Leasing a horse and saddles

[StormyDay]

What tack do you expect a half lease horse to come with? How about a full lease?

I’m leasing out one of my horses and was thinking about this. Do I send his tack with him? What about blankets? He is a hard fit for the saddle, should I offer my saddle (I don’t really want to, it’s an expensive full calfskin one).

I was thinking with a half lease it would include use of the bridle, saddle pads, and girth but I am not sure about the saddle. And of course since he would still be partially under my care I would deal with blankets. But I have no clue for a full lease.
What did you guys do in this situation?

[gottagrey]

Depends on how much you are willing to share your tack. Is this an in/barn 1/2 lease or off-site lease? If an inbarn lease, I wouldn’t mind sharing my bridles (and when I did a in-barn lease, I had in the contract that they would be responsible for repair or replacement of any damaged tack), and I would trust the trainer to ensure the lessee’s saddle fit the horse. If off-site and I knew they didn’t have any tack, I might send at bridle, def a turnout for whatever the weather dictated at the moment) and again I would trust that the trainer would ensure correct saddle fit.

[BeeHoney]

I would not send an expensive saddle off with a horse for an off site lease. For an easy to fit horse, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but for a harder to fit horse, I think that the use of a properly fitting saddle should be addressed in the lease contract and that it would be wise to verify that the person leasing the horse does in fact have, in their possession, prior to the start of the lease, a saddle/saddlepad combination that fits the horse to your satisfaction. As far as trusting that person’s trainer to ensure proper saddle fit, I think that’s chancy. Some trainers are very attentive to saddle fit and reasonably knowledgeable about it, but some are not. It’s variable.

I would tend to send blankets with the horse. I would ask that the horse be returned from the lease with blankets clean and in good repair, if one was destroyed I’d expect it to be replaced.

Bridles are +/-, if I had a reasonable, not too expensive bridle I could send, I’d send it. If the horse had any special needs related to the bridle/bit, I’d try even harder to put something together to send with them.

I think it is important to understand that anything you send with a horse for a lease is going to experience some wear and tear, or possible be lost or damaged. So be sure to list in the lease the items sent with the horse, their value, and how it will be handled if those items are damaged or lost. A saddle is such an expensive item, I think that it’s asking for trouble to send it with a horse for an off site lease. Also, again, if your horse has any special needs with regard to tack or other equipment/clothing, be sure to describe those needs in the lease.

[SnicklefritzG]

Get everything in writing that you are concerned about. Some people I know will specify what tack is to be used and might even say horse is coming with tack items X, Y, and Z and those are the only things to be used unless permission is obtained otherwise.

I wouldn’t send an expensive saddle off either. Not unless you document the condition of the saddle and state that it must be returned in the same condition otherwise their deposit will be impacted.

Before you lease the horse out you could ask them what saddles they have available and then ask them to show you the saddles before they lease the horse so you can decide whether they should use their own or if you should put yours into the lease agreement.

[Charanga2011]

@BeeHoney

I would not send an expensive saddle off with a horse for an off site lease. For an easy to fit horse, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but for a harder to fit horse, I think that the use of a properly fitting saddle should be addressed in the lease contract and that it would be wise to verify that the person leasing the horse does in fact have, in their possession, prior to the start of the lease, a saddle/saddlepad combination that fits the horse to your satisfaction. As far as trusting that person’s trainer to ensure proper saddle fit, I think that’s chancy. Some trainers are very attentive to saddle fit and reasonably knowledgeable about it, but some are not. It’s variable.

I would tend to send blankets with the horse. I would ask that the horse be returned from the lease with blankets clean and in good repair, if one was destroyed I’d expect it to be replaced.

Bridles are +/-, if I had a reasonable, not too expensive bridle I could send, I’d send it. If the horse had any special needs related to the bridle/bit, I’d try even harder to put something together to send with them.

I think it is important to understand that anything you send with a horse for a lease is going to experience some wear and tear, or possible be lost or damaged. So be sure to list in the lease the items sent with the horse, their value, and how it will be handled if those items are damaged or lost. A saddle is such an expensive item, I think that it’s asking for trouble to send it with a horse for an off site lease. Also, again, if your horse has any special needs with regard to tack or other equipment/clothing, be sure to describe those needs in the lease.

I agree. If this is an offsite lease I would make sure that there is a properly fitting saddle and saddle pad to your liking BEFORE the horse leaves for the lease. I know several trainers I can think of in my immediate area that either aren’t knowledgeable enough about saddle fitting to ensure proper fit, or don’t care/and or check if their student’s saddle fits properly. The last thing you need is to lease a horse out who gets saddle sore and starts developing behavioral issues due to an ill fitting saddle. Good luck!

[ladyj79]

He’ll still be in your care? If so I would check fit of their saddle. If it doesn’t work for the horse, since it sounds like this is a situation where you are still involved in daily management, I would expect you to either include use of the saddle or you could purchase a cheaper saddle that also fits him.

If offsite hands off, i wpuld expect them to have/find a saddle that fits to your standards.

that said, I have lovely friends and they have lovely saddle fitters who can’t fit a saddle and they all end up with identical lameness issues that somehow no one sees as directly linked to very poor saddle fit. So I’ve honestly learned to discount most people’s ability to fit a saddle. I think it’s learned helplessness :lol::lol::lol:

[Scribbler]

A half lease on-site typically comes with a saddle and bridle. Now you might want to put your bit of choice on an older bridle if you have very pricey one.

Off site year lease treat him like he’s yours is trickier.

I would not send away anything that would break my heart or budget if it came back ruined (including saddle or horse). But I would want to make sure leaser has a properly fitted saddle or horse will be ruined.

[StormyDay]

I have him advertised right now for lease and I would prefer that he stay in the barn but he might end up going to another barn, depending on the circumstances. That’s why I am not quite sure if it will be a half or full lease. I have a dover saddlery bridle I can send with him, but I am more worried about blankets since those things are so darn expensive!

I’m not too concerned about them riding him in a bad fitting saddle (because he will tell them, very obviously, that the saddle sucks) but more that they will have a hard time finding one. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there. I might consider selling my saddle to them if they were interested.

Also, everything will be in writing, including that I can cancel the lease at any time, for any reason. If it goes south I hope to be as covered as I can be.

Thanks for everyone’s responses! This will be the first horse I have ever leased out.

[ladyj79]

@StormyDay

I have him advertised right now for lease and I would prefer that he stay in the barn but he might end up going to another barn, depending on the circumstances. That’s why I am not quite sure if it will be a half or full lease. I have a dover saddlery bridle I can send with him, but I am more worried about blankets since those things are so darn expensive!

I’m not too concerned about them riding him in a bad fitting saddle (because he will tell them, very obviously, that the saddle sucks) but more that they will have a hard time finding one. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there. I might consider selling my saddle to them if they were interested.

Also, everything will be in writing, including that I can cancel the lease at any time, for any reason. If it goes south I hope to be as covered as I can be.

I definitely sent my horse out on lease with his blankets. No tack, but yes, his blankets.

[alterGS]

Depends a bit on the type of arrangement as well as maybe the length of the lease. Keep in mind that if they need to buy a saddle, especially if its a saddle they likely won’t be able to reuse or easily sell because its for a tough to fit horse, that this will factor into the costs for the lessor. If your horse is worth 10K/year to lease, but it’s going to cost the lessor 15K because they need a new saddle, they may just decide to go out and get the 15k/year horse that fits what they already own.

I’ve half leased in barn for the past few years and never had issues using my own tack with a shim here and there until my current lease who was too hard to fit. If it was a long term arrangement I’d be looking to find something, but the owner is only away for a semester so it’s a short term lease. I would have turned down the lease if the saddle wasn’t available with the horse as that would have cost triple what I’m paying for the horse. The saddle was written into the contract and photos were taken. The owner is also someone who knows me well and knows I look after equipment.

As far as the rest goes: Bridles aren’t complicated to fit so I’ve never borrowed the owner’s, though I can see someone borrowing a bit if it’s something super hard to find. Turnout blankets have come usually come with anything in barn, but I’ve bought my own quarter sheets, scrims, coolers and stuff like that. I’ve always paid for them to be cleaned or patched up. If something needs to be replaced, I’ve offered to pay half.

[OneTwoMany]

For a full lease (ranging from low to high five figures), we’ll send the horse out with blankets if it is winter, otherwise, the horse doesn’t go out with any equipment. If there are restrictions/requirements on equipment used; for example, horse must school in front boots; that gets written into the lease.

If the horse is hard to fit, offering his saddle for purchase at a fair market value sounds very reasonable, assuming the saddle fits the lessee. For peace of mind, you can always write something into the lease stipulating the saddle that is currently used and recommend (or insist) a similar saddle is used by the lessee. Fact of the matter is, when a new horse is leased or purchased, the buyer may find their existing saddle fits the horse, or they may find the horse needs a different saddle. The possibility of needing to purchase a different saddle when buying/leasing a new horse is something that comes with the territory. Some buyers trade in their existing saddle, some just buy a second saddle. It is really a personal preference and it is a reason why owners can end up with one horse, three saddles and six different sizes of blankets. :lol:

[pattnic]

When I sent my horses out on lease, I sent all tack (bridle, bit, martingale, saddle, saddle pad, boots, girth) and blankets.

My horses are also a bit difficult to fit (because they are so wide) I struggled a bit with the idea of sending my saddle, but not because of the expense (it was a County), but because at the time, I still needed a saddle for my other horse (the two horses shared a saddle). I ended up buying a much less expensive saddle that fit my horses (a Thornhill) and sent that one on lease. Yes, it was an additional expense for me, but it definitely gave me peace of mind I wouldn’t have had otherwise (and in the grand scheme, since I wouldn’t be paying for the horse’s monthly expenses, I still came out ahead).

Regarding the expense of the saddle though, when I posted this similar question on here, it was pointed out to me that I was sending my horse out on lease, which was probably a more valuable item, so if I didn’t trust someone enough with my saddle, why would I trust them with my horse?

Every item I sent on lease with my horses was documented in an itemized inventory with a very specific description and value. It was clearly outlined in the lease that should any of these items become damaged or go missing, the leasee was responsible for replacing them with either a new version of the same item or an item of comparable quality (which had to be okayed by me). This didn’t work perfectly, of course (and I didn’t expect it to), but I had made it a point to not send my best-quality stuff.

[findeight]

I always sent and received a blanket or two with lease horses, whichever side I was on, only in winter. Otherwise they came or went with a halter and lead rope. They were all middle aged horses with the same job, show Hunter, so built pretty similar. Would never send my saddle and never had anybody offer to send me theirs.

When I was leasing for about 4 years (went thru about 6 horses as I got better, one sold out from under me,), knew I would be buying a Hunter built to be competitive in that arena, so bought my own saddle. Also bought light, midweight and turn out blankets for my preferred type horse, little fuller bodied, no taller then 16h, size 78 blanket (80 Rambo since they didn’t make a 78). Did buy 3 horses, one at a time, and they all fit my stuff because they fit my body. If anybody is regularly leasing or serious about eventually buying, they should have at least some of their own stuff.

For OP, this is a whole lot easier if he stays in your home barn unless you really, really know the barn manager and trainer who will be supervising your lease partner and even then, your tack will get treated like a rent car. Your horse might be too.

[Madison]

I have both full and half leased, and always had use of the horse’s own blankets. So, I’d expect to have to send the blankets I owned with the horse if I leased it out of barn. Realistically, any damage done to a blanket is going to be done by your horse, not by the lessee, regardless of whose care the horse is in!

In my first half-lease as a re-rider, it was in-barn and I used the horse’s existing bridle, girth and saddle pad, and they loaned me an extra saddle til I could get my own, but when I converted to a full lease, I bought my own bridle and saddle pad for the horse so that if something got broken or damaged, it was mine not the owner’s. You can really do it any way you and the lessee work out. I personally am hard to fit in a saddle and have a custom saddle that would be hard to replace, so I would not be willing to share it (other than on a temporary trying the horse type basis) or send it out with the horse. If you do decide to share tack, I would send my less expensive schooling stuff, not any of your nicer stuff in case it gets damaged!

[Bogie]

I would offer to sell them the saddle if they don’t have one that fits him. But it should be written into the contract that they must use a saddle that fits. I’d send blankets if it was winter.

[woodhillsmanhattan]

I am probably not adding any new information…but I wouldn’t expect any lease situation to include the use of the owner’s saddle. For a half lease, I have typically had/provided use of grooming supplies, bridle, and girth (I/leaser supplied personal saddle, saddle pads, polos/boots, treats, love, etc.). For a full lease, I usually send turnout blankets, at least a month or two supply of supplements, and ask if they want the bridle or not (or at least let them know what bit the horse goes best in).

[DoodlesMom]

I half lease my gelding, on-site. His lessor is welcome to use all of my tack, as well as grooming supplies. She can use a different saddle if she wishes, as long as I approve of the fit. Since he’s still in my care, obviously he keeps his blankets.

When I’ve leased off-site, I’ve sent my horse out with blankets only, for the most part. I have sent a mare with a bridle, but only because she liked a very certain bit, and I didn’t feel like pulling it from the bridle. Everything that went was in the lease agreement.

[AcrossTheCountry]

I am currently doing an on-farm half lease; I have access to all of the owner’s supplies (grooming, tack, blankets, etc.) I think it makes sense to provide the halters, bridle, girth, blankets, boots, etc. But the saddle is such a personal thing, especially flap and seat size. I purchased (and use) my own. It just happened to be a slightly larger and more forward version of hers!

[Punkie]

On-farm half lease includes everything in my book. You’re there, your things are there, your horse is there…it just makes everything less complicated IMHO and you can keep an eye on the condition of your tack and make maintenance requests accordingly.

When I sent my hunter to a friend for a year long lease I sent him with all of his blankets and coolers (monogrammed with my farm name), his show tack (bridle, martingale, girth, show bits) with farm name plates, and one of my back up saddles (a County) that I had fitted before he left and required they refit in 4-6 months. Had he gone on a traditional lease to a person I didn’t know, there is no way I would’ve sent all of his things. I would have stipulated that a saddle be fitted to him and reevaluated halfway through the lease and if he left in winter I would’ve sent him with the necessary blankets, but otherwise it would be their responsibility to outfit him.