Is this a fair half lease arrangement?

[findeight]

Thats not bad luck or overuse, thats selecting the wrong horse for the job. The physical build this particular horse was bred for and born with aimed at WP does not allow him to be successful over fences and that can result in physical issues. Seen this quite a bit over the years.

Not their fault, betting they got some bad advice when they chose him for an H/J career…probably from somebody who should have known better or didn’t know what they were talking about.

This being COTH and just in case…QHs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some are quite suitable for H/J others not so much. Have to pick one that can physically do the job you want it to.

[jvanrens]

You said this much better than I could have!

Some horses just aren’t bred to be the right body type to do over fences work, sounds like this girl got one of them, If he was just doing walk, jog, lope, he might be just fine.

[fourfillies]

I did this for about 6 months in a similar situation. Decent riding kid needed a horse shortish term lease and work was insane. Worked out well. Her 2 rides were lessons and I was able to hack when my schedule allowed. She showed him a couple of times in the Children’s with some good ribbons for a pretty nominal per diem (compared to leasing a similar animal). I’d do it again. Was also an in barn situation/shared the same trainer. We did split his shoeing.

PS Go Dawgs!

[Pokerface]

This sounds totally fair to me. If you factor in all of the other costs (vet, supplements, farrier), then a half lease where the leasor pays half the board but rides 2 days a week seems very reasonable.

I also agree with a per diem for horse showing as OP indicated that she is ONLY riding on the weekends, and so I think it’s safe to assume that if the leasor shows the horse, that could mean that the OP doesn’t get to ride that week. The per diem show fee doesn’t have to be extravagant, to me $25-$50 a day is more than fair. My barn has a booming lesson program, many horses/ponies are leased, but some are not, kids who don’t lease pay a small fee.

I am considering doing the same thing with my horse as my work travel has increased and my horse does best in a program where he is ridden 5-6 days a week. I would be looking at doing a similar price breakdown for the lease, although I likely wouldn’t charge extra for horse showing as I can ride during the week and I’d like to encourage potential leasors to show my horse as he is still green and benefits from getting out to shows.

[Baybear]

I did a part lease with a Jr rider at my barn. I didn’t get into anything about care, shoes etc. except I did say that if he required special shoes to compete - like shoes w/ stud holes, then those would be at the lessee’s cost. Any all show fees were their expenses. The other thing I included in my agreement was if the horse was injured due to their negligence, which required the services of a vet, then those vet bills would be their responsibility. Since they were also using some of my tack I also included damage /breakage/loss was their responsibility to repair or replace - what was also due to their negligence. Like being careless leading the horse, steps on reins, snap broken. I required they take lessons but that wasno big deal since they are required to lesson anyway. I don’t have children so I was happy to help a kid have a nice horse to ride and compete

[akhunterrider]

I’m an adult ammy with two toddlers in full time daycare and I can’t afford a traditional lease. I would be absolutely thrilled with this arrangement.

[DawgLady]

@akhunterrider

I’m an adult ammy with two toddlers in full time daycare and I can’t afford a traditional lease. I would be absolutely thrilled with this arrangement.

Can you commute to NC?

[akhunterrider]

I wish! I’m located in Kansas, so it would be a bit far.

[fourfillies]

My nominal per diem definition was with an added zero. Quality of horse may be a factor. Mine was AA competitive Ch/AA hunter. Still way cheaper than typical leases.

[DawgLady]

Geez, you guys, I’ve now pitched three potential half lessees on this price and they’ve all said it’s too expensive. It breaks out to $50/ride on a nice, safe, show-quality hunter with none of the risks of ownership or long-term leasing. Where else could you get that? What am I missing?

[trubandloki]

@DawgLady

Geez, you guys, I’ve now pitched three potential half lessees on this price and they’ve all said it’s too expensive. It breaks out to $50/ride on a nice, safe, show-quality hunter with none of the risks of ownership or long-term leasing. Where else could you get that? What am I missing?

It sounds like you have done all you can do.

Either they truly can not afford that price along with paying for their lame horse, or they just do not want to pay for another ride.

You were being generous. Just because you are not as generous as they feel you should be it does not mean you are not doing enough.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Yes, it’s possible it’s just too much for a financially strapped family to cover the costs of both the lame horse (I assume there have been vet bills) and a half lease.

If you’ve pitched to two other families, it might be they didn’t think the horse was suitable. Or they might be willing to pay more for a full lease, but not that amount for only partial control/specific ride days. But it’s more than a fair price, IMHO!

[Peggy]

Chiming in to say that your offer sounds reasonable. But I also understand someone not wanting to pay for a lease plus lessons on top of maintaining the horse that isn’t sound.

I pay half of everything (board, extra feed, substitute feed, shoes, vet, training) for two lessons a week plus a hack day that I haven’t been able to do in several weeks. The horse is also used for lessons. It adds up. It would be cheaper just to pay for two lessons a week.

Editing to add that this is a non-showing lease. If I wanted to show it would either trigger a monthly lease fee or an additional per day show fee.

[beowulf]

Just on the topic of whether or not half leases are too expensive or not - it does depend on your area and the demographic you’re seeking. A couple hundred bucks for an AA competitive Ch/AA hunter is probably a steal for that demographic, meanwhile a couple hundred bucks for a SAM coming back to riding is probably too much.

When I came back to MA I found a short term half-lease at a big eventing barn that factored in to be $450/month. This was really steep for me with my own horses on the payroll, but it’s fair going rate in my area. It was part-board, half shoes. I couldn’t afford it year round, but it was perfect for the two months of winter where I normally took a break from riding because I don’t have an indoor at home.

[akhunterrider]

I’m smack dab in the middle of the country, so my costs are likely different than others. For a lease on one of the school horses where I ride, lease fee is $250 a month, plus $400 to $450 for board (depending on if the horse lives out full time or is stalled). Lessons are on top of that. If I did 2 lessons a week at $30/each, I’d be at $890 a month. Unfortunately with 2 toddlers in full-time daycare and a house worth of bills, that’s out of my budget. My budget is more like $300 to $400 a month. We don’t have an indoor arena or lights where I ride, so a lease this time of year would not be worthwhile since I work 8:00 to 4:30 Monday through Friday. Per diem for a school horse at a show is $35/day.

Alternatively, My trainer’s mare (who I borrowed for 2 local shows at the $35 per diem rate) leases for 25k/year. I can’t afford that plus board, plus all other care costs and lessons. So I just ride what I can ride at $40/lesson (non boarder rate) and $25 for each hack.

[Pennywell_Bay]

At the show barns I have boarded at, you didn’t have to pay an additional show per diem if you were leasing so this always catches me off guard. And these were nice, proven horses. So weird to me.

[findeight]

That’s not on you. If they can’t afford it, you don’t need to worry about it or feel guilty

Have you ever added up all your monthly care expenses, board (routine vet and farrier, supplements, meds etc) and divided that total by the number of times you rode that month? Bet it’s costing you more then $50 a ride and also bet you pay on top of that for lessons.

[Jarpur]

@findeight

Have you ever added up all your monthly care expenses, board (routine vet and farrier, supplements, meds etc) and divided that total by the number of times you rode that month? Bet it’s costing you more then $50 a ride and also bet you pay on top of that for lessons.

I used to do this, especially for my husband’s horse, and share with him how much each ride was costing. He’d saddle up, and laughingly say that this one was a $100 ride, and sometimes I’d counter and tell him it was more like $150 or $300, depending upon when was the last time he’d ridden.

It’s a helpful metric, both for boarded horses and those kept at home (I’ve done this both places).

[DawgLady]

@findeight

Have you ever added up all your monthly care expenses, board (routine vet and farrier, supplements, meds etc) and divided that total by the number of times you rode that month? Bet it’s costing you more then $50 a ride and also bet you pay on top of that for lessons.

Yes, I have gone through this very shocking exercise. It’s costing me about $100/ride, and that doesn’t even include lessons, training rides, tack, supplies, blankets, shows, or out-of-the-ordinary vet expenses. (Factor all that in, it’s closer to $140/ride). Some of that is my fault, because I can only ride 3x/week. But still, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

Makes me start to think I’d be better off selling. I just would really miss this particular horse.

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

I think that’s saying a lot about the people that are willing to do that arrangement and you’re vetting out the tirekickers and the ones that truly cannot afford it.
For a half “care” lease as it’s being spelled out… I’d expect to pay anywhere from $1200-1500. My full care leases in the past were usually around 3k. Between shoes, vet bills, and on a training board agreement, I’d imagine owner is spending around $2500-3000 per month.
Finding a quality horse to lease outright for the year for $18,000 without board and other expenses would be an endeavor, so having a horse that’s all-inclusive at that rate annually for 2-3 days a week (imagining that shows are a day show not a week long show and factored into that timeline), is a bargain.
I’d map it out to 3 days a week and 2 days are lessons and 1 day horse show. On weeks she’s not horse showing, it’s expecting that no more than 2 lessons and a hack day. Work with pro to ensure that horse isn’t doing 3 days of jumping with both of you and that if one of you is showing, that they get the preferred jumping lessons, while the other has an easy week.