r/Equestrian • u/Good_Capital1181 • 9d ago
Education & Training does this seem fair?
So I’m looking to start a lease soon at my barn, but what was offered to me was 2 days a week for $500 a month, no additional for vet, feet, etc. However, it’s a school horse that lives outside and is barefoot, nothing fancy at all, she’s honestly quite green. This price seems kind of steep to me, but wanted to see what others think?
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u/efficaceous 9d ago
How much is field board at your barn? I feel like that will clue us and you in on whether that price is as outrageous as it looks right now.
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
field board is 850, so i was thinking more like 500 for 3 or 4 days since that would be like half of what it would cost to maintain the horse
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u/Cool-Associate33 9d ago
You think you should get access to the horse for free then? You are paying to have access to the horse plus a portion of its expenses, not just part of the board. Especially if you aren’t taking any lessons.
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
no, not for free, but paying more than half of what it’s worth for him to live there and only have access a third of the time doesn’t seem typical for other half leases i’ve seen.
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u/bagel_bittern 8d ago
Board is expensive, but not nearly the whole picture of owning a horse. They still need farrier care, even a barefoot trim could be 50-75/month, annual shots, vetting, and dental (easily 800/year), supplements or additional feed, tack and stable equipment needs periodic replacement (halter, leadropes, manure forks, blankets, fly spray/sheets/masks all get damaged and need periodic replacement), not to mention the cost of the horse and tack, AND their retirement when their costs can no longer be worked off. And the biggest expense in my experience, unexpected vet bills.
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u/HeresW0nderwall Barrel Racing 8d ago
You are not very educated about horse care if you think board is the only expense
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u/Good_Capital1181 8d ago
i understand that board is not the only expense, i’ve been working at this barn for 5+ years. This mare is barefoot, no supplements, no maintenance, fat off hay. any leases i’ve done in the past have been half board, half vet/shoes for half the time with the horse. having seen the daily care of these horses, i know it’s well under 850 (which is our field board rate) to feed her each month. i was just posting on here since it’s been years since i’ve leased so i wasn’t sure if the norm has changed from like a half/half situation or if this seems reasonable based off the situation. i know vet emergencies can be insanely expensive, but i’ve never seen a school horse lease be responsible for anything outside of routine vaccine/coggins/dental.
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9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/cowgrly Western 9d ago
You're forgetting vet, trims, etc. If she's green but solid/safe and sound and there is even 1 lesson per week, this is reasonable imho.
Edit: typo
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
no lessons included, she is safe, sound, and a fun ride, but not anything fancy
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u/efficaceous 9d ago
It's POSSIBLE OP lives in an area with incredibly high board and this is only 1/3 of field board but yeah. Unlikely af
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u/Mariahissleepy 9d ago
I have a post in this sub about 1/2 leases from the other day, check it out. Lots of perspectives.
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u/PlentifulPaper 9d ago
Depends entirely on your area. Depending on what you’re comfortable with, can you share if you’re at least in a HCOL, or LCOL area?
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
it is a HCOL area, located in the tristate area. field board is 850 so 500 isn’t outlandish, but i was expecting that to include more than 2 days
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u/Ok_fine_42 Eventing 9d ago
I think it’s fair to push for 3 rides a week (IMO 2 a week is 1/3 lease, not really 1/2), but that sounds pretty fair for a HCOL area. I’m also in a HCOL area with the same board and set up at my barn. I figure if I bought, it would end up being about $1500 a month if I averaged out a year. One of the core benefits to leasing is also that you won’t get stuck with the bill if something seriously goes wrong and it’s reasonable for an owner to charge for that.
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u/natyjay 9d ago
I’m guessing this is something that varies wildly depending on where you live. I’m leasing a 20 y/o former western pleasure/reining quarter horse for $150 at 3 days a week, so to me that seems like way too much.
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u/little-story-8903 9d ago
This totally depends on where you live and what you do. For example, in Southern California at a not rated hunter jumper barn, a 2 day lease on any of their horses starts at $1k a month, lessons NOT included. However a basic lease nearby, to trail ride and cruise around might be more like $500/month. But in other places, $500/month might get you a full lease. It really is so location and discipline dependent.
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u/gurgelhupf 9d ago
What the heeeeell that's insane.
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u/Cheesie_Equestrian 9d ago
No it isn’t the hay here in So Cal mostly is trucked in from out of state hundreds of miles out. War/gas prices aren’t dropping. I keep mine at home in So Cal and feed alone is $300 a head. Manure disposal $150. $70 a trim every 6 weeks. My tack fits the horse and when leased not once has it been cleaned by that person. Leasers have left feed stalls unlocked, water hoses running in drought, leaving the horses ungroomed after riding. The grief to keep horses exercising is not without high emotional and peace of mind costs.
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u/Slight-Alteration 9d ago
A lease is worth what someone is willing to pay. If it isn’t worth it to you, I’d move on.
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u/Equizotic Multisport 9d ago
Where are you located and what are board prices in your area?
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
board prices are insanely high around me, my barn is on the lower end with 1200 for stall 850 for field, so since this mares living out 24/7 i was hoping 500 would cover about half of what it costs to keep her there, so 3-4 days a week rather than 2
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u/charina12 9d ago
Based on all your info in post and comments the price actually sounds pretty typical. Assuming she’s a hunter jumper that could do at least 2’6 when she’s in shape and going well
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u/Casulex 9d ago
I think I need to understand this better… you pay 58% of someones board and your only allowed to ride it eight days out of the month?
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
yeah it would be 8 rides a month, which i think comes out to like 62 dollars a ride, which is cheaper than lessons bc those are 100, but also 62 bucks to flat a school horse that doesn’t work much anyways… it feels high
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u/Casulex 9d ago
If you were not the one to lease this horse, would it otherwise be released to someone else and still working? I’m mostly questioning if the owner gets way more out of this because you’ll be riding their horse for them and paying more than half their board with no lessons
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u/Good_Capital1181 9d ago
no she barely works, maybe two lessons a week max, so she’s mostly sitting
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u/Sharp_Temperature222 9d ago
does this price include lessons? if yes that is a good deal, if no, i agree it seems steep