# Leasing Inquiries



## MissH (Apr 10, 2010)

Hi All! 

Long story short, a couple years ago before I shattered my forearm -|) I had looked for a horse for about 8 months with no luck (sometimes that's the way she goes I guess). I just couldn't find the right personality/right partner that I thought I would work well with long term. 

Here we are today, I'm starting to train with a new coach and everything is daisies. My boyfriend and I aren't in the position to own right now as we just moved into a new house and are just getting settled into our life together. That being said, I'd still like to show and ride more often then in my lessons with this new coach. 

In the past, I have avoided leases due to the "subjective" nature of the clauses in the lease agreements. I am probably the most responsible person you could ever have lease a horse, but at the same time and in my old ripe age of 27, I've come to learn a lot about people that I would've never even thought about when I was younger - unfortunately that not everyone has a good heart and is fair in nature. This makes me ever skeptical about a lease agreement.

When considering a lease recently, all the rules were very fair, and the lady whom which I was talking with basically summed it up to common sense. I questioned the vet bill/injury clause in the lease and here was the response:As for the negligence clause - basically it means:

- if you go out for a trail ride and go galloping down the road and the horse slips on the pavement then that is negligent
- If you are riding on the trails and something happens then I don't blame you - stuff happens... 
- if you don't close a gate or something and she gets out its negligent
- If you say leave a full bag a food in her stall and she eats it and colics that is negligent
- If you fail to cool her out after a ride and she colics that is negligent

I'm not interested in all the subjective stuff - its the blatently obvious situations.​Isn't this still super subjective though? I could do an amazing job caring for and riding this mount, but if someone goes out there after me and leaves the gate open, then wouldn't I still be held responsible? Part of the reason that I don't own is that I don't have thousands upon thousands of dollars to invest in vet bills. Hence this consideration - but if it leads to a potential mess then was it really worth it? 

I'm wondering what the thoughts of the forum are and if anyone can provide me with some additional information. I don't want to hold myself back because I'm overly worried/skeptical, but I also want to be informed and objective at the same time. If that means I need to wait until I own, then so be it. Has anyone had good/bad experiences they can share? 

Thanks in advance for your advice! 

Cheers,
MissH


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Are you looking for a lease that has no clause for medical care? Or you want a written list of what is covered and when?

Negligence is legal term so in the long run that is how a dispute will be decided, legally.

It seems like a fair thing to have in a lease contract, if you are negligent you cover the vet bills. 

You say you are the most responsible person ever but how is the horse owner supposed to trust you on that when you do not trust the horse owner on a negligence clause.

Would it be worth it for you to purchase insurance on the horse so you are covered if you do something wrong?

Leasing works out great for lots of people. But I can see why you would be worried. I can also see why an owner would want a clause like that.


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## MissH (Apr 10, 2010)

Thanks for the response! (Felt a little left out at first! )

I 100% agree, and actually over the past few days priced insurance. That's the route I would go I think, and would discuss it with the owner first as well. To be clear, I'm talking WORST CASE SCENARIO - IE. horse needs $10k worth of surgery and owner is beside herself because this is the love of her life. Well I don't know about the rest of you guys, but just throwing around $10k for an animal that isn't mine would be really hard to find. However that being said, I would feel the sincere need to take care of that if it was due to something I did wrong (not your ordinary "stuff happens" type of thing). 

Just a side note, if I was a horse owner, I'd have a negligence clause in my lease contract, it only makes sense. 

I guess like the rest of life, it's all about how much risk you want to take. In this case, I'd have no problem paying the $50/month to know that if I needed a $7000 surgery on the horse I was riding, it would be covered.


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## Alwaysbehind (Jul 10, 2009)

Exactly....

The great thing about insurance is it keeps you both safe.


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