Please help me out with this! So I’ve been riding for a little over a year, and will be leaving for college in about 9 months. I currently have a lot more free time then I did, and I’m wanting to ride a lot. I had a half lease, but I didn’t feel that gave me enough “horse time.” I have the chance to buy and board a horse at the place I ride/lesson at, then give my horse to my barn and they’d use her in their lesson program or to lease out, and I’d no longer own the horse. My trainer was excited to hear I was looking for a horse, while my trainers mom advised me against it/thought I shouldn’t. Now I’m just unsure. Any opinions/ tips? There is a horse I’ve been riding up for a half lease, but he doesn’t have that much experience cantering under saddle, and I need a solid horse to continue to master the canter on. (He is fine in trot and walk). I would love any advice!!!
They want you to buy a horse, keep him for nine months, and then GIVE the horse to them? Definitely not. How about THEY buy the horse and then you lease him for that time period?
That produces the same result (you get a horse to ride) with much less financial risk on your part.
Definite no. What if the horse is injured while you own it and they no longer want to buy the horse from you because it can’t be used for lessons? Talk to your trainer about finding you a half lease or lease for the 9 months you have until you leave to help you learn to canter.
The horse market is insane right now, not a good time to buy regardless of your experience level. Sounds like the trainer is hoping for you to just give them your horse when you leave for school since they need an extra lesson horse. You’d essentially be buying a lesson/lease horse for your trainer to have in 9 months. Personally, I would look for another horse to lease instead as it would be less expensive than paying for board + farrier/vet + lessons + all other aspects of care. It adds up pretty quickly!
I think I will go with a lease on the horse I’m currently riding. Thanks for your guys input 
You bring up a good point, thanks for your help!
Definitely no, you’ll be taking a big financial hit for not much gain in this scenario and you’re holding all the risk. If your barn doesn’t have enough riding opportunities look around. You don’t have to leave but find another half lease to fill your time at another barn. Any lessons or experiences on different horses with different instructors will only benefit you.
That’s crazy. Definitely no.
You could respond with “No, I’m not interested in buying him. But if you buy him, I’ll lease him until I go to school.” and see what the response is. In theory, it should be the same thing. And if not, you’re the one who was getting the short end of that deal.
Learning to ride is so exciting! It’s very normal to want to do All The Things, all at once.
Given where you’re at in your riding life and your real-world life, I think the better choice would be to take whatever money you/your parents have budgeted for purchase, board, vet, farrier, tack, training, emergencies, etc. and throw it toward more frequent lessons. You’ll become a cantering fool that much faster, plus progressing in your riding will mean more choices for potential mounts when you’re ultimately in a good place to buy. The horse that suits you as a beginner may not be the horse that suits you a little further down the road.
What everyone else has already said 
I don’t know you or your trainer(& her Mom), but after a year of riding your knowledge level is just not there.
Not saying your riding skills aren’t, but ownership - especially on the terms your Pros are suggesting - doesn’t make sense. Financial.or otherwise.
I rode schoolies for 10yrs, took a 15yr break from riding, went back to schoolies, shareboarded 1 & finally bought my 1st horse at age 39.
First of all if you are asking here then the answer is no.
Second, the barn is looking for a free horse, of course they are excited about it.
Just take more lessons and ride different horses. You will learn so much more.
Agree with everyone else it’s not the time (or situation) to buy right now. But just wanted to add, since you are finding yourself with a few months of free time, and wanting to fill it with more horses (which is natural!) you could look into getting a barn job or volunteering somewhere. While this horse time won’t be all riding, that will help make you are more well-rounded horseperson. Gaining experience now while you have the time may open up doors for things like part-time jobs or riding opportunities once you are in college. Good luck!
Also, going forward (after this year) change barns – stop riding with this trainer. She’s shown you that she not only doesn’t have your best interest in mind, she’s actively looking to take advantage of you. There are many unscrupulous trainers out there, find one that’s honest, and will do what’s best for you. Look for a place where people have been riding there for 10-20 years, where there’s little turnover in clients or staff. My old trainer (I no longer ride) would, e.g., charge an hourly rate when finding a horse for clients, not a percentage commission. That way, she didn’t have an incentive to get you to buy that $50,000 horse over the more suitable $5,000 horse.
She ended up advising me against it, and to get one when I’m older and it’s more suitable. I may have worded it wrong, she was excited for me that I might’ve had the possibility of having my own horse, and she thought I was going to board somewhere else anyway. We ended up agreeing on a lease on a horse, and she’s going to let me ride other peoples horses as well which will give me a lot more riding experience and time in the saddle. Thanks for everyone replies
Good to hear and best of luck! Riding different horses is a great way to learn more!
