So you've been taking lessons for awhile, and it's starting to get a little redundant. You've heard people talk about leasing, but it sounds expensive and you don't truly understand what "leasing" a horse means. Not to worry I get this question all the time, and now I will provide you with the ins and outs of leasing. Let's start with the easiest of questions. When are you ready to lease? I normally recommend leasing once a rider has been showing consistency, commitment, and advancement beyond what a lesson horse can provide. This means the lesson horse is running out of things to teach you because they are meant to be an easy introductory horse. For parents maybe you notice the instructor giving fewer and fewer corrections even with the increase of difficulty in the lesson. Another sign that a student is ready to lease is an eagerness to want to hang out and help at the barn or do more than just riding. If a student is ready and or interested in competing then leasing is definitely the next step. So what does leasing mean? Leasing is when you take full or partial financial responsibility for a horse without having to purchase, which saves you the investment of an upfront cost. I strongly encourage any parent or adult to lease before purchasing. Leasing provides the flexibility to commit for a certain amount of time and at the end of a lease you can renew, go back to lessons, or not ride at all. Compared to owning leasing offers a, get out of jail free card,
in case the equestrian sport is not right for you. Commonly we start most students out with a partial lease, which is half of the total financial commitment of the horse. Partial leasing is just enough financial commitment to get a sense if you can handle it monthly on a longer term basis. So what do you get out of all this commitment? First of all you ride more, partial leases split the week with the owner so you have 3 days available to ride. One lesson a week comes with your training package and the other two days can be independent riding days. You have the ability to take a lease horse to a show or on a trail ride with your trainers approval. Last but not least you get to spend more time at the barn loving, grooming, and playing with horses. If riding is your world then leasing might be right for you!
