Share pony & tack

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Lacuna

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So I've been sharing my little pony mare for all of two weeks and I must admit to being slightly in love with the cheeky little beggar. We're just starting to hack out on her own and she's lovely and brave. Never met such an itchy pony either, you can get her to pull faces by scratching her almost anywhere.

Only thing is I'm not that happy with the tack she's currently using. Bridle is ok but would usually take the flash off (doesn't need it out hacking). Its pretty stiff and you can hardly force the straps into the keeper. The saddle is a bit pants, slightly damaged synthetic. Has nylon girth straps which I detest and has a big pad under it which makes me suspect that it isn't th ebest fit for her.

Anyway I was considering buying my own tack but wondered if it is a bit early days to do so,or even necessary as the tack is perfectly usable. Is it a bit too cheeky to ask to supply your own tack as a sharer? Just wondered if anyone has any thoughts?
 
Are you the sharer or owner. If i was the owner i would be wanting you to get a saddle fitter in first and decide on the best fit saddle from there. Whilst the synthetic might be broke, as long as the tree is good there is no problem.same for the girths as long as they dontpinch her and are not too short there is no problem, doesnt matter if you dont like them. Hope this answers your question.

The bridle could probably do with a good oiling so you could do that and make it more comfortable for the pony to wear.
 
You really need to have a chat with the owner. Be polite and cautious, it doesn't sound that good if the sharer barges in complaining about things after only a couple of weeks! The bridle can be oiled and cleaned more regularly to sort it out.
 
I agree with above. As an owner with a sharer, i'd be a little offended if she asked to provide her own tack, but saying that my tack is nice and fits well. If I agreed, I'd want it fitted correctly by a professional which isn't cheap on top of the cost of the tack its self.
 
I would think you would be seriously over stepping the boundaries by mentioning it at this stage

Perhaps give the bridle a blooming good clean and condition and see if that helps. Failing that you could approach the situation by saying that since you were getting such a great deal on the share (even if you arent) that you would like to contribute by buying the pony a nice new bridle

Dont keep it for your own use only though as that wouldnt come accross too well

The saddle fit may be worth a mention but I wouldnt press the saddle issue beyond that and certainly wouldnt buy a new one so soon
 
If the pony is going well in the saddle it has (whether it looks good or not) then you will have to stick it out I'm afraid. Maybe buy a nice seat saver to smarten it up?

Owners might take offence if you suggest it doesn't fit so early on in the share. My sharer mentioned to me in her first couple of weeks that her friend thought I wasn't feeding my ponies enough. If it had come from my sharer (who is a teenager who has only ever loaned one other pony before) I would has listened to what she had to say and asked her why she thought they were under fed. But as it was her friend, who had never met my ponies and gone off the couple of pictures my sharer had sent her and what she told her she thought I fed (feeds made up for sharer) I was quite offended! Anyway, I digress, but so early on in the share you should just get on with things and if in a few months you still love the horse and are closer to the owners, then maybe broach the subject. Please be careful though, people are quite precious about their animals :D
 
As a sharer myself, I wouldn't be mentioning buying new tack for a pony that I'd only been sharing for two weeks. The thing about sharing is that we don't own the horse. We have no say in how the horse is managed, what tack it wears, what it is fed etc. (unless you're very lucky and end up with a pony that has a very laid back owner - I didn't realise how much freedom I had in my first loan until I took on my second, pity I didn't really know what I was doing the first time round and now I have opinions and I can't put them to any use!:rolleyes:) If you go and ask the owner about buying new tack after only 2 weeks then you might run the risk of coming across as one of those sharers who wants to do things their way, instead of the owner's way.
Taking the flash off a bridle, I feel, is different to simply asking if you can treat the horse to a new bridle, because it's changing the horse's management/training, and potentially questioning the owner on their own judgement of what said pony should be ridden in. And the expense of buying and fitting a new saddle is lot when the owner could turn around at any second and terminate the agreement.
I'd wait until you've built up a relationship with the owner before you buy anything other than a funky headcollar and a bag of treats for your new pony friend :).

Oh, and P.S. it sounds like all the bridle needs is a good oiling:).
 
Speaking as an owner who has a sharer, I honestly wouldn't mind if my sharer wanted to buy tack as long as it was properly fitted and she checked with me first.

I would, however be livid if she oiled my bridle. Oil is not a good solution, it allows too much stretch and rots stitching. OP I would suggest using a good conditioning balm or some KoChoLine.

Sounds like you have found a fun pony, OP. Enjoy!
 
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