unfair or not????

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pixiebee

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i have a sharer for my two horses. she pays a contribution for the use of both of them for herself and sons for 3 days per week.
I stupidly hadnt got round to writing a contract yet and she has been sharing for approx 3 months.
She went away over xmas for 3 weeks and i only found out 4 days before she went that she was going and i only foundf that out as i asked her if she was ok to do xmas day as it fell on one of her days. she said that she had told me that she was going away when she started loaning but i certainly dont remember whether she did or not?
I have just received my livery bill and it is extortionate. Thats because i wasnt able to cover all her 3 days for the 3 weeks and couldnt do xmas day as i was 300 miles away! so i had to pay for full livery for them both on alot of her days and it was double rate on xmas day and bank hols!
She is paying her usual contribution thisd month which is leaving me with a hefty asmount that i cant really afford as i couldnt cover all her holiday.
I went away for a week last month on college and she did an extra day for me so i paid the yard owner for full livery on the days she couldnt do. should she be expected to help towards the extra cost for her days which i couldnt do? or as they are my horses, i should pay???
 
I have a sharer too who is a little unreliable, but imo they're my horses, my responsibility and therefore I would expect to pay....

Particularly since you dont have any written agreement. (which I am printing for my sharer today after getting very annoyed when she didnt go up one day, because it was raining!)
 
Well she's clearly responsible for any additional livery costs for her days that she wasn't able to do - so tell her to cough up.
 
If I were you I am afraid I would have to chalk it up to a rather expensive experience.

Get a written contract in place pronto detailing who is responsible for paying full livery costs if they are unavailable to do the yard work. Include a reasonable notice period required for unavoidable absences and contingency for bad weather.
 
pixiebee said:
im scared of asking incase she buggers off completely!! im such a wimp!
Click to expand...

I can understand that - and if you'd put in place a proper agreement before hand, then you'd not be in this position.

I guess a chat with her is all you can do and see what she's prepared to pay as an extra.
 
When I had a loaner I accepted that they are my horses/responsibility so wouldn't expect her to pay over what she normally pays me to loan.. just MO
 
Too be honest I would pay it myself as they are my horses so my responsibility.
As a loaner I would expect owner to do the days or make alternative arrangements

however you could put it in the contract for the future that any days like that it is her that has to pay.
 
how would you have managed if she wasn't sharing at all? (don't mean that to sound rude!)
i was in a similar situation ages ago and asked myself the above question, i then mentioned it to the sharer and asked her if she could help chip in with some of the extra expense?
seeing as you were charged double rate then maybe ask her if she will at least pay half the double rates.
 
If you had of had a formal written agreement in place then I would be asking her to cover the cost of the days she couldn't do, but as you don't, sadly I think it falls to you. From her point of view, she wasn't riding for x number of weeks, so why should she pay you at all?

At the end of the day I see it as my horses, my responsibility. If I went away, sharer or no sharer, I would pay someone to look after my horses. I have someone that comes and rides a few days a week - she turns up when she feels like it (no fixed days) I get a text normally in the afternoon to say she is coming, she does no yard work (doesn't even skip out boxes) and pays nothing towards the horse. It can be irritating when she says she is coming, therefore I don't feed, then I get another text later saying she has changed her mind, and I then have to go back to the yard to feed etc. I wish I had a sharer who did fixed days and paid a bit towards the keep :(
 
As a sharer with no fixed contract I would not expect to pay in this situation. Giving them the benifit of the doubt and saying that they did tell you they were away then I really wouldn't expect to pay!

All my share agreements I have paid a set amount per month and that does not change if extra livery costs are incurred because I can't do the horse or if the owner can't do the horse. My share arrangement at the moment means I ride 3-4 times a week and do stable chores as required... days will normally be arranged at the beginning of the week or sometimes at shorter notice. If the owner is away I cover what I can. But then I am reliable, and when I say I will be there I will!

If you want the sharer to pay for livery the days she can't do then I think this needs to be def. written into the contract from the outset. I would bring it to her attention the amount of extra money it has cost you and see if she is willing to pay any extra.
 
When I shared a horse I paid £65 a month he was kept on was womans own yard with her other horses. I had set days that I'd go up and ride usually 3 times a week, at weekends I'd help with all jobs for all 4 horses and somtimes ride the others too. Owner would always be there while I was to do other horses but looking back I suppose it was to keep an eye on me too!

If she was away or couldn't do them I'd do them all, when I couldn't be there she'd do them all.
This worked well for us for about 3 years until I wanted to save up for my own.

However on the flip side I dont trust people to do mine apart from my 1 friend who is a star! She will look after mine if Im away but she is the only person I'd allow. I've seen to many situations where people dont do what they tell the owner they've done.
Hopefully Ill never need a sharer but if I did and they let me down they'd be gone!

That said there are many good dedicated sharers :)

As for original post, you'll have to sort this one but make written arrangements for future.
What are your arrangements for payment ie vets/ farriers etc?
 
I pay any vets fees/farrier etc. the only exception that i will put in the contract is that if someone makes a 3rd party claim whilst he is in her care then she pays the excess. i.e she is hacking him out and he kicks someones cars or anything like that! stupid me not doing a contract straight away!
 
forgot to add, im reliant upon her to help with livery as my partner has been dropped down to 3 days per week at work as there isnt enough work. so money is very tight for the time being!!
 
I'm a sharer and share the horse alongside the owner and another sharer. I do three days and pay £60 a month (very good price I know, but there are no facilities at the yard), but more often than not end up doing more because the other sharer or owner is ill, or they just can't make it. Sometimes I'm just called upon the night before asking if I can do the horse the next day! I did all over Xmas and New Year even though I felt so rough with cold and muscle aches, but I still did it because I knew no one else would and only the horse would suffer. However I don't have a contract. I love the horse to bits and will always do what I can to help the owner.

However in your case I think you can't expect the sharer to give you anything towards the livery costs as you have no contract and she supposedly told you she was going away (and gave plenty of notice). However if I was the sharer in your outcome I would offer some money towards the cost of the livery.
 
I think you have to give her the benefit of the doubt that she told you she was going away at the start of the share. 3 months previous the significance of her holiday may not have hit home to you and as far as she was concerned you were aware. Sounds like a genuine communication error. Maybe you need a calender in the tack room with your 'days' marked on it and holidays etc to avoid this.

As for charging her for extra livery over Christmas; you have no contract I think you may have to chalk this up to experience.

With regard to charging her for full livery if she can't do one of her days. I think you will end up calculating a very messy bill at the end of each month, one thing you dont want is any delay in you getting your money. I would advise making a monthly lump sum for her contribution which factors in for say 3-4 'full livery days' per month if she cant make it. On average you should cover your losses. Alternatively if you think she can afford it suggest she pays for full livery on all of her days - completely hassle free for you both and she can just enjoy the riding.

With regard to charging her for full livery on one of 'your days' if you can't make it, thats not fair, that is your responsibility. Also I don't think you can expect your sharer to cover for you on days you cant make it if you are going to then charge her for days you can't cover for her. Works both ways!

Personally as a sharer I like to feel I am there to help out and enrich the horses life not just balance the books! But I appreciate your money is tight, therefore I think your most tactful route would just be to up her monthly contribution.
 
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