Horse Sharing Contracts

vikingvampireparrot

Hi

I hope this is the right place to post this, apologies if not.

I have recently (last Friday) advertised for a sharer for my horse (more due to time issues than money but still the extra cash will be veeerrrryyy much appreciated!). I already have a lady interested to come and meet him so I really need to start thinking about drawing up a sharing contract.

Does anyone know what should included/how to word things or a template? I don't want to mess it up and cause either of us unnecessary grief!

Hintza

I might be in the minority her but can you not just do it on a handshake? Or am I being naive?

trudij

I think the bhs has a template sharers thing - failing that, its things like what you are happy for your sharer to do with the horse, what they are expected to help pay for, and when they have their time (if youre splitting it into days or whatever)

basically, put everything you want sorted down. Have you any friends who have horses out on loan that can advise you? My "contract" with the lad who has my horse on loan states the tack I gave him with the horse, and its value,and that when I get it all back I expect it to be treated properly ( the saddle on its own is worth about £400 !!) and that he is responsible for all the associated costs (insurance and vets etc) I think the only other stipulation for ours is that we have to give each other a months notice if either party wants to terminate the agreement...

hope this helps!!!

SDH

There is a loan template on the BHS website - i used it when loaning my horse. I am sure it could be adapted for sharing.

I used to share a horse about 5 years ago. I didn't have a contract or anything but then I didn't pay anything towards the bills - i just mucked out 4 days a week and rode whenever i liked (the owner was pregnant so couldn't ride at all)
However if you want money etc, layout exactly what you expect to pay for (half livery/shoes etc .... routine vet bills?) what happens if horse needs emergeny vet - who pays? what if you 'deem' their fault, do they pay vet fees?

trudij

http://www.bhs.org.uk/DocFrame/DocView.asp?id=190 is one for loaning a horse....

vikingvampireparrot

Brilliant! Thank you - I had looked but couldn't find it!

I will start work on drawing one up......

Hintza

Our ponies are both on loan (to us) and one has been loaned so many times no one actually knows who owns him.

moomin5

My share contract was a bhs adapted one and the horses owner also stipulated a few rules with how she wanted the horse handled, such as no faster than a trot on hard ground. Whilst she knew i wasn't the type of person to over-jump or gallop around on the horse, i think it was a good idea so that if i did then i had no excuse for not knowing better and she could fairly terminate the contract.

Oh its probably a good idea to check if sharer will be covered to ride your horse on your horses insurance or if they need to get a rider only policy to cover themselves.

orlao

When my horse was on loan I had a very detailed agreement drawn up and I wouldn't have been without that!
When I had a part loan/sharer the only written agreement I had was an indemnity to protect me from being sued and that under 16's were not allowed ride/handle him as he's not an easy horse. The attitude I took in those circs was that I was around (also had very good spies:D ) and I charged a monthly fee rather than shared costs IYSWIM.
When they came to try him I also looked very carefully at their handling/horseskills as they got him in and tacked him up, started them riding in the school and hacked out with them the first couple of times.....after that you know their capabilities or lack of them and if it all went wrong you were there to step in. I learnt the hard way as his first sharer was a very nice lady who was a friend of a friend and it turned out ( much later) that she'd ridden sporadically as a child and not at all in the 30 years+ since then:eek: She wasn't a bad rider in that ignorance is bliss....she never realised how many times she was near to death but her lack of handling skills were legendary..on more than one occasion she put his bit in backwards (how ) or forgot to tighten his girth!!!! so ended up underneath him usually at speed. It made him nervous about been tacked up and he was forever loose on the yard as he was pratting around when he wasn't tied up properly, gates were often left open. At the time I was working 3 jobs so wasn't around much so the first I heard about it was all the other liveries giving out about it! Well, all I can say:o is that I learnt from that.....

Let us know how you get on:D

naturally_2

Good luck with your share, as others have said, do adapt the BHS one, although I know a few horror stories that say any sort of share or loan contract isn't worth the paper its written on... (but I have successfully shared various horses for years quite happily). I think the best thing you can do is suss out the person first - see her ride, handle him, maybe do a moths trial first. You've got to be able to get along with her, as well as your horse. And make sure she has rider/ 3rd party insurance as well as you having all the necessary cover yourself.

naturally_2

Forgot to say, the rider insurance comes free with BHS gold membership, which is what most sharers use.