What do you think of this riding school part share?

[iveburntthetoast]

We have a great riding school that I go to with DD1. She's desparate for a pony, but we can't afford it right now and would struggle a bit time-wise.

The riding school has a scheme where she could part-loan one of their ponies.

• They charge £50 per week.

For this, you can ride for up to 1 hour per day (when not used in lessons).

• You can't jump unless you're in a lesson. Group lessons are half price (£10).
• You can't go hacking and there's no land to ride on so you're basically restricted to using the 2 indoor schools or 2 outdoor schools.
• You're expected to do the day-to-day care of the pony, but they will cover times when you're on holiday, sick etc

What do people think? It seems quite a lot for very restricted riding opportunities, but it's good to have set costs and not worry about vet bills or other expenses. I figure it may be something to do before we get her own pony to see if she is willing to put the work in.

I've been looking around for private part shares for 2 years, but there's just been 1 possibility (which we didn't pursue as it was too young/green for DD). For whatever reason, they just don't seem to come up where we are

You could try it to see if DD enjoys looking after the pony. Shame there's not more riding opportunities though.

honestly it does sound like a bit of a rip off, but on the other hand it could be a good way in to understanding the work/expenses involved in owning horses.
for the £50 how many lessons could she get? without the pony I mean.

If you agree to it how long are you tied into the deal? I'd be inclined to give it a go for a month if possible, but certainly wouldn't be tied into it long term.

Lessons are normally £20 per hour, and she goes once a week. Obviously we’d continue with the lessons so that’s a bit of a saving towards the £50.

@thundersky I’m not 100% sure, but I believe it’s on a monthly basis. I need to check that, though.

They only do this with a limited number of ponies/horses. The very popular ones aren’t loaned out. It would be a case of putting her name on the waiting list until something suitable became available. It seems to me they make money on the share and save labour costs at the same time, but it’s reassuring knowing that the costs are fixed. I had ponies as a teenager so am aware of the costs involved if we were to get one of our own.

So it will cost you £60 a week plus you have to go every single day to take care of the horse. (Which won’t be her favourite horse.)

For the same cost you could have three lessons a week (on her favourite horse) and you won’t have to turn up every —bloody— day.

Yes!

DD would need to go down each afternoon/evening. She would get the bus that goes from outside the school and drops off at the riding school. There’s a gaggle of teenage girls who turn up there each afternoon. I’d probably go down to collect her, but she could also get the bus home. If she proves she can do it during a shitty winter, I’ll have more confidence in getting her own after a year or so.

Will she actually get to ride when she wants to though? Presumably the times your DD can ride are when everyone is using the ponies for lessons and the schools are busy.
Honestly it doesn't sound great, best bit about ponies as a teenager is hacking out over commons and having a good gallop.
Also expensive in terms of shares, private shares are more like £100-150 2/3 days a week. I guess the upside is you know she's happy and has company and hopefully the ponies are pretty safe.

Where have you looked for private shares? Have you tried putting a wanted ad on local facebook groups?

It sounds like a rip off to me, OP.

As others have said, riding for up to an hour a day but no hacking opportunities, and surely when your DD will be there, the pony will be being used in lessons anyway.

What about your DD offering to help out at the weekends - would that be an option. Don't riding schools normally offer a free lesson in exchange for helping, or a lesson at a reduced price?

That way you don't have to pay anything, but she's getting all the experience of looking after the ponies, helping the younger riders and hanging out with the other helpers for a day...for free?

I'd probably go for an extra lesson each week, maybe a private one to work towards a set goal, and helping out at the weekends to learn about stable management instead.
Not sure how old your DD is, but I found that once I got to GCSEs I had to stop going to the stables during the week to cope with the workload (previously I was going to help out three evenings a week in exchange for rides as we couldn't afford regular lessons).
I wish I'd been able to have more lessons and become a better rider, it's much easier to find a share (especially if going away to uni etc) if you are an accomplished rider.

Although I think it's a bit of a rip off, It is a good way to see how dedicated she is, plus the independence of going on her own with friends.

I definitely wouldn't look at it as long term solution though, it is a pretty rubbish deal for her.

Does the Riding school not offer hacks out she could join in on with the pony? (again not ideal but better than no hacking at all)

What happens if the pony goes lame and needs a few weeks (or longer) off? You will be paying for nothing. Is there a contract?

I’d look for a part loan/share of a non riding school pony. It’s a really good way to ride more without having to commit to buying a pony. On the days she has the pony she’ll have to do the care, but will be able to ride how she wants and it’ll feel far more like she has her own.

That deal is very much set up for the benefit of the school and not for your daughter. They get someone to contribute a good chunk of the cost, do all of the work and they can use the pony whenever they want for lessons. Seems like a terrible deal to me.

So she can't jump, can't hack and is restricted as to when she can ride?

Personally no, I think those conditions are too limited.

Also do her friends at the yard have their own ponies? If so, your daughter is going to be left out big time when they all decide to hack out or jump.

DD is 11 and has been riding for about 2.5 years.

The ponies they loan are ones that dont get ridden much in lessons so she'd probably be able to ride for an hour most days. I think it's possibly more of a case that they focus upon part loan for these specific ponies and they're used as 'top-ups' for the school when busy. There's no off-road hacking, and I wouldnt want her to be riding on the surrounding roads, anyway. They're narrow country roads with double decker buses going along every 10 minutes.

She's just started to help out this weekend, but it's pretty rare that any of them get a free ride. From what I've seen, it's maybe a couple of times a year (but it's possible I've missed stuff).

I agree that they verge on really exploiting the eagerness of the kids who turn up--the riding school wouldn't be able to operate without them running around and tacking up ponies etc. But it is a really good community of children (girls) & that's something DD needs as she's struggled a bit in school. She's super-enthusiastic and spends all her time reading/writing/drawing horses. She's a good rider & that's made a big difference to her overall confidence.

@resting from what I know, if the pony goes lame, you can choose to end the contract (there is a contract that I've not seen--obviously I need to look closely at it before doing anything).

The positive aspect of this is that she will always have people around to help and we're not letting anyone down if we want to end the arrangement after a few months. I'm thinking this might be something to do for a few months over next summer as a precursor to a private share, and then maybe her own. She's doing stable management classes and helping out should mean she has will build up her experience handling ponies.

I've looked at a variety of sites for shares-gumtree, equineadverts, preloved, horsemart are the main ones. I've found one local FB page, but there's been no activity for a couple of years.

We're in NE Scotland should anyone happen to have a share available. I'm also thinking about a share for myself at some point.

cross-posted star Yes, that sums it up. Very few of the children who help out have their own ponies--many of them have these shares so she wouldn't be left out.

In fact, most of the liveries at the yard are horses/adults (not sure why).

I've also thought that the other positive is that DD could get herself to/from the yard & I wouldn't need to be ferrying her around. But, yes, £50 a week is eye-wateringly expensive, especially when we're in a cheap part of the country.

This seems like an ok deal to me - as a short term test/gaining experience situation that you can keep under review.

As it happens one of my favourite horses at my RS is one of the less obvious types - a 14hh Welsh cross with personality that I have enjoyed getting to understand and improve her way of going.

I agree that they verge on really exploiting the eagerness of the kids who turn up--the riding school wouldn't be able to operate without them running around and tacking up ponies etc.

^ This is something that I hate about RS. They are notorious for this!

£50/ week is pretty cheap. Where I ride you can hire a horse for an hour for £15 - you have to tack up and groom in that hour so £50 for up to 7 hours' riding plus discounted lessons (No unsupervised jumping seems sensible to me...) plus relatively risk free trial of "ownership" with support around isn't too horrendous.

Lack of competition in the area probably influences price...

Sounds like a cheap and risk-free way to assess how serious she is about things.

Cheap opposed to buying a pony that might lose its appeal once the realities set in, I mean.

" But, yes, £50 a week is eye-wateringly expensive,"

no offence but if you think so, then owning a pony really wont be for you. You might live in a 'cheap' part of the country, but that doesn't mean that ponies are any cheaper to keep.
Where we were in Wales, for example, hay and straw was much more expensive than in SE England.

But you will have full use of that pony whenever you want, you can sell it, breed from it etc. You are not getting that for the 50 pounds.

Basic vaccinations about £20 plus a visit from the vet. Shoes £60 every 4-5 weeks. Teeth £40 6-12m. Hay at £4/bale. Livery is ££££.

Breeding costs loads and ponies sell for sod all unless well schooled.

Disposal should horse not survive (laminitis, colic, old age) ££££

Or a fixed sum short term with short notice period...

I have a very good idea of all the expenses of keeping a pony, having done so for many years. I've already been through the costs locally if we were to have own own. Local liveries do seem to be on the cheaper side in this area than costs that I've seen on here.

But this part share is a very different arrangement to having your own. As others have pointed out £50 is quite expensive in comparison to many private shares. However, I can see that there are benefits to this scheme that we would not get with a private share.

I know the commitment that comes with having your own, so my main aim is to see if DD would/could make it work. She has been accepted to help out at the stables, and I left her today mucking out . This is going to be her first test & I'll give her at least 9 months of helping out before considering this scheme. If I can say anything, it's that I am super-conscious of the money and time a pony takes, and progressing very cautiously.