thinking of finding a sharer

Firehorse

Firehorse

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i know there have been other posts about this, but here's another, sorry!

i really could do with a little extra income and thought i might find a sharer for my pony. it's not that i need the help with him, or even someone to exercise him, just the money really. i'm not exactly struggling to afford him, but as my boiler is leaking and i've jst booked a plumber, it got me thinking, eeek, thats gonna hurt this month. being on my own with two kids isnt always easy and any extra cash would be more than welcome.

anyway, my pony is ridden twice every week by me without fail, and sometimes 3 or 4 depending on my work. but it means that i can be fairly flexible about someone else riding him at least once a week, sometimes more, like at xmas when i'm busy. he's always up for it and the extra exercise would be good for him anyway. and here comes the BUT. But, i feel weird about having a stranger ride my pride and joy. he's nothing special, but to me, he's my everything. you all know what i mean. its a shame i dont have a friend who wants to ride, then at least i'd already know and trust them.

when i got my first pony it was always an option i had at the back of my mind. if i needed help with costs, i could find a sharer. i know i would be really fussy about the person. he's not anybody's ride and i'd need to know i could trust the person not to be galloping him everywhere, undoing all my work at calming him down.

how do you go about finding the right person? write a list of questions i guess. how much would i charge? around here, people pay about £25 an hour for a hack at the riding schools, so how about £15 per day. they can hack, jump or school or a bit of both. he's fairly fit and happily hacks for over 2 hrs with a bit of fast work. there would be no mucking out, just tack to wipe and yard to keep tidy. they could ride alone or go out with others depending when they ride. i would insist they hve their own rider insurance. any tips greatly appreciated. many thx!!!
 
Sorry to hear you're struggling financially. As for the sharer, I think it's about norm to be charging £10-15 per day, but alot of people would prefer to pay per week. A friend of mine shares a horse that is on part-livery so no chores, and can ride 4 times a week, pays £25 per week. If your sharer were to do 2 days a week, I'd be looking at charging £20 pw.

Deffinately insist on riders insurance, I've heard too many horror stories of sharers not being insured. If they become a member of the BHS gold, 3rd party insurance is free, and is only £48 a year.

Also make sure that you get on with the sharer, and you can both be flexible. Outline in an agreement what is/is not allowed, what the sharer's responsibilities are, how much notice they have to give etc, before you agree to anyone.

Hope this has helped and your situation improves.
 
I think you'd need to be self-disciplined, and find the balance between fair on the sharer and doing right by your boy. Nobody wants to share a horse with a really neurotic and controlling owner, and what may seem prudent to you could be downright controlling to the person on the other end of it ;)

I also think you'd probably need to offer at least 2 days a week to the sharer, and at least one being at the weekend. It might mean you get to ride a bit less - that's part of it I'm afraid.

I think if you are offering 2-4 days, charging £20-25 per week is reasonable. On the whole adults are more trustworthy than teenagers or children (sorry guys, but its true!), but if your boy is a pony you might struggle to find an adult who thinks they are small enough - from my experience, there are plenty of light and short adults looking for a ride out there who will only consider 16.2 upwards :rolleyes:

Go the the BHS website and download their loan contract, and modify it for your purposes. Make sure your horse is insured for someone else to ride him.

Advertise in local tack shops, equestrian section of free ads and newspapers, local horse websites if there are any in your area.

Know in your own mind before you place the ad exactly what you can and can't/won't offer.

Insist the sharer has either BHS gold or the equivalent WHW membership (I think WHW do the same insurance in theirs but do check).

Find someone perfect, and have fun :)
 
my other option is that i was approached by someone at school ages ago, asking if her girls could ride and she'd pay me for it. at first i was a bit taken aback by it, as i thought her downright cheeky. i'd have to be there to supervise/lead/lunge as the mother is not horsey. the girls have had lessons, but the mum cant afford to let them both go regularly. i guess this might suit us both. one girl could ride each week for an hour, learn to groom, tack up etc. it'll put pressure on me for time and i'd have to take my youngest son along with me, but the mum would help occupy him. at least i'd be there to oversee everything i wouldn't hve to worry about him being galloped all over the downs. how much could i charge for that do you reckon? again, i'd insist she gets insurance for the girls, and all the right equipment.
 
I guess you'd have to weigh up how much time it'd take you, in order to work out what to charge, although you obviously couldn't charge as much as a lesson because their mum can't afford that.

Hmm... I don't know... I think it could be more hassle than its worth - and bear in mind that just because they have their own insurance, doesn't stop anyone from claiming off you and yours if it goes wrong - and if mum's not horsey that could be more likely as she won't personally understand that risks are inherant to the sport. Plus you'd need to be a bit careful and check if your insurance covers you to teach her kids, since you presumably don't have a recognised teaching qualification?

Having said that, if you can arrange a 1/2 a day when they come down, you'd have to invest the time in the beginning to teach them how to muck out, clean tack ,groom etc, but you might find that after a while you quite enjoy sitting with a cuppa and the other mum while the kids get on with mucking out, grooming, etc, and tha it might not be so much of a pain in the bum if all you need to do is escort them on a hack for an hour once a week.
 
i spoke to the mum yesterday and asked her a load more questions. it turns out the kids are very novice and it'll be a case of them being lead round the field mainly in walk, and the older child has just started to trot. so it's not gonna be very difficult! i laid down all my rules with her, saying i am not an instructor, she must get hats and insurance, making it clear my pony is not a riding school pony, but still safe or i wouldnt be doing it anyway. made her realise that there will be other, very big horses milling around the yard at times,etc etc. she understands all the risks, she will be there the whole time anyway and is happy to pay me £15 to show the kids how to catch, groom, tack up, lead, the basics, i can teach them stuff like parts of the body, different tack etc. and then the riding will be for an hour, half an hour for each girl, but it'll literally them having a plod round on the lead. i can make it more interesting by putting cones out and poles to go round and stuff, but that'll be it. they'll hve an occasional lesson at their school still as well. the girls are enthusiastic, but the mum realises it might just be a phase and they might not want to do it after a few months anyway. but she'd rather pay me for my time to give the girls a taster, than pay for proper lessons for it to be possibly wasted if they give up. obviously if they progress and want to do more, the can do more at the school. and then once they can ride independantly, i'm quite happy for them to pootle about on ben in the school to their hearts content. a friend of mine's daughter does this from time to time and my son, and ben seems to enjoy it. plodding about with no pressure to do much hard work!!!! anyway, we'll take it a day at a time. see how it goes. i dotn mind doing it, as after all, i'll be spending extra time with my ben boy!
 
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