Successfully sharing a competition horse?

[andybanana]

Does it really work to share a competition horse? Or has anyone out there clubbed together to buy and share? Would love to hear good/bad experiences and opinions.

 

[LittleGreyMare]

I have a sharer who shares my 'competition horse' (5 year old eventer/allrounder). However she only rides in the week and does not compete and therefore no room for any upset there etc. Personally I prefer this option as less room for any upset as we want differnt things. Sharer wants a horse she can ride a few times a week and look after on those days and i want a horse to compete etc but struggle espically in winter as working full time. There is a big element of trust and I would be very fussy as to who i let ride my horse but for me it works

 

[Baileysno1]

I have shared my boy while pregnant but wasn't competing myself at that point (BD) reckon it depends what you want to do, I think if I was schooling and competing allot I wouldn't want someone else schooling my horse at the same time, but if someone was to hack him a couple of times a week thats fine. There was a time when I'd baulk at anyone riding him but I'm less controlling now life has got in the way and I want him to do his stuff while he can.
Would depend on horse too if super sensitive I think you'd need a rider who was similar in style otherwise issues might emerge.

 

[Moo Wills]

The lady who sponsors me rides one of mine twice a week - she hasn't got anything to ride at the moment so I offered but it's just a mid week thing. She hacks and does a bit of schooling - we both have lessons with the same person and she's a spitting image of me so very happy. If we've got a competition coming up I might ask her to do specific things but otherwise it's up to her.
We use to do a lot of showing so I offered her the ride at a WH show recently as i though it was a bit unfair that she was putting a lot of work in to keep fit but not getting any of the rewards that come with competing. It was her first WH class and after a few nerves she did me proud (although my nerves didn't like standing on the side lines watching and i've since decided its better being nervous while onboard ).
Having her ride a couple of times helps me out due to working full time, it means that me and OH get home at a reasonable time a few times a week (as long as the other one is ridden in a morning!) and have time for house work etc before speanding the weekends competing. I do have to say that although she has done some xcountry schooling with my boy i wouldn't be 100% happy to offer the eventing ride....not because i don't trust her but i don't think i'd trust myself not to get too involved and would probably make her so nervous that it's not fair. On the otherhand OH and i want to start trying for a family soon and if it did happen (fingers crossed) i would be happy to pass the reins over.....on a temporary basis ....as i know she'd do her best which is all i could ask.

Sorry for the essay the warmth and red wine have made my fingers tappy lappy

 

[dieseldog]

Does it really work to share a competition horse? Or has anyone out there clubbed together to buy and share? Would love to hear good/bad experiences and opinions.

I can't really see it working. Is it the running costs that you need help with or the initial purchase? If it was buying a horse I would just get a cheap one as I think you would probably have more fun without the stress.

I have somneone who rides my horse for me in the week and weekends if I am not at a show, but as she does not contribute in any way to her costs or looks after her I don't feel mean saying that she can't ride her when I want her.

 

[Moo Wills]

On money terms i agree with dd - although she's my sponsor i offered the ride and don't take any money off her. I think if money did start to change hands then thats a different matter.

I hope that what ever you are looking at/ for works out

 

[Snowysadude]

I have a sharer for my "competition" horse and it is working out well so far but then we do different things, she jumps and I dont

 

[brighthair]

I can't really see it working. Is it the running costs that you need help with or the initial purchase? If it was buying a horse I would just get a cheap one as I think you would probably have more fun without the stress.

I have somneone who rides my horse for me in the week and weekends if I am not at a show, but as she does not contribute in any way to her costs or looks after her I don't feel mean saying that she can't ride her when I want her.

I share and pay, and it's the best decision I made this year
I work shifts so can arrange my days, but if a competition came up on a day I was meant to ride, it wouldn't bother me at all - I'd just go along and groom for the day, and ride another time. I love looking after her and fussing her, and it seems to be working well.

 

[TheoryX1]

Not a hope in hell. Wouldnt want anyone to share Mini TX's competition horse. She is not really a 'one person' horse, as is quite push button - if you know where to push the buttons, its just that she was not, err the cheapest of purchases, and that value has now gone up considerably, and the thought of her being ruined by a sharer is not good. Also, Mini TX is a bit possessive of her and would more than likely drive the poor sharer mad.

 

[brighthair]

Not a hope in hell. Wouldnt want anyone to share Mini TX's competition horse. She is not really a 'one person' horse, as is quite push button - if you know where to push the buttons, its just that she was not, err the cheapest of purchases, and that value has now gone up considerably, and the thought of her being ruined by a sharer is not good. Also, Mini TX is a bit possessive of her and would more than likely drive the poor sharer mad.

I think it depends on the horse, owner and sharer. There does seem to be a bad reputation of sharers though. I've ridden for 21 years, had my own horses since I was 5 but I'm in a financial situation where I can't afford my own. I love the caring side as well as the riding, and I'm happy to pay for a well schooled, lovely horse. I also wouldn't do ANYTHING without asking owners permission first, although my old share horse got colic, owner wasn't contactable and I had to make a decision what to do. Luckily I am experienced enough to deal with most situations, but I can see why people are wary, especially if sharer only has riding experience and not stable management side

 

[LittleGreyMare]

Not a hope in hell. Wouldnt want anyone to share Mini TX's competition horse. She is not really a 'one person' horse, as is quite push button - if you know where to push the buttons, its just that she was not, err the cheapest of purchases, and that value has now gone up considerably, and the thought of her being ruined by a sharer is not good. Also, Mini TX is a bit possessive of her and would more than likely drive the poor sharer mad.

Im sorry but that made me laugh! Why are all sharers going to ruin your horse?! There are many many reasons as why someone may not want the commitment of a horse but are very capable of riding.

My sharer is probably more capable than I am! she has her instructor exams, has been riding a lot longer than I have etc. Infact while she is not riding (she goes away for several months of the year ie no horse) it shows as my schooling is not as good!

 

[_jetset_]

I own the horse that Brighthair part loans and it is working fantastically well.

I am very flexible when it comes to what days she comes down and Hannah adores having the time and attention that Brighthair gives to her. I admit I was worried how it would affect her work having two riders, but I have to say she is working better than ever before for me.

I do think I have been incredibly lucky finding someone who rides her sensitively and effectively... so for that I am very grateful as I can imagine that it would be different if this were not the case. But I would certainly recommend it, as I have got a great friend too from it!

 

[Quadro]

I think it could/can work although i have no experiance of it! I have been thinking on and off for a sharer for my horses who are SJers, i would look for a dressage rider as they could concentrate on that side of things! If you had that kind of arrangement theni think it would work well!
Q

 

[LEC]

I have shared horses - with my mother I evented over the summer and she hunted over the winter as my social life became more important than mucking out over the winter!

I also shared a horse last year whose owner did not have enough time. I contributed towards costs and would certainly hope that I did not ruin him eventing, he certainly taught me a lot! I am a pretty experienced rider but with a horse off lame could not afford another one so sharing was ideal.

 

[SO1]

i was very lucky as when i shared before I got my own I shared with a girl who was not interested in competing so i could enter whatever competitions I wanted to and she liked to come and watch and be a proud owner from the sidelines or help with grooming.

however i think a problem does arise if both people want to compete in the same competition.

On the schooling/riding side lots of top riders have grooms or working pupils that help ride their horses and that does not seem to effect their results in a negative way so having more than one person ride the horse does not always mean the schooling will suffer.

 

[ironhorse]

It's an interesting one this - I share a western show horse with my husband, which as you might imagine can lead to some interesting moments!
Initially, we were competing in different classes (there are several different disciplines that you can do at western shows), and still do to an extent, although we decided to both focus mainly on our mare's strongest disciplines.
So last year I rode her in the novice divisions and he rode her in open/amateur, which worked quite well, although there was obviously a limit to how many classes she could do, and I would always give way for his classes.
We train together, and work with the same trainers, but I do all the riding in the week as I have a much more flexible job, and it has allowed him to have a competition horse without committing a lot of time.
It can work, with the right horse, trainer and attitude, but is not always easy!

 

[little_flea]

Me and my sister have one horse together - she competes BD and I do BS and it works perfectly well. We also ride another horse for someone, and same thing there. But we ride very similarly and have always shared our horses, even when when we've had two - we would regularly go to shows and jump a class each for example.

Of course there are great sharers out there - both me and my sister shared a few years back when we weren't in a position to own a horse - we've had a number of horses in the past, evented and competed in SJ up to 1.30m level, so we were definitely not clueless sharers that ruined anyones horse... plenty of people in a situation similar to our out there, I'm sure!

I think the notion of people being the only one who can ride their own horse is often a bit silly - there are plenty of very high level competition horses who are ridden by more than one person (obviously all v good riders, but still) - lots of SJers have people who school their horses on the flat for them etc.

 

[Tempi]

I have sucessfully shared my dressage mare with a young rider - she competed her and i also competed her, we both took her to lessons with our separate trainers etc. Worked really well - this was about 6 years ago. Child who was loaning her learnt a lot and it really improved her riding and didnt ruin my mare at all (who i was competing Medium level BD on at the time). Mare then had a foal and she then went out on loan to a more experienced rider who did ruin her (i ended up taking her back from loaner).

Now i have her back and she is in foal again (partly due to not coming right after disaster in loan home so i am hoping the break from work will sort her out) - once she has foaled next year she will be up for share, although unfortunately due to financial reasons i might actually have to loan her out. Which after last times loan disaster im loathed to do so home will be very strictly vetted.

 

[Mollymop]

I co-own 2 dressage horses and the arrangement we have works out really well. The other owner rides and competes which she enjoys and I do all the on the ground stuff which I love. I have "borrowed" one of her other horses for me to ride, so it all works out okay. The most important thing to do is to communicate with one another as to what we are doing/want to do.

 

[PaddyMonty]

Not a hope in hell. Wouldnt want anyone to share Mini TX's competition horse. ........its just that she was not, err the cheapest of purchases, and that value has now gone up considerably, and the thought of her being ruined by a sharer is not good.

Funny that, all the horses I have shared have INCREASED in value.
Sharer does not necessarily mean novice. Sharing a comp horse can work but it needs to be clear from the start what each party expects to get from the relationship.

 

[_jetset_]

I just wanted to add that I actually would like to take my part loaner out to some competitions on my mare as I enjoy watching her ride her too... so I do think it can work if both parties are willing to be a little flexible too!