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If you are
thinking about leasing a horse, consider the following
benefits and risks carefully. You can follow Steps
to Take in Leasing a Horse
to help minimize the risks and
maximize the
benefits.
Benefits:
Horse
Privileges Without Horse Ownership
Horse ownership isn’t for everyone. Perhaps you enjoy
riding, but don’t have enough time and/or money to
make horse ownership realistic right now. Maybe you
travel a lot, but still like to ride regularly.
Depending upon the terms of your lease
agreement,
leasing a horse can provide you with a horse to ride
without all of the hassles and expense of ownership.
A
New Horse Buddy
Tired of your spouse changing the subject when you talk
about horses? Depending upon your relationship with the
horse’s owner, you may have a companion to go with you
to horse events and take pride in the horse’s
progress. Most horse owners never tire of hearing about
their horse’s finer points!
Risks:
Injury
to You, the Horse or Others
Even if you have years of experience, treat the horse
with lots of TLC, and follow the owner’s instructions
to the letter, accidents will probably happen. To help
minimize these types of risks, make sure that your lease
agreement spells out any specific care the horse requires and who will be responsible if anything happens
to you, the horse or anyone else. If you have liability
under the agreement, you may want to purchase an
insurance policy for the horse. Whether the owner
contributes to the cost of maintaining the insurance
policy is a matter of agreement between you and the
owner.
No
Ownership Privileges
Regardless of how much you might like the horse, you are
not his owner and therefore you may have little control
over his care. Depending upon the terms of your lease
agreement, you may have to put up with last-minute
schedule changes and other inconveniences, and you may
not be able to do everything that you’d like with the
horse (e.g., trailer out to distant parks, go on trails
or take him to shows). You must respect all of the owner’s wishes and follow all of her instructions,
whether or not they make sense to you.
The
Lease May Not Ultimately Work Out
Even if you follow all of the Steps
to Take in Leasing a Horse, your lease arrangement
might not end up being long term. Maybe the owner has to
move away from the area or maybe he suddenly has more
time to ride or wants to send the horse away to a
trainer. Maybe you decide to buy your own horse. In any
case, your lease agreement should cover all of the
circumstances under which either party can terminate the
agreement and how the termination should work.
Additional
Information:
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