Lease terms

[SugarCubes]

Just wondering what is considered standard as I am trying to decide how to go about this…

I have an older hunter who is stepping down, he has been half-leased by someone else in my barn for the past few months, but now they are ready for a full lease. Our current agreement is pretty simple - we split board in half, farrier and vet bills are split, and supplements and meds are split. She rides him three days a week, I ride him three days a week. He gets one day off. At shows, we split care and stall fees, and each pay for our own classes. Simple.

So, for the full lease, is it standard that they would just take over all of his expenses? I am not interested in charging them a lease fee on top of his care. Are there some things that would still be considered my responsibility to cover? He’s no longer insured due to age and exclusions…

Any input appreciated

[gertie06]

I have been in this exact scenario. Here’s what we did (and I know it is standard):

Lessee pays all expenses for the horse, including board, farrier, vet, supplements, supplies (think new blankets and such), and all showing expenses. They also pay the insurance premiums, and I’d be very wary of leasing without insurance. But if that’s totally off the table, you could stipulate that they must pay up to $X in vet bills. If the vet amount exceeds $X, then you cover the rest. Of course, if a vet bill is that steep, the horse probably has a major issue and the lease should probably terminate. Be sure to put that in writing.

Consider writing specific use parameters into your lease: where the horse will board, training day commitments, nobody else rides the horse without owner permission, showing/jumping limitations, etc. Otherwise you can be taken advantage of. I have a lease agreement I could share if you like.

Basically, you pay nothing. This may sound like a lot of expenses for a lessee, but trust me, it’s standard. In fact, it’s an awesome deal since you aren’t charging a lease fee.

[Madison]

Yes, they should cover everything, particularly since you aren’t charging a lease fee. The only thing that I’ve seen sometimes stay with the owner is to divide up routine vet care/injections/injury treatment vs. life-threatening/catastrophic things like colic so that in the latter scenario the owner retains the decision on whether to put the horse through surgery, etc . . .

Also spell out what supplements and meds you want the horse to stay on, and any specific limitations or parameters, including who they can train with and where the horse has to be boarded.

[findeight]

But there really is no etched in stone “standard”, it’s whatever both sides agree to, put in writing and sign. It’s whatever works best for both sides.

Never assume the terms others agreed to are exactly the same as the terms that work best with your horse and situation. And never assume the financial side unless you read their lease agreement. Sometimes people aren’t truthful about how much money is involved or don’t know because their parents signed. Some people even inflate lease/sale prices for bragging rights.

Do what works for you and get it in writing, Don’t feel pressured to share details.

[Groom_amp_Taxi]

Agree, there is no one standard as some things are highly situational. For my current care lease, the horse’s owners pay for insurance, and it is written into the contact that they retain decision making in any major horse health related situations. I stipulated that my out of pocket maximum for any major incident is $1000. So if the owners decided to do colic surgery on the horse and their insurance didn’t cover it all, I am not on the hook for any more than $1000 of the amount not covered.

One thing I am going to put more thought into if or when we revisit the lease is the terms around ending it should the horse become unrideable for a lengthy period of time.

Don’t forget to make stipulations around farrier if keeping current farrier is important to you.

[findeight]

I wrote horse injury exit strategies when I was the owner and asked for it when I was leasing. Nobody objected. Think it was unusable for 90 days or more. When I half leased on either side, always went month to month as much can charge quickly with two riders sharing.

[OneTwoMany]

Equine Legal Solutions has some very comprehensive leasing contracts for around $50. Might be worth considering.

[fourfillies]

Agree with several above. Be very clear about what happens if the horse can’t do his job. I’ve been on both sides of this and lesson learned that expectations differ widely. I always expected to “take back” an oldster on lease if unusable with bills on me as I would be directing the care. I’ve learned others use a time and/or money max leaving the lessee responsible for bills for a predetermined period of time or up to a certain dollar amount. No right answer to your situation but be clear in the lease.

[Xctrygirl]

OP I have one of those $50 contracts that’s blank and you can fill it in. It’s been a life saver with my leases. PM your email and I can happily send a copy.

Em

[SugarCubes]

@Xctrygirl

OP I have one of those $50 contracts that’s blank and you can fill it in. It’s been a life saver with my leases. PM your email and I can happily send a copy.

Em

Thank you so much, I’ll send you a pm now

Thank you all for your help and advice, I greatly appreciate it!!

[gottagrey]

As far as catastrophic injuries or illnesses go, as an owner, I would request that any decisions regarding care/euth be MY decision. I would not want obligate the lessee to pay for any bills related to surgery or euthanasia, nor would I want them to be making a decision that could obligate me in some way which I did not agree up. For example: a friend’s horse had a horrific pasture accident. It was a 50/50 call whether to euth or save horse. She opted to save, and now she has basically a pasture ornament. She’s fine with it and will retire her. I would not want to have the lessee making that sort of a decision.

[Capall]

When I leased my mare out, one of the most important stipulations I had in the agreement was that if the leasee caused injury to the horse, they were responsible for the vet bills. If she hurt herself by being silly in her stall or while turned out, then it would be my responsibility to pay.

[Wanderosa]

Is the horse to stay at the current barn? Is he in a program with a trainer? How skilled a rider/manager is the lessee? I would be most concerned that the contract stipulates a baseline of care so the horse continues to receive the level of care he receives now. I know of a sale situation where the horse isn’t exactly being neglected, but it’s lost considerable condition because the buyers opted to leave a program and keep the horse at home. They legit don’t understand how to manage a horse for the level of work required. And why would they, I suppose. They’d kept light use trail horses at home before. But never a show horse that needs a carefully calibrated program to stay sound.

[BITSA]

Leasee pays all expenses. You can restrict number of shows etc. You need to decide what would end the lease (ie injury, death etc). I’d consult an equine attorney of see if you know someone who has a lease you can crib from.

[SugarCubes]

Yes, horse will remain at current barn and will stay in a program with my trainer. The family leasing him have another horse at our barn as well and are long time clients of my trainer - wonderful people who take fabulous care of their horses.

@Capall that’s a good idea, I also will make sure that any major medical decisions will ultimately be up to me.

I did renew his insurance policy for mortality only - is the premium up to me or the leasee to cover?

[gottagrey]

@SugarCubes

Yes, horse will remain at current barn and will stay in a program with my trainer. The family leasing him have another horse at our barn as well and are long time clients of my trainer - wonderful people who take fabulous care of their horses.

@Capall that’s a good idea, I also will make sure that any major medical decisions will ultimately be up to me.

I did renew his insurance policy for mortality only - is the premium up to me or the leasee to cover?

you could incorporate the insurance premium as a lease payment, but for me, as I would be listed as the sole beneficiary, I would just pay the premium and not charge the lessee.

When I did an in-barn lease, the lessee was going to be using some of my tack which I also included in the agreement - if lost or damaged while under their control - it was up to them to repair or replace with like quality tack.

[Bearx2]

I would also put into writing who can make decisions for care/ treatment if then can’t get in touch with you. ( trainer, close barn mate ect.)