New to loaning

[SnuffleTruffleHound]

After 5+ years of riding in schools, hacking etc my 14yr old is ready to part loan.
i used to ride but have no idea what to expect from loaning as i didn't get that far.
tell me what i need to know please

If you're loaning you take on all of the costs associated with the horse - vet, livery, food, insurance etc.. A part loan would normally be half off those costs. The horse remains the owners but the loaners are responsible for the day to day care and decisions regarding the horse.
If you're sharing then you will usually have a set number of days per week when you are responsible for the horses care (turn out, bring in, feeding etc) in exchange for a set price each week. The owner will be in charge of all decisions regarding the horses care and routine and will cover the vets fees.
It sounds like you mean sharing, but talk about loaning - can you confirm which it is as the info will vary?

Have you found one yet? That might taper my answer but generally:

Firstly how is their knowledge? They will be expected to be able to tack up and do yard chores, are they capable of this without experienced help. I’ve got sharers for mine and while I don’t expect them to groom to a professional standard, I trust that they can skip out/ fill a hay net/ put a martingale on properly without needing me to check. Would they be able to ride by themselves sensibly (ie not just razzing around cantering the whole time)

Very very few yards allow unsupervised children so you’ll likely need to be there the whole time.

If you’re still looking be REALLY HONEST about their ability. If they’ve been in a riding school even for years in real terms they are still pretty novice. The average sweet PC/RC allrounder will probably be more forward and less forgiving than the more advanced horses at a riding school. They’ll also be doing a lot less work so generally more switched on and up for it.

Youll want insurance as well incase you damage the owners tack/pony kicks a car out hacking.

Be realistic about time commitments I’ve got three horses. Two have sharers. Apart from ensuring they’ll be kind, reliability is so important. It’s much more of a commitment than a lesson or two a week and a lot longer at the yard.

I would also say you need to be enquiring rather than your 14yo, most owners are wary of enquiries from young people as often they are well meaning, but dreaming and they haven’t checked with mum and dad yet! You enquring will be more serious.

Yes, I think it’s sharing then, just 2 days a week

to answer a few of your points.

myself or my husband/her dad will always be with her, this has always been my expectation and I’m doing all the conversations etc.
myself & daughter ate both happy to spend longer time on a yard and both have a knowledge of basic horse care. But we also both have a lot to learn.

we are going to view a possibility this week, however it’s a teenage girl I’ve been talking to so far so it puts a different dynamic on the conversations. Her mum is going to be at the viewing though.
thanks for your advice

In which case I’d just make sure the owners know you might need a bit of help with the care side. Most have sharers on days they can’t get up to the yard or assume they won’t need to go, so just make sure they are aware

Ok, in that case:

• What is the horses schedule? Does it change in winter? What time does everyone turn out and bring in (horses don't like to be first or last, you'll need to fit in with the general turn out times)
• Do you need to be at the yard twice a day on your days?
• What is the horse like to catch/tack up/handle in and out of the stable/in traffic if you're planning on hacking? Do they hack alone? Are they nappy in the school or when out and about?
• What are the rules for booking to use the school? Are there any jumps or poles you can use?
• Can you have lessons at the yard? Are you allowed to have an external instructor come or do you need to use someone on the yard?
• What is the financial commitments? Is this the same in winter when the horse's food costs increase?
• if the horse is injured or sick and unable to be ridden how long will you continue to pay for your days before the contract is terminated?
• where is the tack kept? If it's on site, when is the tack room open? Do you need a yard manager to unlock in the morning or can you self access it?
• how far is the muck heap and field from the yard (this can make a huge difference to your time commitment if they are far away)?
• are you getting one weekend day and one weekday? Otherwise it may be hard to ride over winter depending on whether there are floodlights
• is the horse turned out in a herd or individually? Can you daughter confidently get the horse out of a field of horses without letting the others push out?
• If you or your daughter is ill on your days, is there help available at the yard? Can you call the yard manager and pay extra for them to turn the horse out for instance?

Great list of qs above. I'd say the availability of help is the crucial one, you/she may not need this level of help forever but at first I'd definitely want there to be an experienced adult nearby able to help with any tack glitches or other worries at all times and for her to be able to take frequent lessons the first few weeks of riding the pony - if the answer to either or both of those is anything but an unequivocal yes then it's probably not the right share for you. The ideal set up would be a riding school or busy livery yard with a friendly yard manager able to help and on-site instructors. In fact if this share doesn't work out it might be worth seeing if any schools in your area offer loan or lease schemes as these are a great starting point for kids out of riding schools.

In general terms, as well as the good advice above, I'd spend the time waiting to find a share preparing her for riding alone/outside the lessons environment. It is a big adjustment for kids who have only ever ridden in a riding school quite aside from the pony usually being more lively as others have said. Does she know what she'd ideally like to do with the pony, will she be hacking out mainly or riding in the arena/school? If the former you definitely need to understand hacking route availability from the yard to gauge safety esp in winter, plus whether there are companions/people to hack with, if the latter does your DD know how to go about planning a 30-40 minute school session without a teacher/adult telling her what to do? If not she can start researching and practicing in her lessons now, let her teacher step back and observe/talk to her about her goals/aims for the session, how to problem solve etc. great preparation for riding on her own, too often you do see teens either cantering round and round or sitting chatting in the middle, or arguing with their Mum on the sidelines, not because they're bad riders or lazy, they just don't actually have the know-how to school properly and it does get boring quickly if you don't have any actual plan or intention with it..