Part loan riding school horse

[LJAshman]

Hi!
I’ve recently started riding again and have just found out that the school I have been going to part loan horses. The deal is £260 per month- you can go up, groom and ride as much as you want (as long as the horse isn’t needed for other lessons). No yard work needed, although I wouldn’t actually mind getting my hands dirty. It’s a really nice yard with really good facilities and on the edge of a stunning Forrest you can ride around. This set up would suit me as I have 2 young children so do t have tonnes of spare time but does this seem like quite a lot of money? I have no concept of what to expect.
Many thanks!!!

I’m in London and pay £100 per month for three days a week, DIY livery, private share.

I would definitely check to see how much the horse is being used, and the freedom you’ll have to ride on the scheme that’s being proposed - to me it does seem very expensive...

Have a look at the local horsey FB pages for your area, Preloved, tack shops (if open), and perhaps post a “wanted ad” describing your ideal situation and horse? I think you’re likely to find a suitable private share, especially as you sound relatively experienced and happy to muck in!

I posted a wanted ad, and found the fantastic horse I’m sharing as his owner commented! I do all of his chores (which take 30-40 mins per day) then am free to jump/hack/school/treat him as my own, as I please!

I loan a horse from my riding school, £30 a week (plus shoes every 8 weeks) and get unlimited usage when she's not being used by the school (which is rare). These prices seem crazy to me!

We loan a riding school pony. It's a full loan so pony doesn't get used for lessons unless I ask for it to get used (if we aren't going to be able to exercise a lot that week). We pay £60 per week and have use of all the facilities and they will bring in and tack up /turn out if we ask them too. It's basically full livery. It works out much better for us as due to shift work we couldn't do a private share as couldn't commit to same days each week.

That’s a great deal MonsterChopz. I’m not sure how they can turn a profit if they’re not also using it for lessons. My DD’s part share must be used for at least one, if not two, lessons for 3-4 evenings a week (she gets one day off, which varies) She probably does two lessons each on a Saturday and Sunday. On days when DD can’t ride her (as she’s already done enough work for the day), she generally is given another horse to exercise.

To be honest the woman who runs the school never gets rid of horses, she retires them but keeps them until the end. I had asked her if she had any that were done with being a riding school pony but weren't quite ready to be a field ornament and that's how we ended up with ours. She was a bit crabby as riding school pony but has totally thrived having a one to one relationship with my daughter - I think she'd just had enough of different bums sitting on her all day