I dont understand when people stipulate that rider insurance is a must.

How do you think that covers you and your horse when you already have insurance?

Surely its the riders own concern as to whether they have their own insurance or not.

 

[Lexi_]

But surely you would be paying for this anyway?
I do understand the concept of asking for money but owning a horse surely means you would have been spending that money anyway!

I have a sharer because it helps me out time wise, not to make owning my horse cheaper to do but each to there own i guess.

Well it has to be mutually beneficial and I do think it depends on the individual circumstances - the people that just want someone to come and back/school on their horses for them should be paying the rider, not asking for money IMO.

I don't see anything wrong with asking the sharer to contribute though. They're getting a lot out of it and it's usually a heck of a lot cheaper than owning your own horse or paying for the equivalent amount of riding and horsecare lessons. It's a bit like car sharing in a way. Yes, the owner would still have running costs if they weren't there but it would seem a bit cheeky of the sharer to get something for free when they could (and probably morally should) be contributing.

It seems pretty standard - I've looked at a decent amount of sharer/part loan ads and I can't remember seeing one that hasn't involved payment. Your sharer is lucky!

 

[webble]

I dont understand when people stipulate that rider insurance is a must.

How do you think that covers you and your horse when you already have insurance?

Surely its the riders own concern as to whether they have their own insurance or not.

It could be that the owners insurance only covers them and the horse for public liability not any other rider maybe??

 

[splashnutti1]

I dont understand when people stipulate that rider insurance is a must.

How do you think that covers you and your horse when you already have insurance?

Surely its the riders own concern as to whether they have their own insurance or not.

Its not to cover my horse he is already covered, its to cover the rider should anything happen whilst out on MY horse by thier own choice so that it doesnt come back on me if they are injured?

A freind of mine let someone ride her horse who she didnt know wasnt insured she came off and then tried to take my friend for all she had ( horse did nothing wrong just spooked and she came out the side door) so for me insurance is a must.

to be honest i cant understand why anyone wouldnt have rider insurance but each to their own i just wouldnt let them ride my horse and i wouldnt ride someone elses horse if i wasnt covered! personal preference i suppose

 

[Potato!]

I want the rider to have insturance as he/she will be out riding and i want them to have third party insurance and personal liability fromm my horse insurance if anything happens whilst they are in charge of my horse.

 

[djlynwood]

A freind of mine let someone ride her horse who she didnt know wasnt insured she came off and then tried to take my friend for all she had ( horse did nothing wrong just spooked and she came out the side door) so for me insurance is a must.

But even if the rider did have their own rider insurance how would that stop them making a claim against the owner of the horse?

 

[djlynwood]

I want the rider to have insturance as he/she will be out riding and i want them to have third party insurance and personal liability fromm my horse insurance if anything happens whilst they are in charge of my horse.

I understand about the third party insurance but what you are saying is that they would be insured for personal accident from your insurance?

Sorry to ask so many questions but it is such a grey area and a not easy to understand to make sure one is fully covered.

 

[Potato!]

ok for example i will be completly honest about my horse but lets say she does something stupid, her own fault and has a fall. Why should i then have her claim off of my insurance for that? they will need to take out their own public and personal insurance before they get on my horse.

i said it wrong on my previous post. i mean they need their own insurance for personal and public insurance.

 

[Polos Mum]

I found when I offered free shares people didn't bother to turn up, £25 a week was enough to weed out the dreamers.

OP I'd get a direct debit set up monthly in advance so you haven't got to keep asking for cash.
Totally agree about them needing their own insurance so if they have an accident and say can't work for a while they can still pay their rent/ mortgage

 

[Dizzle]

Before my TB broke himself, I had a wonderful sharer. She had had tb’s at home and had schooled and evented them, moved to the UK to train in a new job and couldn’t afford one. She ended up sharing my tb, riding him a million times better than I did and actually paying me for the pleasure, I actually felt bad taking money from her as she rode him so well!

I was never around when she was riding and never had any issues with her what so ever.

If she’d of had the money I would have gifted him to her when I parted company with him.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

ok for example i will be completly honest about my horse but lets say she does something stupid, her own fault and has a fall. Why should i then have her claim off of my insurance for that? they will need to take out their own public and personal insurance before they get on my horse.

i said it wrong on my previous post. i mean they need their own insurance for personal and public insurance.

I don't think it is a bad thing if riders take out their own insurance as if something is their fault they are covered. However they can still claim off your insurance if you have a liability which would need to be established. Personal accident will only cover you for certain things and not much money (PP Deluxe £20,000 for permanent disability) that is not going to cover living costs for the rest of their life if say the rider breaks their neck. Under 3rd Party Liability they could claim several million. In fact the riders insurer will no doubt try to avoid pay out if they can and it's likely they will fight it out with your insurer and any other insurers involved and any liability and monetary settlement would have to be established either in or out of court.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I was hoping 3-4 times (ridden) per week but with a minimum of 2x good long hacks etc per week. I would still do the normal care mornings and evenings etc as the horses are on my way to works etc, Its just the riding etc i will be struggling with.

I've been owner and sharer over the years and I've always paid to share or been paid. In some ways for the right person your arrangement could be great. However if you are looking for a competent person to exercise your horse for specified time-periods and to poo pick to boot it doesn't sound like a share but a business arrangement. If I were sharing I may or may not decide to ride on my share days and if ill or weather not good may not ride at all for a week as I would be doing it for pleasure (even if I was paying). If I had to ride every time to keep your horse fit and take it on long hacks come rain or shine then that begins to sound like a job Also if he is a bit of PITA on the ground you need a confident person to stop it getting worse.

 

[Potato!]

Well I've advertised for someone to help keep my horse fit over the winter. I had a reply, on paper she sounds very good. Will have a chat on the phone and will maybe invite her over to meet my boy at the weekend.

 

[SusieT]

covering the cost of the shoes is probably a good idea. beyond that, as you are quite specific about what you want and have no schooling area I'd leave it cost wise as it will suit you well.

 

[cobalobM]

If I were sharing I may or may not decide to ride on my share days and if ill or weather not good may not ride at all for a week as I would be doing it for pleasure (even if I was paying). If I had to ride every time to keep your horse fit and take it on long hacks come rain or shine then that begins to sound like a job .

agree with this, you would need to make it clear that you really need him to go on 2 long hacks a week, so hopefully the people who 'apply' will understand this means they still have to go on a long hack in the rain, freezing cold etc. If its bad weather on my share day I normally just decide to either not ride and just groom etc or have a quick wizz around the school, rather than hack

 

[Haphazardhacker]

I am in a sort of share agreement with a girl i met while at the yard another horse i ride lives. She said she was going to buy her own but was pretty clueless about horse ownership so i offered to help. Originally there was one horse and she was rideable so we took it in turns to ride and i did half the care, then she bought a second (turned out to be unrideable/needs serious retraining) meanwhile the first horse was diagnosed with navicular . This resulted in neither horses being rideable , this has been the case since july and im still here helping look after her horses doing half the daily checks and poopicking (they live out) . Im sure if i owned my own it would be nice to have a sharer to spread the cost but dont underestimate how much time and effort you will get from a sharer who cant necessarily help financially but can give you their time. I dont have set days i help out and i try and be as flexible as i can even if it means going down the field after work with a torch to check the horses (i work 10-8 in retail). If i was paying to share i dont know if id still be helping her as im getting no riding done (luckily i get to ride a friends horse and she asks for nothing in return as she is unable to ride at the mo but i make sure i do as much poo picking and chores as i can). The way i see it right now is that i like being around the horses, the mare is being treated for navicular and the other horse is improving so while right now im not getting any rides for all the time and effort im giving, i hope that if in future we can ride them , the owner will remember that i stuck around and didnt ditch them just as i wasnt getting rides. Its great to get money from a sharer but dont dismiss people that cant help financially as a lot of them will go above and beyond to help you out and will stick around when the going gets tough.