Rant: owed money and being ignored!

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Bugly

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for the last six months of '07 I let a local girl come and ride one of my horses out. The deal was that if she rode it was £10 a ride which went into the pot towards feed/shoes/keep.

She agreed and it was all going well until it came to the winter! Once the horses were in (from early December) and she had to come and ride at 8.30am rather than the afternoon so we could hack out straight from the stables, she went off it. The early starts did not fit in with her routine weekend lie ins.....

She moaned about mucking out and took over an hour to do the stable: in the end it was just easier to do it myself. By Christmas I could tell that the physical side to keeping horses had no appeal to her- she just wanted the glamorous bit, poncing around on a pretty pony, (oh, she also moaned and complained about grooming winter mud off even though the horse had a snuggy turnout hood on and equichaps!).


The week before Christmas she told me she was scared of the horse she was riding and didn't want to come out any more- fair enough, but at that point she owed my £60 for 3 weekends of riding. She promised me I would have it in January, but it never appeared. I have chased her by text and very polite email through Feb and March. She works in the local pub and whenever I go in she dissapears out of sight (bet her boss hates that!) There is no sign of the money and she it totally ignoring me now.

Am I a witch and being unreasonable? This is the second time I have been screwed over by people who have come to help ride my horses and I'm just sick of it! Grrrrr

Rant over!
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to help ride my horses

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And you are charging them???

I've been paying all winter for the luxery of someone else riding my horse to help keep him fit!
 
Quite right to be cross about it, I hate people being dishonest, which is what this comes down to basically.

I think if I was in this situation, I would probably take one chance to speak to her, tell her that it is her prerogative to stop coming to ride your hores, but there is money outstanding, please pay it. If she doesn't pay it, forget the whole thing, pass on, get on with what's important, life, horses, etc. Not worth letting this eat into you.

You could, of course, when asking her for the money tell her you are quite prepared to go to Small Claims Court. If she isn't very worldly it might just scare her enough to make her cough up.
 
I think £10 a ride is alot, as I assume it was helping you out... BUT on the grounds she had agreed to it then yes you should have your money. Maybe at the time she didnt realise that during the winter she would have to muckout etc and thought that by doing that she didnt have to pay.......... just go and sit in the pub she works in, or ask her boss to go and get her and explian that you need the money she owes you NOW!
 
Cor - respect! I pay someone £6 an hour to ride one of mine (very quiet cob). Just couldn't find anyone lightweight and adult to ride for free let alone pay me. On that basis I would just forget it. Its not worth the stress is it? And in a way you haven't 'lost' anything as such except a bit of wear on the shoes!
 
You'd pay a lot more than £10 at any riding school. When I was a novice rider I'd of loved a horse to ride for £10 per time! I'd never charge an experienced rider though, I pay them lol
 
Maybe....... but OP didnt say the girl was a novice though! I pay £50 a month and ride 3 times a week!!! (im not a novice tho!)
 
i have the same problem have a girl that has my pony on loan and shes started really gettin on my nerves she comes down rides and does what ever she likes with my pony then shots off to her local riding school (she works there for free rides ) then doesnt do any mucking out leaves me to do it
on top of that she in arrears of £80
planing to get rid am i a door mat ?
anyway i would tell her boss and get it taken out her wages
 
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anyway i would tell her boss and get it taken out her wages

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I'd be inclined to give her one last text/email and if that doesn't work then forget about it, it's not a huge amount of money and to be honest you were lucky to get someone to pay you it in the first place! Chalk this one up to experience and next time get a written contract.
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I'd be inclined to give her one last text/email and if that doesn't work then forget about it, it's not a huge amount of money and to be honest you were lucky to get someone to pay you it in the first place! Chalk this one up to experience and next time get a written contract.
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I agree. At the end of the day you have no way of getting the money if she won't give it to you. It is annoying, but being realistic there isn't a lot you can do.
 
next time get them to agree how often they are going to ride say once a week for £10 then get them to pay you monthly up front. The girl that rides mine does one day a week and pays £40 up front and it is agreed that it is her choice to ride or not but payment is still made. If I say that she can't ride then my decision to reduce payment or not. I got fed up of not knowing what the money situation would be with the previous one paying only when she rode. Some weeks she would ride and then she may go a few weeks without riding and since she didn't ride, she didn't think she should pay.
I found that by them paying monthly upfront they are more likely to actually ride.
 
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i have the same problem have a girl that has my pony on loan

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Surely if she has your pony on loan she is allowed to do pretty much what she likes with it? and I assume you have a contract with this person?
 
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You'd pay a lot more than £10 at any riding school. When I was a novice rider I'd of loved a horse to ride for £10 per time! I'd never charge an experienced rider though, I pay them lol

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Thanks for your feedback: I am starting to simmer down somewhat! Actually she wasn't helping to keep the horse fit, I could have done it or the horse would have been turned away. She approached me as she was looking for a horse to ride. I suggested £10 a ride as it would be £25 + at our local riding school and she would not have the privileged or freedom to ride on lovely hacks at flexible times. At the end of the day, I'm not running a charity, i think its only fair she chips in.

Lucky for me I have a super friend helping out now, she pays for the shoes and feed for the horse she rides- it works well. I think I will from now on ask for an informal written agreement- this is not the first time i've been left holding the baby!
 
oh, and when she initially approached me, she told me she was an experienced showjumper- but frankly she couldn't have ridden a snail over a stick....so she was definitely a novice ( absolutely nothing wrong with that- we have ALL been there, but she should have been honest) there was no way my horse was benefiting from her riding ability- if anything she hindered it, so in hindsight i am well rid!
 
You say the deal was that she paid you £10 for a ride on your horse but where in that statement does it include she has to PAY to muck your horse out aswell....... Sorry but id be moaning too, sounds like she's just got fed up of the situation.

I think £10 a ride is alot considering she is doing you a favour but fair enough thats what she agreed too. Doesnt sound like you will get your money though as no contract signed and it was just a verbal agreement. I would just learn from the situation and move on.

TBH i wouldnt bring her work into it either its got nothing to do with them in the slightest
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If its the second time yourve been screwed over, did you not learn from the first???

Sorry but thats the way i see it..
 
yeh you are right Stinkbomb: i'm too nice! I'll have to be more wary in the future....shame there are so many people out there who take advantage of others good nature.

The one that went wrong before was not financial.......she decided she'd quite like my life and made a serious move on my boyfriend! It's more exciting than the Archers I tell you!!!!
 
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yes but at a riding school, you would get lessons and you dont help with the mucking out!!

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Yes but you have to go at a set time and do what your told.

Anyway, what's wrong with mucking out: why are people so work shy? A bit of hard work would do some people good and I don't see why people think they are above getting their fingers dirty. what's the point in learning to ride if you cant look after the horse by understanding and executing basic stable management?
 
If you both agreed on something then its only fair she stays true to her word so your right to be upset abou it, however its not worth stressing over or getting angry and going on a war path, just take this experiance and learn from it. Next time make sure they pay up weekly, no money this week ...no riding the week after, easier said than done though, specially if you thought she was your 'friend'.

At the end of the day hold your head up high, she should be ashamed of herself for going back on word and knowing that she owes you money. Perhaps she'll think twice next time too.
 

I would chalk it up to experience. I pay a set amount per month for my horseshare by direct debit straight into his owners bank account much easier IMO for both parties to keep track of and budget for.

Maybe next time have a 2 week trial then set up the payment. No money no ride!

I would however just add that as I pay for my share, I also consider that I pay to ride him not muck out (thats why I chose a horse on full livery) I just groom and clean tack.
 
Personally, I would walk away, chalk it down to experience and have a written agreement for anything future!

We let people ride for £10 at my yard, but they don't have to do the chores, the money just helps towards feed and shoes.

Admittedly to know that you are owed £60 hurts, but what kenzo has said certainly is true.

Just a last thought, you could let people know that she owes money, goes back on her word etc, as that can sometimes have the desired effect and if not, will stop her doing it to someone else ( not that that actually helps!)
 
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At the end of the day, I'm not running a charity...

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You held business insurance for her to ride your horse? Good job, as if she had been injured you could have been more out of pocket than you are now.
 
Novice rider £10 a time including mucking out - nothing wrong with that. Brilliant I think. And any aspect of horse care on a one to one basis helps gain experience.

At a riding school it was turn up - lesson - go home. I'd of killed to be able to help out and learn - I'd of mucked out all day!..when I did at the riding school there were so many kids you never got much of a look in.

Being able to ride someones horse unrestricted and be able to help out would have been a dream but then again I had Enthusiasm, wanted to learn and didn't take anything for granted. Sounds like you're well rid.

And like I said, I'd never charge an experienced rider - I pay them but a novice should be greatful for what they're getting and gaining from being able to ride and help care for someone elses horse. £10 is nothing compared to riding schools and mucking out really isn't much to ask.
 
yes i agree what i ment by this is that she comes down a just rides and does not do any mucking out ,surely if you pay to have that horse on loan you should take on the major rolls of poopicking and riding not just riding .

did you make it clear of what you wanted her to do ? or did she just think it was exercising
just make sure you make it clear what you want etc / exerciser/ part/full loan so you know where you stand and other person have it drawn up by a lawyer this way they cant go a gainst it paying up in advance good idear
 
Im out of action atm as Ive broken my wrist, Ive 'offered' several good friends I trust to ride him for me, free of charge! And one of them Ive offered to pay to do a bit of schooling for me but she wont accept money so I'll just pay for the hire of the sand school.

I understand the original Agreement, but I personally couldn't expect someone to pay me £10 a ride say twice a week and muck out, that would cover his shoes and more!
 
I think that unfortunately you are going to have to chalk this one down to experience and if you get anyone else to ride your horse then draw up a contract that lays out what the rider is expected to do eg grooming, mucking out as well as riding.

I pay for my share but I also groom and muck out each and every time I ride. I can't remember if it was part of the agreement that I would do this but I do it as I see it as part and parcel of riding
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From where I stand it looks like you are trying to earn yourself a few bob on the side. Do you realise that if you take money from someone to 'use things' that belong to you, you are actually 'Hireing for Reward' I dont suppose you took out necessary insurance for this, or revealed it to the Inland Revenue?
 
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