There are a number of situations where a person or organization might be interested in leasing your horse. Horse clubs, riding stables, breeding farms, 4-H groups and others sometimes need horses on a temporary basis, giving you time to make other arrangements.

You, as the owner, maintain a lot of control over the horse if you put everything in a contract. Medical, hoof and dental care levels can be very specific. Set payments, types of use allowed, stall arrangements, turnout, everything can be specified so there is never any question about the level of care your friend is receiving.

As with any contract, take it to a lawyer. Handshakes are not valid in court. A few hundred dollars is a minor expense compared to the heartache of finding your starving horse stuck in a back pasture. Does your horse need special shoes, medication, feed? Who will be riding your horse, for how long and how often? Put it in writing, have it approved by an attorney and have witnesses sign the contract.

Especially important is a written agreement detailing how much YOU are willing to spend if your horse is sick or injured and who is responsible for the decisions on medical care and euthanization. As you know, a horse can go from healthy to terminally ill in a few minutes. If the lessee cannot get in touch with you and you have not given medical permission IN WRITING, no vet in the world will touch your horse.

After the lease is signed and the horse is delivered, the golden rule is "Trust but verify." If you cannot personally visit your horse, ask for photo updates every few months showing your horse in detail at the location where he is suppose to be. Call the vet to be certain that he visited your horse on schedule. Check with the farrier.

Contracts should include a "penalty clause" that allows you the right to reclaim the horse under certain conditions and to receive a set amount should the lessee not uphold his part of the contract. Again, work with an attorney to set the wording so the horse can be removed immediately should things go wrong. You don't want to be in a situation where your horse appears to be dying yet you can't remove him because the court date is set six months from now.

A lot of leases are completed every year and the horses are well cared for during their term. Both the owner and the lessee can benefit from a properly executed lease arrangement.

Is this the right choice for you?

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