Should I loan

[Appleton246]

I am considering looking for a loan for myself after a ten year break from the world of horses. I've recently been taking private lessons to brush up and am able to walk, trot, canter...it's all coming back to me which is a relief. I used to compete and loan 'back in the day'.

I'm aware I am lacking recent experience but my thinking is that I will get more 'time for my money' with a loan. I'm really missing actually spending time with horses. The private lessons are great but I'm just craving more.

Is it stupid for me to consider loaning after having ten years out? Would I be better to just continue with the lessons and calm down 😂

part or full?

Not mad at all - if you have the time I don't see the issue, I would do the same as you!

I would have suggested riding lessons first but you already did that so go for it!

Yes why not, I'd go for a part-loan first just to ease yourself in to the financial/time commitment, be very honest with your abilities/gap in riding with the horse's owner and if anything try and underhorse yourself so look for a very steady and safe horse (definitely not anything advertised as not a novice ride), the beauty of loaning is if you do end up feeling ready for something a bit more high powered later down the line you can move on more easily.

I would keep up with lessons on any loan or share horse though, there's always more to learn and it will be invaluable for your confidence, working through any problems, in fact I'd say it's essential so as well as finding the right horse you need a yard/owner that will allow you to take lessons as well. In preparation for loaning, can you ask in your next riding school lesson to practice/be talked through how to put together a schooling plan as this (aside from the fact private horses are a bit more lively than riding school ones usually) is the thing a lot of people find hard about the transition out of riding school world into riding independently, if you've gotten a bit too used to your instructor setting the exercises up for you and giving near-constant feedback it's quite hard to then be faced with an empty arena, a horse and no other input at all I've been riding for donkeys years and can still end up feeling a bit lost or flummoxed without my weekly lesson to set me 'homework' to practice when riding alone. So maybe work in more of a coaching style with your instructor, identify issues/areas for improvement for yourself and/or the horse, work out an exercise to help that, practice it then get feedback and plan next steps, repeat as needed?

Yes loan!

I did after a twenty year gap.

Loaned for a year, brushed off the rustiness and bought her! We've two now.

Best thing we ever did.

Thank you so much for your replies, I'm going to view a part loan pony next week and see if we will be a good fit for each other.
I appreciate the advice 😁

I think sharing is great but like others have said why not look for an instructor to teach you on a share horse, probably a cheaper option than a riding school these days. How confident are you with the care side of things as that's obviously really important with sharing - or do you need to brush up on your stable management before taking on a share?

I think this is important. I have a sharer for my mare and while I don’t expect someone to have the turnout and standards of a Newmarket yards head lad/lass I wouldn’t be impressed with someone tacking up incorrectly for example, and I do ask for a few jobs to be done (fill a haynet, make 1x feed for the yard owner to give them, flick them off before and after riding, and on the rare occasion they are in when the sharer arrives, a quick skip out)
Mine are usually out, sharer arrives ans brings them in, and in summer would need to turn them out again, so would need someone confident in catching a horse with other horses in the field, leading a horse back to the field and turning them out safely.

A couple of other things to consider, would you be ok if there was literally no one else at the yard. Could you mount safely, check your stirrups and girth safely, and ride safely without supervision.
On the other end of the scale you might be sharing the school with 3/4 people doing their own thing, would you know how to safely work round them?

I've just had my first day as a part loaner today! Not owned for 15 years. Every Saturday I have a lovely horse all to myself for the 3rd of the price of a private lesson!

How was the pony OP?

She was really lovely but I didn't feel 100% confident on her so I've decided to wait a while until I've got a few more lessons under my belt 🙂

A sensible decision OP! Good luck with the lessons :)

This was my slippery slope back to horse obsession! Had constant horses in my life (never my own) until about 13 then private lessons on my mid 20s then when DD was about 18m I had a bit of a breakdown and was threatening to walk away from my marriage and was questioning everything in my life.

My DM made space for me to get back into horses and I had one day a week where she’d have DD while I had a lesson, then that turned into had a lesson and volunteered at the stables, then that progressed to a day a week paid work there, then one of the other grooms needed a loan home for her pony and I took her on. Then 9 months later I bought my own. I now have two and it’s my all-consuming lifestyle.

My learnings were - make sure the loan horse is suitable for you and suitable for loaning and that you have proper commitment from its owner if anything goes wrong. I had a host of issues to deal with and lots of vet bills but owner was the other side of the world and I was asked by parents not to worry her so took way too much on and was out of my depth and felt constantly guilty.

Also make sure you keep it somewhere with the right support and knowledgeable people who will support you getting back into it. I found the most gorgeous private yard and was uncomfy from day one and ended up having to move dhorse 3 months later to escape the nasty looks and sarcastic comments when all I wanted was help and advice. Finding the right team around you was the hardest part - it’s who you know 💕

Good luck!