Feeling uncomfortable with 1/2 lease

Really?? :rofl:

Lots of people have expressed their opinions and how they would handle it, I’m not sure why you’ve decided to single me out. Maybe don’t quote me if you don’t want me to engage in further discussion?

I would also be feeling kind of funny in a scenario like this. When you part-lease, the other person (or people) riding the horse can have a big effect on the quality of your rides and the quality of your experience. I wouldn’t focus on the $$ side of it–your cost has not changed. What I would have concern about is the owner riding the horse on your assigned days, which as far as I’m concerned is not okay, that’s a violation of the lease agreement unless it was previously agreed on.

I also think that it is an issue if a horse is being “half leased” to more than two riders. One of the big benefits of a half-lease over riding school horses is that the horse is getting ridden by fewer different parties, which greatly improves the quality of a rider’s connection to that horse. It also often pulls a horse out of a lesson program, which can be a drain on a horse’s mood and energy.

While there are many flexible arrangements for part leases, in general the owner should respect the fact that s/he has leased out her horse and no longer has the right to ride it whenever s/he wants–the days belong to the people paying for the leases, and for the owner to ride it would need to be with communication / permission–perhaps there is day where it would even be beneficial to you if you can’t come out and ride and you know the horse is getting some attention.

Personally, I would discuss the situation with the owner in a non-confrontational manner. I would ask questions. You noticed s/he rode the horse on one of your days, how often of an occurrence is this? How many other parties are riding the horse? You’ve noticed a change in the horse’s demeanor, what is the horse’s current weekly schedule? You can share information also–perhaps you have concerns because you’ve noticed that the horse has been fatigued or sour for you. Perhaps it you ended up not getting the enjoyable ride in you had hoped for because the owner had already ridden the horse that day and you felt uncomfortable asking the horse to do more. You could share some proposed thoughts about the upcoming show season and what dates you are hoping to show. Some discussion might clarify what’s going on and you can negotiate from an educated POV.

FWIW, I have seen part lease situations that have been totally overboard–an owner “part-leasing” her horse to a merry-go-round of riders and then still trying to ride the horse herself–the situation was annoying to everyone involved.

But, I’ve also seen situations where a nice horse is half-leased to two separate intermediate/beginner riders as half leases, but the owner remains involved and does occasional tune up rides (at the convenience of the people leasing the horse) that directly improves the experience of the part-leasers.

1 Like

Ew, no. I would break contract and find something else. I 1/2 leased a nice horse years ago that the owner wanted to sell. I rode him that day in a lesson and it went well. I gave him a bath and tucked him in for the day in his stall. Then the trainer took him out and had another lesson on him. I wasn’t happy about that because it was my day and per contract, he was only to be ridden by me in that day. He did sell so I was given another horse to lease that everyone hated, but he loved me to bits. He took care of me while jumping 3’ courses. :slight_smile:

4 Likes

Basically, if you (OP) feel uncomfortable, you have two options: talk to the owner about your concerns (being prepared to end the lease if the answers are not to your liking), or end the lease. The situation does sound suss, but there are also a lot of details we don’t know, including what you’re expecting of the horse.

1 Like

There is no etched in stone standard practice for leases. It is whatever the parties agree to, put in writing and sign.

The only answer here is OP needs to talk to the owner about the terms of this part lease. Possibly also run her concerns by trainer as well.

Will say it is most unusual to “half lease” the horse to multiple people and continue to ride whenever you please. More like just renting the horse out by the ride when it is convenient for the owner, not a half lease with exclusive use on set days.

Would not be comfortable with paying a lease fee supposedly for exclusive use on set days and finding owner also charging others for using the horse on the same days…trainer may not care for this either if they have horses available by the ride or lease.

OP needs to speak up here.

6 Likes

It’s possible the owner is just putting in a few training rides here and there on this “sour” horse with “bad ground manners”. She might be trying to keep the horse on the straight and narrow. Or not. We don’t know.

2 Likes

Not that concerned about owner riding though she needs to communicate when to her half leaser.

It is the other riders she apparently is also charging to ride her horse in addition to OP. IF that is indeed happening, that is an issue. Hence the need to talk to owner.

2 Likes

Yes, it sounds like the owner has arranged at least three “half-leases” as well as continuing to ride the horse on their own occasionally!

The OP only talks about someone else riding one day.

Separate from the contract details and minutia of the lease(s) it sounds like this horse is being massively overused and may be why he is sour under saddle. I know you said you don’t have a lot of options at this barn, but I’d be looking long and hard at whether you are getting your paid for value and whether I was comfortable being part of a setup that seems to not be taking the horse’s best interest and health as the foremost priority.

11 Likes

I had a similar situation where I felt like I (and another half lesee) were footing the bill for the owner to ride and have her horse in training board. The horse ended up getting 8-10 rides per week, and I felt very little transparency around what was happening. I ultimately decided the situation was not fair to me or to the horse and that I wasn’t comfortable continuing to ride there. From what I’ve seen over the years, half leases can be a great way to affordably ride and maybe even show, but there’s got to be trust and transparency about the agreement up front. I’ve seen other scenarios that just felt like the owner and/or trainer was taking advantage.

6 Likes

This is what I’ve seen before. Owner leases out her steady eddy to a couple of younger riders and continues to put some work into him both to keep him easy to ride and also maintain muscle to prevent injury.

But, it was very clearly explained to the parents that this was going to happen and the horse was in the Xrails. I don’t remember if they had 3 days each or 2, but the owner riding was definitely the right move for the horse.

It sounds like the biggest thing here is the lack of communication. I would expect that on occasion because of conflicts people would need to move days around, which may sometimes mean the horse goes twice one day and gets an extra day off. But, I would expect the trainer/owner/other leaser to communicate and I would expect that you would be afforded the same options so wouldn’t be surprised by it. Same with horse shows, I’ve always seen it such that a half leaser can take the horse to a show regardless of what day it falls on, but the expectation is both people do and it evens out.

3 Likes

Yes - agree here. When I’ve part leased my personal show horses out to riders that are more novice, I have always communicated (both in paperwork and verbally) that horse will get schooling rides (from me or pro) to maintain his schooling. I have learned the hard way to lose months of great top line and muscle letting those good tune up rides slip on a crossrail riders lease and won’t do it again. You get back a horse that you have to spend weeks, if not months, legging back up. OP has not clarified his/her level of riding and proficiency so, this could be the case (or not) - but regardless I do think it’s the owners right to maintain rides on the horse to ensure the quality stays there.

HOWEVER: I agree this is a case of poor communication. If the expectations aren’t meeting reality, OP should voice concerns with trainer and get it in writing (perhaps confirming via email or text in FU to a conversation) so everyone feels more comfortable! Communication is key.

2 Likes

So neither I nor the other lease rider are novice riders - we’re both on at least the advanced end of intermediate. I would certainly understand doing training rides if we were novice riders, but regardless, the lease does not say anything about the owner/trainer continuing to ride the horse. You’re right though that I definitely need to have the conversation, and I’ve gotten some good ideas on how to approach it from this thread!

6 Likes

The advanced end of intermediate in a structured lesson and lease program is often not a person who has gone very far in diagnosing, remedying and reschooling for biomechanical issues. Indeed, I would not want a half leaser in general trying to work on these things unless the coach, myself and the leaser were all united in a program that broke the remedial work into very manageable steps.

4 Likes

Agreed here. The advanced end of intermediate is not necessarily enough experience to maintain a horse’s training level. Heck when I was selling my last horse (2nd level dressage and can handle a 2’9 course but not competitively) it took me 2 rides to tune him back up following a pretty decent training/first level rider (who I would consider the advanced end of intermediate from what I saw) having a few back to back rides on him as an on-site “trial” period. I told her she would probably need a training ride or 2 a week to maintain his current fitness level while she worked her way up to match him. She bought him and tried to maintain his training level herself. 3 months later he had declined and was put into the trainers program with once weekly rides to get back and maintain the 2nd level work.

However it definitely should have been a discussion point at minimum and ideally in writing for the lease to avoid confusion if that is indeed what is going on here.

1 Like

If you’re half-leasing your horse to two riders, neither of whom you think are sufficient to keep the horse where you want him to be, perhaps you should be only half-leasing to one rider, so that you can keep him tuned up.

1 Like