@fivestrideline explained many reasons why leases are common and often quite smart. Lease-to-purchases are also quite common too—can decrease the risk and financial burden of an immediate outright purchase and can even function as a long-term trial of sorts. And, as the owner of a lease horse, it becomes “free” income after a certain point.
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You explained it well thank you and it does make more sense . I have to remember that some people do have money to spend on horses…
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Both types are posted about here.
Not where I was reading ( obviously) I guess because I missed it. It was ( I am happy to say) explained in detail to me above.
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They did do a great job of explaining it.
They did. I need all the help I can get sometimes.
I don’t know if it’s true, but there was a story about a kid with a very nice pony who kept leasing the pony out for years after she outgrew it. The story was that the pony paid for her tuition at med school.
Pony leases can work extremely well for all parties. The kid who might outgrow a pony in a year doesn’t have to worry about selling it in the near future, and the owner of a good pony can do well on it because ponies often have very long careers with proper care.
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It’s not unique to people with money to burn. When I was horse-shopping I strongly considered a paid lease for a year or two because while I’m currently competing at the lower levels I expect to be able to move up within a few years, and buying a horse suitable for all of those things and in my budget is really hard. I was concerned about buying a packer type, outgrowing them in a year or two, and having a hard time selling them because of age/maintenance/physical limits/etc. I can’t afford to support two horses. A lease would have solved this problem, and I would never assume I could find a solid packer for free since there are plenty of people willing to buy them outright for good money. I wound up with a green prospect sane enough for me to bring up the levels myself, but it was a serious consideration specifically because I’m not made of money but also have competitive aspirations. And I’m not even looking in the H/J world where horses are worth even more, making a lease a solid option for getting access to the horse you need at the time without being the one carrying the risk that your $50k+ animal could get injured and suddenly be worth $0.
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