Asking for a partial or full refund on a month of a partial lease?

[trubandloki]

@alternate_universe

Thanks for the input everyone! I was leaning towards not saying anything but someone else at the barn implied I should. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being overly forgiving or something by not requesting any sort of refund.

I think it was a good question. You do not know what you do not know, right?

[Baybear]

Sounds like you have a flexible leasing situation i.e. no contract so I wouldn’t ask for a refund. Depending on the situation, you could tell the horse owner that you want to hold off on continuing your lease until Sparky becomes sound. I do know of lease situations where the horse was leased from the trainer/riding program so if one had a soundness issue there was often a suitable substitute they could ride in the interim

[Mander]

@endlessclimb

I honestly can’t believe this question got asked.

Maybe you could ask for a refund if the weather is too hot to ride, too? Or if the arena footing wasn’t right? Or if your car broke down? Or if your trainer couldn’t make it for a lesson?

OP already came back and said they weren’t planning on asking for a refund, but someone else at their barn had implied that they ought to, which made them question that decision. They’re not arguing about it or acting entitled to their money back - it was a genuine question, which we answered, and they accepted it. I really don’t see any need or benefit to raking them over the coals like this, especially after they’ve said they weren’t going to ask for a refund. It’s OK to ask questions - and better they ask than blindly charge forward and unwittingly burn bridges with their lessor!

[endlessclimb]

I just figured it was common sense. You can’t ask for a refund when it’s outside of the leaser’s control…

[candyappy]

@OnDeck

Something to consider… it the horse does have ongoing soundness issues it is quite likely the owner took this into consideration when pricing the horse. You may already be paying less than than the going rate to be leasing a serviceably sound animal.

Why would someone lease out a horse prone to ongoing unsoundness? Sounds unethical at any price.

@endlessclimb I don’t think anyone should pay for a lesson the trainer didn’t show up to give??

[Janet]

@candyappy

Why would someone lease out a horse prone to ongoing unsoundness? Sounds unethical at any price.

Well, I leased out a horse with known hip arthritis (that is the reason he was leased instead of being sold, which was my original plan). This was fully disclosed, and I (owner) paid for joint supplements, and any vet treatment related to the arthritis.

[OnDeck]

@candyappy

Why would someone lease out a horse prone to ongoing unsoundness? Sounds unethical at any price

Plenty of older horses have “ongoing unsoundness” in that they are prone to tweaking an old injury in a field or have arthritis that occasionally flares up, etc. These also tend to be the types available for half lease situations. If riding these types was unethical we’d be all out of safe beginner horses.

[NC001]

I half lease out a horse. If the horse becomes unsound, the options are to: ride my other horse if its available, ride a lesson horse if its available (lessons only), ride extra days once horse is sound if possible as make ups for time lost, end the lease.

Refunds are not an option. I have a great lessor though and she is the kind to come out to care for the horse when she can even if she cant ride.

[Mander]

I interpreted it as “a horse prone to ongoing unsoundness” with the subtext of “that regularly cannot be ridden, often for weeks at a time”. I’d somewhat agree that Dobbin probably shouldn’t be leased out (at least not to their current rider) if 3 rides during a “sound week” results in 3 weeks of stall/pasture rest. Not even a beginner lesson program is going to keep a horse like that around.

Older horses that need lighter work, extra supplements, body work, etc - that’s fine to lease out so long as it’s fully disclosed and the horse’s capabilities align with what the leaser wants/needs. Don’t lease a guy who needs w/t only out to someone who wants to 3’ eq, for example.

[OnDeck]

Ah, I see. I more meant that there is an ongoing issue that will present itself from time to time. This would be different than the OP just being unlucky with her horse having an abscess currently.

[candyappy]

@Mander

I interpreted it as “a horse prone to ongoing unsoundness” with the subtext of “that regularly cannot be ridden, often for weeks at a time”.

That is what I meant. I guess I didn’t phrase it correctly?

For those older ones with occasional aches, pains and arthritis issues that are mostly manageable( improved with light, regular exercise even).

I find that different than what was mentioned below which is what I questioned.

@OnDeck

Something to consider… it the horse does have ongoing soundness issues it is quite likely the owner took this into consideration when pricing the horse.

OP’s situation is different as it sounds like the horse she/ he leases has suddenly had some things pop up one after the other and riding hasn’t been happening.

[Spudsmyguy]

@Mander

I interpreted it as “a horse prone to ongoing unsoundness” with the subtext of “that regularly cannot be ridden, often for weeks at a time”. I’d somewhat agree that Dobbin probably shouldn’t be leased out (at least not to their current rider) if 3 rides during a “sound week” results in 3 weeks of stall/pasture rest. Not even a beginner lesson program is going to keep a horse like that around.

I care leased a horse that had ongoing soundness issues that wasn’t disclosed to me. He’d be sound for a few days, go off for a week, come back sound, go off. I spent more on the vet trying to figure out what was wrong than the old boy was worth. I lost 3 entries to horse trials because he’d go unsound a week before the competition and eventing entries aren’t cheap so lost a total of about $1,200. Plus they lied about his age, told me he was 19 when according to the USEA, he was 22. I finally returned him to the owner and haven’t talked to them since. That is just plain shitty in my book to knowingly lease me a horse that they knew had soundness issues and not tell me about it.

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Wouldn’t ask for a refund but would definitely level set that you’re concerned about the soundness issues and it preventing you from riding a horse that you’re partially leasing. I’d let it go for this month and see if it gets any better, but for July, set up an understanding that you’d like to pay from July 1-15, and if the horse can’t stay sound and you’re only getting in 1-3 days of riding in the timeline, that it’s mutually agreed that you’re going to move on.

[Spudsmyguy]

A friend is in this boat right now. a horse she’s partial leasing has had a lot of down time due to soundness issues off and on and still isn’t up to snuff. Her mother is paying for a horse that her daughter is unable to ride half the time. They’re not asking for a refund, but they are also not renewing the lease when it ends at the end of July.

[Angela_Freda]

@StormyDay

I have a part Leaser and if this was to happen, I’d offer her a ride on a different horse (though obviously many couldn’t do that) or I’d do a partial refund

I would too.
Especially if this was an unusual occurrence and I wanted to keep my leasor.

[Prima_Donna]

From an owner perspective, I would have offered a free month. In fact, I just did this for my half-leasees. My horse was on and off for a month. They still went out and checked on her/hand walked her. To me, that was well worth eating the costs for a month. My lease agreement has language to cover long term unsoundness (that didn’t apply here) but in my case, I wanted to show them my appreciation. It was a few hundred dollars for peace of mind.

If I were you and the horse isn’t looking better, maybe ask if you can take a break for a month if the horse isn’t sound.

[phosics]

I agree with all that’s been said above.

However I will chime in with my experience of getting a partial refund on a half lease before. Horse had gone too long between farrier visits, owner couldn’t/wouldn’t get a farrier out and the horse was not rideable for a few weeks of the lease. Obviously that was a case of poor management to warrant a partial refund but there is the occasional situation where I would think it’s justified.

Routine small injury though, not so much. Especially if it’s something like an abscess, learning how to care for those properly is a great learning experience! I think that’s still an important part of the lease process outside of just having ride time.

[DawgLady]

The OP handled this with grace, but I must say, this is one of the things that makes leasing so unattractive to a would-be lessor. A lady in my barn leased out her nice 2’6 hunter when her kid went off to college. The horse promptly sustained an injury at the lessee’s farm, and the lessee wanted to break the lease and return the horse. It wound up being a nasty fight, and my friend had to take the horse back out of pure concern for the animal (legally it was not her obligation to do so, but these people wouldn’t have gotten the horse proper care).

If lessees could get a refund on horses that sustain injuries, there’d really be no incentive to lease out a horse. Wayyyy too much risk.