Opinions on Potential Lease?

[sydgscott]

I am mutual friends with a girl who owns a beautiful palomino draft cross. She’s going off to college in fall of this year out of state, and she’s going to lease her horse out. Knowing that she’s a great rider, I texted her and told her to let me know when she was ready to lease her gelding out… but here’s the thing: I’ve never leased a horse! So I know nothing about what a fair lease price is.

Mainly I’m looking to lease something a more advanced than my paint who is schooling 2’6 right now but won’t be ready to show for another year or two. This seems like a perfect situation: I’m in college and would like a lease for the next few years, we live only 30 minutes away from each other, and I have my own barn at home so I wouldn’t have to board. She hasn’t had time to show him but he is show-ready.

This gelding is an 8 year old draft cross. He’s golden palomino 16.2 hh. He has hardly any previous showing record and schools hunter 3’ fences. I would pay for feed and care such as vet, farrier, etc. What would I expect to pay for leasing a horse like this from August-May?

Sorry that was long winded :lol:

[SolarFlare]

My personal thought is that if you’re going to be putting show miles on him, and taking him off her payroll, then this would be a nice free lease (ie. you pay for his costs but no extra lease fee on top).

Then again, I’m not well-versed in the big circuit show world so take that for what it’s worth

[Highflyer]

To me he also sounds like a free lease. It can take a while for a horse that is jumping 3’ at home to be ready to show at 3’. It may or may not ever really be competitive. I’m also not sure why if your horse is schooling 2’6 it will take a year to get it ready to show?

[ladyj79]

You are in college. I would not add a second horse at this point if I were you.

[Madison]

Your horse schools 2’6" and isn’t ready to show, this horse schools 3’ and isn’t ready to show. I’m not sure that’s really enough of a difference to justify leasing the second horse. To me, the second horse really doesn’t sound sufficiently more advanced than your own horse. If both need work to get into the show ring, I would save your time and money and focus those efforts on your own horse – go to schooling shows and do crossrails, or trot-canter the lines at 2’, to get experience, find a clinic, get a trainer to come help if you don’t have one. Or, if you are set on leasing something, find a horse that already has the show experience you are looking for.

[Janet]

Ignoring, for the moment, th question of whether it makes sense to take on a second horse…

For a horse with a SERIOUS show record, the rule of thumb in H/J is

Annual lease fee = 1/3 of the current value of the horse (in addition to taking over the running costs).

But for a horse without a serious show record, there is usually no separate lease fee, you just take over all the expenses (aka “free lease”)

[findeight]

Free lease here. Doubt the market value of the draft cross palomino is out of the mid four figures as a Hunt seat show horse. Youll have to put time and money into lessons and schooling to sharpen the horse up enough to haul it to shows. It’s kind of the same situation as your own horse other then schooling 6" higher.

Just curious, why is your Paint that’s schooling 2’6" not going to be ready for the show ring for up to 2 years? Did it get hurt?

[sydgscott]

Okay so two years might be a bit dramatic, LOL.

But he is very very green and I have learned my lesson with putting a time frame on him… plus who doesn’t want another horse? :o

Thanks for knocking some sense into me… really it is just 6". Agh.

[SnicklefritzG]

OP, I think more details are needed before any of us can give you good advice.

There is plenty you can do at shows with a horse who is doing the 2’6" classes. Many shows start at cross rails then have a 2’ or 2’3" division and then the 2’6". Why not show that horse?

If the gelding is doing 3’, why can’t it show? Does he get really nervous when he goes off the property?

Without any additional information, my advice would be to try to make do with what you have and investigate all options before moving on to something else. That means trying to show the horse you now how to see how it goes.

[meupatdoes]

Completely agree with Janet and everyone else who said if it doesn’t already have a record and you are putting the record on it, no lease fee.

Once it has a record, then lease fee.

I am also not sure along with the others how much a palomino draft cross that is not ready to show is really going to add to your life to be worth leasing.

[RockinHorse]

I am mutual friends with a girl who owns a beautiful palomino draft cross. She’s going off to college in fall of this year out of state, and she’s going to lease her horse out. Knowing that she’s a great rider, I texted her and told her to let me know when she was ready to lease her gelding out… but here’s the thing: I’ve never leased a horse! So I know nothing about what a fair lease price is.

Mainly I’m looking to lease something a more advanced than my paint who is schooling 2’6 right now but won’t be ready to show for another year or two. This seems like a perfect situation: I’m in college and would like a lease for the next few years, we live only 30 minutes away from each other, and I have my own barn at home so I wouldn’t have to board.
This gelding is an 8 year old draft cross. He’s golden palomino 16.2 hh. He has She hasn’t had time to show him but he is show-ready.
hardly any previous showing record and schools hunter 3’ fences. I would pay for feed and care such as vet, farrier, etc. What would I expect to pay for leasing a horse like this from August-May?

Sorry that was long winded

Not sure why everyone keeps stating the 3’ is not show ready?

Also confused along with others why the horse schooling 2’6" is so far from show ready.

[RockinHorse]

Oops, bolding did not take. Here is the part I meant to highlight

She hasn’t had time to show him but he is show-ready.

[findeight]

There’s a difference between ‘show ready" and a horse that’s been off the home property successfully navigating multiple 3’ courses with up to 3’ spreads and 12’ set lines over show decorated with fillers amid the chaos of the showgrounds-preferably with some ribbons and documented results to prove it

If OP wants to bridge that gap between show ready and actual show miles at her expense? She shouldn’t gave to pay the owner for the experience.

Strikes me there really isn’t a whole lot of difference between the draft cross and her Paint. They are both inexperienced at actual shows, both need work, both off type if she wants to do Hunters. If we were talking asking about an older, experienced schoolmaster type. I’d say pay 1/3 if stated value and lease that one to learn on and go horse show you enjoy, here, similar horse in slightly different package? Not so much.
.

[Madison]

Ha good catch RockinHorse, I apparently skimmed over that part, although I am not sure it changes the analysis much for me given that she says he hardly has any prior show experience. It should definitely still be a “free lease” (expenses only) situation and I still don’t really see that as being so much more advanced than the horse she already has. I’d still put the time and money into the one she owns, or find something with experience.

To the OP, evaluate it this way – imagine the horse not as the “beautiful palomino” but as a plain nondescript bay, and take out of the equation who he belongs to. Would you still think the horse had a lot to offer you, over and above your own horse? Also, have you ever ridden this horse to know that he is your kind of ride? All things to consider.

[RockinHorse]

Madison, I agree it does not change the price analysis, however, it does explain why the OP might be interested in leasing the horse.

[Rel6]

I guess I’m going to be the lone voice of dissent here. There is a lot of judgement for this draft palomino cross, and yet not one mention by OP that she wants to take it to a rated show, let alone put it on the A circuit. OP, if that is your goal then you have gotten some good advice.

However, if this is a horse you really like and feel really comfortable on and your goals are to go to local shows and move up to the 3ft, I could see a low lease fee ($100-300) depending on your area. I know people who have done similar and its worked out well for them. Yes, you are putting show miles on the horse that doesn’t have any, but the value of those miles varies. Personally I disagree that being willing to put show miles on a horse that doesn’t have any means free lease - it is going to entirely depend on the quality of the rider. OP, if you are a skilled experienced rider used to bringing along young green horses then that might change things and make your rides more like a pro ride for this particular horse.

But if perhaps you are a more timid rider, or less experienced, then yes you are going to have to pay despite your willingness to put miles on the horse.

[findeight]

OP? Have you ridden and jumped this palomino draft cross around an actual show type course and is it really further along then your Paint other then that 6"? I think that’s the question.

[poltroon]

IME, you shouldn’t have to pay a lease fee beyond expenses on a horse unless it is quite special, worth in the five figures at least. Even pretty nice horses can be had for a free on-farm lease if you’re a decent/appropriate/responsible rider. Most often the case is that the owner doesn’t have time for the horse temporarily and the alternative is paying someone to ride the horse, or that the horse will sit and do nothing.

Lease fee usually comes into play if the horse is so nice that multiple people are/would be interested, and/or if the person is taking the horse away from its home farm.

[kprice326]

the usual full lease price is ? the cost of the horse on top of the board+feed+farrier etc… You could also do a half lease/partial lease (which is have done a multiple times) where you pay for half of everything, half lease price and half of every other expenses. These are just the ways that I did it when I leased but you will want a contract that is very detailed in what you do and don’t pay for and what happens if the horse is injured with you. Contracts sometimes seem stupid and you might not think it’s necessary since you are friends with the girl but based on experience, I would highly recommend it because I got stuck paying for an injured horse that I couldn’t ride for a month because the contract wasn’t fair.

[kprice326]

It’s not letting me edit the post but it was supposed to say “the usual full lease price is a third the cost of the horse…”