Do any of you do a "contract" when someone takes a half livery on your horse?

[broguemum]

I've just had someone say that they would like to take my somewhat scatty TB mare on a half livery and whilst I am very pleased that someone will be riding her 3x a week and sharing the costs I was just wondering how I best make my expectations clear? Have any of you done a contract or a letter of understanding or just a list? What works best in your experience? The girl who would be taking her on is 14 and I must admit I really do want to lay down the law a bit although I do trust her not to do anything stupid. Any advice?

mmmmmmmmmmm I'm not sure about a contract but I might look into insurance if you are not insured already. My mother shares one of her horses and she got some insurance by being a member of the BHS. It might be a good idea to set some ground rules. Maybe you could see if the BHS has a helpline and could give you some advice about sharing. Good Luck

The BHS has a sample loan agreement - and strongly recommends that you use something like this.
With such a young sharer though, I would do quite a lot of talking with her about what-ifs and also make sure you are around (but not breathing down her neck) the first few times.

I think a signed agreement is best, there are loads of sample ones online - I've only ever been on the other side of the sharing/loan arrangement but it was a tremendous help to know who was responsible for what, and even who gets priority if there is a clash of times when you both want the horse.

Thanks for your help. I've already got insurance but will be saying to her parents that I strongly recommend they have their own too. I've seen her ride my mare about 5 times now and she does seem to get on with her. We've agreed she will have lessons once a week and there's a ban on riding out for the moment. I'd just feel so responsible if something were to happen but I really do need someone else to ride my horse as with a job and 2 DC I cannot get the time together to ride 2 horses 4 times a week which is the minimum they need. How do people manage?