If I offered FREE agistment?

B

BreeC

New Member
Feb 18, 2006
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Australia, NSW
What would be the chance of me finding someone that has a horse I can ride in exchange for them getting free agistment. I'm not aloud to get my own but I think dad might let me agist one because we live on a large amount of land. The only catch would be that they can only keep it there over the warmer months and would maybe have to find somewhere over the middle of winter if our paddock could handle it. I would also look after the horse. Exercise it, feed it, etc etc. It is now coming into winter so I have around 4-6months to think about it and do my research. It depends how the paddock goes during the winter if it is still not really that cold and the grass is getting long even with the sheep I could maybe advertise earlier.

So...

Disadvantage to horse owner:...

~They may need to find somewere else to go over the colder months

~I need a very ridable horse

~I haven't looked after many horses before only 2 but they were paddock horses and weren't ridden or exercised or friendly for that matter.

~The horse needs to get along with sheep

~Owner needs to be fine with someone other than them riding their horse.

Advantages:...

~It would be free

~The horse would be ridden on a regullar basis so therefore will behave better when the owner wants to ride.

~The horse will be exercised (lunged and lead around) Groomed and fed for free.

So do you reckon I have a good chance of finding someone who is fine with this agreement? What do horse owners look for when looking at agistment? Could any horse owners out there see anything wrong?
 
Sounds like you could organise a free lease or something? If you're willing to pay for the feeding, shoeing etc? You could organise a lease for the summer months, and then your paddocks would get a rest in the winter.
 
Yeah but what the chances be of me finding someone inteested with a decent horse. I know I will get swarmed with people who just saw the word FREE and thought oh gee I will just put it there and see it when I want.It then turns out to not be ridable and they never come back until like a year later, which has happened to neighbours. To avoid this I will have to go out and see every horse before we agree to it and that will be a big pain. How do you say to people "I'm sorry but your horse isn't good enough"?
 
Well, if you're going to be riding the horse, test it out and simply say "I don't think your horse and I will get along."

Good luck with finding a good horse and person.
 
Why would they need to move over winter? if you put up a simple shelter, and the ground doesn't get boggy and muddy, they'd be fine over winter. Many people are deperate for winter turnout. You'd need to feed hay, but everywhere does.

My biggest consern is - will they have horsey company? Horse NEED company (horses, not sheep/cows etc) and I don't think of it as a 'optional extra' - it's essential and cruel not to have company. I would never consider moving my horse anywhere that didn't have company - I worried enough about Pink being on her own the one night when her companion was away at a comp! :eek:

If you have a resonable shelter, company, OK grazinfg, you could easily find a nice loan horse. If you had a look for older horses - many people have older horses that are no longer up for the competing, but still enjoy going out hacking and messing about.
 
I asked about company on this board and people said that sheep are better than nothing. If I have to get 2 then I can't get them at all :( I know alot of people who keep horses by themselves so I thought this would be alright. But this isn't just about me the horse has to like the arrangement too. There's a pony in the paddock next door. Would that be enough? I have noticed that horses seem to interact with each other over fences etc. And if they do get along we could let them spend time together.

The reason why I thought it would have to move over winter is becuase there isn't as much grass because of the weather it doesn't grow as fast. So is there a way to get around that? I didn't think feeding hay would be enough, or good for it. But I don't know what I'm talking about thats why I'm doing my research. So anything is appreciated.
 
Horses need to have company. If you can't afford to pay for two, why not offer to board someone elses horse on your property? Horses really do need company of their own kind.
As for hay, almost every horse in the world gets hay. They love it, and for most it is the main item in their diet, not grass. Hay is very good for them, after all, it is just dried and baled grass ;) You just have to make sure it is good quality, and you add what minerals the hay doesn't provide. I'm not sure where you got the idea hay was bad for them, that's one thing I've never heard. :p
 
Kizzy lives on her own, and she is one of the most content horses I know :) When she was on working livery she was antisocial in the field and aggressive when the other horses came too close, so she obviously prefers being alone!
 
Bree

You need to think whether this would be 100% loan to you (i.e. you do ALL the work, exercise etc) or whether it would be a share. A share would give you someone to learn from, and spread the work.

In your research you need to consider things like: insurance (for the horse, for the land), management (fences, grazing etc), storage (hay, feed, equipment), vet, shoeing and worming costs,

just for a start...

you'll find the purchase cost is often small compared to the "running" costs.
 
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