So what do YOU think is fair?

Luci07

Luci07

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As am somewhat taken aback. I share my older mare. I have one lovely lady who is brilliant but sadly lost my other equally lovely sharer when she went abroad.

Found a new one. She was a lot lot more novicey than originally stated and has needed constant hand holding. Even to tack up. Fair enough, she is nice to my mare I can cope. I told her the price is fixed ( as are my costs) so if she doesn't want to ride on her day, that's her call but no reduction. This was agreed. Now she is going away for a month and therefore does not want to pay for Jan. After discussion she has offered to pay half. She has been very very late with her share ( apparently dropping off Decembers tomorrow) but I am getting annoyed with having to chase all the time.

Seriously think I will need to find a new sharer in the new year. I don't believe any of her promises now. Thoughts?
 
I gave up sharers in the end as I couldn't find one that wasn't more trouble than they were worth, I used to have a sharer to give me a couple of evenings where i didn't have to go up the yard........but after being let down over and over again I have decided its easier just to do her quickly myself, than make plans with hubby and have to cancel cause people let me down.

If she is already being a problem by paying late, and quibbling about paying for Jan, personally I'd bin her.....but maybe I'm just too harsh in my expectations of people.
 
KellyJoArnold said:
To be honest. I wouldn't want to pay for a month, that I'm not even using the horse.....
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If you were told beforehand and knew the was the deal, then it's unfair and I am effectively subbing as she has decided not to ride. I would feel differently if the mare has injured..
 
If she had bought a horse and was going away like that she would have to pay extra for that horse to be looked after while she was away.

Sack her off and look for a more reliable one again.

ETS:

She has also already agreed that there would be no reduction if she chose not to ride and so as she has agreed to those terms she cannot go back on them.
 
It's her choice to leave so the lack of riding is not due to injury, etc.

I have been in similar position. Told sharer to do what she wanted but that I would readvertise the horse and IF she still wanted him when she came back and IF he was still available, then she could have him back ... but not to cry if I found someone else in the meantime. She paid for her 4 weeks in the end as decided she loved him and has been great since and we don't talk of it. Reckon she tried her luck!
 
I would look into getting a new sharer as i think its more hassle than what its worth.
She should have looked into what would happen when she went away before she agreed to the terms of the share so tbh its her own fault.
 
KellyJoArnold said:
To be honest. I wouldn't want to pay for a month, that I'm not even using the horse.....
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I'm not at a livery yard anymore (horses are kept at home) but when I was I don't think the yard owner would waive my livery bill just because I was going on holiday and wouldn't be "using" my horse !

I would have a chat with the sharer explaining the costs involved in keeping a horse, whether it is in work or not. If she isn't prepared to accept her responsibilities to you and your horse then I would end the share. If you hadn't explained that she would still have to pay whilst away on holiday as opposed to just not riding on a day then you should cut her some slack.
 
eggs said:
I'm not at a livery yard anymore (horses are kept at home) but when I was I don't think the yard owner would waive my livery bill just because I was going on holiday and wouldn't be "using" my horse !

I would have a chat with the sharer explaining the costs involved in keeping a horse, whether it is in work or not. If she isn't prepared to accept her responsibilities to you and your horse then I would end the share. If you hadn't explained that she would still have to pay whilst away on holiday as opposed to just not riding on a day then you should cut her some slack.
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She knows the costs. I have told her, my sharers do not cover even half of what the mare costs me, I don't expect them to. They contribute which helps. What is the difference between going away on holiday or not riding for a day though? Either way I have a sound horse whose costs don't magically go away. Neither are they reduced when, if I chose to go away. In fact they increase as pay to have them worked!
 
KellyJoArnold said:
To be honest. I wouldn't want to pay for a month, that I'm not even using the horse.....
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The answer then is to go to a riding school and book a lesson which can be cancelled (with notice) or simply not re-booked.

The sharer should pay and she should still pay the notice period if she wants to terminate the agreement.
 
Luci07 said:
She knows the costs. I have told her, my sharers do not cover even half of what the mare costs me, I don't expect them to. They contribute which helps. What is the difference between going away on holiday or not riding for a day though? Either way I have a sound horse whose costs don't magically go away. Neither are they reduced when, if I chose to go away. In fact they increase as pay to have them worked!
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I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. I do think she should pay whilst she is away as it still costs money to keep a horse when you are not around. However if she is as novice as you say she probably has very little understanding of the commitment required. The difference between not riding for a day and going on holiday is the number of days - she may not have grasped that she is expected to pay whatever the reason for not riding.
 
If its only been two months & she didn't even bother to mention it before you both made arrangements to share, then I'm afraid I'd just view her as too unreliable, & tell her so. If it was someone long term who'd either mentioned it well before or it was something like a hospital op, then I'd think differently. But in your case, I'd just get Decembers money, & tell her share ends the 31st.
 
Perhaps suggest that as your mare's only being ridden half the time in that month you'll give her half the hay, half the hard feed, take 2 shoes off, only put a rug on half the time, muck out every other day and see if she thinks that's fair to your horse !
 
The_angel_littlelegs said:
If its only been two months & she didn't even bother to mention it before you both made arrangements to share, then I'm afraid I'd just view her as too unreliable, & tell her so. If it was someone long term who'd either mentioned it well before or it was something like a hospital op, then I'd think differently. But in your case, I'd just get Decembers money, & tell her share ends the 31st.
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Your right, will tell her once she has paid that its not working for me and will start again in January. I can't see how I could have been any clearer when saying what the terms were either. Sweet girl but its not working for me.
 
Unless she advised you that she would be away for this month before you took her on and that she couldn't pay for this time I would be ending the agreement, or like someone else said, tell her you're going to readvertise the horse if she isn't going to pay the full amount and too bad if you find someone else.

I've had to be quite firm with my own sharers in the past about this kind of thing. I had one who wouldn't ride in the rain and so expected not to have to pay for those days, even though I would have ridden had it not been their day, but couldn't because I didn't know they wouldn't! As everyone else says, sharing a horse is not the same as going to a riding school. The horse still needs to eat whether or not the sharer wants to ride it that day! :rolleyes:
 
I always assumed that it was the sharer job to bend over backwards to help owners as they get cheap riding and time spent around a horse. The lady I share with now says I'm worth my weight in gold as I will help out with all farm animals and do holiday cover but by doing this I get free riding. I don't think I have ever had a day where I didn't make it to the yard when I said I would be there over the last 15 years, I have also paid when a horse was out of work for months because I loved the horse and didn't want to lose it. I think if the person was serious they would pay, find a new person who deserves to share your horse.
 
You're not being unreasonable at all. Its her choice to go on holiday, us owners still pay our costs even when we're away and can't ride! Horse doesn't just disappear when we can't be there to ride it! She can't choose to pay willy nilly, if she agreed to a contract she must abide by it and if she isn't or doesn't want to then get rid asap! Not worth your hassle.
 
I'm a sharer and I HATE it when people behave like this. Gives us a bad name! I agreed to pay X amount for my share per week and I pay it every week on time regardless. I feel terrible if I cant do my agreed days and I always pay even if I'm away. If I didnt want to i'd hand in my notice.

You arent being unreasonable at all. I want my boy's owner to trust me and if she felt like she couldnt then it just wouldnt work out.
 
My friend has a sharer who rides two or three times in the week as she works full time and can only ride a weekends. He horse was off work for months last year following colic surgery and I know that she felt guilty about taking money from her sharer.
Her sharers attitude was that she made a commitment and she should stick to it even if she was not able to ride. She always pays for the weeks she is away on holiday.
You are being taken advantage of and I would put an end to it and find a new sharer as soon as possible.
 
KellyJoArnold said:
To be honest. I wouldn't want to pay for a month, that I'm not even using the horse.....
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I'm afraid I agree with this, and if the horse were lame, unrideable for whatever reason I again wouldn't want to pay! This is why people share rather than own, ultimately it's not their responsibility, and they can have flexibility.

Whist I can see that you have outlined the conditions of the share arrangement, I can kind of see your point, BUT (Tin hat on time!) - ultimately it's your horse, and your responsibility and people (not saying you btw!) shouldn't rely on sharers to fund their horses. If someone cant afford their horse without a sharer then they should seriously re-think the situation for if the sharers left and couldn't be replaced what would happen? - I'm not saying this IS your situation but just saying this does happen and gets horses into trouble!
 
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