So what do YOU think is fair?

When I had sharers for my horses I drew up a written contract. It stipulated that payment was to be made monthly, in advance and that if they were ill or couldn't ride for any reason, then they would be offered an alternative day to make up for it, but there was no reduction in money they paid. This worked very well with several sharers over a number of years. They did not have to do any stable chores however.
 
horserider said:
Sharers that think a horse share is like renting a car, should stick to a riding school.
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but it is? People share because they cant afford/dont want the commitment of owning a horse. in some ways it is "like renting a car", they are paying for a certain amount of days to be able to have the experience of looking after/riding the horse.

Obviously she should have given you notice, and a month is a long time. I just hate the attitude towards sharers that they are trouble as soon as they cant do your horse 1 day. to be honest at the end of the day you are getting money & chores done. if you didnt want a novice share then why did you tell her she could share your horse?
 
If she isn't reliable then get rid! I occasionally debate getting a sharer - time and costs would be so much easier with someone to help, but I think I would be too controlling...

Especially if she is quite novicey and needs a lot of hand holding, then she should be grateful for the opportunity and help you have given her, and act accordingly... When I was sharing, I always stuck to my days, and if I couldn't for some reason, then I arranged cover that the owner would be happy with and told her what was going on. If there were any short notice problems I did my best to help - it's all part of having a horse. When my last share went lame for 6 weeks, I still paid my share and did my days as the bills still need paying. Sometimes I did extra days after being away to make up for fewer days whilst away but always agreed beforehand. If she can't/won't realise the commitment of looking after a horse full time, then is the stress of wondering if she's going to flake on you really worth the extra help? :rolleyes:
 
KellyJoArnold said:
The whole point of sharing, is that you pay for the horse when you are 'sharing it' not paying for it when your not..
But then I don't share.. lol!
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No - the point of sharing is you do not have full responsibility for all the costs and only pay a percentage or share of the the costs.
You then have access to the horse to use on the agreed days or a share of the time.

If you were renting a flat or part of a flat you don't get your money back when you go on holiday.

If you don't want that sort of arrangement then you go to a riding school where you pay as you go.




One friend part of the deal was that sharer did chores on the share days so if she couldn't make it the sharer had to make other arrangements e.g. pay to put the horse on livery for those days so it actually cost more on the days she didn't make it. Owner wasn't charging much but a key part of the deal was regularly reliable help with care.
 
I shared horses for many years and once was away with work for 3 months. I automatically assumed that I would have to pay for the horse over this time as the owners cost doesnt reduce. In fact the owner was reluctant for me to pay for this time so we came to an agreement. I would look for someone else, people like this give sharers a bad name and there really are some great people out there.
 
I had a similar issue with a sharer last year- she had been sharing for a couple of months (all going well) til she gave me less than 2 weeks notice she was going abroad for 6 weeks and didnt intend to pay. I wasnt too pleased but as it was all going ok I let it go.

A few weeks after coming back and resuming she tld me she needed another period off for another reason. I told her thats fine, but I would be readvertising in the meantime, but if he was still avail when she got back she could resume., but I wouldnt hold him open.

It all worked out well though as found another sharer in absense who is amazing and very reliable, and gives plenty of notice and still pays for any weeks she is away.

I dont think your unreasonable at all. Perhaps now is time to start talking about readverising, or drawing up a contract setting out expectations?
 
hollieeb said:
but it is? People share because they cant afford/dont want the commitment of owning a horse. in some ways it is "like renting a car", they are paying for a certain amount of days to be able to have the experience of looking after/riding the horse.

Obviously she should have given you notice, and a month is a long time. I just hate the attitude towards sharers that they are trouble as soon as they cant do your horse 1 day. to be honest at the end of the day you are getting money & chores done. if you didnt want a novice share then why did you tell her she could share your horse?
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Sharing is like leasing a car - you don't have ultimate resposubility for it but you are making a contractual commitment to have access to it whether of not you use it. If you want a casual commitment to a horse go to a riding school.
 
HorseyLad said:
I'm afraid I agree with this, and if the horse were lame, unrideable for whatever reason I again wouldn't want to pay!
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I would tell sharer not to pay if the horse was lame but if it's there and ready and sharer just doesn't want to ride it's different.

Horses need routine and consistency, not people turning up when they feel like it
 
pansymouse said:
Sharing is like leasing a car - you don't have ultimate resposubility for it but you are making a contractual commitment to have access to it whether of not you use it. If you want a casual commitment to a horse go to a riding school.
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I wasnt reffering to myself? I share a horse, pay monthly in advance, stick to my days but if I cant then make up for it on a different day. at the moment im still owed 2 days because horse was ill, if its impossible to fit those in in the next few weeks I would ask for money back, although that will probably never happen. I dont have a contract, its all on trust which I prefer.
 
If your a sharer you pay even if you go away or choose not to ride, the horse still needs to eat regardless of this., if she only wants to pay when she rides tell her to go back to the riding school, I would look for someone else she is not a sharer really if this is how she thinks.
 
I have shared several horses and never paid to share whilst I went away as none of the owners would have expected me to, but obviously gave notice. To be honest it did seem to work in a more 'rentahorse' way than it seems to for most people on here. I should have been in a riding school, OK well I wasn't and the owners were happy. If I wanted the full financial commitment of a horse I would buy one... Oh look, I did :-)

That said, the terms of a share are outlined at the beginning, if someone said I had to pay whilst I was away I'd say no thanks and find another. I guess it depends how desperate you are to have a sharer, as I think the horse owner should be able to insist on whatever terms they like as it is their horse, if you can get someone to only ride in full show turnout, do all your chores and pay 200 a month then its their fault for agreeing to it if they feel that's unreasonable.

Also, this sharer sounds like a bit of a pain in general, so I suggest find another.
 
If a sharer is only paying for when they ride then this would nullify your insurance for the horse as they would not be covered if they are being 'leased'. That is what you are doing if you only get payment for when someone rides the horse. A sharer is different, because they are 'part loaning' and it is not viewed as 'leasing' the horse, so your insurance is not affected. The whole point of 'sharing' is that you commit to part of the upkeep of the horse, whether it is ill, or lame or YOU are ill or lame. Antthing else is not 'sharing', it is leasing.
 
I think that some people do not understand the word 'sharing' I've known people to go on holiday too and expect to not pay for their share as they are not riding it etc. So if I go on holiday does that mean I don't have to pay for the horse because I won't be riding it either?! I do wonder how some of these sharers will cope when/if eventually they get their own horse.
 
Just wondering does she expect the horse to be waiting for her when she's get back. I would always pay so that I'm not replaced, all owners have said I didn't need to but to me it seems right as even if I'm not there I want to have it available when I get back.
 
hollieeb said:
I wasnt reffering to myself? I share a horse, pay monthly in advance, stick to my days but if I cant then make up for it on a different day. at the moment im still owed 2 days because horse was ill, if its impossible to fit those in in the next few weeks I would ask for money back, although that will probably never happen. I dont have a contract, its all on trust which I prefer.
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The horse was ill so you are 'owed' two days riding? Good grief, what happens, if heaven forbid, the horse was out of action for good, would you expect a refund as well?
 
igglepop said:
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.
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I think it shouldn't be the sharer or the owner bending over backwards, it should be both being nice to each other and working around the horse's needs.

I have two sharers for my two, but neither pay anything, so we don't have this problem. One sharer, who lives locallly and comes more often, helped look after our horses when we went away for a weekend (and loved it she said!).

If you don't pay when you go on holiday as a sharer, do you pay extra when the owner goes on holiday and you get the chance to ride more often??
 
Honey08 said:
I think it shouldn't be the sharer or the owner bending over backwards, it should be both being nice to each other and working around the horse's needs.

I have two sharers for my two, but neither pay anything, so we don't have this problem. One sharer, who lives locallly and comes more often, helped look after our horses when we went away for a weekend (and loved it she said!).

If you don't pay when you go on holiday as a sharer, do you pay extra when the owner goes on holiday and you get the chance to ride more often??
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If I have said I will pay for a share I will pay no matter what wind, rain, holiday, lameness, a deal is a deal. I didn't say I don't pay when I go on holiday, I said I don't pay for my current share.
 
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