# Leasing a horse Qs



## Horsefly (Oct 6, 2010)

I have wanted a horse forever but it just so expensive we can't do it.  I've decided to look into leasing a horse for a year or so. I really know zero on this so I need to do lots of research.  We have a barn and a few acres of pasture so I would like to keep the horse at my house.  I am very experianced with horses, have been around them and working and training them for many years, as well as fostering abused or neglected horses.  So I know all the risk and general upkeep stuff, I just want something I can go and ride and work every day at my conviniance.
So do I look for people leasing a horse or will some people trying to sell a horse lease?  And is this really cheaper than just out and out buying the horse and trying to resell after a year or whenever?


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## rodriguezpoultry (Oct 6, 2010)

In my opinion, being from the standpoint of leasing my own horse, it's cheaper to just purchase a horse. 

1. You have to pay medical bills with a lease (same with owning.)
2. You won't have to pay Coggins (owner's issue)
3. You will have to pay for shoeing (owner or lease agreement)
4. You will have to continue to pay for monthly, weekly, deal with the contractual agreement according to the terms.

You CANNOT sell the horse. I don't know what is so hard about people figuring that out...you CANNOT sell a horse that is on lease.

Sorry...still a bit ticked off on that...

I will never lease my horse out again. It brings huge headaches, heartaches and anxiety issues. 

If you are adamant on leasing a horse, a good place to look is on a sale site (horseville.com is one of my favorites, horsetopia.com, equinehits.com, equinenow.com, etc.) and contact people that have horses in your price range or what you're after. Ask them if they'd be interested in allowing you to lease their horse.

If not, the worst they can say is no. Most people will not want you taking the horse from their property, but some may.


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## patandchickens (Oct 6, 2010)

The upside of leasing is that you will not find yourself stuck with ongoing care bills if you have to "bail", whereas if you buy a horse you may not be able to unload him rapidly (or, these days, at all) if circumstances prevent you from affording to continue keeping him.

In any other respect however it is MUCH MUCH better to buy than to lease. Leasing is pretty "fraught" and while it sometimes goes well it sometimes goes badly and sometimes goes REALLY badly. There is no such thing as a foolproof loophole-less contract, and even if you THINK the people you're contracting with are fair and reasonable, I have seen enough people be quite surprised about that later on :>

Honestly if you just want something to ride and play with, I would most of all suggest that you find a rescue organization that is looking for foster homes for rideable horses. Yes, the horse may get sold out from under you, but you could always get a successor to it under the same terms. And if you need to get out of horsekeeping for a while, you just send the critter back to the rescue folks (make sure there is some kind of contract and that the people seem trustworthy, obviously, but I've not personally known anyone to have trouble with THAT kind of circumstance)

Do make sure you have an AMPLE amount of savings "cushion" socked away against unexpected expenses, though. It is REAL easy to rack up $1000++ of vet bills for a single very-fixable event, such as sutures on a weekend or a colic easily resolved by tubing the hrose with oil, and you want to make REAL SURE that's not going to be a problem. (I say this only because you mention owning a horse as being "too expensive", which since the ongoing expenses are identical to leasing the only difference is the purchase price of the horse which these days can be awfully low and so I am concerned this may be a 'shoestring project'.)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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## w c (Oct 6, 2010)

Leasing costs close to what a bought horse would cost because the upkeep on a horse is usually not cheap.  You have to pay for just about everything with most leases.  There also is some liability, say, if the horse gets hurt or killed at your place.  

It depends of course.  A really good big pasture and year round grazing if that happens in your climate, can keep the cost of having a horse down, and a turned out horse needs less bedding.  

Sometimes if money is real tight it's better to wait and get a horse when you're well off.  Otherwise maybe if the horse got sick or hurt there would not be enough money for a vet.  And vet care really can add up.

Buying a horse today doesn't have to be expensive.  A lot of horses are being given away.  But the thing is, even if the horse is free the upkeep is what adds up.


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## patandchickens (Oct 6, 2010)

> The other expenses - shots, coggins, sure sometimes the owner will pick those up, sometimes not.  But that is a small savings compared to the price of bedding, grain, hay, shoeing. Agreement on vet bills for leases vary, but don't assume you won't pay any vet bills.  Say the horse got hurt or sick.  The lease agreement will specify in writing who pays what.  You might have to pay all of the vet bill.


For whatever it's worth, I don't believe I've ever, in 35+ yrs working with horses and seeing a *lot* of leased horses, seen a FREE lease (which is clearly what the o.p. is looking for) where the horse's owner pays for, well, really ANYthing. 

IME it is pretty universally "it's like you own the horse only there's someone to hassle and/or sue you if something goes wrong or they wake up on the wrong side of the bed one day".

Show or "practice horse" leases, of financially-valuable animals, where a monthly lease fee is being paid... that is a whole nother kettle of fish, as wc says. But probably not relevant here.



> When you lease you usually are not allowed to take the horse to your farm.  That only happens sometimes.


IME it is actually quite common with free leases (e.t.a - of cheapo or 'significant project' horses). Yes, the owner does usually want to check the place (and you, and sometimes references) out beforehand, and sometimes wants to come visit unannounced at will and stuff like that. Or sometimes not. It really REALLY depends. But I do not think it's at all unreasonable to be looking for a free horse-lives-at-your-house type lease, these days. Just be prepared to look a lot harder than for *purchasing* a horse, and understand that things can go Very Wrong no matter waht your contract says.

(BTW note that most owners of "good" horses who are willing to free-lease them may require you to carry the cost of a mortality-and-loss-of-use insurance policy on the horse. Not everyone, and not usually on horses that are not terribly useful working animals to begin with, but don't be surprised if the issue comes up)

Pat


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## w c (Oct 6, 2010)

For whatever it's worth, I don't believe I've ever, in 35+ yrs working with horses and seeing a *lot* of leased horses, seen a FREE lease (which is clearly what the o.p. is looking for) where the horse's owner pays for, well, really ANYthing. 

--That's true, usually the goal with the free lease is to get out from under those bills.  Arrangements do vary of course, and I've had a couple 'free riding leases' where I just rode and didn't pay for anything else, but they are not exactly common.  Mostly, the 'weight' is on the leaser, not the owner.

IME it is pretty universally "it's like you own the horse only there's someone to hassle and/or sue you if something goes wrong or they wake up on the wrong side of the bed one day".

--Bingo.  And it's even tougher when there is no written lease agreement and everyone has a different idea of what the real agreement is!

Show or "practice horse" leases, of financially-valuable animals, where a monthly lease fee is being paid... that is a whole nother kettle of fish, as wc says. But probably not relevant here.

--Those are a whole different thing of course.  

Yes, the owner does usually want to check the place (and you, and sometimes references) out beforehand, and sometimes wants to come visit unannounced at will and stuff like that. 

Or sometimes not. It really REALLY depends. 

--People really vary a lot there.  SOme people are very picky and others are not.

But I do not think it's at all unreasonable to be looking for a free horse-lives-at-your-house type lease, these days. Just be prepared to look a lot harder than for *purchasing* a horse, and understand that things can go Very Wrong no matter waht your contract says.

--That's for sure.  The owner usually expects to get the horse back in very good condition and will take action if that doesn't happen.  

(BTW note that most owners of "good" horses who are willing to free-lease them may require you to carry the cost of a mortality-and-loss-of-use insurance policy on the horse. Not everyone, and not usually on horses that are not terribly useful working animals to begin with, but don't be surprised if the issue comes up)

--Another good point.


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## Horsefly (Oct 6, 2010)

Thanks for all the points yall brought up.  I was looking for something where they would pay vet bills maybe farrier and I would keep and train the horse at my house and feed it.  Is this an impossible goal?  We can afford to buy the horse and feed it its just any "extra" unexpected things that may be a problem.  
My parents have always told me once I'm on my own I can get a horse (they will even buy it).  I'm a senior this year going to college next fall and plan on going to vet school.  Thats like 8 more years of school.  It just seems sometimes I get to a point I can't progress any further with the horses because I can't see them every day.  I have free run of a ladies barn but I always have to find someone to take me (I don't have a car) and she lives a little ways away.  It frustrates me sometimes.
I guess leasing isn't the solution, I'll just have to try being patient awhile longer.


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## rodriguezpoultry (Oct 6, 2010)

If you're going to be going away to college, that's not fair to your parents to have to care for your newly acquired horse. 

I would contact friends and see if they have any extra horses that need to be worked. You can oftentimes contact the agricultural department (um...animal science department) and see if they know of a boarding facility or trainer who could take you under their wing. 

There may be an equine program where you are going, you could try and see if they need any help there.


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## patandchickens (Oct 6, 2010)

Horsefly said:
			
		

> I was looking for something where they would pay vet bills maybe farrier and I would keep and train the horse at my house and feed it.  Is this an impossible goal?


Sorry, but unless you are a very experienced/talented person with a PROVEN record (i.e. you can provide references of horses you have SUBSTANTIALLY retrained or brought to showring success) and find someone who wants their horse trained for basically-free, I fear you may have a lot of trouble finding something like that. Not saying it couldn't happen -- and if you CAN provide solid references and a proven track record, it might -- but it's not likely otherwise.

Perhaps what you need is to find someone who needs their horse worked. Of course this requires some form of transportation for you to get to their farm, but in a lot of areas it is not too awful hard (if you ask around enough, and can prove that you know what you're doing and can produce results] to find someone happy to have their horse worked/improved for free. That can be fairly satisfying, when you're outta money. (Been there, done that, that's how I did all my riding thru grad school, and I actually got into some good situations and learned quite a lot and got opportunities i never would have otherwise).

Good luck, have fun,

Pat


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