Riding Schools vs Part Share. Have things changed?

[FrecklesTheCat]

When I was growing up, a fair few moons ago, those of us that were horse mad without horsey parents just went to riding stables. In fact some of us pretty much lived at riding stables and must have made a right nuisance of ourselves! But I can't think of anyone who got a formal share or loan of a pony/horse.

However, now I know of several who have had a few lessons and then shared fairly early on. I've completely changed areas so it could be a regional thing, but have things changed? Do parents share for their children a lot more now?

If so what do you think is driving the change? Are there more ponies available as share now? Are there fewer riding schools?

For a while , I did get to regularly exercise a pony which belonged to my Dad's best mate. His daughter had out grown the pony. But I'm hearing a lot of people talking about "buying into" a pony & it was nothing that formal! I think Dad bought him the odd extra pint

 

[webble]

I would say fewer riding schools and in a lot of cases sharing is cheaper for more horse and riding time. That said good sharers aren't easy to find

 

[be positive]

Definitely fewer RS's as so many closed due to red tape, staffing issues, property values meaning selling up and taking the cash is attractive.

It is often cheaper to pay DIY livery than it is for a lesson in many areas, someone can buy a cheapish pony, kit it out with a second hand synthetic saddle and other stuff from ebay or facebook, pay around £25 per week for livery and then "share" their investment often for not much less than the livery bill, on paper it seems a good cheap hobby, in reality it can all go pear shaped extremely quickly when the true costs are added up or the cheap pony turns out to be in foal, lame or otherwise unsuitable for purpose .

For a sharer it can be an attractive option, riding someone else's horse, paying less than the cost of a lesson but they rarely have any say in what goes on and could end up doing all winter hardly riding being let go when the weather improves, some certainly seem to get a good deal but not all work out well.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

There may be fewer riding schools but I shared my pony 35 years ago it was the only way we could afford to keep him and many of my friends had part shares so not a new thing in my experience.

 

[FrecklesTheCat]

Interesting you mentioning winter Be Positive. We've just had someone come back to my kids riding school who had been sharing, but was getting little riding over the winter.

Its a shame if there are fewer riding schools. It's difficult for me to judge as a child we moved from an area with one 5 mins cycle away to an area with the nearest stables a 20 min drive. We've now got three within a ten minute drive, but they all have waiting lists. The one with an indoor school has a year long waiting list!

Sounds like sharing was common in your area Sussexbythesea, so I wonder if its a mix of regional and fewer riding stables, or maybe more children riding.

 

[zaminda]

I kept my pony on a yard which had a small riding school, and then people could share a pony there. There were different prices for week days and weekend days, and a discount for more than one day. They didn't push the lessons, and only had a few groups, so it worked well for them. There were also a lot of other people locally who shared horses, and for some it seemed that the horse didn't cost them anything at all! I live in a different area now, and livery is cheaper, so less shares seem to be available. Plus there is more turnout available, so people aren't so worried about having their horse ridden everyday.

 

[Suechoccy]

I learnt to ride at 23 and after a couple of years of weekly lessons and occasional hacks from the riding school, plus a couple of riding weekends elsewhere, I wanted to have more involvement with horses and I wanted to hack rather than be instructed. So the £20 a week on one riding lesson morphed into £25 a week to be someone's sharer, for which I got to ride their lovely mare three times a week and be involved in her care, feeding, grooming, mucking out, leading to and fro from the field, and all the other important bits which you don't get with a riding lesson. Plus hacking, often on my own, around Epping Forest, was good for my independence as a rider. A few years on from that I knew I wanted my own horse and was finally in a financially secure enough position to afford my own horse. So the whole thing was progressive.

 

[FrecklesTheCat]

I totally get it as a progression Suechoccy, it makes total sense.

But I've seen several go for shares with young children (6 yrs in one case) after just a few lessons, like its as an alternative to the RS. I guess if you trade an outdoor RS for a yard with an indoor arena, you'll be able use through the winter, and you have someone who can instruct the child then it will work better.