Risks and Benefits of Leasing – The Lessee’s Perspective
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.
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.