Yearly Lease Price / Expectations / Advise PLEASE IN MIDWEST

[Scribbler]

You can only ride twice a week total? You don’t want a full time lease as an older horse will need to move daily.

The best bang for your buck is to go up to two lessons a week and then if you have time, book a practice ride on a lesson horse where you are allowed to do flatwork in the arena without a lesson. Most lesson programs allow that and it should be a bit cheaper than a lesson.

You realize the lease cost is in addition to boarding, shoeing, and training rides. Why get a full time horse and pay the trainer to keep it fit for you?

[AmmyHunter]

@StellaBlue09

I think I am already bumping into the fact that those horses are an in barn lease only, and my trainer doesn’t have any.

This is your issue - those deals get passed around in barn, or among trainers who work together a lot or are friends. The bigger 5 figure numbers come into play when you have to go outside your barn on the general market. But you are right, for what you want to do, that isn’t worth it. Let your trainer put the word out, in the barn and in her network, on what you are looking for, and then be patient. Sometimes it takes a while for things to bubble up. You might also find something when kids go back to school at the end of the summer, too.

[StellaBlue09]

I do realize all of the other expenses that come along with this, I’m not a first timer here, just a little rusty on the prices. There are lots of kids at my barn and I’m sure I could find someone to help hack once or twice a week as needed as well.

The lessons horses have a plateau (as most lesson horses do) and I am beyond that in my abilities as a rider. Realistically if my trainer had a 3ft or so lesson horse than I would probably be fine with lessoning twice a week and just that for the time being. Since lesson horses (proven by this topic) as well as lease horses come at such a premium the horse is not available for me to ride more than what I am. She’s also busy teaching other lessons.

What if she ends up having an issue and is lame? There is not another option for me to ride in the barn. If I was at a barn full of lesson horses i wouldn’t even be entertaining the idea of a lease for more than care. BUT I’m not, and I’m not willing to look at other barns, I’m over the moon happy with the caliber of the lessons even on a horse who has a plateau.

I’m getting the vibe from the trainer that she has lots of people looking for the same type of horse that I am right now, and that they are very difficult to come by.

My reasoning for coming here was more for advise on the price/terms/inventory right now than to critique my ability. It’s taken me years post having kids to find the time for myself. I have a very demanding career and have always put my family first. Two days a week may not seem like a lot to many of you, but for me it’s an incredible sacrifice to be able to make that happen! Hopefully i’m a year or two away from a little girl who wants to ride, but then I still have to balance my hobbies with theirs.

[BAC]

If you are only able to ride 2x a week, you are probably better off just taking lessons for now, unless something eventually comes up through your trainer. I was lucky enough to have that happen several times when I was only able to ride twice a week and I only paid for whatever lessons I took.

[StellaBlue09]

Thank you! This is what i was wondering! I feel like I haven’t heard of lease prices in that range for what I’m looking for even in the recent past. I do however wonder if my trainers word of mouth isn’t what it used to be, which is also why we are hitting a wall.

This is the mindset I’m going to try to stand with. I didn’t want to be wasting my anyone’s time if my budget is completely out of line with the market.

it sounds like I need to just be patient, and the right situation will come up when it’s the right time, or it wont, in which case I need to make some different decisions!

[Scribbler]

Hmm. Much as you love your trainer, they only have one available lesson horse that’s in back to back use, you have maxed out on this horse, and they don’t have contacts to find you a lease horse. You might not want to hear this, but it might be time to shop around and try lessons elsewhere. You might find a trainer you like and a facility that better matches your goals.

[TXPiaffe]

talk to local 4H and Pony club group mom’s. Let them know you are looking for a lease horse for care. Also, is there a university in your area with an equestrian program? Some of those universities lease out their horses for care in the summer. Might be something to check out. Also, word of mouth through the barn farriers, as well as vets. They know the horses in the area that may not be on the market per se, but be coming up.

[mmeqcenter]

@StellaBlue09

Two days a week may not seem like a lot to many of you, but for me it’s an incredible sacrifice to be able to make that happen!

No one’s saying there’s anything wrong with riding twice a week. We’re just saying, that the expense of a full lease in today’s market hardly seems worth it for your limited schedule right now.

Has your trainer (or you) asked if any of the boarders at your barn would be open to a partial lease? Maybe see if you can find a partial lease on a horse at a different barn in the area that would allow your trainer to come in and give you lessons on it.

[hybriseris]

My best advice is patience. I had a few opportunities that just weren’t right, and it DID take a few patient months, but I eventually found a woman leasing her 15yo TB mare that she just really wanted to see active and ridden and enjoying a partnership with someone since she herself is unable to ride. I find what I pay per month MORE than reasonable for a full lease on a horse who can do 3’6", and well below what I might expect elsewhere where I am in the Northeast. Comes out to about ~10k a year.

She’s 17 now and has some maintenence I pay for which it sounds like you’d be fine doing if you found the right situation.

So basically, if you’re happy taking lessons in the mean time and taking your time looking, you can find great diamonds in the rough.

Editing to clarify that the 10k does not include maintenance.

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

I’m trying to half lease my horse here in Tucson. He’s a good guy, but a little green over fences, but safe. He jumps amazing every time. And has the scope to move up to the three foot. He is a free lease (half expenses). I guess we don’t have much of a hunter-jumper community here. The diamonds in the rough are out there!

[173north]

@StellaBlue09

My trainer hasn’t given me a $$ yet - she’s looking with the possible option of a “share board” too so there are a lot of moving pieces.

This is a good idea! If you can only get to the barn 2x per week and your trainer has a lot of other clients looking for the same thing, you can probably band together and split a horse with another client. I’ve gotten some very cool leases for cheap by sharing the horse with another adult amateur or a junior.

I would definitely be as upfront as possible about your budget, time restrictions, and future goals with your trainer. A good trainer will see you as a long-term investment and might be more open to an unusual arrangement now (ie, splitting an inexpensive lease with another client) if they know your budget and free time will increase down the line.

[foggythistle]

If you’re only going to be riding 2x/week, I’d add my vote to take 2 lessons. Then if you have extra money that you might have spent on a lease or share board, stick that in a separate bank account for when you might want to buy.

For example, if you have $1200/month to spend on horsie stuff, and lessons are $100 each, then at 2 lessons/week ($200) and 4 weeks/month (4x$200=$800), that’s $400 that can go into the horse fund. AND, it’s $400 that’s not going into someone else’s wallet.

[joiedevie99]

The trick to sharing a lease, or finding an existing boarder to partial-lease to you, is sharing days. IME, most people who ride twice a week want Saturday and Sunday. That doesn’t work very well. If you’re looking to ride Tuesday and Wednesday, a lot more options might open up.

[IPEsq]

Inventory on this type of horse will be very low. I know some that are leased regularly but they stay in barn where they are. But I think there are some out there more in the 10-15k range for an off-site lease. It’s almost impossible to do a full or partial care lease as an off site lease. Usually those owners want more control over the program.

[Moneypitt]

Friggin fly spray is $25 a quart!!

Crazy expensive

[TheDBYC]

Are there any statewide or community pages on Facebook geared towards riders in your vicinity? Those can also be good place to look.

[mooonie]

I think that you could get a 2 day a week partial lease for about $300 per month. There are owners like me who would really appreciate someone to ride 2 days a week and contribute to board. Please don’t be discouraged, I would love to have you partial lease if you were only in my area . Maybe something will open up in late summer when some are off to college?

[Midge]

The other thing you could do is also take lessons at different barn. It might be uncomfortable if you take lessons at another hunter barn, but is there the option for dressage lessons in your area?

[lk1345]

I am in a very similar situation, but living in the Northeast. I have a wonderful full time career and a two year old son. My husband works in the city Monday-Friday and is only home on the weekends currently. I love my barn time, but it really has to be worth it to me to find the time away from work and my son.

I have found that a half-lease has been really great for me, I ride 2-3 days/week. I grew up riding and had always owned my own horse, until I got married, had my son and took a break from riding. I missed it dearly so started back, I was very lucky, my first half-lease after my having my son was a 20 year old previous Big-Eq horse who was amazing! $1,000/month lease fee, which I split with the other half-lessee so $500 each. He was the perfect 2’6 horse and super fun to flat because he had all the fancy flatwork buttons and super safe!

Covid hit when his lease was up so I sent him back bc our barn had shut down and I didn’t know when we could ride again. Once the barn opened back up a horse within our barn became available, again another schoolmaster type, he was 21 but still doing the 3ft jumpers. Super fun horse and very, very safe. His lease was $500 month as well. So, yes you can find a quality horse for less than $25k, but be open to the older ones. Both of mine needed some maintenance, but nothing crazy. Both of these horses were still actively showing at the big “A” shows in the NE.

I will also add that the first horse I leased was not listed online, just word of mouth from trainer to trainer. I find in our area that most of the great saintly 2’6 horses get leased from barn to barn just via text or phone call, rarely needing to be listed online.

[Smiles]

The problem is prices all around for anything horse have gone up significantly. From hay to shavings, and board. Finding a good quite solid 2.9ft horse is a challenge, so you will pay a premium for one because there are a lot of adult and children’s riders looking for the same thing. Also being in the Midwest doesn’t help because you are competing with Illinois prices. I would look and see if any of the adults in your barn want to share board. So much less expensive and you might be helping another busy adult keep their horse in a program and make a little money doing it.