Has anyone ever leased a horse?

[Diamante]

I was wondering if anyone had leased a horse before, because i wanted to know if i was getting a good price. My mom will be paying $150 a month and for 2 worm vacs. The $150 includes 4 riding lessons which cost $100 to begin with. I think its a good deal. What do you think?
Thanks,
Lisa

 

[Cara]

Has insurance been discussed? That's where things can get tricky.

We had a horse on 'trial'. Problem was, the owner had us sign a contract that if she was injured for any reason we would pay the vet bills until she had fully recovered, and if it was a permanent injury we would buy her, and she hadn't been worked in three years. This is quite common. She broke the halter within 5 minutes of leaving her house, and was pacing the trailer. That was the longest drive ever, and we live nearly 2 hours from them. Once we got her home we were too leary of her coming up lame to do anything with her, so she had a two week vacation in our pens (followed by another nerve-wracking drive home). The terms of the contract are extremely important, and absolutely make sure there will be a contract for both your sakes. If it's too strict, it can really limit the enjoyment you can get out of the lease (e.g. the risk of taking the horse to shows/clinics/trail rides elsewhere), and can come back to bite you in the butt.

Insurance is absolutely vital for both parties. We had a stud horse on loan here at the ranch a few years back. Other than getting kicked in the knees by mares, what can happen to a stud in a 10,000 acre pasture? He got struck by lightning within the week! He was stone cold dead, and it was so severe his hooves were blown off. Thankfully the owner was a friend and was understanding, but we had to give him all of that year's horse colts so that he would have another stud prospect.

 

[Diamante]

no we havent. We should be getting together soon to talk about it more.

 

[Faverolle]

I'm kind of curious about this as well. I previously leased a horse and around here is western MA the going rate is usually 200 plus a month for around 2-3 days worth of riding a week. Now I have a horse of my own but was considering alowing someone to lease her a couple days a week to help defray the costs.

 

[Diamante]

wow the horses hooves were blown off!!! I've never heard of that before.
Well the horse would stay at there stable and i ride it ones a week and then i take care of it during shows. So not much of a chance for something bad to happen. The owners are our friends so i think they might handle everything if the horse gets injured, but i'm not sure.
Lisa

 

[Cetawin]

I leases a roping horse once when mine was in foal. Insurance was a big topic as was vet care and so forth.

Just work out ALL the details and the contingencies before you consider a lease and make sure they are in writing.

 

[ravencreek]

Well I had a Haflinger gelding that I leased to a man to use for his trail riding buisness. It was less than a 10 minute drive from my house. He took good care of the other horses he had and I didn't think twice about letting him lease him. He paid me $1500 for the entire summer and we had the same type of contracts about injury and how he would pay. We also had an agreement about the tack he was using that was custom made to fit Kings big ole back. It cost me $1200 itself. And he was to pay me the cost if it was broken while in his care. Well to make a long story short...I went to ride King one Saturday and had made plans to bring him 9(paying) people the following Monday. We arrived Monday and there were NO horses to be found. Talked to the man that lived next door and he said that no sooner had we unsaddled and cooled down the horses he loaded them into a trailer and took off. No words to anyone. I hired a PI and found out that my beloved King was sold at a horse auction to a man that was a broker for a slaughter house in TX. He was sold in NC so don't be mislead that the slaughter house brokers don't look that far away from base. Please be careful if you are allowing someone else to lease your horse. I even knew the man that was leasing from me. Known him for years. But money makes people do strange things.

 

[flyawayfarms]

Hi
Are you keeping the horse on your property or theres? I have leased a couple of my horses out but always require they are kept here. I charged $250, plus vet bill (shots,worming etc), and trimming and require a six month lease. (I supply the feed) So at $150 that is a deal. I have never had a problem that way. The only way they are responcible paying for the horse is if it gets hurt is thru their neligence. Make sure you have a contract, it is for your protection as well as the horse owners. Right now I am leasing my old barrel horse to a 12 year old and they are showing and doing great. (they have been together for three years) Hope you have a safe and fun summer.

 

[Mahonri]

Seriously.

Poke my eyes out. I've seen it all.

Horse leasing?

 

[Diamante]

Quote:
It will be staying at there stable. We will get a contract because i need to have a copy of it to send to the 4-h fair board.