Would you want me to ride your horse?

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Chumsmum

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Just thinking out loud and would appreciate your comments / advice.

My beloved 16yo pony has never really enjoyed flatwork and though he is going straighter than ever he has started to feel his age a bit and I've sort of decided to just do things with him that he loves and is great at doing i.e jumping, xc, hacking etc.

Sometime in the future I will be looking at getting another horse but in the meantime I need to improve my riding and so have started having lessons again at a local Riding School. However, at £25 for a half hour private lesson it ain't cheap and it's all over too quickly.

I was thinking of putting an advert in the local tack shops to see if anyone had something suitable that I could have lessons on. When people are looking for riders to help exercise their horses do they generally mean just hacking? I don't mind hacking but I have limited time as I need to hack my own and it's my flatwork side I want to work on.

I've only been riding for 4 years so definiately a novice rider but not a beginner - I'm confident on my own pony who is quiet but not a plod. Also, I would be on the horse in a controlled environment with an instructor.

Has anyone ever done anything similar and how did it work out? What sort of costs were involved? I understand I will have to pay for hire of menage / instructor (I have a trailer),did the owners see it as you exercising the horse or as you loaning the horse and paying for the privilege?

If you think I might be able to find something, how would you word the advert?

Thanks for any replies
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When i was sharing one horse on a yard someone else had a horse they didnt ride and needed lots of schooling. i rode it every day for free, mostly in the school but some days he needed lunging instead. Basicly the deal was i had to exercise him 5 days a week, because he needed it (he was a psychopath if not) so i was doing his owner a favour. There's plenty of people around that need them riding and i know a lot that do it for free.
Best way is word of mouth. Can't help with ad wording as i've placed loads and had no response only one confused woman rang up thinking i was advertising FOR a rider lol.
There's nothing up here tho and loads further south where you are so putting it on advertising websites eg preloved is a good plan. also have a look on all horsey classifieds as there are always adverts for riders needed.
Good luck!
 
If you were nearer you could borrow my mare who is a novice ride in the school. There are implications over insurance, but I have thought about letting a friend use her for clients that are horseless, but are fed up with riding schools. For anything else ie competiting I would want to know a person was at a certain standard of riding. You might strike lucky as more & more people are finding it difficult to juggle the bills & a sharer could well be the answer.
 
im looking for a sharer to ride my cob and i would be happy for the person to do what ever they wanted whether it was hacking, schooling, jumping or whatever the more varied the better. think im too far too otherwise you could ride him. im in staffordshire/cheshire boarder
 
If my horse needed more exercise I would possibly consider this sort of arrangement, provided I was happy with rider and with the instructor being used. I would look at it as my horse getting free schooling.
I wouldn't be happy with someone else travelling my horse, but other people might not mind or you might find someone with a school where you could get a freelance instructor to come to you.
 
I have to be honest and say no, I would not want you to ride my horse. I have only ever allowed someone to "use" him for their benifit once as they neded a good flatwork horse for a NVQ exam, was very uncomfortable with doing that so would never do it again.
 
Thanks for replies everyone
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I've mentioned it to my instructor, farrier and people who run my RC so hopefully I might find something word of mouth - I know that I would certainly prefer someone who wasn't unknown to ride my baby if the situation arose.

I never even thought of the insurance implications but I could certainly make sure my own insurance covered me.

Blackfeet - thank you very much for the offer, probably a bit too far though I was travelling until very recently in that area for my job - we might have been able to sort something
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i hope you find a lovely sharer
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Just out of interest, how much contribution would you expect for someone riding your horse once or twice a week?

I understand about not wanting to travel too, I worry about my baby when I'm towing him so can understand other people concerns, just thought it might be worth mentioning if someone didn't have facilities or maybe we could come to some arrangement where I provided transport in exchange for the occasional use of their horse? Or even provide 'babysitting' services - my boy is fab out hacking etc with youngsters or nervous horses??

Again, my boy is my pride and joy and fully understand people who wouldn't want to lend their horse out.

I think I will wait and see if something comes by word of mouth, I think that would be best. My friends either have youngsters or horses that get plenty of exercise or they would let me use them for regular lessons.

If anyone reading this is close to the Kidderminster/Bridgnorth area and can help me, please PM me, I can provide good references etc
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to be fair the contirbution side of it isnt an issue im not looking for someone to pay for things, i just want someone who i can trust to ride and look after my horse properly and not try to change how i look after him, i have seen to many people let others interefere with routines that their horse is used to its not fair on the horse
 
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