RE: Should I share my horse?

I always said i'd never share my horse.. as I don't what them to become changed or tuined, especially by a novice rider. However, now I have 3 horses I let someone ride her on hacks out with me when i'm on the other. I think if you're around the sharer for the first 2or 3 weeks you'll know if you can trust them or not :) You'll see how they are all the time after a few weeks, rather than just at first. I do think for three days you pricing is very low though.. most people ask for £10 a day where i am (yorkshire). I charge £20 a week, and the girl gets upto 2 days... but she does't have to contribute to anything else... I do think you're soft!

RE: Should I share my horse?

I am on the other end of the rope as such as I have been a 'sharer' once, but I am sorry to say it was not a good experience. I started riding a horse for a lady after she put an advert in a local shop, I paid the equivilant of farrier fees and was promised I could compete her and ride on week days only. I asked for a written share agreement which she said she would get, but never did and she avoided talking about it with me. This should have been my warning sign. Six months down the line her horse was much fitter and I had started competing locally (I hacked to three local shows) when out of the blue the lady said she didn't want me to ride her horse any more. She was extremely rude said that it had never been a 'share' agreement, just riding. I was very upset as I didn't know what I had done wrong and had nothing on paper to prove the initial agreement.

Discussion with someone locally said that this was not the first time a similar situation had occurred with this particular lady and that it was likely she was jealous of my success on her horse (she was a happy hacker) I can understand this, but why agree to something if it is not what you are really happy with.

Sharing can be a great way of helping keep your horse fit & reduce costs, but think about what you would want from it (or not want) and put it on paper so that everyone knows where they stand.

I wouldn't share again as the 'sharer' as opposed to the 'owner' as I am worried a similar thing may occur if I wanted to compete someone else's horse, but I do hack a friends horse out once a week to keep my bum in the saddle.

RE: Should I share my horse?

 I think sharing is a fab idea, I've had a young lass sharing my boy for the last 5 months and would really be lost without her now, i often wonder  how i managed before she came along, with working and a young family time can be tight at times and plus my boy kept on some land i rent so everything was down to me..She pays me £10 a week to help towards costs of feed and half of his farrier billlmucks out and poo picks him on her days and she can ride him 3 days a week and i take them out to local shows etc,etc and he gets the work i sometimes just to have time for although i will have to say it did take me a while to come round to having someone else riding him.. She gets to learn things,under my guidance that she wouldn't generally learn at a local riding school( atm dealing with an abcess, politicing, bandaging etc.)  So if worked correctly and with some you trust it can be great.

RE: Should I share my horse?

 As I have been at university, my pony has had a sharer for the past 2 years to a teenage girl. She had him half the week and contributed £100 pcm towards his costs. Sadly she has now outgrown him and is sharing a bigger horse but we have just found an 11 year old to share him over the next 12 months. I'm hoping it will work out as well as the first share agreement! I always insist on a share agreement in writing (I used the template from the BHS website and then tailored it to suit my situation) as you never know when these things can go wrong. 

As my pony is older (he's 24), I'm less worried about him being 'ruined' - as he is a good doer, I'd much rather he was exercised whilst I am away and I didn't want a full loan as I feel he is too old to move back and forth yards. Also, I find that working out how much your horse costs to keep annually, dividing that by 12, then cutting it approx in half if the sharer has your horse half the week works really well as a contribution rate. I don't include some costs within this like insurance, though so I pay more than half overall.  Whilst horses cost more in the winter, someone sharing him/her might feel they are getting a rough deal if they are not getting much riding but are paying more over those months. Easier to stick to one cost per month all year round that takes into account the rise and fall of expense depending on the season. 

In terms of finding someone suitable, someone recommended to you or someone already at your yard may be the best bet. Failing this, offer viewings in the same way as if you were selling your horse. That way, you will be able to decide whether you are happy with their level of ability whilst they judge whether they like your horse. 

Hope this helps. 

RE: Should I share my horse?

£10 or £20 is quite cheap for share. for 3 rides a week i would say £100. goodluck