All of the leases I have done (both as leaser and owner) have stipulated that the horse can only be ridden by the person listed in the lease and their specified trainer. Most people don’t want their horses ridden by random barn kids. Just something to keep in mind as you plan for training ride expenses. That said, if the horse is getting 8 hr turnout every day they may not need to be ridden daily.
As to budget- I would expect an older 2’6” non-show horse to be a care lease or less than $5k/yr in lease fees. The care leases are more likely to be advertised by the owner on local fb pages. Trainers are NOT going to be the best way to find something in my experience. I’ve done 4 care leases over the past 10 years and all were directly through the owner.
Thanks Everyone! @BK6756 - After years of kind of doing it myself it is certainly hard to let go of the reins on this one! But I’ve found all of my prior rides like this. I’m finding that now I don’t have the time to network like I used too.
For those who I feel like are now vested into this journey with me, I had a candid conversation with my trainer last week and it sounds like we are moving in the right direction. We’ve discussed budget, and expectations, and goals and she thinks she can find me something closer to what I want to spend 10K a year or less. It’ll be interesting to see what she can find!
For all of those that suggested Facebook posts and stuff I have followed a lot of those, as I’m sure she does too. I do think that our equine community here is pretty tight knit, and that the “good” ones are gone before they need to be listed on sites like that. At least the ones in my category!
I should also mention this is my first time back in this as the adult… Last time I rode with a trainer at a training barn I was a junior rider, and my parents made the decisions and handled this part of things. It’s certainly different to be on this side!
I am excited to see what comes up, and I’m happy to hear that my expectations are not out of line!
Thanks everyone for the advise and guidance.
Try an ISO ad on your local FB groups. I found my last horse that way, he wasn’t being advertised. also saw several others that weren’t being advertised.
I also agree that a half lease would be ideal.
I near passed out when I found out how much it costs to lease a horse now after a long hiatus…now I’m on the other side trying to lease out one of my horses!
To echo what many have said, the packer characteristic is in very high demand, especially for show horses. I currently have a 3ft hunter that needs an accurate ride at 3ft, but will pretty much get himself out of any insane situation at 2’6, so that is where I am trying to place him. Problem has been the no auto change, which is also a hotly desired quality in a 2’6 (or 3 ft.) mount.
Good Luck! It sure is very different than when I was younger! I’m very intrigued to see what she finds for me. Realistically a free lease would be excellent. Trainer and barn have a great reputation, and i’m not without the ability, just not sure how much I want to put myself through at this age! LOL I am happy to hear that those are still out there.
A horse like yours is pretty much exactly what I would love right now. Lead Changes don’t matter to me, no plan on showing this season, so he’s the type of thing I’m hoping my trainer can help me find! Something that isn’t going to kill me when I don’t trust my eye…
Good Luck finding him a home for a year!
I can’t figure why anyone would lease a horse these days, unless you’re somebody whose skill/needs will be totally different in a year.
Let’s say you have a budget of $30K. It won’t buy a nice hunter, but it’ll lease a nice hunter. Okay. But at the end of the year, then what? You’re left with no horse and your budget is gone. I’m honestly curious why people do it.
Food for thought
$12k year lease
$18k board, 1 day a week training ride, 1 lesson a week (aiming very conservative on pricing).
$30k year for ~100 rides = $300 a ride
That’s excluding a horse getting injured or needing more than 3 rides a week (we all know that some packer types still need regular programs).
Before you go lease I’d go to your trainer and say “I want to lesson three days a week with One day a week on lesson pony. I am willing to pay a $50/ride use fee if any of the boarders have a 3’+ horse they’d be interested in letting me use in a lesson”. You’d save a ton of money and that’s an awesome offer for the right boarder who can’t get out to the barn often enough.
Sure, a trainer may push back because they want a horse in partial training but if the owner doesn’t have financial means, it really is a win all around because it keeps the horse from sitting.
It is unrealistic to expect a lease to jump with you at 3’+ twice a week every week so if some rides are just flatting, it isn’t any different than what you’d be doing on your lease.
I really agree with this whole heartily, which is why I’m having such a hard time with it. For me personally, I’m not ready for the commitment of purchasing a horse. If last year has shown anything it’s just how crazy things can get. I do also fall into that category where my needs may be very different next year. I sat down and thought to myself what kind of money I could afford to realistically “throw away” this year with a lease. And 25K was NOT the number I came up with. I have worked hard to be in a position where 10k is more reasonable for me to loose this year. Any more than that and you are precisely right, at the end of the year to hand that horse back seems crazy to me. i was also shocked to read all of the responses on this where people seam to pay 25k to upwards of 100k a year to lease horses, year after year after year. I would love to be in a position financially where that is my disposable income, but not there yet.
I honestly think leases are hugely popular because trainers make a ton of money doing it. All the junior barns do it so they can move up easily without having to sell a pony or horse to buy the next one. One of my friends’ kids is an excellent junior rider and there are SO MANY leases in her barn! Even short term leases like for Eq Finals. Also, there is no problem with the “sell the horse to go off to college” or “what if the horse breaks” issues then.
If you can only ride 2 or 3 times a week you do not want a full time horse, whether that is your own horse, a care lease, or a paid full lease. You need lesson(s) plus a practice ride. On a month to month basis. That could be a two day a week lease.
No, you aren’t going to find your move up ideal horse on this situation. But honestly you aren’t riding often enough to move up much anyhow at 2 days a week.
You know, I’m not sure if it’s just me but I’m starting to take your comments as hurtful. I’m sorry that my situation is not what you think it should be, but honestly please stop with the comments telling me what I need. That’s not what I’m looking for, nor what I asked for. I asked for advise, and you have made your opinion on that very clear. You have no idea what my abilities are, what my goals are, or what my means are so please stop telling me what I need to find, and what I’m not going to find. I feel like everyone else has found a way to try and say something helpful in this post and I don’t appreciate the way you are responding. There are many responses on here from people on every range of the spectrum, both confirming the 25k is a good lease price, all the way down to finding a great care lease. I was enjoying the advise and hearing others situations but honestly each comment you post leaves me feeling like this is exactly why it took me so long to get back into this.
I understand that YOU think I would need to commit more time to riding, and more money in order to get anywhere. I understand that might be what works best for YOU, but it is not what I can do. Period. Now am I supposed to stop riding completely because I want to put my family and my career ahead of my riding right now?? I’m really glad I have a trainer who is supportive and not in the mindset you have.
I’m going to try and figure out how to delete this thread, Thanks to everyone who took the time to offer suggestions, and experiences, those helped me evaluate what might be the best fit for me right now.
Please don’t delete anything (and I don’t believe you can delete a thread, just some of you own text). Everyone’s threads make up this forum, it’s all very helpful to others (me!) in similar situations, and being able to search lots of different threads is what makes this a valuable community.
I am not being rude or disrespectful just realistic. When I returned to riding in middle age I started with one lesson a week, then two. I knew I needed it to be sustainable in terms of cash, time, and my own strength and fitness. At the time I did not see how I could afford to buy a horse or have one in full board at today’s prices.
I also realized that in order to get back my teenage riding ability I’d need lots more time in the saddle and a horse of my own to build a relationship with. I went step by step and found a way to do that which was affordable. But I see so many returning riders who sink more $$ into things at the start and end up with horses they don’t have time to ride or that are too hot or get physical problems from not getting ridden.
It makes sense to find a 2 day a week in Barn lease. It doesn’t make financial sense to bring in a care lease and pay for everything and only ride 2 days a week. And then pay the trainer to ride. Take on as little cost and responsibility as you can manage.
I Also recall in my first few years of returning lessons that I needed a better horse to improve. Interestingly by the time I left that coach after 5 years I thought her horses were wonderful.
While a half lease sounds reasonable to me, OP wants something different and that is entirely her prerogative. There are SO many care leases out esp since she JUST said above she doesn’t require auto changes. I think her asks are very realistic.
Well, true. It’s just the cash involved makes my head swim. I myself would put the money in my horse savings account for future purchase and go with lesson plus practice ride.
It’s true that there are very well off ammie hunters in particular that have a horse entirely supported by a trainer and just ride on weekends, or at shows. But that is getting into extremely expensive territory. The $100,000 horse and the $3000 plus full care and training, and the guarantee of ribbons. I don’t think that’s what OP wants or can afford.
I just can’t see taking on a horse full time if you can only ride two days a week and are on any kind of budget.
I haven’t reread the thread but I think that the OP sounds pretty sure that she’d rather stay with this barn than go elsewhere to find more options. A care lease or even a half-lease of a private horse is likely much more expensive than what might be available at another barn that offers half-leases of school horses, for example. But if the favored barn does is not able to offer that, and the OP has the disposable funds, that’s certainly her prerogative.
True. But I think OP took my comments the wrong way, I was trying to say have modest expectations (cost and progress) if you can only ride twice a week. Spending more cash won’t solve the time crunch. I wasn’t criticizing her inherent abilities by saying 2 days a week isn’t much. I’ve been there, I know what you can and can’t do with 2 days a week.
Well, your money goes further, obviously, but as others have pointed out, you’re not on the hook if it breaks, you need to sell it, etc. Also, think about it this way: maybe the family can’t afford to buy a $90k hunter (the type that would command that lease price), but dad gets a $30k bonus each year, and kid gets an appropriate mount as they move up the levels versus putting all your eggs in one basket with a large pony you need to sell, a children’s hunter you need to sell, a junior hunter you need to sell, and eq horse you need to sell, and so on.
I have said it before, and I will say it again…I think most adult amateurs would get a lot more enjoyment out of a Steady Eddie horse that can lesson, trail ride, hunter pace, go to a couple of clinics, do a dressage show for variety, and maybe a couple hunter shows a year, than to try to mimic the A show crew…And I think the horses would be happier. In my area, the 2’6"-3’ packers really take a pounding at the show barns.
I totally agree - but I think there are fewer and fewer barns that offer that kind of well-rounded, low pressure, diverse “program” to riders. I’m in a major metro area and can’t think of any barn that offers that. Within a 90 min drive I have my pick of about a thousand fancy hunter/jumper barns, a couple fancy dressage barns, and a couple lesson factories. Event barns and hunting are even further out. So if you live here and want to ride, you’re basically going directly into the H/J or dressage pipeline unless you want to drive super far or have a weekend place.
