Suppose...

Suppose you leased a horse for X amount of money.
Suppose you paid X amount of money on the horse, while in your care.
Suppose that horse dies, while in your care.

Would you feel the owner of the horse owed YOU anything for the amount you put in?

Just curious what your thoughts are on this.

Depends on the what the entire lease agreement was. Honestly I don't think that the owner would owe you anything unless any part of the contract you signed was violated, or you spent more on the horse than was agreed upon because they wouldn't pay, and there was no choice to not pay, for something like say a vet fee that the owner was supposed to pay for, but didn't for one reason or another so you had to shell out that money yourself. But depending on when the horse died, if you just paid for the next month of leasing, they should refund you that money, as you no longer have a horse to lease. If you don't mind my asking, was this something that actually happened, and what is the entire story if you are willing to share?

The "you" in this situation is not me.

If you paid to lease the horse for 6 months, and the horse died in month 3 then the owner should give you back 3 months worth of. But since it is a lease that means that you are usaully locked in for that amount of time no matter what happens. But no the own has the option of not returning the money if you are in a lease. Think of it like leasing a house. Its the same idea. If I was the owner i would give back to money that you paid for in advance but I would not return all of it, as the horse did die in your care. You must also remember that the owner in now out of a horse. You should be lucky that the owner is not coming after you for the value of the horse.

Two words: equine insurance

Both you and the person you were leasing the horse from should have insurance. The details should also be spelled out in the lease agreement as to what happens in this scenario. It's not a pleasant scenario to think about while deciding to lease a horse, but there's always the slight possibility that these things can happen, and need to be in any form of lease agreement you have. Have you already leased this horse, or was it leased by a friend? Or were you just saying hypothetically?

It depends on what the contract says.

And anyone who leases out their horse (that has any monetary value that they would be that upset about) and does not require the person leasing the horse to carry Equine Mortality insurance with the owner as beneficiary is not too bright.

If there is no contract and it was a simple lease then I can not see the person leasing owing the horse owner anything.


OK, now I re-read the OP and you are asking if the horse owner owes the person leasing anything? The person leasing paid the lease ahead? Or the person leasing wants to be paid back for something else?

Was the entire amount for the lease paid up front? If so, there should have been a clause in the agreement, signed by both parties, as to what should happen if the horse should pass away.
If not, if you were paying month-by-month, then no, I don't think the owner owes the lessee anything. The lessee has paid for the time she has leased the horse, and no more.

NO the owner of the horse owes you nothing and depending on the reason the horse dies it might be that you owe them money for the cost of replacing the horse. When I lease out a horse there is an understanding that the value of the horse is X amount and if for any reason the horse should die while in the lessors care they must pay X amount for the horse. I always recommend insurance on any horse leased.

What they put into the horse while leasing the horse is what is agreed to and spelled out in the lease agreement. If the lessor did not like that agreement then they should have not agreed to it.

Agreed.


Not to hijack this thread, but I am looking to free lease (partial lease) Denny out -- gosh I'm so scared of things ending badly.

No, there is no way that the leasee should get anything unless they paid all months up front, like others have said. If they paid for a year and the horse died after 8 months, then yes, you'd owe them the 4 months they didn't have the horse to use. It should all be in the lease agreement, if it was drawn up fairly professionally...