Top Tips for Sharing!

Owning a horse is a rewarding experience but can become very time consuming and costly. Sometimes people cannot always spend as much time as they would like with their horses or afford to pay for their upkeep. In these kinds of situations sharing can be an ideal solution. Instead of being left feeling guilty about not spending enough time with your horse or riding them often enough, you can get a sharer. However sharing can bring along problems and be difficult, here are some tips to help both you and your partner to be happy in your arrangement:

• Provide your sharer with a list of contact numbers for you, your vet, your farrier, the yard manager and anyone else they may need to contact.
• Don’t get cross if your sharer does something wrong. Most people were only doing what they thought was right at the time.
• If you are going to a show, why not see if your sharer wants to come along and do a class? It’s a great way to get to know each other better.
• Get paid by automatic transfer into your bank, then you don’t have any awkward moments asking for the money.
• Be clear about what you expect – for example, £100 per month for two days a week, and for the horse to be exercised and fully cared for so you don’t need to go to the yard on their days.
• You may have set days, but occasionally there will be things your sharer wants to do on one of your days. If possible, be flexible about changing days for lessons and competitions.
• Provide your sharer with somewhere to leave their hat, gloves and kit.
• Have a whiteboard where you can leave each other notes, such as ‘Turn out with the muzzle on’ or ‘Please give extra hay tonight’.
• Check your insurance to make sure your horse is still insured with another rider and, if in doubt, ask to see proof of your sharer’s rider insurance.
• If your sharer pays for half of the costs, you ought to let them have half the fun, such as the chance to go to shows.