Would you consider getting a sharer for your dressage horse?

[kirstie]

I mainly lurk in comp roders, but have found it to be a mine of good advise in here.

I have a lovely, talented but very opinionated and tricky mare. She is a 17hh Trakehner, rising 8 but is way behind in her training due to enforced time off and not picking a good trainer until the end of last year.

I used to work with horses and then broke my back in September 2010. We both had a long time off and I started riding again mid 2011. I can no longer work with horses anymore because of my injury and have started off in a new career which is going very well but as you would expect, I am not very highly paid as yet!

I did have Dakota at a nice DIY yard but it really wasn't working for me. I lost a lot of confidence after my accident and was progressing no where fast there. I moved her to a dressage yard that I absolutely love. The YO is a fab rider and trainer, the facilities are great and I have her on 5 day livery, but it is not cheap at all!
I feel like I need to be at this yard, I love it and am really progressing there but am struggling financially. I need the support of the yard that I am at and trust them implicitly with Dakota, she is so happy there.

To help with the finances, I think I may have to get a sharer. It is not something I want to do but it is more necessity. A bit of extra towards the cost of keeping her would really relieve the pressure a lot.

I am struggling with the idea of sharing though...

Would you share your dressage/ comp horse or would you scrape by financially?

The person would obviously have to ride well...

Help please!

[CalllyH]

Yes I would if it gave me some help both time and money wise. There are some really good riders looking for a share out there.

[Moment_of_Joy]

If I were you then yes, I would probably put up an ad. If you find a good and reliable rider that clicks with you and your horse then great and if not you won't have lost anything.

When I was looking for a (preferably) dressage horse to share I really struggled to find one as there were absolutely no dressage horses out there for share. The one I found in the end hadn't even been advertised, so I was really lucky there. This is just to show that there are riders out there waiting for a dressage horse to share.

Just make sure that you draw a good contract, probably with a trial period. You could also make weekly/fortnightly (depending on costs) lessons with your trainer a requirement so that the work you put into your mare doesn't get lost.

Good luck in finding a sharer if you decide to go for it

[Lynnskatz]

I would and i do, works well and both me and sharer very happy

[FrodoBeutlin]

Yes I would and in your case I'd probably ask the trainer -- she may well have a student without her own horse who'd be interested.

[Bethie]

A view from the other side - I would share a dressage horse, especially in a set up like that, I have my own horses, teach and ride to medium but can't afford to purchase and run another horse to further my training/compete while my old boys are still living out their retirement. I expect there are more people like me out there.

[mtj]

I expect to be in the same position as Bethie, so will probably be very keen for a dressage share in the future.

[kirstie]

Brilliant, thanks for the replies. Will start to look for the right person...