My trainer and I have discussed me half leasing the school horse I ride in my lessons. (currently once a week depending on weather). This horse is used for the home schooled kids but he mostly walks around and is also used in the therapy program for war vets . (mostly brushed/lead line stuff). Due to my job I would only be able to ride/mess with him on the weekends. The only real work he does is with me in lessons (crossrails atm). He’s 20 and is the perfect match for me because hes very much a kick ride. (details/half lease price arent finalized yet). I’d more than likely brush/mess with him on friday afternoons/hack around some on sat afternoons/lesson on sunday. Do you think it would be worth it?
Whether it is worth it is all relative. Worth it compared to what? What are you doing now, what does the half lease get you that you aren’t already doing, and how much more will it cost you? It really comes down to a cost/benefit analysis. Typically the benefit of a half lease is to get you more saddle time beyond your lessons so that you can practice. From what you describe, it sounds like the money would be better used for a second lesson on Saturdays than to pay a half lease fee just to groom on Friday and hack around some on Saturdays.
If you are talking paying for a half lease and will brush him on Fri and only ride him on weekends? Probably not.
Sounds like trainer gets her more then her money’s worth out of him without pitching him as a half lease to you. Typically, the school horse half leases are exclusive use 3 days a week on higher quality animals that, for various reasons (like can’t take the full school program, need fewer riders or more advanced ones) do NOT work full time in the school program. This sounds like a busy boy with lots of others paying to use and handle him.
Are you afraid you will no longer be allowed to brush him, lead him around on Fri and ride Sat, lesson Sun if you don’t jump to a half lease instead of paying by session? And will you have language in the contract guaranteeing you exclusive use of him on your days it will they pull him out for others on your days when you aren’t there?
I dunno here…sounds like a lot of money for what you are going to get compared to the standard school horse lease which guarantees exclusive use on horses not in the school orogram full time. Not a barn beginner go to horse pulled out daily for a large variety of jobs.
I have thought about taking saturday lessons as well. I did tell my trainer that when I was riding as a kid, I always seemed to improve on my own so I did better in my lessons the next time. I am allowed to go to the barn whenever and pull him out of the pasture to brush him/love on him. The rules at the barn are you can only ride: during lessons or if you lease/own one of the horses.
I’d be hesitant as well since you already ride him on Sundays. You would pick up only maybe four rides a month. That’s not a half lease. I’m sure you could go and groom him on Fridays for free. Have you considered asking to “pay-as-you-go” and just pay a small riding fee for your Saturday ride? That way you would still get that extra day, and they would still get some money. I wouldn’t pay for a half lease to get one day.
How much more will this costs than lessons? Because it sounds like you’re only getting one additional day of riding…
Agreed that half lease is normally three days of riding. Think Madison is right that just taking a second lesson may be more cost effective. Otherwise I’d see if you can do more like a pay-for-ride type deal where you pay to ride on your own on Saturdays. While I normally half lease, I’ve done the lesson one day hack one day arrangement when work has been too busy. I like my hack time to work on things and mull over and feel them out.
That said, I’ve never been in a half lease situation where the horse was not used for the other half. Either it was still used for lessons, or the other half was also leased out, or the owner rode the other 3 days. So the horse was used in lessons at least twice a week if not more. Especially since it doesn’t sound like the horse is doing much, I wouldn’t worry about that.
That rule is standard in any barn, no riding horses unless you lease it or pay for a lesson unless it’s your own horse. That’s obviously very fair, and, honestly, a no brainer.
Paying for a Sat lesson is probably the most sensible choice for you and best use of your money right now. Ask trainer if you can pay a reduced rate to ride outside of a lesson if you want to practice without taking a lesson, you’d be within their sight but could pick what you want to practice.
I don’t think you need to be paying a full half lease rate to brush him and lead him around Fri night either. I can see paying something but not full lesson charge.
If you were seriously looking to start advancing your riding, taking two lessons a week and hacking a third on a horse nobody else rides on your days? Then you start looking for a half lease.
Of course we don’t know what trainer is going to charge. OP, you do know you will probably have to pay for your lessons ON TOP of the half lease fee?
Silver_charm: i know my situation probably sounds bizarre. The reason i want to half lease is,I’ve always owned horses (we still have my now retired show pony). I don’t want to buy anything because I know with leases i can ‘move up’ to more advanced horses. Horse I ride now fits me in terms of size (othes are medium ponies). THe other horses are for more advanced riders
What is the cost of the half lease plus 1 lesson a week vs 2 lessons a week and are you guaranteed to keep riding this horse?
i’m not sure on the half lease cost as of yet. I’m guaranteed to keep riding him because he fits what i need currently (pokey/stick ride).
It’s really a matter of cost/benefit.
If you do a half lease do you get a discount on the weekly lesson, is the lesson day understood as included in the lease time? Then you do have 3 days a week, a half lease. Otherwise, it’s a two day a week lease, a quarter lease.
Why can’t you ride him on Fridays? Is this a factor of your schedule, or is it a restriction by the stables?
Really, it comes down to cost. You are getting one extra ride a week. Divide your monthly lease payment by four. That is the cost of your one extra ride. How does that cost compare to taking an extra lesson?
Does your barn have a provision for practice rides? Most barns do, IME. You pay a sum that is a bit less than the lesson fee, to ride on your own for an hour. This might or might not be cheaper than the cost per ride of your “half lease.”
Since you can groom any time you want, you don’t need a lease for grooming days.
Half leasing isn’t bizarre, it’s a very common and excellent way to start riding. Our questions here are just whether you are getting your money’s worth. Prices and costs vary a lot from place to place, barn to barn. High costs locally for land and hay tend to mean higher prices for lessons, leases, boarding. So while we probably can’t say to the penny what is “good value” in your home town, you can do the math yourself.
Like I said, divide the cost of the lease by four, since you will only be getting four extra rides per month. How does that compare to just taking an extra lesson per week? And ask if the barn has a “practice ride” option. And is there a lower lesson rate for people who lease or own, versus on a school horse? If there is, figure that in.
The aim of the game is to maximize saddle time for the lease possible cost :). People will always let you brush and groom and handwalk their horses for free!
I don’t think it’s that bizarre, I just wouldn’t pay to groom one day instead of ride. I totally understand the half leasing thing, as I’ve been doing it for 8+ years as I worked through graduate school and now have an Army husband that moves a lot.
But I would do the cost analysis so many people are suggesting, bc to me your version of a half lease is really more a 2-day a week situation, and there might be a more cost effective way to get the same result.
thanks for all the replies yall. I’ll certainly think all of it over 
the groom day would just be if i didnt feel like riding that day. 
[QUOTE=silver_charm;8980245]
I don’t think it’s that bizarre, I just wouldn’t pay to groom one day instead of ride. I totally understand the half leasing thing, as I’ve been doing it for 8+ years as I worked through graduate school and now have an Army husband that moves a lot.
But I would do the cost analysis so many people are suggesting, bc to me your version of a half lease is really more a 2-day a week situation, and there might be a more cost effective way to get the same result.[/QUOTE]
Now that would change things. If it’s you not wanting to ride 3x a week, instead of the horse not being available, I definitely wouldn’t pay for a half lease. I would see if 2x/week or pay-to-hack was available.
However, I do find that being limited to 3 days does motivate me to get out all three days, but I would prefer to ride 4-5/week. If you’re already assuming you won’t even want the third day, that’s different.
[QUOTE=silver_charm;8980373]
Now that would change things. If it’s you not wanting to ride 3x a week, instead of the horse not being available, I definitely wouldn’t pay for a half lease. I would see if 2x/week or pay-to-hack was available.
However, I do find that being limited to 3 days does motivate me to get out all three days, but I would prefer to ride 4-5/week. If you’re already assuming you won’t even want the third day, that’s different.[/QUOTE]
well riding 3 days a week would certainly get me into shape faster :lol:
If you don’t want to ride 3 days a week, don’t do the lease. Half leases are typically half of the board rate. Maybe a little more. You have the ability to “volunteer” any time you want to come groom and love the horse. This is one of two things, trainer is trying to push you to improve or trainer is tryinf to make some more money. I’d like to be the optimist and say the trainer really wants you to improve and thinks 3 extra days ( the day you pay for a lesson should not be included in the lease unless it gives you a discount on lesson price. If the 3rd day is your normally scheduled lesson day you’re basically paying twice to ride a horse you were already riding) will help push you along quicker than the added one day lesson. And I agree!
If trainer is just trying to make as much money possible, then you’re getting screwed. It’s usually detectable in the fine print though. Something along the lines of you can ride the horse 3 days a week except (insert some silly reason that usually involves making the barn more money)
If you can afford it, why not? If you don’t, he might get half leased to someone else or used in other lessons on weekends cutting into your quality time. A perfect match for you? Why not nail it down so you can both have some quality time together.
It doesn’t sound bizarre to me. If you are a working adult and looking to have a horse to enjoy on the weekend, a half lease is very reasonable. Especially since he seems to suit you so much. Maybe you want a horse to spoil because it makes you happy. But the way things usually work, you won’t be able to do that if some kid - or a bunch of them- are with him all weekend. I would do it as long as the lease terms are reasonable. You’re not buying him. Probably by the time he’s ready to retire, you might be ready to move up a bit. If it’s right for now, it’s right for you.
