Can COTH help me with pricing two leases?

[StormyDay]

I have two horses I’m considering offering for half lease. But the last time I offered a half lease was 100000 years ago and before grain cost $32 a bag. I have zero idea what would be fair. I’m in the Mid Atlantic for pricing reasons.

Horse 1) absolutely bombproof draft. He would let 10 children and a dog ride on him. Nice ride and easy if you know what you’re doing but not for beginners because he will decide his legs can’t move if you aren’t adamant enough to go. Good for lower level dressage, trail riding, or someone who wants a confidence boost. Can’t jump as he weighs 2000lbs.

2. Quiet, lovely, willing 15h mare. On the thicker side so takes up leg well. Easy, easy ride. Can’t jump to save her life. Will happily do poles and flat classes at shows, but probably best for someone who just wants to have a happy ride every time.

Facility has a 250x130 lighted outdoor, wash stall, heated/AC tack room. No trails though. Lease would be for either 2 or 3 days a week.
Thoughts on price? They are both sweethearts but far from show leases.

[IdahoRider]

The lease price should be half of basic costs: half monthly board, half farrier and routine vet care(i.e. shots, etc.). They pay the entire costs of lessons.
Sheilah

[dmveventer]

Half of basic expenses is a good starting point, but ultimately it’ll come down to what demand is like in your area. Your mare sounds like she’d be good for a beginner so she’ll probably be fine if there are lessons kids at your barn looking to step up, but your gelding may have a smaller pool of potential leasers given his size and limitations. I don’t think you can really advertise him as “good for trail riding” if your barn doesn’t have trails, but trail access would widen the pool a bit.

Are there trainers at your barn that can help with marketing? An on-site dressage trainer would definitely help attract riders just looking for something solid on the flat.

Just to throw some notional numbers out there, I’m in the same region and would expect somewhere in the ballpark of $400-500 per month for 3 days a week on your gelding. Less if there are no instructors on site. Your mare could probably pull in more as a safe kid’s horse. This obviously varies significantly depending on what part of the Mid-Atlantic, what your barn is like, etc. You don’t list an indoor ring which will work against you as well.

[endlessclimb]

Those would both be care leases around here.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Ultimately, it’s a balance between what it’s worth to you to lease the horse and what people are willing to pay–if it’s helpful for a $$$ figure, in my rather high COL area, at a non-show dressage barn, the barn charges $455 per month for a half lease, or 2 rides plus one 30-minute lesson with the on-site instructor. The horses at the barn (from what I know of the facility and what I’ve seen on the website) are very similar to yours–drafts and uncomplicated horses capable of going up to Training level.

Another factor is many leases require the leassee to take regular lessons, especially if the person is a beginner rider.

[StormyDay]

@dmveventer

Half of basic expenses is a good starting point, but ultimately it’ll come down to what demand is like in your area. Your mare sounds like she’d be good for a beginner so she’ll probably be fine if there are lessons kids at your barn looking to step up, but your gelding may have a smaller pool of potential leasers given his size and limitations. I don’t think you can really advertise him as “good for trail riding” if your barn doesn’t have trails, but trail access would widen the pool a bit.

Are there trainers at your barn that can help with marketing? An on-site dressage trainer would definitely help attract riders just looking for something solid on the flat.

Just to throw some notional numbers out there, I’m in the same region and would expect somewhere in the ballpark of $400-500 per month for 3 days a week on your gelding. Less if there are no instructors on site. Your mare could probably pull in more as a safe kid’s horse. This obviously varies significantly depending on what part of the Mid-Atlantic, what your barn is like, etc. You don’t list an indoor ring which will work against you as well.

So it’s a private facility. There’s no one here but me No indoor; I wish but I haven’t won the lottery.
There is road riding; we have gravel roads around here and many people ride on them. But all the land around me is privately owned so no trails.
I was thinking $350 so I guess I wasn’t too far off

[GraceLikeRain]

$300-400 would be my initial instinct. If you’re in an area where there are lots of people with similar set ups it may need to be less to generate interest but that range feels fair at around $30/ride without any of the risk of full leasing or ownership

[Janet]

It may have changed since then, but I have heard that the rule of thumb for paid leases (apart from the share of expenses) is 1/3 of the horse’s value, per year.

[Night_Flight]

That’s generally for a show-quality horse. For just simple flatwork and trail riding, what I have seen is usually based more on the horse’s expenses, within reason. If it’s an older horse that needs a lot of maintenance, the rider wouldn’t generally be expected to pay extra for a horse who needs joint injections than they would for one who doesn’t, but having someone pay a portion of the board/vet/farrier still helps to offset expenses for the owner.

[Scribbler]

Yes, around here these horses would be leased for a proportionate share of the cost. Do your own math carefully so you know what the horse is really costing you, including supplements. Then you can round up or down depending on the market.

At our affordable self care barn, some people are happy to part lease their horses to riders who are a very good fit just in exchange for chores and extra exercise. Especially owners who are working adults with cash but short on time. Other people need the actual help with expenses and charge more accordingly (but the leaser still does chores!).

The cost of lessons is additional and paid by the rider to the coach