Re: Sharing a Horse

Kazujo

Hey,

Does anyone have an experience with sharing a horse. Myself and a friend are thinking about sharing a horse with a guy. We haven't bought a stake in it or anything we are just sharing the livery and the farrier's fees, but do we have to pay for vet fees, since this guys owns the horse does he not pay for same.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

doctor evil

Are you buying into a syndicate for a racehorse etc or are you becoming a sharer a with a leisure horse?.

Make sure you get everything in writing so every one knows whats what. Sharing agreements can vary immensely, there is no "set" way to go about it, though the sharer generally covers shoes and worming. Try the BHS website or any horsey forum. Make sure to enquire about insurance with the owner or get your own.

Good luck with the share!,walk away if you have any doubts about the situation/horse. Not worth any heart ache or broken bones over.

Bluehair

Is it expensive to keep a horse for racing (i.e. along the lines of Hectors 'Only fools own horses?).

What kind of money would you need to be spending?

Doper Than U

I assume by your post that it's a pleasure horse your going for, not a racehorse (although I could be wrong *shrug*). First of all, there's three of you paying/riding/caring for this horse, so you'll have to work out a rota as to who rides when. Why is this guy looking for a sharer? Has he just not got enough time/money? Or is the horse a young/problem horse, and he's hoping you'll do all the dirty work, retraining, schooling etc?

I would expect, if he is continuing to ride the horse, you to pay something towards the farrier bills, half of the livery, but probably not vets fees (certainly not routine vacc's, field or stable injuries) unless something occured due to your negligence (e.g. feeding unsoaked sugar beet). If he is not riding the horse, and pretty much leaves you to it for the year (with little input from him), then you would pay all costs, except for some vets fees (again, routine vacc's or unexpected injuries that were nothing to do with you). Make sure the horse is insured (by the owner!) and that you have insurance too (join the BHS, insurance comes standard in the package).

Make a list of all the things relevant ; who rides when, horse's day off, exact feed, routine, whether you can take the horse to shows, who pays for what EXACTLY, what happens IF (insert random incident here).

I assume you know the horse, and have ridden it a few times to know whether it's suitable for you and your friend? If not, get a weeks trial (which you will pay for if you take the horse on) and see how the animal reacts to being tacked, groomed, ridden, turned out, caught, having feet picked up etc etc.

I'm not sure what experience you have with horses, so can't advise you on what to do.. I'd be more than happy to answer any other horse related questions though.

If it is a racehorse you are sharing.. then I can't help you.. I know squat about racing.

derek27

i see a lot of comments about horses vet fees for injuries etc. horses have been on this planet at least as long as we have been... so they are no more prone to injury than we are... except if they are made to do things which might put them at risk... such as competitive horse racing for our pleasure and financial gain. i personally hate the sport because it seems that the vast majority of people that are into horses are only into them for those reasons. i have great admiration for people that just totally love horses and would never subject their companion to that kind of thing. OP, horses tend to be ott financially to have as a pet, and its becase of horseracing and the like i think. think about getting your on horse. it's not like thats impossible. i hope you will treat it really well.

Doper Than U

Derek I agree there are some parts of the racing industry that do not seem to have the horses best interests at heart, indeed, far from it. However, your comment about them not being accident prone except when being "made to do something" is quite erroneous. In all my years of riding, the only time my horses have injured themselves is when they're turned out in their fields and decide to gallop around with the other horses, no riders are present. Horses are very accident prone, and they do break legs in the wild, get cuts, bruises, get into fights etc (just look at the scars all over wild stallions bodies... unbelievable.. especially the horses of the Namib). Another thing about horses in the wild is they routinely starve and suffer predation, which you won't find in domestic animals (unless deliberately starved, but that's a completely different thing, people should be shot for that).

The "vast majority" of horse owners are the "one or two horse" owner who adore their animals (I fall into this category). There are millions of us, certainly more than there are racers.

The reason that horses are so expensive has nothing at all to do with racing. It's simply because they require so much care. First, you need space; you can't keep a horse stabled 24/7, it must get out into fields (which are expensive to buy), and to exercise them you often need an arena (also expensive). You need an arena so as not to damage your horses legs by riding on bad ground. Then you have to feed them, and they eat a LOT. You need hay (and it must be excellent quality) and lots of it, you need hard feed if the horse is to be worked. If your horse is stabled part time then you need shavings, a stable (again, expensive) and free time to muck it out.

Keeping a horse is an expensive business, only because they need so much room and food. As you can imagine, living in the city doesn't allow much room, so you either have to move out to the country and buy a small farm, or put your horse in livery (which is what I do.. although I may soon have that farm!). Livery costs a fortune, because not only are you paying for food, facilities, grass and a stable.. you also pay for the labour that goes into caring for the horse while you're at work. It's expensive! I pay 120euro a month PER HORSE. I have two horses. In order to pay for them I don't go out to clubs, don't drink, don't buy clothes (the jeans I'm sitting in atm are badly torn, but meh..). Getting a horse on loan to see if you can cope with owning one both financially and physically is one of the best ways to experience horse ownership, and provided you get all the necessaries sorted out, you should have a blast while you do it.

*still interested as to whether it is a racehorse or not.. otherwise I'm typing a lot of unnecessary information*