sharing a horse

scrumpyjackles

scrumpyjackles

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has anyone ever had a horse on a share ? how did it work out for you ? i want to put my boy on a share as i will be working 6 days a week and studying for exams for two years - he is a very nice horse but can be a little spritely sometimes (serves me right for having a chestnut warmblood) but how can i be sure not to have a novice that says they can ride but cant - also how much should i charge for 2 poss 3 days a week ? if they are good enough i will let them hunt - never loaned a horse before so have no clue !!
 
I have ended up with 2 share horses!
One is mine, my beloved semi-retired eventer, and I had to find a sharer (3 days a week) to allow me to keep her and afford another horse to compete. So the other horse I have on loan, but her owner is at uni so shares her with me while she's at home for the holidays (2 days a week). Not as confusing as it sounds.
The lady with 3 days pays £25 a week, and the owner with two days pays £20 while she is home.
As for finding a suitable sharer - watch them ride, get to know them, supervise them doing all the jobs, make sure you're happy with the way they handle and ride your horse and that they know as much as they say they do. Not usually hard to tell! Also I would get everything in writing - a loan agreement type affair. There's one you can download from the bhs website and adapt. This is wise.
I like my sharers a lot and the situation works very well for me and for them, so even though you do hear horror stories, it can work well! Having said that, if I'm honest I don't really like sharing my horses at all... but only because I'm utterly selfish and possessive!
 
Thank you very much that is extremely helpful ! i think i am going to find it hard too because i want my boy all to myself ! but hes a horse that loves attention and loves people so it would be nice for him as im going to be working 6 days a week and doing a qualification !! where is the best place to advertise do you think ?
 
I share a horse. Share agreement says 3 days a week but owner and I h e become good friends and are flexible. We swap days if it suits us both and as she is not so bothered about riding and is pushed for time due to young child I tend to ride or hack more than 3 times a week.

You will know pretty quickly if they know what they are doing, especially from the questions they ask. The owner of the horse I have said the other day she could see that I 'clicked' with her horse and would be the firm but gentle person he needed.

As someone else said get it all in writing-who is liable for what, who replaces what etc. What she is/is not allowed to do with the horse? I went for a share agreement that was down to the most minute detail just for piece of mind really.

The first few times she rides I would be at the yard if I were you. Perhaps when you are happy make you presence less obvious-perhaps potter in the yard, poo pick etc and then pop over to school to check all ok.

:)
 
I have had a few sharers over the years and had good and bad experiences, my first suprise was the level of some of the people that called, they would say that they had all this experience etc etc and come down and could barely do rising trot without holding the saddle, that happened a few times to my total bemusement!
Then when I did find people there were 2 that turned out to be totally untrustworthy and were doing things with my horses they had specifically agreed not to much to the detriment of the horses, after that I decided never to share a horse again.
On the plus side one of the sharers I had for a horse that I have now sold was the most reliable, caring and honest people I have ever met and even carried on sharing the horse after I sold him.
There is good and bad and you never truly know what you are getting and for that reason I wouldnt share mine, I hope it works for you.
 
Ive shared a couple of Horses. I think one of the most important factors in sharing is communication! I paid £10 a day for my last share. As for knowing the riders ability I would watch them ride in the school. If i liked them I would offer them the chance to hack out with company. I would ask a friend to go out with them and report back to me on how the rider handled my Horse etc. Write up a contact
Regarding days, price, notice, rules, insurance, sick days cover etc. As for advertising, try your local tack shop and free websitea such as preloved.
 
I think that what you charge depends on several factors:
a) your location
b) what you're happy for the sharer to do with the horse
c) what facilities are available
d) what sort of livery

I shared a horse in the London area for £50 per week for 2 days riding. She was on full livery so I had no stable chores. I was willing to pay a bit more for a horse on full livery. The facilities were pretty good but there were things I couldn't do with her- no jumping, for example.

If you're in the South East, on a lovely yard with great facilities on full livery you can charge top dollar and there will be someone willing to pay it. I agree with the previous post, just make sure you're at the yard for the first few times. Maybe borrow a friend's horse and ride out together?

One word of warning -be careful when other liveries tell you things about your sharer. The mare I was sharing pulled a tendon and was only allowed to walk out on hacks for a while. She was a hot little thing and got herself in a right old tizz at having to walk up the tracks when she wanted to trot. When I brought her back all sweaty and had to sponge her off another livery told her owner that I'd been cantering her out on a hack! Luckily the owner asked me about it in a roundabout way, rather than launching in and telling me off for cantering (which is probably what I would have done!)
 
I have had a few sharers, good and bad experiences really...

Some very lazy, wouldnt clean tack, muck-out or even rinse buckets ! So be specific in writing that they must do some chores too.
Mine pays £10 a week but im not on livery, its my private land so he is low cost to me, that just covers food/shoes.
Be very specific in the advert, if he isnt suitable for a novice/under 18 then state that explicitly ! As likley 11 year old riding school kids will message you anyway, but be strict, dont just let them come along and try him anyway if you know they will not be right.

I would say randomly drop in and watch them ride periodically, to check that there riding is to your likeing, as that is the thing you may notice the most is if their riding style starts changing your horse or teaching him bad habits.

Sharing is excellent though, there are many capable, usually from my experience, working women out there looking for a horse to get out on but without the time to commit to owning one.

Best stick to over 18 only imo, they have transport if anything happens and you arnt there they can be there in an emergency and also better for insurance purposes (they should get themselves rider insurance)

PM if you want with your email address and I can sen you a copy of a share contract.
 
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