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

I get that ponies are expensive. I don't dispute that. 50 pounds being cheap compared to what a pony costs is correct but that 50 is only for the use of the pony in restricted circumstances. My comments about selling and breeding were only to demonstrate that as the owner you could do more with the pony.
I think it sounds like a good idea to see if the child likes it but I can understand where the people who think it's expensive are coming from.

pebbles sorry, I was wasn’t clear. I was replying to fourfried that I didn’t know to cosst of keeping a pony. I agree with what you said about the contrast in the Freedom you have of sharing v owning.

Apologies for the shit spelling. My phone is playing up.

My biggest concern is actually that they would theoretically let the ponies be used every day. I know that they're not necessarily working that hard but I think it's better if riding school ponies get a day off a week. I accept this is a personal opinion though.

To me, £50 with the chance to ride every day doesn't seem that expensive. In my part of the country most shares with a financial contribution ask for about £10 per day, or £25-30 for 2/3 days a week, so I think it's a fair price, although obviously the riding is restricted. Most yards also wouldn't be happy to have an 11yo up riding on their own, so I guess you are paying for a level of supervision and support that you wouldn't necessarily get with a private share. I would assume that yard staff will help out if there's a problem, and obviously you've got the peace of mind that there are first aid qualified people on hand if she gets injured.

Other pros- you can walk away if the horse goes lame or DD outgrows it, you have cover for holidays and if she is unwell- so it's not a big tie, you presumably won't have any costs of supplying equipment etc. You can access lessons at a reduced rate if you want them.

It sounds like a great way for your DD to get a taster of what having her own pony would be like in a known/controlled environment, with minimal commitment from you. I agree that not being able to jump/hack is a big downside, but I can understand this from the riding schools PoV of risk to both rider and pony. There's lots of fun stuff that you can do on the flat.

But if she sticks with this for a year or so, you will know she is really keen and buying/loaning your own won't be such a risk.

Thanks ladylance, you've pretty much captured all the positive aspects that I was thinking of.

The one big negative of this yard is that there's virtually no turn-out. They basically have 1 large field and 1 small paddock. That's for around 20 school horses and about the same number of liveries.

None of the horses/ponies (riding schooll and livery) are allowed out in the winter. During the spring/summer, it's no more than 4 hours per day. Having always had ponies who lived out all year, I find this very restricted. It's a great stables in many ways, but if DD did get her own, I would want somewhere with more land (and better hacking.)

iveburntthetoast I agree, that sounds super restricted- but I'm lucky enough to live in an area of the country with lots of land, and most yards are able to offer 24/7 turnout at least in summer.

No turnout at all in winter would worry me a bit- but I guess they only keep horses that can cope with it, and as they have 4 schools, I guess they might be able to give some ponies an hour or so to stretch their legs in one of the schools on quiet days?

I agree, I wouldn't put a pony on livery in that situation.

OP if I were you I'd look at the costs of full and part livery in your area. You may be able to find a full grass livery arrangement for ~£60pw - your daughter could have her own horse with no restrictions on riding times and places.
IMO the RS arrangement is exploitative and I wouldn't even consider it. Could you approach your local PC and see if there are any ponies there that have been outgrown and may be looking for exercise riders?

Dd’s loan horse is on part grass livery in the south east for £65 a week - she has to go down every evening to look after him but obviously has no restrictions on riding bow and when she wants. It’s a livery yard rather than riding school so the arena isn’t constantly full of lessons, she can jump when she wants and she can hack across the fields. However, and it’s a big however, she’s 15 so is able to go down unsupervised but if children are under 14 they have to have an adult with them at all times. If your daughter’s quite a bit younger then the riding school arrangement may well be worth it in the short term for the level of supervision she’ll get, and as you say you’ll find out how committed she is to the idea of having her own

DoctorStrange I wouldn't say the RS part-loan is exploitative- I agree it's limiting, but if it's exploitative, then surely any share where you contribute money is?

£60 a week for livery is fine, but OP would obviously have to add lots of costs on top and it probably wouldn't come with any facilities. OP would also have to be a lot more involved- I don't know of any livery yards that are happy to have an 11yo on the yard unsupervised. Also, it then becomes a huge tie, and OP has no easy way out if things don't work out.

Also in NE Scotland and struggling to find a loan/share, any ideas where else to try (not had any luck with gumtree, free-ads and fb)

sweetdahlia, I've been looking online for possible shares for well over a year. I've only seen 2 shares in this area during that time. One was a 16hh thoroughbred, another was a 13hh young pony (too green for DD), which was going to be a 40 minute drive each way. Maybe that's why this riding school arrangement is so popular. There are horses/ponies to buy around here and quite a few liveries, yet it seems that part shares aren't a 'thing' here.

@ noitsnotteatimeyet DD is 11 and I would not want her to be off unsupervised right now. She's been helping at the riding school & they keep an eye on the kids there. I would say she needs to be at least 13 before I'd consider getting her own.

But I would also love to own a pony/horse myself again (had them as a teenager), so a daughter/mum pony would be perfect. DD1 is almost as tall as me so a nice cob would work well.

My DD also 11 does a similar scheme at her riding school also in Scotland (central) and also 50 per week but she looks after (mucking out/feed/grooming etc) a few horses and then mainly rides 1 of them but also rides others. I posted in here about it before as I was questioning whether it would be cheaper to get her her own pony. After a lot of consideration I've thought

• the part loan lets her try out a few horses

-it lets her build up her experience -the company of the other girls is a great thing outside school and she has made some really close friends from other schools

• my DD is happy with it, adores the ponies and never complains with the chores and goes out in any weather which I see as a good test of commitment & owning a pony
• I worked out it would be around 400-500 a month to own a pony with livery/feed/insurance etc so the loan scheme is still cheaper and no unexpected vets/farriers bills

-During the summer holidays my DD can go 7 days a week and often does! She usually rides every day in the holidays -There is no early morning commitment and if she is away the other girls do her horses and she does the same for them

• I was paying 40 a week before for 2 lessons (Tues/Sat) plus all day Saturday so she is getting more access and more riding

There's a few things about it that are not ideal and I also get the feeling that the girls give the school a lot of help e.g. with birthday parties, fayres or leading in lessons. I also feel they do a lot of chores for something we are paying for - ideally they'd be doing the chores in exchange for lessons.

One of the other disadvantages is that she is now very attached to the pony she mainly rides to the point I know she really wants to buy him and would be devastated if he was sold as can sometimes happen at the school. If she keeps up the commitment over the next year or so then I'm going to speak more to the riding school owner to see if she could do a full loan with this pony .

It was just to say that our scheme is similar and in my opinion there are definitely pro's & cons and it is important what you and your DD are happy with. I've spoken to mine about looking at other stables/schemes but she is devoted to the ponies and the girls and has built strong bonds and loves it so we are continuing for the moment x

Thanks for posting mumontherun14 . It sounds a very similar scheme. DD currently has lessons once a week for £20. I've noticed that there's a bit of an 'in crowd' who help out in lessons and they're older (14-ish).

Does your DD have to take care of the pony every day? That's something that I'm concerned about. It's only a 10 minute drive, but it would nevertheless be a bit of a bind, especially as it feels she'd be reducing their need to employ staff.

Hi - At the moment when she is off school she is going every day 10-5 and does all the work for her main pony plus another few (that she has chosen to look after herself). But normally during term time she goes Tues 4-7, Thurs 4-7 and Sat/Sun 10-5 and has at least 3 lessons during that time sometimes more. So when she is not there I think the riding school owner and her other staff look after the pony. The good thing (for me at least) is that there is no early morning commitment as I work 4 days a week and I have my son too to get out to high school so it would be too much for me to take her in the mornings.

You sound as if you know loads more about it that me as I did ride a bit when younger but nowhere near as much as DD, but I have been looking more into loans/owning a pony as she is so keen and very commited (for the moment) and my concern is that the pony they have paired her with and which she loves I don't think would be the right one to buy for her.

The other good thing about the scheme is that the owner doesn't charge any more for the week during the school holidays and she has often let the girls go down for in-service days or strike days at no extra charge. In return they go and help her at school fayres with the ponies or at local shows.

My DD felt there was a bit of an in-crowd too at the start but the longer she has been the more she has felt part of it and she has actually invited a pal from school along this week so she might end up going too. Would she have a friend that could go along with her? xxx

Her best friend also goes riding there, but her mum won't allow her to go down on her own. (They're both 11--I'm happy for DD to do so as she's very sensible and careful around horses.) She's made a friend a year older than her at the stables & I hope that will keep going. Unfortuntely, this friend is away for the rest of the summer holidays so DD is a bit reluctant to go on her own. I think having a share would help her to develop friendships as it would give her a purpose to being there.

I would love to get her a pony--she's tall enough that we could get a native pony to share. I grew up in rural Yorkshire and was given both ponies that we had (& all the tack!). We kept them on a shoestring budget, but that just doesnt seem to happen any more.

The riding school my Dad ran until 2 years ago (stopped due to ill health) was very successful because he would pay owners to use their horse for lessons. They would keep their horse at his stables for £100 a week, with his staff covering all care. It was a £10 discount for each lesson the horse was lent out.

This half share isn't a good deal. It would be better for her to be staff and get paid for the work she is doing. Also check the supervision of the girls also going to the yard. There was always a lot of bullying going on that my Dad and the yard manager would have to closely manage.

Thanks want2be, DD is 11 so obviously a while before she could get paid work. Things seem to work reasonably well with people helping out. The yard owner is very good and is always walking around and checking on things.