Leasing P.J.

[HollandLoppy89]

I am thinking about leasing the haflinger/QH that I've been riding, Pride & Joy. He used to be abused like most of you know, so I would be the only one riding him, and I could ride him whenever. That makes it a lot easier for me. He is such a good boy. I rode him today and he was smooth as ever. I am in love with this pony. He is 17 and surely is the "Pride & Joy" of my life! He needs to be handelled more, and my instructor really hopes I will lease him. It would be $425 a month.. and when I ride by myself it's $25. So to get my money's worth I would have to ride atleast 3 times a week for the month. So getting mathmatical, it would be 3x4 which is 12, and then each ride is usually $25, so I would do 25x12 which is $300. I get two free lessons each month priced $50 each so that is a hundred, making $300 four hundred. so, it's pretty evened out. Do you agree with this price? Let me know

[Suki Wingy]

Yeah, it sounds about right BUT... He's boarded at your barn already. He's a lesson horse, and you want to lease him? Right? If you are already the only one riding him why can't you just shareboard him? That would be half the cost of board per month and depending on if it's 2 day or 3 day that includes you being free to ride and take care of him 2/3 days out of the week, then you pay just for lessons.
If I understand it correctly, full lease is you paying for the horse's board and acting as if you own it all the time untill the lease is up. In the east where my aunt lives, they call shareboarding "half leaseing"

[Miss Z]

I gather what you call 'lease' is what I would call 'loan'. I can sort of understand why you'd want to do this, but most people I know loan horses as they have other commitments in their life, such as going to university, which prevent them from having time for their horse, but after a period they will be able to regain ownership of the horse once more. Loaning a horse is usually over a long-term period, and once you've had another person riding him for a few years, you might find he has changed. I knew someone who loaned her horse for a year due to pregnancy. When she got the horse back, he bucked and spooked at pretty much everything in sight, and the person she loaned him to was a so-called 'professional trainer'. I would be wary of creating a new figure who has completely different riding techniques and horsey nature to take your role. Also, once you've agreed a loan, you could start to miss him, and it would be difficult to get him back!

As Eva said, sharing is a good idea. That way, you can still monitor how PJ is getting on, and correct anything you think is going slightly wrong.