do you think anyone would like me to ride their horse?

[PebblePots]

I'm just coming to the end of maternity leave & would like to get back into riding which is my passion. I could do 1 morning a week but can't afford to pay. I am experienced, used to work with horses & teach beginners & had my own horse for 4 years.
So hope I could offer a lot to someone who would like their horse exercised.


Would only want to ride same sensible horses as not ridden in about 3 years & had enough of firecrackers with my own mare.

Do you think anyone would want this & how could
I find someone?

Thanks for your thoughts :)

[Floralnomad]

TBH I would imagine most people would expect a contribution towards keep or a little more commitment than one morning per week . If you advertise your current proposal it looks a bit like you're looking for a free ride IYSWIM

[PebblePots]

Hmmm. i am looking for a ride for free :)

I used to have people ride mine for free just to get her more exercise

[Floralnomad]

Well if you can find yourself another like minded person then you'll be ok !

[annieapple7]

Yes times is hard and while my horse could do with more exercise, I could do with more money! So I would want a contribution too...it is courtesy to offer a contribution for shoes at least.

[Backinthebox]

You don't always have to pay to ride someone else's horse. I have people in to ride mine, I don't ask for anything from them except commitment, as I have small kids and a busy job. Twice a week, especially during the week in the winter, would have lots more people interested. But I think wanting to ride once a week for free won't offer what people need. You've got to think of it from their point of view - they pay for the shoes, feed, stabling, vets, etc, do all the hard work so you can call in once a week because you don't have the time or money to do it for yourself? If you can find someone who needs their horse keeping fit and you can offer a decent amount of time towards that, you will be more popular. Once a week does not keep a horse fit.

[Backinthebox]

Also - you'll be even harder pushed to find a horse if your days you can ride are at the weekend!

[PebblePots]

Thanks Back. I could do weekdays & stable duties for the end of the day I do.
Think once a week would be the most I could manage though.

What sort of financial contributuon do you think I should offer?

[Buildabetterworld]

I think if you could offer some sort of service (e.g. schooling, fittening work) you would probably find someone willing to lend their horse to you once a week. I used to have someone ride my horse for free just once a week on the agreement that they would do school work with him (they were a good rider and my horse needed more schooling which I didn't have time to do). I think if you wanted to do what you like with the horse then you would need to offer a financial or other contribution, if only as a courtesy.

[LisaD1]

I have my own small yard and look after my horses competely alone, I would love a morning off and would be more than happy with your proposal, if you bought the odd bag of carrots too that would be fab.

Dont suppose you're Surrey based?!

[PebblePots]

Close Lisad, but not quite, I'm Hampshire! Shame :)

[Equimum]

Re: reasonable contribution, when we were trying to find a sharer for our horse, several people told us that they felt £5-10 per ride was average, and that was for a horse on full-livery (so no chores other than a quick flick and tacking up) in the South-east. You might, therefore, be able to find a very affordable ride, although as others have said, most people will need help more than once per week.

[tattychicken]

I think if you were prepared to do some jobs in return, muck out/turn out/clean tack you might be ok, but Deffo think being able to ride twice a week would make you more 'desirable' as a sharer...

[WillowKnicks]

I would have no objection to someone riding my horse just once a week in return for stable duties done that day, as some weeks I don't get to ride her as often as others.

I would prefer the day off from stable duties to the money tbh.

[Lionsntigersnbears]

You could try advertising for a horse share- just be sure to state exactly what you can do and what you can bring to the situation. There's a site here www.horsesharesuk.co.uk that might be useful

[JRsandCoffee]

Hi

Try the NFED website, it is New Forest/ Hampshire centric and I briefly shared through there although the way things developed the share involved helping sell the horse it was all good fun.

You never know, you might well find someone who will let you ride for free, I always preferred it that way as I felt I had total control over what was being done with my horse and could say if not happy with absolutely no qualms.

FWIW you might also find sane and normal things to ride by picking up bits and bobs of part time work - added bonus of being paid, hurrah, if you can commit the time. Have tended to find that folks wanting control of who is on board tend to be reasonably responsible souls unwilling to see their part timers tipped into the verge by nutters, they just don't want the paperwork....... and while we're in a recession Hampshire isn't exactly on the breadline, even now, so might be worth looking at, particularly if you have some qualifications to bandy around and could be serious about it. Good luck!

[JRsandCoffee]

Sorry, just realised Hampshire comment possibly not entirely true as plenty of folks struggling - just that there are certainly still bits of it clearly not entirely feeling the squeeze, so to speak...... and therefore still paying folks to do stuff for them........oh dear, read back that sounded so bloody tactless, sorry everyone.

[notallytuts]

preloved and equine adverts are the best sites. put up a wanted ad on preloved as well, i got loads of response especially if you are happy to help with chores. its all about how you word the ad - you need to say you are a rider available for fitness work / schooling / both and happy to help with chores. if you say you are looking for a share that implies you will contribute.

a lot of people will want a financial contribution as a lot of the time if people dont pay they dont bother to turn up - sad but true. be totally honest and say if you cant afford much - for a lot of people that will be a deal breaker but not for everyone. i shared a horse as a student and made a very small payment [tenner a week for ~3 days, more of a token than anything]. the owner had an arrangement with someone else where they would turn out or bring in each others horses in the mornings/evenings so if i was doing the horse when it was her turn i would bring the other horse in as well - little things

[ruby1234]

I put an advert in my local tack shop, saying what experience I had, how much riding I could offer etc. I also put 'no money either way'. I was inundated with offers for 'free' riding, and found a lovely horse to ride. In the same way I now ride for a local point to point yard 2 or 3 mornings a week, again no money either way, but I get loads of riding and they get their horses excercised for nothing.
You never know what will turn up until you try!
Good luck. :-)

[countrygirl956]

I would love to find a reliable person to ride my Welsh D mare,due to fibromyalgia I'm not on board as often as I should be.Only contribution I would ask for is for farrier ( she's barefoot)
Anyone interested,please get in touch.We're Bournemouth area and I live on site.
No novices please.