Would you pay to share a horse?

I think it depends though. I would make do with a sharer that I didn't have much in common with but that rode & cared for my horse wonderfully. It would depend on the horse - we musn't forget that the horse's best interests must come first.

Do agree though people can be taught - we've all got to start somewhere.
 
Sounds very similar to what I was having to do. The pony was lovely, so sweet and I didn't have a problem paying. The owner was a complete b*tch and pretty clueless as well.

After 6 months of absolute hell and her making me so unhappy, I stopped sharing and got my own, best thing ever
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I think the price you pay is dependent on the horse, sharer & owner combo.

If your horse is excellent & the rider gets a lot out of your horse, they should have to pay.

If the rider is excellent and is improving your horse, they shouldn't have to pay as much.

If the rider is changing your horse or reducing enjoyment you have, you need a different arrangement.

But it's reasonable to ask a rider to pay a finacial contribution.
 
I most definitely would and do pay to share a horse but it would have to be the right situation. If the original poster is questioning whether or not they want to pay to ride I think it depends on what your riding goals are. Do you want to progress with your riding and do some showing? If yes then you'll need to pay to ride a well schooled and competitive horse. If this is not your goal then I think you should go ahead and look for someone who has a horse that needs some schooling or exercising. The more you are willing to work through 'issues' the more likely you will find 'free' riding.

Is your time limited or do you have endless hours to spend with the horse? If your time is limited I think its well worth it to hand over some cash so you can ride and do minimal chores. If you have a lot of time then perhaps you can find an owner that would allow you to ride in exchange for their horse to have its own personal groom.

In the past when I was looking for a 'free' horse to ride I would look for a horse that was a bit difficult for the average rider. I would school the horse, bathe it, clean tack and muck out. If you're not experienced enough to work through under saddle issues but you'd like to learn perhaps you can offer to pay for lessons instead of paying the owner so both you and the horse improve. In the end its much easier to just ride if you have the £20 to hand over each week. You have to get creative if you want to ride for free. Just don't get caught doing all the chores and paying! Horses do throw shoes and do get ill but if the situation isn't working for you just look for another sharing arrangement, every owner is different just like the horses.
 
I didn't share a horse as such, but helped to ride a mate's 2 horses. I paid £60 every 6 weeks when they were shod, but one horse invariably lost a shoe every week and the farrier wouldn't come straight back out to re-fit it... long and short of it was that I was paying £60 but only getting to ride once or twice a month and when I did, it was literally 15 mins round the block on a tb that I was rapidly losing my confidence on... mate and I had a big argument and I havn't ridden with her since which is probably a good thing
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Yes - I have in the past been the owner & the sharer and echo what's been said above. Not only has the horse got to be right (or right enough) you also have to get on with the other half of the share.
As an owner I need a sharer as the extra help both time and money means I can afford lessons and go to shows and we have time to do other things as a family ( not all horse mad sadly). What I offer is that halfway house for someone between just riding at a riding school and owning your own.
the cost is (even when they add a weekly group lesson on the pony into it) not much more than they would pay at the local RC. For that they get to ride for up two or three times as long, compete do PC stuff the works.
 
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