Should I risk putting my boy on part loan?

SNORKEY

SNORKEY

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Hi, I dont get to ride much these days due to work, so I was thinking of putting my boy up for part loan, to stay at our yard and for someone to ride him and muck out twice a week.
The trouble is that he is def no riding school horse and I dont have a school just flat fields, but we do have some bridleways, although no where to gallop, do you think £80 a month is too much?
I cant have any kids up the yard and it's going to have to be a very experienced rider, and im worried someone might ruin him or be nasty to him.
Havn't done anything like this before, he's in the Southampton area incase anyone on here is interested as well, pm me!
 
I think £80 a month is reasonable, but you might have to be prepared to drop a little if you don't have much interest. personally I felt unfair charging sharers who were doing my mucking out on the days they rode, but thats just me.

With regard to your horse - my mare is safe but by no means easy, sharp, strong and excitable! Found several sharers and now a loaner, no problemo. The good thing about sharing is that you can keep a close eye on them and iron out any problems straight away, he's unlikely to be ruined if he's staying on your yard.
 
My loaner used to pay £20 a week and ride 3 times a week (more in the school hols) and my boy is on full livery so there were no chores. She now almost full loans him and has become a good friend of mine!
 
My part-loaner pays a lot more than that per month! Having said that, she has him most of the time (I normally only ride once a wk), and he is on Part Livery with great facilities and we're in a pretty expensive area.

I have to say I was terrified about the whole thing but if I looked for the next five years I couldn't have found anyone better. Although my boy isn't tricky to ride, he's a bit sensitive and needs someone who really 'gets him' if that makes sense. I was also really worried about how I'd cope not being the 'main mum' any more and how I'd deal with her doing things differently to me - not wrong but just not my way of doing things.

As it happens, all my fears are totally unfounded - I do feel a bit sad I don't spend as much time with him anymore but am really pleased I have found someone who adores him and treats him like gold. We have similar ways of doing things, similar ways of thinking and both totally understand how he operates which is great.

She is worth her weight in gold to me and my boy and I would find it really difficult to manage without her now :-)
 
You might be pleasantly surprised - my current sharer only wants to hack out & because I can only really ride at the weekends (unless I take holiday) I never have time to hack him out alone.

He's always been pretty nappy but even though she's by no means the best rider, she fully admits she has no interest in schooling & just wants to happy hack about in the countryside - it's perfect for me as it keeps him fit but as she's not schooling him, i don't worry about her ruining what I do with him. Oh, and he's much better at hacking out alone now!

She only pays me £15 a week (no stable duties/full livery)
 
I only paid £10 a month for 2 days a week at the start with my first part loan, now I don't pay anything and I see Kelly every day. I try and pay for food, shoeing and vets if I can get there first as owner does so much for me!
Its not so much of a risk if you do your homework. Kelly wasn't an easy horse, she was rescued and bonds with very few people and is lami prone too. She still napped when I took her on and had done only a bit of jumping. However, I can't see my life without her I love her to pieces and we clicked straight off. It's been 5 years now!

Make sure you are totally honest about your horse; his quirks, strengths and weaknesses etc. That way you can be sure that you will find someone who can cope with him. Draw up a written contract - put into that financial contributions, as well as stable chore contributions and riding contributions - will you want any extra for shoes? Feed? Vets bills? Do you want him to be hacked every time or schooled/lunged sometimes? How fit is he? Do you want him mucked out, watered, fed/not fed?? There's a lot to consider :) Also, don't leave the sharer alone at first - accompany her/him for as long as you see fit - at the end of the day, its your horse and whether it takes 4 days or 4 weeks for you to be happy with them, so be it.
When you find the right person though you will be sure you did the right thing - the most important thing is to ensure both you and your horse get on with and trust the sharer.

And remember; I know sharers have this rep for being "the people who can't be bothered getting their own" but some people genuinely can't afford their own/want to learn and get experience before getting their own/or, like me situations (university) prevent them from having their own. And you can find some pretty committed people!! :)
Good luck!
K x
 
I have a pony on full permanant loan and another part loan/share which my daughter rides, Its the most perfect arrangement for me.
The full loan pony is ill and unrideable and i cant afford to get another for my daughter to ride and end up paying for 2 so my y/o suggested sharing hers.
I pay £30 (half shoes) about every 9 weeks and for that my daughter rides when ever she wants except times like just recently when they decided she was having a week off :-( bit of a pain but a small price to pay for the hassle free arrangement.

I think shares and part loans can work really well and be a bonus to all parties.
 
McNally said:
I think shares and part loans can work really well and be a bonus to all parties.
Click to expand...

Deff - for example, owner has had some problems lately and its difficult for her to go down do see to the horses without just mucking them out and throwing a net in, so to save her hassle and to keep the girls ticking over, I'm doing both of them for her, keeping them hacking and on turn out until things have calmed down :)
A few weeks ago, when my Gran was ill, I told owner I couldn't get to the farm, and she did both of them while I was away. It works both ways and I can only hope you can sort an arrangement like I have :)
K x
 
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