I have been thinking hard about owning a horse and I then thought about leasing. I just need some info. if any of you lease can you tell me your point of view on it?:???:
I have only leased for three months in the summer. I have done that with two different horses. My experience with it has been pretty ok since I was able to ride everyday if I wanted. Vet and farrier were included, the only other thing I had to do besides ride and groom was to clean the stall. The downside, however, is that other people can still ride the horse. Well...at least that is how it is for my barn. I do know that different barns do different things, so I suppose it all depends on where you plan on leasing. Overall it is a good thing to do before you get your first horse, since it gives you a bit more insight on the care and prices and what not.
yeah that seems pretty ok. you are right that it would give more expirience. did youhave to buy anything or work with the idk, the insurence or anything like that? ok thanks for the info!
We had to sign something that basically said that if we got hurt while on the horse we couldn't sue the owner. I already owned my own tack and grooming supplies, so I was ok there. But the barn that I'm at each horse has their own grooming supplies and bridles and there is a tack room full of saddles to use. So once again, it depends on the barn you plan on leasing at.
i have leased for 3 years, on two differnt ponys. Both leases went really well. I was able to use their tack and i get along well with the owners. They were also 1/2 leases but it normally worked out that i could ride more then my 1/2.
It was also nice because when i moved onto the 2nd pony, i could still ride the 1st one - kind of like pay one, and get one for free!!!!!
I've never owned, only leased. I've done it a few different ways. The 1st was just a 1/2 lease at where the owner had her horse kept. I was able to ride a few scheduled days a week, and she loaned me everything she owned for her mare (tack, grooming supplies, etc). I was only responsible for paying a lease fee to her; nothing else. The 2nd mare I leased was at the owner's home, and for a flat monthly fee I could come out and ride whenever I wanted. Again, freedom to use all her equipment, no farrier, vet or any of that. The lease I'm about to get into is unique, in a way. I'm getting to move the gelding to a facility of my choice, I'm covering his board, farrier and wormer, but not vet. She's loaning me tack, but it will very much be like he's my horse. Additionally, I'm also paying a small monthly lease fee to the owner.
Leasing is a really great place to start. I feel like my first two leases weren't great trial runs for eventual ownership, but this one will be.
I'm currently leasing a 4 year old mare. I've never owned a horse, and so far the lease is fantastic. I pay $30 (Australian) a week for her adjistment and use the owners saddle, other than that I have brought my own bridle and saddle blanket as well as halter and lead. She is a great little horse and lots of fun, I am also getting lessons on her off her owner who is a riding instructor. So I'm learning lots too. Theres lots of grass in her paddock so she only needs a biscuit of hay after rides. Leasing is a great way to experience what owning a horse is like, I would recommend it to anyone.
I think I would lease more if it wasn't so expensive. At my barn it is around $150-$200 I believe. If you are in 4-H she gives you a discount, but I do know that last year she raised her prices, so who knows how much it is now. That is probably why I only lease in the summer. lol. Plus, she makes us pay a "horse rental" fee if we show anywhere, so it just drains more and more money. I hopefully will be leasing next summer though since it will be my last summer here before college.
Depends on the horse and the situation. For most top show horses, the lease fee will be about 20% of the horse's purchase price per show year. We have several lease horses available at our barn that we charge about $100-200 a month, plus all expenses (board, farrier, etc). Some people are fine with doing a lease with no lease fee, but you'd still be expected to pay for expenses. I have a girl half leasing my pony and she pays $100 a month plus expenses (which does include his insurance) and he is all hers for 3 days a week. She has her own saddle and grooming supplies but I let her use my bridle and boots. I would let leasees borrow some of my tack specific to the horse (if they're responsible) but I rarely allow anyone to borrow my saddle!
I did lease at one barn, but wasn't lucky. Someone did something to her, so she was unridable for while (couldn't put saddle on), but I already paid (and of course was neither reimbursed nor got another horse to ride :evil: ).
Everytime I've ever leased a horse it was either a Full Lease or a Partial Lease.
Partial lease would be pay half of the board, and get to use the horse half of the days in a week, every week.
Full Lease, what I am about to sign into right now if I don't buy a horse, is where you pay full board, and are the only person to ride/show that horse. It is essentially your horse (you cover expenses) but you don't have to "buy" it and the owner has a right to terminate the lease given a 30 day notice, as well as you do too.
The only expense that isn't covered is if the horse is ill or there is previous soundness issues that arise. Anything that wouldn't have been caused by the person leasing the horse.
Just be careful about it and make sure both parties know all the workings of it before you enter into it.
I leased a horse for three months on a partial lease... It was terrible, because the lady didn't actually want me to ride her horse-ever-and was only doing it because she was short on cash. I just had a really bad experience with it, but I also know people who have loved it. I think it's a good way to be sure you're committed to it.
I think it is important to make sure that there is some sort of lease contract that you and the owner are signing stating specific details of your lease. Price? How much riding time? etc. If everything is carefully covered going in, hopefully it will save heartache in the long run.
I think leasing can be a great opportunity to see if you really want to go the next step and own a horse. The expense and responsibility for the kids leasing my horses is much less than if they were to own...and owning is not realistic for most of them. I charge them $150/month flat rate (I cover all horse related expenses), they get their own grooming supplies, headstalls, helmets, and reins (I have had too many broken by kids), and they use my saddles and pads. The ones that stay around long enough start getting their own stock pile of tack going though. They ride for 2 hours, twice a week.
Leasing can be a great option if you are not ready to purchase your own horse. I have leased several times before and had great experiences. The horse I own now was a horse that I started off leasing and ended up buying. All of the leases I have ever done were "free leases". Meaning that I had use of the horse if I paid the expenses (board, farrier, etc..).
As said before, just be sure that you are clear about what the expectations are in the lease. Make sure you and the owner understand who is responsible for what. If the horses were to need vet care, who is to pay, etc...
A friend of mine ended up leasing her horse to somone I knew and it turned out really bad because the horse became sick and the person leasing the horse did not get the horse the vet care he needed. The horses owner lived out of state and I happened to see the horse daily. I ended up having to intervien and call the owner to let her know what was going on.
A few questions I would ask and would want in writing:
1) Is there a fee to lease the horse and how much is it?
2) Are you going to pay full or partial board? How much is the board? Is the horse to be kept that it's current facility? Is the horse stalled or pasture boarded and does the leasee have the right to move the horse to pasture board if appropriate for that horse?
3) Who is responsible for Vet bills?
4) Who is responsible for farrier bills?
5) What equiptment is provided?
6) Can the leasee take the horse off property for shows, trail riding, etc...?
7) If the horse is injured, who should be notified? Is the horse to see a particular vet? Farrier?
These are just the ones I can think of. Pritty much, just be sure you know what you are getting into before you decide to lease and it can be a great experience. You will find your riding improves and you may get the idea of what it is like to own your own horse, so that one day, when you are ready, you can purchase your own horse knowing what to expect.
I've had very good experiences with leasing, both at large and small places. Every lease I've had has been with the owner assuming all expenses of vet, farrier, etc and includes use of tack and grooming supplies. This makes the most sense to me since saddles and bridles aren't "one-size-fits-all" and I've preferred to ride a horse with tack that it is familiar with. The horse I am leasing now is a 5 yr old Andalusian gelding and fortunately the owner has two saddles, so I use her deep-seated dressage saddle (because I have a bigger butt than she does) and she uses the smaller all-purpose saddle. If you can get into a good arrangement with an owner/barn with no conflicts over riding motivation and scheduling, leasing is great if you simply do not have the property or the financial means to own a horse outright.
I can never quite decide what I thinjk of leasing as I have had both positive and negetive experience with it. One thing you have to make sure is that you talk about everything with the owner and then put it all on paper, and then both sign it with witnesses. A lot of people go and just lease a horse without discussing anything or putting anything down on paper. They think that the owner is nice and they are nice so everything will work out. You have to talk about things such as if you are at a competition, horse breaks its leg or something do you have the authority to put it down if you can't contact the owner. A situation such as that happened to one of my friends and it was horrible. If something happens like that you have to decide if you would pay for the horse or not, and if so agree on a market value before you start the lease.
If you are going to do a lease I would do what we call a "free lease" in Australia. Basically you take over the horse for an agreed period of time and pay all the fees and bills. You are the only one who rides it and you can take it to competitions, pony club etc. If you do a half lease where someone else is riding it then you can get in tricky situations if the horse gets sick, or you both want to take it out on the same day.
My experiences with leasing have been varied. When my first horse was out of work for a couple of months I leased a friends horse who she never rode. She paid agistment and some food and in return I would look after her other horse everyday, even though I only rode her main one, Rubicon. We filled out a lease form for pony club and such, and I took him to a few comps. He was very untrained and I put hours and hours of work into this horse. Then a guy who did saddle stuffing (he was very dodgy) came out to see the horse and saddle, and met the owner who was pretty good looking, wanted to get with her so he said I was bad to the horse and stuff to get her attention or something. I adored that horse so much and it really hurt me so after that I was really turned of horses. Basically she took the horse back and it was all pretty not nice. So I bought another one of my own and he was a much better horse so it all worked out for the best, but after having a horse taken back I was really upset.
Earlier this year I leased a quarter horse 3 year old just to see if I wanted to get back into horses or not. That was okay but I just didn't want to put so much work into a horse that wasn't mine.
Overall I think buying is better, but I think keeping horses is easier in Australia than the US, so maybe its a bit different over there. If you're not sure you want a horse then leasing can stop you from making a big mistake but I think overall if possible owning your own horse is the best option.
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