(quoting to keep most of the costs easy to see)
I think there is a constant disconnect between trainers and clients (including some people on this board) when it comes to costs and profit.
This horse is owned by trainer and is a lesson horse. So there are some given costs:
-board (as in feed/keep/lead to and from stall, etc) - all of this is set in a horse being a horse.
-maintenance due to being a lesson horse, this includes clipping, injections, adequan, flymask, etc.
So, let’s do the math - $800 (hock injections)+$500 (adequan)+$40 (wormer)=$1340*2=$2680
$225 (dental)+$25 (flymask)+$275 (clipping) = $250
$2930 annual fee is $244.17 monthly fee.
Other monthly fees- $40 supplements, $125 Bemer blanket, $250 Treadmill=
Total additional monthly - $414, add in the pro-rated annual ($244.17)=$658.17
What this horse is bringing in monthly for this leas=$1000+$900+$658.17=2558.17
At $75/lesson, horse would have to do 34 lessons per month to equal the cost.
Now, it may be true that the horse works 6 days a week and does 2 lessons a day on a few of those days. All that maintenance may also be needed. The horse is currently being ridden a total of 5 days a week. On top of that, the trainer is free to teach 22 lessons elsewhere (34 lessons-12 lesson lessee takes) so she is making $1650 elsewhere.
The general argument is she has to (or pay someone to) do all the maintenance so how is she making the extra profit? Well, she’s doing all that maintenance whether or not the individual is leasing the horse so that time is given either way. The time that changes is her spending the additional 22 hours teaching on THAT horse to make the money that THAT horse costs.
The argument is usually “they don’t make that much money” and/or “but the work you have to do for X,Y.Z!” - depending on the scenario, that isn’t necessarily the case.
Now, if the horse was getting maintenance, getting clipped, etc because he’s been pulled out of a field to get leased, then that is a different discussion re: profit - but the conversation needs to happen before the work is done.
As “horse owner” leasee should have a say in maintenance issues and costs. Just like my chiropractor doesn’t just show up, adjust my horse and send me a bill, neither should the trainer just do something, charge the “horse owner” and not at least talk to him about it. If something like hock injections were non-negotiable (like they MUST be done), then the cost should be told up front. Bemer blanket, treadmill, clipping - they should all be optional, in my opinion.
In a similar vein, I remember a construction company owner “working off” to buy a particular horse for his daughter and board with the trainer by leveling the ground where the indoor was going (by levelling, I mean he brought dirt from elsewhere, built up one side about 6 ft and levelled off the entire um…200ftX300ft). Then trainer was adding costs and making daughter “work off board”. The father was starting to get disgruntled - in his view trainer underestimated his worth and overestimated her/the horse’s/board’s worth. He had horses at home as well, but wanted the show horse where an indoor was - he was well aware of show costs (he also trailered horse to shows with his truck/trailer so that was not an additional cost).
Anyway…so yes, OP had the wool pulled over his eyes but I see it all the time. Trainers are not good business people and tend to have overinflated sense’s of worth, in my opinion.
The owner where I keep my horse had fecals done on all the horses. She wanted to do mine at the same time so had it done without asking me…did not even tell me how much said she wasn’t expecting me to pay since she wanted it done. Supplements she gives all the horses do not cost me anything. The joint supplement that just my and my horse and her older horse get - she told me I would have to pay for half before I agreed to purchase. THAT’s how things should work!
it continued for years. It started off as a care lease that. Continued because it worked so well.