# Lease options



## BFFofHorses (Jan 29, 2010)

While trying to sell my mare, I recieved an email asking about a lease. I have never leased or leased out a horse, so I wanted to ask around before I said yes or no. First of all, what are typical lease arrangements? I was thinking $100/month if the person came and rode 2-3 times a week. Is that reasonable? Second, what are the pros and cons of leasing? What should I be aware of as far as things to stay away from while leasing? Any thoughts?


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## raywonk (Jan 9, 2011)

You decide weather the horse stays at your house or goes to theirs or goes to a trainers.
I personally have two horses leased out.
They have to stay with a trainer. The Lessie pays all of the bills.
It benefits me because my horses get more training and showing. I do not have to pay for their up keep.
It benefits the Lessie cause they do not have to put out the big bucks that I did to get a really nice horse to ride. 
You have to have contracts no mater what way you go.
If keeping horse at you house asking for money is not a bad. It still makes it cheaper than owning their own horse. It will hold off you selling your horse. Most people want a committed amount of time like 6 months to a year.


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## BFFofHorses (Jan 29, 2010)

Thank you! The horse woulde be staying at my house.


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## Koolio (Apr 7, 2010)

I have leased a few times with different arrangements. First off, I assume you are looking at a full lease where the other person will have full-time access to your horse? In that case, the lease should cover all of your expenses. If you are looking at a part lease, where you still ride your horse, then you will need to set the ground rules of how much time the other person gets and when. Also, the cost should be proportional. As a benchmark, you could check into what it costs per ride for someone to ride a leased horse in a lesson.

It is vitally important to draw up a lease contract and include the particulars of where and when the other person can take your horse, as well as who is responsible if things go badly. Can they trailer the horse to events or trail rides? Who is responsible for calling the vet in an emergency? Who pays the vet bills? Who is responsible for calling the farrier, vaccinations, etc.? Is there insurance to cover injury, illness, mortality? What if the horse is injured and cannot be ridden for a period of time during the lease? What if the injury is an accident, and what if it is caused by negligence?

I recommend doing an online search for a few different lease agreements and carefully looking over their contents. Alternatively, your local horse club, or a local barn might have a standard agreement they would let you look at. I also recommend a thorough health exam before starting the lease and making sure vaccinations, etc are all up to date. It is worthwhile for both parties to have that piece of mind before engaging in a lease contract, and it is in the best interests of your horse.

Previously when I have leased my horses, it worked out well. It did seem like a lot of work to set up the lease and attend to all of the details, but I believe it payed off in that I had no problems and everyone was happy, especially my horses.


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## BFFofHorses (Jan 29, 2010)

Thank you! That was very helpful and it gave lots to think about.


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## nicole25 (Jun 24, 2011)

I lease. We have a contract that she wrote and we went over together and made changes according to what we felt worked for both of us. He is kept at a barn. I pay the board fee and she pays everything else which is farrier since (knock on wood) he hasnt needed a vet. The board fee covers full care board and food etc. I have full access to him and do not need to let her know when I am going riding or anything. I have all of my own tack etc except for a girth and a bit which I borrow from her. I never really see the leasee either. I ride just about everyday and take care of Beau as if he was my own. I chose to lease because I am taking a year off from school before I go to law school and it seemed like the best thing for me at this point in my life and any horse that I would have potentially bought. The lease was made for a year. It included things like where he would be kept, riding limitations, who pays for what. Stuff like that. I can look to see if I still have a copy of it in my e-mail if you would like.


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## BFFofHorses (Jan 29, 2010)

That would be great  Thank you!


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## hobbyhorse (Feb 20, 2010)

Years ago, I leased a horse to newly weds. They didn't know much about horses. I told them I'd lease my mare for $250.00 a month and she stayed at my stables. They wanted to see how much work was involved in owning a horse. The couple fell in love with the horse and two months later I sold them the mare and they paid me more than my asking price ....and they are still my friends to this day. Wow!


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Okay, so now I have a question. When I see something advertised as "free lease, your barn or mine." What does that mean? I don't have to pay a dime and I get full access to someone elses horse? And it can live with me? That sounds like a pretty good deal LOL.
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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

In my area "free lease" normally means you are not paying a fee to lease the horse, but there is normally other fees like board that you still need to pay. 

A girl in my barn previously had a $4,000 lease fee, per year, for the horse she had. She had to pay board, lessons, etc on top of the lease fee.
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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

I would expect that "your barn or mine" means that I could have the horse at my barn, so no boarding fee. I obviously would pay for grain, hay, vet farrier, etc... But the horse would come to my barn and I could do what I want with it, for free with the exception of above listed expenses... Right? 

Sorry. I'm not trying to be a thread thief! It just made me wonder. I have always just owned my own horses... The lease thing I have never really understood.
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## hobbyhorse (Feb 20, 2010)

Same here "free lease" means the leasee pays for upkeep on the horse only.


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## haleylvsshammy (Jun 29, 2010)

SarahAnn said:


> I would expect that "your barn or mine" means that I could have the horse at my barn, so no boarding fee. I obviously would pay for grain, hay, vet farrier, etc... But the horse would come to my barn and I could do what I want with it, for free with the exception of above listed expenses... Right?
> 
> Sorry. I'm not trying to be a thread thief! It just made me wonder. I have always just owned my own horses... The lease thing I have never really understood.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


"Your barn" could also mean the barn where the horse is currently boarded. So I think it means that it is the barn where the horse currently is, or wherever you want to board the horse.

But, yes, in my area "free lease" is when there is no monthly fee to lease the horse, but you take over all expenses as if the horse was your own.


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

This is interesting to me either way really... Basically its like leasing a car, except there is no warranty. Although I never saw the point of leasing a car instead of buying it. I guess I feel the same about horses. If I am going to pay for all of its expenses, I might as well buy the horse. I don't see much sense in paying for someone elses horses expenses. Do you see what I mean? I know plenty of people do it... But why not just buy your own horse? Its like throwing money at something that isn't yours and never will be yours. Not to mention falling in love with someone elses horse... 

I am not in any way trying to put down or insult anyone who leases a horse. I just don't get it. Maybe this thread will help me "get it" a little more.
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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_There are actually multiple reasons to lease a horse, and I'll give you few._

_1.) I do not feel I am ready to own a horse. I work shift work, and worry that the amount of time that the horse needs. If I lease a horse, and I find out that the time just isn't there, I can just return the horse at the end of the lease, or terminate it early, and not have to worry and stress about reselling it._

_2.) I am to the point where graduating above lesson horses would be a good move. However, the horse I would need for the first year, year and a half, wouldn't be the same horse I need in two years....as hopefully I continue to progress as a rider._

_3.) I am wanting to start showing above schooling shows, but need a "packer" type horse (although not a completely made horse) to help get me around the ring. Not because I cannot ride, but because I want to make it around the ring safely, and not have to worry if I do screw up because of nerves. So, for the first year, I lease a packer, and move up to a bit harder ride the second year. I honestly wouldn't care about placings the first year, and just work on getting around the courses consistently each time....then work towards ribbons the second year on a possibly flashier horse._

_4.) Girl is going through university, but does not want to sell her horse, so she leases horse out for a few years to keep it in shape and in the ring. When she is done university, there isn't the need to go and find a new horse. So now, the horse has been paid for, without her having to worry about working extra hours somewhere between classes and studying, to pay for the horses upkeep herself._


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

SarahAnn - I know what you mean. I think that, theoretically, leasing a knowledgeable horse, such as for a first horse, or a horse to teach the rider a discipline, would be a good move but I don't think that happens much. In my experience most horses for lease have been ones that need work, young or green ones, where the owners need someone to ride it more. It seems to me that leasing isn't so fair, the person rides and trains this green horse, and then the owner takes it back with heaps of experience and doesn't have to pay the costs. I did that once, I leased a horse who was very green and put so much work into him and then she just took him back. 

I'd like to lease a horse when I get back home, just to make sure its really something I want to commit to, as I haven't had a "riding" horse for a while. The problem is though that there are no "safe" horses for lease around, ever. There are young ones, green ones but not quiet safe ones. For this reason I am probably going to have to buy my own. 

For leasing though, I wouldn't ever do anything but a free lease, and I wouldn't want to be restricted to the owners property.


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_It just really depends on your area Saskia._

_If I just look on a local classified board, there is a good mix of green and experienced horses. _

_Free leasing. You get what you pay for. I would much rather have a paid lease and know that I am getting exactly what I want. Besides, the horse didn't come trained for free._


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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

I guess for me anyways, its silly for me to pay "rent" so to speak on a horse, plus boarding and costs to have it live somewhere else, and possibly even have restrictions on when I can see it or how often. I have a barn with 8 12x12 stalls and 13 acres of land right here at my house. So paying rent AND board for a horse is just silly when it can live here with the rest of MY horses... And I never buy a horse with the intention of "growing out of it" when I become a more advanced rider. I buy a horse, and this is its forever home... If it needs to learn to be a more advanced horse to fit my riding abilities, then I train it to do so. I don't trade it in for a "better model." 

What if your parents did that to you when your grades weren't good? They traded you in for a better student? That's kind of how I look at it.

I am also a stay at home mom/ barn bum. So even horses I've boarded here have gotten to ride and I have spent time with them and taken care of them without charging a "lease fee." People pay me for boarding (not now, all the horses here are mine at the moment.) And I am not about to charge them MORE to ride their horse, especially because I enjoy it. I also only board to friends, so I guess that makes a difference. 

My biggest issue with leasing a horse is that I would inevitably fall in love with someone elses horse, and then when the lease is up, I lose a friend.
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## BFFofHorses (Jan 29, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the responses  I am officially leasing Sierra! She is staying at my house, the woman is coming 3 times a week to ride. We have yet to write up a contract, we are trying it out for a month to see how it goes.


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_Well then, that is your option and what you want to do._

_For me, my first horse will most likely be a lease horse to make sure I have the time, and I am not running around on fumes all the time, fitting in work (full time plus mandatory overtime), sleeping, life and a horse._

_And I most likely will trade up after a year, because I would be ready for a different horse by then, hopefully._


_It isn't wrong. It is just how someone else might do things._



_Good to hear BFF! _


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## hobbyhorse (Feb 20, 2010)

Oh, now see I wouldn't call that a lease if someone came out to ride my horse 3 times a week. I would charge an hourly rate for that limited exposure to my horse. If it were a full time 24/7 access to my horse then I'd consider a lease. but that's another thread. LOL


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

hobbyhorse said:


> Oh, now see I wouldn't call that a lease if someone came out to ride my horse 3 times a week. I would charge an hourly rate for that limited exposure to my horse. If it were a full time 24/7 access to my horse then I'd consider a lease. but that's another thread. LOL


How is visiting the horse 3x a week different than owning and boarding? 

You don't pay only when you are in your apartment, you pay rent for for the whole 30 days!


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## hobbyhorse (Feb 20, 2010)

yeah, but thinking like that I'd have to say when I stay in a hotel for three days, I don't expect to pay the hotel owner a whole month.


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## nicole25 (Jun 24, 2011)

I lease like I said earlier. I lease because I am in between school years. I graduated from undergrad in may and took the year off before law school. That's why I am leasing. It wouldn't be fair to a horse for me to buy him it get for just a yer then sell it or lease it. Leasin was. Just the best option for me right now. I have a "free " lease. I just pay board. 275 a month no big deal.
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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

I never said leasing was wrong, I am sorry if anyone got that impression. I was just explaining leasing from my point of view... Which is at any time subject to change. I don't know all that much about leasing, as I previously expressed, and was just trying to explain my thought process regarding leasing. 

When you rent an apartment and the furnace breaks or the roof blows off, the owner pays for the repairs. With a horse, the renter pays for everything, right? 

I guess it'd make more sense if I was paying a monthly fee for a horse, that at least the vet bills wouldn't be my responsibility. I guess I still don't know all that much about it hahaha. 

I am a bottomless pit of questions when it comes to leasing 
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## nicole25 (Jun 24, 2011)

As a person who leases I only pay board. I have full 24/7 access to my horse. The owner of him pays vet farrier etc.
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## SarahAnn (Oct 22, 2011)

Ahh, see that makes SO much more sense to me. LOL.
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## nicole25 (Jun 24, 2011)

Haha okay good
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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

It all depends on what the contract says in the end, and what agreement the leasee and leasor comes up with. 

The contract can be tailored to anyones specific needs and wants.
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## hobbyhorse (Feb 20, 2010)

Amen, Vel! I agree LOL


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

As a teen I was often a "half boarder" at a large stable. Altho we called it half it was more like 2/3rd. It was the stable owners horses and I never had to share with anyone except him and he rarely rode. I could ride whenever I chose, no restrictions so I looked after the horse as tho it was mine.


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## raywonk (Jan 9, 2011)

Some people lease because it coast them same to keep a horse month to month. The up front coast is what is hard to get. So someone offers me a lease on a $30,000 horse. I will jump up and down for the chance to ride and show that quality of a horse.


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## diggerchick (Nov 8, 2011)

100$ a month for 2-3 days a week is cheap, i used to pay 375 for a half lease for 3x a week and one lesson, and i now have a full lease 7 days a week for 250.


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