In a horse lease agreement, who is usually responsible for vet care, the leaser or the owner? Assuming it is a full offsite lease.
Is the leaser responsible for just routine care? Or are things like colic and field injuries also their responsibility?
Whatever the parties involved agree on. I realize that’s not a nice, definitive answer, but it’s the reality.
It really depends on the terms of the lease agreement.
For a full-offsite lease, I was responsible for all vet expenses, and required to purchase mortality and major medical coverage for the horse while in my care.
This would be what I normally see and expect too.
Like the others have said, it depends on what the parties agree on.
Most of the time, a full offsite lease means the person leasing is paying all of the horse’s expenses, including all routine and not routine vet care.
Some parties might come up with another plan, if the actual owner wants certain things done their way they might offer to pay for those things.
This is a slight tangent, but I’ll explain how it fits.
IF you use one of the online fill in the blank lease contracts, do yourself a favor and have a contract lawyer in your state scan it over to ensure that it complies with all relevant state laws.
I used a contract purchased online when I leased my lovely guy to a friend with a lesson barn borrowing him to use as a school horse. Long story short, they returned him with one of the biggest hind suspensory holes you’ve ever seen. It cost me $2k to get it diagnosed and plummeted his value etc.
Now, years later, I still have my horse but he can’t do what he could before the lease, he’s a pasture puff and pony ride for my nephews now and no one ever had to reimburse me for the vet work due to contract issues.
So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get a real lawyer and an iron clad contract. Learn from my expensive mistakes.
Em
When I had a full, off-site lease, I was responsible for routine vet and farrier care. The owner also required me to take out an major medical insurance policy (I’m not sure that’s the right term) to cover anything catastrophic like colic or a major injury. For anything that fell somewhere in between (like having the vet out for an abscess or hives or whatever), if I remember correctly I was responsible up to some dollar amount.
At any event, it was all spelled out in detail in the lease agreement.
If the horse has special shoeing or requires more expensive veterinary maintenance (like joint injections), who is on the hook for those costs needs to be specified too.
You’re definitely better off with a lawyer looking over the lease, preferably a lawyer who has some knowledge about the horse business.
I’m currently free leasing a horse. Owner covers all routine care and any extras they want. I schedule it and make sure horse is taken care. Anything caused by my negligence, I pay for.
It’s all in our contract.
The tum-tum markings! I can’t handle it.
I think of it in terms of a full lessee being fully responsible for the care of the horse. Therefore, while horses will be horses and the caretaker is not always at fault, technically the lessee is responsible for keeping the horse healthy and preventing accidents, and is responsible for the costs of dealing with any vet care needed.
For a part lease, on the other hand, the owner generally retains control over the horse and its environment, and should simply work any routine vet costs into the lease fee as they see fit, rather than holding the lessee accountable for additional vet fees (IMO).
The lessee. And the lessee should be required to carry full insurance with the owner as the named insured
I leased a hunter (offsite) for two years; I was responsible for all vet expenses. Fast forward to a time when a woman leased my mare, offsite. Mare had a history of colic (2 surgeries 
). I wrote into the lease that in the case of a colic, I would cover and make all decisions.
edited to add: neither of these horses was insured. Hunter was older, mare wasn’t really insurable.
I might be the odd one out here but I’m currently off site full leasing from a semi-local (in state but a few hrs away) show barn. I am responsible for any and all routine vet/farrier as well as any extras. We have changed his shoes and added supplements for him. In an emergency, I would be responsible for anything up to a certain dollar amount, I believe $500, and anything over and beyond that would be owners responsibility/decision. Anything that is could be considered negligence is my responsibility.
Owner does not require insurance at all, my assumption is partially because the horses value is relatively low. Again, odd one out, but we made the choice to purchase major medical and mortality for the horse with the owner as beneficiary.
Standard major medical is not available for horses of a certain age and over either, contract language needs to reflect that. Most often, IME, both sides agree to a limit the owner will take over at.
NEVER, EVER assume a friendship means an illness or injury will not cause conflict between parties unless it is in writing. Yes, getting it in writing IS necessary.
Indeed. Good contracts (written representation of the agreement between the parties as to what is expected normally and when things go wrong) are essential. Legalese isn’t required, but equine lawyers can often tell you what things you should be thinking about.
Really, cannot be overstated.
Personally known of two different situations where long time absolute besties for life who were in each other’s weddings no longer even speak over lease deals gone bad when the horse got hurt. Known even more similar rifts over sales deals without detailed contracts, including learning that trainers are NOT your BFFs with your best interests at heart after all.
Its not about trust, its about common sense to define the roles of both parties and protect their respective best interests. It’s not personal, it’s good business.
Agreed with everyone about having a contract. Also, it’s not just finances, but decision-making power over the horse’s vet care if anything goes wrong.
Agree with others that it’s dependent on what is written in the contract. My horse is on lease right now. We’ve structured it that all routine vet care and minor non-routine (e.g. cuts, abscesses, etc) are responsibility of leasee. All major is covered under Major Medical & Mortality insurance that I hold.
In addition to spelling out who covers costs, we also spelled out minimum care requirements (e.g. what feed, what supplements, turn out, exercise) and that any changes need to be communicated in writing for approval by owner.
We also spelled out what happens to horse in event of injury. .e.g., if major injury happens leasee is required to do rehab until back to level of performance at start of lease OR until agreed termination date (we resign the lease annually). If career ending injury, leasee is responsible for any rehab required and care until end of lease unless owner and leasee mutually agree to terminate early.
This doesn’t prevent generosity from either side (e.g. as owner I could offer to take injured horse back to rehab myself or could offer to help with above and beyond vet costs) but it very explicitly sets expectations in almost all scenarios so little would need negotiating in the event of injury, sickness, etc.
Cover your bases in the contract and then allow generosity and flexibility to flex within those if unfortunate scenarios arise rather than relying on generosity and flexibility to set the plan in the moment of those scenarios. It’s easier to agree to terms when advanced planning as no emotions are yet involved.
In my lease documents, lessor is responsible for ordinary veternary care, vaccinations, coggins, teeth, etc. as stated in contract I list our what is under regular care. For emergency veterinary care, lessor is only subject to pay up to the deductible. (Ive had this happen once, where horse did a suspensory.)
Lessor paid up to about the deductible, then I took mare back in. Fortunately because of insurance didn’t have to pay much out of pocket for the rehab. Having the lessors pay up to the deductible because it was in the contract, wasn’t any fuss. I think I had them pay that to the vet clinic, then bill shifted to me.
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Standard major medical is not available for horses of a certain age and over either, contract language needs to reflect that. Most often, IME, both sides agree to a limit the owner will take over at.
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This is what I did when the horse I owned could no longer be insured.
We also had a 30-day return clause, so realistically I knew if he sustained a serious injury it would be me doing the rehab.
He was a horse stepping down that I intended to retire at home, though, so I had no real expectations of him competing after the lease.
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