Riding school loan - which horse??

[junie]

HI all,

I have a dilemma i hope ye can help me with!

I've been riding on and off for 20 years, and I had a lovely horse on loan from an RS a few months ago but she has since been sold I had some pics posted here i was like a pea on a mountain on her! There are a couple of other horses to choose from at the yad and i have narrowed it down to two mares.

One is about 16H and is a livery, but the owner is away at work and rarely can get to the yard to see her. She's a great all rounder but i'm conscious of the fact that she has an "owner" and is not an RS horse. (i know owner he's a nice chap) 16 H is also a little big for me (only 5 feet tall!!)

The other horse is about 15.1 H and is an old schoolmistress at 20 years young but isn't that fond of jumping. She's a lovely horse though and owned by RS.

So do i go for the great all rounder who has an owner or the schoolmistress who isn't a keen jumper.

I would also like to maybe go to some local shows events and i know the first horse has been out and about but don't know about the RS horse??

Any advise would be much appreciated (sorry no pics!)

Cheers folks!!

 

[Katie__Connie]

I'd definitely go for the first horse
Sounds like you'd have more fun- jumping etc... and you know she's been out and about... plus more suited to you size wise....
I would make sure you've discussed arrangements with owner and RS and have some sort of contract drawn up so everyone knows where they stand re: time period of loan, who pays for what etc since it could get a little complicated with three people involved...

good luck and enjoy which ever horse you decide on

 

[Kat]

Well the first one sounds far better but I can't understand how the loan would work with an owner and the riding school and you.

I guess it depends how the riding school works things, but feedback I've heard on this sort of arrangement is that owners of working livery horses tend to struggle to fit in riding their horse around their lesson commitments. I've heard people who loan from riding schools say the same thing, so you could find it doubley difficult in this situation. You need to really make sure that you know what you are getting for your money in this situation and that the owner is agreeable.

Have you thought about looking into "proper" loans or shares away from the riding school? You normally get a lot more for your money!

 

[junie]

Thanks for the advice guys, youre both right - it could be a bit of a menage a trois!! (spelt wrong!)

Its the only thing holding me back from going for that horse, i would have to clear things up with the yard owner and see what the horse's owner thinks. i know other people have had his horse out to events and he even told me once that i could take her out on a hack as he wasnt about. He also has an injury (fell off horse on XC!) that prevents him from doing too much.

I would love to get a proper "loan" horse but it's the same as owning a horse and i wouldn't commit unless i was totally financially secure (vet's bills etc) as i would hate to have to hand back a sick or injured horse to the owner if i couldnt afford treatment.

I'll have a chat with YO about these issues and see what she says!

Cheers guys

 

[Umbongo]

I shared a horse with an owner that was on livery, and TBH with 3 people in the picture it really was no problem at all, you just need to make it clear what you are paying for, what you allowed to do etc.

 

[AprilBlossom]

I'd go for the second one as it sounds less complicated, having had a horse on loan from RS already you obviously are comfortable with the arrangement etc, so it's less hassle, and having had a mare myself who wasn't keen on jumping (but able none the less) I can say you will learn so much more about jumping and how your position etc has an effect - My jumping position and approach had to be spot on to aviod a refusal and it just became ingrained - works wonders, I tell you! That's my two pence anyway, depends how much you want something that just goes and jumps - can't be too important to you as you wouldn't short list the other mare then, so sounds like you're quite keen on her to overlook that??
Best of luck with whichever you take on

 

[Kat]

Thanks for the advice guys, youre both right - it could be a bit of a menage a trois!! (spelt wrong!)

Its the only thing holding me back from going for that horse, i would have to clear things up with the yard owner and see what the horse's owner thinks. i know other people have had his horse out to events and he even told me once that i could take her out on a hack as he wasnt about. He also has an injury (fell off horse on XC!) that prevents him from doing too much.

I would love to get a proper "loan" horse but it's the same as owning a horse and i wouldn't commit unless i was totally financially secure (vet's bills etc) as i would hate to have to hand back a sick or injured horse to the owner if i couldnt afford treatment.

I'll have a chat with YO about these issues and see what she says!

Cheers guys

I can appreciate that a proper loan might be too much of a comitment, but you could look for a share or part loan with a private owner as an alternative to loaning from the R/S. You will probably find that the experience is more valuable and the horse isn't institutionalised.

I have nothing against riding schools, I ride in one and I know just how much experience you can build up without your own horse. But I also know that these loan agreements can be tricky and can also be expensive for what you get.

I did two shares with private owners, both were quite informal. One was just hacking out as that was all the horse really did, the owner was happy to me to ride in exchange for stable duties with no financial contribution. It saved her a journey when she was short of time. The other was liveried at the riding school I ride at and the agreement was that I hacked once a week and did the required stable duties that day (he was on part livery) and that I had a lesson once a week and did the stable duties. They never wanted any money, they were happy for him to be kept busy and to not have to go down the yard.

Both were good experience and I learnt a lot, especially from the second one as he was a really super PC allrounder type and he enabled me to really progress and get the feel of how things should feel which is much more difficult on a school horse.

They didn't cost me a thing (apart from public liability insurance which I took out for my own peace of mind via the BHS for £50 a year) and the commitment required was not too much at all.

Most people now seem to want a financial contribution for a share and expect you to do 2-4 days a week. Might be worth looking into, in these difficult financial times there are more shares out there than ever as people try to cut their costs.

 

[junie]

Thanks again for sound advice - now i really cant decide as the good and bad points about each horse outweigh each other and break even!! I'll have to ride each horse again and see if that helps

I have looked at the sharing possibility but it seems it's not as common in NI as the UK, i get the local farmy/horsy paper and there are never any shares advertised, and only the odd loan, and i have been to nearly all of the stables in my local area, and rang a few livery yards.

I have tried both horses in the school and the field and they are equally great, i'm such an indecisive person it drives me nuts sometimes!

I'm sure i'll have a great time whichever one i pick as yard is fairly small and doesnt have many lessons. All of the horses/ponies are well looked after so i 'm not worried about the horse being overworked or anything like that.

I'm just being overly picky