Would you do this ? Pay for lessons in exchange for help

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niagaraduval

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A friend of mine has a horse, he is nice and quite reliable but he can be quite headstrong at times. She keeps him at home on his own (naughy I know, I have tried talking to her about this) and doesn't have a lot of time with work etc. particularly in the winter when it's dark as has no where to ride at all (no school).

She put up an ad looking for a helper, she got a reply from a 13 y/o, has been riding for about 6 years. She says from her pics etc. she feels pretty confident. She would like a helper to help out with general stable chores (apart from feeds) in exchange for a weekly lesson with her riding instructor.

The horse is big, 16hh but kind. I think she might she might be too young ? She would only ride with her instructor and would not in any way be allowed to take the horse out on her own. It would simply be mucking out, filling haynets etc.

Is this even ok ? even if the helper turned out to be ok with the horse, trustworthy etc. is 1 lesson with an instructor a week enough ? or would it be taking the p!ss ?

I told her she might have complaining parents at her door ? but I'm not sure because I would have loved this when I was 13 if I didn't have my own horse anyway, I would have jumped at the chance, not everyone was as lucky as I was...
 
I think it partly depends on how much the instructor charges; some charge £10 a lesson and others charge £40. I think the girl should be getting to ride more often than once a week though if she is having to do the stable chores every day, I think it should be more like three times a week, with the owner present of course.

Will the girl be on her own doing the horse whilst the owner is at work? I think she is a little young to be doing everything alone, especially if something goes wrong. If I was a parent I think I'd prefer my 13 year old to be helping out at a riding school; similarly if I was your friend I'd be looking for someone a lot older, especially as the horse is kept alone at home. I also think that the 13 year old could get bored of the situation quite quickly and want to bring friends to see the horse etc, I think someone of that age may find the responsibility quite difficult, although I know there are some very capable and mature 13 year olds out there.
 
I think times have changed... when I was 13 I used to exercise people's hunters for them and muck out etc. However, everyone is much more concerned about safety / getting sued now.

If she's paying for the 13 year olds weekly lesson in return for help mucking out a few days a week that seems fair to me. I think I'd talk to the teenagers parents and see what they are happy with. There's probably insurance to think about.

Personally I would find an adult sharer for the horse who could exercise a few days a week, muck out and contribute towards the cost.
 
Will her parents be happy supervising her while she's doing the chores? I don't think I'd be happy about a 13 year old being on their own with a horse on my property incase there was any kind of accident.
There was a recent thread with a link to the legal guidance on leaving children on their own, the law considers a 12 year old to be too young to be left at home on their own as it's too dangerous so I think they could well argue a 13 year old on a horse yard would be too young also.
 
I totally agree and this is what I thought because although the owner would be present most of the time I think she would get bored/lonely quite quick. I think it would more likely maybe a morning a week filling haynets/cleaning tack etc.

She does already have a sharer but only on week-ends (as she works saterdays too so only rides on a sunday).
She wanted another sharer for a few days in the week but has found no one, and has been looking for months. Hence a helper that could help and then exercise the horse (with the instructor) once in the week.
 
If the owner has to be out there checking the girl all the time - what benefit is your friend gaining? she could probably do the jobs herself more quickly as she has the experience.

When I was pregnant first time round I employed a lovely lady to come in and muck out/ turn out etc. for £8 an hour- well worth it as I could choose the person I wanted and didn't feel bad about saying 'do it this way' as I was paying her.

Maybe if your friend paid someone an hour say every other day (with one horse an hour a day would probably be over kill) it would only be £24 a week and she might find a sharer more easily if there are no chores involved just exercise
 
Polos Mum said:
If the owner has to be out there checking the girl all the time - what benefit is your friend gaining? she could probably do the jobs herself more quickly as she has the experience.

When I was pregnant first time round I employed a lovely lady to come in and muck out/ turn out etc. for £8 an hour- well worth it as I could choose the person I wanted and didn't feel bad about saying 'do it this way' as I was paying her.

Maybe if your friend paid someone an hour say every other day (with one horse an hour a day would probably be over kill) it would only be £24 a week and she might find a sharer more easily if there are no chores involved just exercise
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That's a really good suggestion.
 
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