Should I get another sharer?

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cheekywelshie

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My sharer of a year and a half has got a new job which makes it impossible for her to carry on sharing. It's a great shame as she has been totally reliable and I could go away on holiday and not have to worry! Hopefully we will keep in touch and she may still be able to help me at shows etc.

Now i'm wondering whether to go through the hassle of trying to find someone else. My current sharer didn't really ride that much, I think she found him a bit strong (Welsh D) but had lessons on him. She loved the horse care side of things more but was always willing to help out, which suited me great! I doubt I'll find that again! She paid me 20 a week for 2/3 days share (she could ride on her days and did a bit more in summer) and was fab at shows :)

The problem is finding the right person. It took me a year to find my current one - lots of time-wasters /people i couldnt' trust before that. He nearly died of colic two years ago so I'm a bit more protective that I used to be. But the most important thing for me is that they look after him as I do. I'm not bothered if they're not an expert rider , if they have lessons and their way of riding doesn't get him into bad habits (ie i'm working really hard on getting him of the forehand at the moment!) But he does take his confidence from the rider so if you are unsure he will pick up on it and perhaps misbehave but not be dangerous or really naughty.

I have just moved him to a new yard which is more expensive - because of the facilities and shows on site so I would have to charge them to share as otherwise i'd be losing out riding and not paying a lot to keep him there. It is 12 miles from my house so it has been nice having 2 mornings off a week when my sharer goes up! I have someone who may be interested but someone said he may be too strong for them and also they work in London so I would still have to pay the staff to turn out and bring in !!

The other option is just to have him back to myself and pay the yard staff to do him on any times I Can't get up - which is rare other than when I'm on holiday or away visiting family. I plan to do quite a few shows this year so he needs to be ridden/schooled/hacked - got fit!! However, what I really did like about the share was having someone else to talk to about my horse on a daily basis!

Hmmm. Anyone any advice? If you're sharer left did you get another or take your horse back and do him all yourself?
 
I'm in Milton Keynes! Just moved up to new yard with a fabulous XC course as I want to do more XC. It is expensive so they would have to be able to do a lot of the care ( you are charged for livery(ie stable, field ) and services (ie turn out, bring in, etc) separately) - or I would have to charge a bit more than my other sharer as she turned out etc.
 
Maybe look at it another way? That the new yard is going to charge you for any services and that it is further away from home so costs more in petrol/time to get to so if you could find a nice sharer who does things the way you like and even better, rides to a good standard.....it could be worth leaving the charge at £20 (or even less for the right person :) )because you benefit in other ways.

I've had sharers and I've always considered their contribution to be more than money IYSWIM? Time, reliability, a bit of freedom for me on their days etc. I do think that sharers should pay something, if only as an acknowledgement that horses aint cheap and tbh, I think a lot of people value something more if they've paid for it.......
 
Yep - if there was someone who fitted the bill then I'd be happy to try them out, but I went through a lot of timewasters before I found my current sharer and I don't want to spend all summer wasting time trying people out when I could be riding. Sounds a bit harsh I know, but sadly there are a lot of timewasters. I thought about maybe seeing if someone wanted to help me out at shows and get to know him through helping out and then if we got on and they seemed keen consider a share - rather than jumping straight into it??
 
I think you need to be careful if you want someone to help out at shows and not take advantage. Its nice for them to be at shows with you and around the horses but sharers should not be treated as grooms.
 
That's a fair point - but how do you find out if they're reliable and not just after a cheap ride? How do you find out that they are really keen and willing to muck in and do all the jobs.

I wonder sometimes if I want a sharer - it's not necc financially , although my new yard is V expensive because it has great facilities (huge XC course, 3 schools) compared to my old one - but to be able to share experiences about my horse with someone else who likes him as much as me (ie my current sharer). Prior to my current sharer I had people who just weren't firm enough with him on the ground (he can be strong unless you are firm) said they were good at riding and then complained they couldn't control him in the open field (he's a Welsh D and doesn't go cantering off unless asked generally, even when other horses are around! But he does need a 'leader' ie a confident rider as he takes his lead from a confident rider and needs a lot of 'hand to leg' riding!)
 
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