When is the time right for a horse share?

lcc86

Hi all,

I've been riding for about 18 months and am starting to feel less challenged by my lessons. My aim was to look for a share eventually, and I'm wondering if I might be at that stage now. I'm good to walk, trot, canter. I've no interest in jumping or competing if I'm honest, just a happy hacker and the occasional schooling to make sure I don't fall into bad habits etc. I'm good with tacking up and general grooming as I do a bit of volunteering. Time-wise I work flexible hours so that's not an issue.

I feel there are a lot of factors telling me I'm ready but when I look online for shares, the majority of people are asking for sharers who aren't straight from a riding school and who aren't novice (I feel I'm still a novice because I've only ever ridden riding school horses). People also write about the quirks their horses have and needing a strong, confident rider because they're forward going on hacks, for example, or spook easily. This is where I think only riding horses from a riding school works against me, as they're supposed to be placid so as a rider, I haven't had much experience of more 'tricky' horses.

I would never want to jump in and share a horse which I'm not ready for, as it could be dangerous for both me and the horse and will ultimately be a negative experience, so how do you judge when the time is right? What more could I do to perhaps learn more about horses who may challenge me a bit more etc.

orlao

It's a difficult one from both sides.

IME, as an owner when I see people who have only ridden at a RS it's often the case that while they may have tacked up and groomed they haven't done the potentially difficult/dangerous things like getting a horse in from shared grazing, hacking out on a road or solo, dealt with illness or injuries because RS have staff that do that who are busy and tend to teach riding not handling. As you say most RS horses are relatively easy to deal with and you are never totally unsupervised so the experience is hard to get.

Is there anywhere you can volunteer to get more experience on the ground like a rescue or an RDA? Or do a BHS Horse Owners certificate course? Both of those would reassure me a bit if a was looking for a sharer.

When I had two horses in work and contemplated a sharer I would have been looking for a very experienced handler for one as while he was an easy well schooled ride, he could be difficult, potentially dangerous to handle if he was upset so anybody dealing with him had to be able to spot the subtle signs and deal with them before it all went south! The other was a doddle to handle but had a hefty buck, strong opinions and would take the pee if given half the chance. There was a reason he was expelled from a riding school but he was great fun.

Good Luck OP it's not easy to take the step from RS to privately owned horses - they are very different beasts in some ways but this isn't a bad time of year to do it. A lot of owners will be looking for help, physically and financially over the winter so there should be plenty of horses available and the right one will come up.

lcc86

Thanks orlao, I've been volunteering at RDA for a while now, but their horses are for the most part as placid as they come! It's one of those situations where you won't get the experience without someone giving you the chance, but I can totally see why people don't want to take that chance. After all it's their horse that could end up in a potentially dangerous situation if things go really wrong.

arbrighton

Perhaps it's time to look at a different school/ instructor and private lessons to push you on.

Orlao's points are very relevant- riding is such a tiny part of it and you haven't had to deal with any of the challenges of a fresh horse, more experienced horse (the school I rode at certainly had some non-novice rides) or had to think on your feet when half a ton of animal is waving its feet by your head as it's a bit windy and they've had a bit too much spring grass....

lcc86

arbrighton wrote: »

Perhaps it's time to look at a different school/ instructor and private lessons to push you on.

Orlao's points are very relevant- riding is such a tiny part of it and you haven't had to deal with any of the challenges of a fresh horse, more experienced horse (the school I rode at certainly had some non-novice rides) or had to think on your feet when half a ton of animal is waving its feet by your head as it's a bit windy and they've had a bit too much spring grass....

Thanks, you're right there are so many more aspects to it than just getting on and going for a ride round a school. I really enjoy hacks and that would be the main thing for me, and I also just like being around horses in general. I think perhaps continuing volunteering and trying to get more experience of different horses will be the best way forward.

arbrighton

Sorry, I've thought some more about this- over Christmas one year, when the school was shut, my sister and I looked after a school horse- feed, ride etc. He didn't get turned out but definitely went from being a safe plod, used for the disabled rider, to having a bit more life and attitude! My sister actually fell and broke her arm over that period but that didn't stop either of us continuing to ride and later owning a horse.

Does your riding school have that sort of option?

We also both went on pony trekking weeks before we owned the horse. Generally safe horses but all out on the hills. I assume that exists for adults too

lcc86

Thanks I'll look into it - I had wondered about it for RDA over the Christmas period actually, perhaps I'll ask them.

helcat26

Which end do you get?

Caroline_a

We used to have ponies when the children were younger until my eldest was in her late teens. I loved having them but.... firstly, arrange for all your salary to be paid into a bottomless pit called 'pony fund'. Then forget about lie ins, impromptu weekends away, and having a lovely wardrobe. You will have an incredibly steep learning curve, and maybe a rocky ride as we did at times (ponies going lame, etc) and your whole life will be set around this beautiful 4-legged animal, but by god it's fun!

bouncydog1

Daughter rode at a local riding school for 10 years, before we bought her a horse. She had also done stable management classes and helped out during the holidays for several years. Then took one on as a loan for a year.

Once we had our own, the difference was incredible although all of us (DD, DH and I) had been around horses tacking up, leading, mucking out etc. for 10+ years. Totally different experience from riding school horses - from turning out to diagnosing if something is wrong - all brings a whole world of different responsibility.

Personally I don't think that after 18 months of riding school riding somebody would be ready for a share, due to the whole different level of responsibility. Your life is never your own after that - believe me after 8 years of 365 days a year x 2 times per day minimum work - plus all of the extra stuff like tack cleaning etc - I was very happy to put her into full livery.

We've had her 10 years and must have spent in excess of £70k when everything is taken into account! :eek: Definately not for the faint hearted. Your best bet would probably to look online for riding clubs in your area and see if anyone needs any help in exchange for bringing on your riding.

Benzie

I think one of the main reasons people don't want someone who's only ridden at a riding school is that you are not used to riding or handling on your own without supervision. It is very easy for a good horse to learn bad habits and most horse owners are understandably wary of letting novices anywhere near their beasties

I have a yard of horses that would suit you, if you are in Somerset you'd be welcome to come spend a day with me see how you get on.