Sharers - is it worth it? and should I ask for a contribution?

I had a nightmare with my sharer - I didn't ask for payment as just wanted someone to give my second horse some tlc etc - she never wanted to do things on her own, was unreliable and she finally disappeared with a saddle for cleaning. At this point her mum had a heart attack so she said she'd have to stop coming - chased for saddle back but had trouble coming. Luckily for me I happened to visit my local tack shop when she was there (that wasn't too much trouble!) and she had my saddle in there (she was with a mate saddle shopping)! I could never prove it but I'm sure she was planning to part ex my saddle (mother being ill probably a lie). I was livid and I can't quite get over it. I would now love a sharer again but am very wary
 
Ceriann said:
I had a nightmare with my sharer - I didn't ask for payment as just wanted someone to give my second horse some tlc etc - she never wanted to do things on her own, was unreliable and she finally disappeared with a saddle for cleaning. At this point her mum had a heart attack so she said she'd have to stop coming - chased for saddle back but had trouble coming. Luckily for me I happened to visit my local tack shop when she was there (that wasn't too much trouble!) and she had my saddle in there (she was with a mate saddle shopping)! I could never prove it but I'm sure she was planning to part ex my saddle (mother being ill probably a lie). I was livid and I can't quite get over it. I would now love a sharer again but am very wary
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Well I doubt it was in there for any other reason!! Christ alive, what a horrible trick.

Sharers are like liveries IME, when they're good, they're fantastic for everyone involved. If they're bad it's a nightmare for everyone involved. I think sharers are definitely worth it, I would love one for my boy, it's just finding the right sharer that is so difficult. I think you find the best ones through word of mouth, like many other posters have described. Can you ask your horsey friends if they might know anyone?
 
I pay my "sharer". But she does yard duties for all four of my heavy horses and is a better rider for the green one she rides than me, as she is a qualified instructor. She is a mature person, most young people I've tried aren't committed enough and put their needs before the horses so I'd rather pay for someone who shows good commitment. Plus she looks after them if I go on holidays and is knowledgeable and reliable ....
 
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I think if you insist on payment you may be losing out on a good person. I know when my current cushings horse(who cannot be ridden at the moment)goes I will not be able to afford anything as I have huge credit card bills to pay off due to vets bills and the hefty cost of medication...however, although I am an oldie, I am a decent rider, can school to a reasonable level, am more than capable of handling difficult horses will happily do all chores and am reliable. as I am a pensioner have the time to devote to a horse but if an ad came up in my area asking for a contribution I wouldn't even answer it..
 
ihatework said:
Those shares where no money changes hands are generally with experienced horse people who for the sharer can be trusted not to ruin the horse and appreciates why reliability is important, the owner can appreciate someone with ability and some brain cells and be pleased they don't have to pay a freelancer.
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I have known one person that fitted into that category and honestly the owner didn't realise what she had. Sadly every other non paying sharer I have seen over a period of 8 years on 5 yards Herts/London borders was prone to cancelling at the last minute which for owners on DIY ended up costing them money if they couldn't then get up to the yard and had to pay for livery.

I wonder if area makes a difference and in London you have a more transient population not yet at the reliable stage of life and with lots of other temptations of things to do on a rainy january evening after work.

On the plus side you get many people from all over the world, very experienced horse people, really too advanced to get what they wanted from a riding school. but are not at the right stage of life to take on their own horse, especially at London prices. At various yards I have met sharers from Sweden, Poland, Australia, Germany, Check Republic, Denmark, Israel, Slovakia, USA to name a few. Generally very reliable, happy to pay and enjoying bringing on a less experienced horse.
 
splashgirl45 said:
I am now in Suffolk but lived on the London/Essex border and I was always reliable so I don't think area makes any difference but age might....
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Possibly the two are related as London has a younger average age that the rest of the UK. Although the one reliable non paying sharer I came across was in their twenties.
 
Not sure what drives the reliability thing - I'm in my late twenties, and the days I've done said horse so far have all been wet. That said it's the very first time I've ever had something that I've been told to 'treat as my own' so I'm enjoying it and not taking it for granted.

It's probably all too easy if you've done horses through multiple winters to shy away from doing someone else's when you're soaked through and everything you touch is covered in mud.
 
As a former sharer when I was looking for a horse I looked at adverts where the owner wanted a contribution, the advert was honest and well-written. I met 3 different owners and horses until I found an owner and horse I thought I could gel with on my fourth meeting, and vice versa for them with me.
A financial contribution and a formal agreement gives both parties a bit of security and like others have suggested it will warn off flaky, unreliable people (of which I'm sure there are many).
I saw a lot of adverts as well where the owners wanted adult sharers only, or over 16.
I think when it works well and you get the right person it can be a great arrangement, for me personally it has literally enhanced my life, I've bought the horse now, have an amazing friend and instructor in the now former owner of my horse and I look after her horses for her when she's away.
Good luck in finding someone again x
 
To provide another p.o.v. from a sharer I can honestly say (from experience) if I saw an advert offering free riding I would genuinely steer clear. The rationale behind this is that when I have enquired/been contacted about these sorts of arrangements it has always ended badly - turned up to get stood up - horse needs completely restarting - horse has dangerous quirks which were not communicated by owner - owner won't ride horse first - horse bronced within seconds of mounting etc.

Now to be clear and before I get a hammering I'm not suggesting that everyone who does not expect a financial contribution in exchange for riding is offering similar but I can only go by my own personal and recent experiences from what is available via the Internet.

I see from this post that the OP has potentially found someone through word of mouth - I truly hope this works out for all involved :-)

If you are considering asking for a financial contribution then arrangements which I have recently come across/been offered which may help you decide what/if to charge are:

- Unlimited riding and free reign hacking etc. Pay for shoes only once brought horse back into work. Horse was green and needed retaining to be anything other than an X racer and broodmare
- £10 per day to include riding and groundwork for a horse which was barely backed, untrusting of humans, bolts, rears and lives out in a field with literally no facilities other than a water supply and some off road hacking
- £45 a week for 2/3 times riding with just a field and all duties required. Horse needed bringing back into work and was green.
- £15 a week for 2 times riding, stable duties required but poo picking and ragworting optional, very quirky older horse who could not be taken off yard riding wise with minimal riding available on the yard
- £45 a week for 3 times riding on a range of horses all of which needed schooling and had quirks (owner/dealer had 10+ horses) minimal yard duties road only hacking
- £30 a week for 3/4 times riding plus duties. Horse safe but 'lazy' and at a yard which has a bad reputation and was run down
- Free loan to go as much as I wanted to do ground work with the horse and with the *potential* to pay for riding once horse going nicely and owner thinks would be appropriate
- £45 a week for 3/4 times riding an arthritic horse who previously had some tendon damage and therefore could only be walked and trotted whilst hacking - no schooling allowed
- £20 per week for as much or little riding as required to include all duties as appropriate. Young, green, slightly spooky but safe horse. Yard does not have great facilities and most hacking is on road but transport was available at a cost.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of the current state of play and helps you decided what/if to charge. I genuinely believe that if you're not charging the Internet may not be the best place to search for a loaner and word of mouth is probably best. You could always put "financial contribution negotiable" in the advert?
 
Do agree re the word of mouth of thing - my situation has come about because he's actually at the yard I teach at RDA with, so it is not in any way a randomer, yard or horse I don't know of, and that to me makes a lot of difference.

OP, this may be where facebook actually has its uses - asking friends if they know of anyone looking, rather than sticking a notice up and hoping for the best.
 
teapot said:
Do agree re the word of mouth of thing - my situation has come about because he's actually at the yard I teach at RDA with, so it is not in any way a randomer, yard or horse I don't know of, and that to me makes a lot of difference.

OP, this may be where facebook actually has its uses - asking friends if they know of anyone looking, rather than sticking a notice up and hoping for the best.
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You sound very fortunate with your situation, definite attack of the green eyed monster over here ;-)
 
Sharing is so hard, it's like finding the perfect man/woman. I am a sharer and found it very difficult to find the the right horse,owner,yard etc. But when you do, it's fab for all parties. As for paying, I think, it does give the person sharing a kick up the bum to go and ride the horse. Have a friend who can ride a horse for free, so she's very abstract with it. Whereas because I'm paying for huge Herts livery rates, I'm always there!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
why should horse owners get their horse looked after, exercised and paid for the privilege? Back in the day they'd have to pay for someone to exercise it. From what I've seen around here paid shares are a complete racket.
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From recent experience a lot of the horses readily available via the Internet require a financial contribution because the owner is struggling with the financial aspect of owning a horse and seem to see a sharer as the solution to this!
 
MotherOfChickens said:
why should horse owners get their horse looked after, exercised and paid for the privilege? Back in the day they'd have to pay for someone to exercise it. From what I've seen around here paid shares are a complete racket.
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Conversely why should someone ride for free? They'd be paying £20-30 a time at a riding school and would be a lot more limited with what they can do. Horses are expensive and it is wrong that someone should ride a horse for nothing just because they want to...

ETA - mine is sane and sensible, well schooled and jumps up to 1m10, no jobs and I'm not asking for a contribution. I'm just looking for someone to hack with once a week and then the rest of the time they can do as they please. I have a floodlit arena and transport so they could compete if they wanted. Still can't find anyone...
 
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Bubbles2016 said:
From recent experience a lot of the horses readily available via the Internet require a financial contribution because the owner is struggling with the financial aspect of owning a horse and seem to see a sharer as the solution to this!
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There are a several yards in the Central Belt seemingly built around having several 'share' horses. Mainly lower end type horses (and I have/had several before anyone starts) and novice sharers.

Yet others want experienced people to school their youngsters/back them, shovel their crap and charge them for the privilege. Of course there are good/bad sharers and owners but mainly (as I said, around here) it seems like a racket to me.
 
EQUIDAE said:
They'd be paying £20-30 a time at a riding school and would be a lot more limited with what they can do.
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Round here you can easily pay £50 for an hour's group lesson so £25-£30 to ride 2 or 3 times a week seems like a good deal to many people. And having done the riding school thing, you are not guaranteed a nice horse even if you pay that and can still end up schooling someone else's horse.

ETA I rode at riding schools when I first moved to london, then shared, then got my own and have had two sharers.
 
EQUIDAE said:
Conversely why should someone ride for free? They'd be paying £20-30 a time at a riding school and would be a lot more limited with what they can do. Horses are expensive and it is wrong that someone should ride a horse for nothing just because they want to...

ETA - mine is sane and sensible, well schooled and jumps up to 1m10, no jobs and I'm not asking for a contribution. I'm just looking for someone to hack with once a week and then the rest of the time they can do as they please. I have a floodlit arena and transport so they could compete if they wanted. Still can't find anyone...
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Where are you based?
 
EQUIDAE said:
Conversely why should someone ride for free? They'd be paying £20-30 a time at a riding school and would be a lot more limited with what they can do. Horses are expensive and it is wrong that someone should ride a horse for nothing just because they want to...

But they are not riding for free, in most cases they are doing all the daily jobs, saving the owners either time or money and riding is the reward, or should be, if they were going to a RS they would not have to trudge across a muddy field, bring in an equally muddy horse, get it ready so they can ride etc. they turn up have a nice lesson, possibly help get the horse ready and put it away but they are not expected to muck out, sweep yards, fill haynets, part of the sharing set up for some is a step towards ownership and learning about the reality of the daily care but there do seem to be many owners that expect to get paid for the use of a horse as well as getting work done .
I think it seems to work in many cases but it often seems to be a money saving scheme for the owner with the sharers paying as well as saving the owners money, usually with limited opportunity to really "share" the horse in the true sense.
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MotherOfChickens said:
There are a several yards in the Central Belt seemingly built around having several 'share' horses. Mainly lower end type horses (and I have/had several before anyone starts) and novice sharers.

Yet others want experienced people to school their youngsters/back them, shovel their crap and charge them for the privilege. Of course there are good/bad sharers and owners but mainly (as I said, around here) it seems like a racket to me.
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Personally I think a financial contribution is a good idea but people do take advantage...
 
be positive said:
EQUIDAE said:
Conversely why should someone ride for free? They'd be paying £20-30 a time at a riding school and would be a lot more limited with what they can do. Horses are expensive and it is wrong that someone should ride a horse for nothing just because they want to...

But they are not riding for free, in most cases they are doing all the daily jobs, saving the owners either time or money and riding is the reward, or should be, if they were going to a RS they would not have to trudge across a muddy field, bring in an equally muddy horse, get it ready so they can ride etc. they turn up have a nice lesson, possibly help get the horse ready and put it away but they are not expected to muck out, sweep yards, fill haynets, part of the sharing set up for some is a step towards ownership and learning about the reality of the daily care.
I think it seems to work in many cases but it often seems to be a money saving scheme for the owner with the sharers paying as well as saving the owners money, usually with limited opportunity to really "share" the horse in the true sense.
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Completely agree - although I always think a small financial contribution is a good idea - people too often want to save money on a trainer and cover the cost of their horses so that they can spend their money on other things AND enjoy their well looks after horse...
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be positive said:
EQUIDAE said:
But they are not riding for free, in most cases they are doing all the daily jobs, saving the owners either time or money and riding is the reward, or should be, if they were going to a RS they would not have to trudge across a muddy field, bring in an equally muddy horse, get it ready so they can ride etc. they turn up have a nice lesson, possibly help get the horse ready and put it away but they are not expected to muck out, sweep yards, fill haynets,
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True but you could argue that's the difference between £50 for an hour at a riding school (hacks aren't much cheaper) and £8 - £10 per ride which could be longer than an hour for a share.

Anyway mine was on livery so the sharer only had to turn up and ride.
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criso said:
be positive said:
True but you could argue that's the difference between £50 for an hour at a riding school (hacks aren't much cheaper) and £8 - £10 per ride which could be longer than an hour for a share.

Anyway mine was on livery so the sharer only had to turn up and ride.
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At a riding school though the horse is usually safe, schooled, up to date with back tack feet teeth jabs, insured, you're insured... From what I've seen this does not apply to horses I've been to view advertised on the Internet... Also you get the benefit of a qualified instructor. It's all swings and roundabouts though...
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Bubbles2016 said:
At a riding school though the horse is usually safe, schooled, up to date with back tack feet teeth jabs, insured, you're insured... From what I've seen this does not apply to horses I've been to view advertised on the Internet... Also you get the benefit of a qualified instructor. It's all swings and roundabouts though...
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In my life I have had three tack accidents (reins breaking and a stirrup leather snapping twice once when I was halfway over a jump) and these were at riding schools so I don't assume that tack is checked.

If you are sharing and want lessons you can choose an instructor and have the same one every time whereas at a riding school if you are in a group lesson, it's whoever is assigned that day and it can keep changing. Of course you could opt for a private lesson with a particular instructor at a riding school but then it gets really expensive.

Having ridden at riding schools and shared and owned I would say you can get access to a much better quality horse sharing than at a riding school and true some share horses are green and unschooled but so are many of the riding school horses I rode.

Personally I didn't move from riding schools to sharing to save money, I did it because I could get more out of it and progress more quickly.
 
MotherOfChickens said:
why should horse owners get their horse looked after, exercised and paid for the privilege? Back in the day they'd have to pay for someone to exercise it. From what I've seen around here paid shares are a complete racket.
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Because they're offering a "horse for X number of days per week as if it was your own" experience, something people can't get at a riding school. Lots of people want "horse time" not just riding and when they ride, the ability to do what they want, not what they're told by a ride leader on a hack or an instructor in a lesson. Plus a share is a lot cheaper and less responsibility than owning your own horse. Lots of people owning a horse only ride a few days a week, unless they enjoy having the total control of ownership and the daily horse care chores (obviously most do), they'd be better off sharing due to the financial costs of ownership being so much more for the same amount of riding. So depending on how you look at it, it could be said the sharer has the best of both worlds and why should they get that for free?

Where it gets into taking the mickey is when you've got an owner who wants everything done in a particular way, for no reason other than that's the way they like it done. If they can't be flexible and let the sharer do what they want, as long as everything necessary gets done and in such a way that the horse doesn't suffer and the owners pocket isn't hit by eg wastage etc, then IMO they should be paying a groom.
 
Before today I would have said yes.......now not so sure! We have a pony and due to time and distance issues he has other kiddies that ride him. We have set days. We have been up on ours but others haven't managed theirs :(, which means he hasn't been checked or fed! One has a very very valid reason so I let them off. Thing is that I've not been told so I can't do anything about it. He is in with a pony that will eat his feed and he will let them eat his feed, thus rendering it useless to be given to him, so the person who helps out can't even feed him.

I do ask for a contribution but just to livery, as I pay for the Insurance and feed etc. If I asked for a complete contribution their costs would double. I get that right now the weather is an issue, but its a commitment they made! I even gave up one of our days to them as they missed one of theirs due to crappy weather (there is an indoor school.............yes you will get wet walking to it but that's what rugs and jackets are for!) only to find out they didn't go up then either and by time I found out it was too late in the evening to go up!


So make sure you are CRYSTAL clear about the commitments needed!!!!!
 
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