Owning vs. Leasing

Since I’m so new to the horse blogosphere, I’m still stumbling on some pretty cool blogs, like Dressage Princess. I found this post by her and can relate since I don’t own Mae. I have a partial lease. This means I get to ride 4 days a week and can choose the days since no one else is leasing Mae. I could technically ride every day if I wanted to, but I’m frankly too busy to take advantage of that situation.

In some cases, maybe leasing isn’t such a great deal – like when you have to pay 100% of the board, vet bills, farrier bills, etc. and then at the end of the day still don’t own the horse. But in my case, it’s pretty good. Here’s my list of pros and cons:

PROS

• It’s super cheap. I pay a very low monthly fee for my partial lease of Mae. I am not responsible for any vet or farrier bills.


• Equipment is supplied. Mae comes complete with a tack box, grooming supplies, bridle, super expensive saddle, lunge line, lunge whip, and so on. So aside from the occasional misc. item (not to mention carrots and horse treats) I’m off the hook.


• The freedom to end the lease at any time. I’m not tied down. If I decide it’s not fun, I stop. If I lose my job or fall into a financial crisis, I stop, and I don’t have to worry about Mae not being provided for.


• Minimal responsibility. Now, I’m not the type of person to shy from responsibility…and that’s exactly why this situation is awesome. I have so much responsibility in every other area of my life that not having much when it comes to riding is pretty sweet.


• Did I mention it’s cheap? For example, I pay the same amount every month to ride Mae 4x a week as I do for one month of weekly lessons that I take at another stable. That means 4 hour-long lessons = 16 rides on Mae. Crazy!


• Guilt-free. If I get really busy and can’t ride for nearly a week, I’ll feel bad about not exercising Mae, but I won’t feel bad about all the wasted board money, etc.


• Land of make-believe. Since I’m the only one riding Mae and her owner isn’t even on the same continent, it’s pretty much like I have a free horse for the summer. I can at least pretend she’s mine for now.

CONS

• No choice of boarding stable. In many ways, Mae’s stable is a great place and I really can’t complain. I’ve been to lots of stables in the area and it seems like most of them are run by asshats and feature dangerous, dirty, and scary conditions. (In fact, last year I turned down an excellent lease situation because the stable was such a train wreck.) This stable is very nice and run by friendly, knowledgeable people. But if I owned a horse, I’d choose a stable closer to where I live, and with better riding facilities. I haven’t done the math, but I’m pretty sure I pay more on gas driving to and from the stable every month than I do on the actual lease.


• No showing opportunities. I absolutely love horse shows, but I don’t see this an option with Mae. (Of course, if you read this blog you can probably see I’m not ready to be showing Mae, but I’m talking about fun shows, schooling shows, walk-trot classes to start, etc.) The owner hasn’t strictly forbidden me from participating in any shows, but I think I’d feel weird asking. Since I don’t know how I’d work out the trailering issues and since I don’t have any show buddies who could help me, I’m not even going to bother considering it. If I owned a horse, I might try.


• Limited choice of horse. Let’s face it. Usually, when you lease, you have to settle for the horse that is available. I by no means intend to say that I’m “settling” for Mae. She’s an amazing horse and probably deserves a better rider than me. But if I were buying a horse and came across an ad for Mae, I might pass her by. While Mae is gorgeous and kind of flashy, I’d be fine buying an older horse who might be fugly but who is gentle, steady and wise. I’d recognize that a horse like Mae might do better with a more ambitious or show circuit-oriented rider.


• That saddle I get to use for free? I don’t think it fits me very well. I’ve looked into buying a cheap or used alternative, but for now I’m trying to make do with a saddle purchased with someone else in mind.


• Saying goodbye. As of right now my lease is supposed to go through the end of August, with an option to extend if the owner wants to. In any case, Mae and I will have to part ways at some point. And the owner very well might decide to up and sell her, which means goodbye for good. So I better not get attached.

When it comes down to it, I really do want my own horse. But for now, leasing Mae is the perfect option for me. Even though I technically could afford a horse, I’m not ready to buy one – but that’s a post for another time. Right now, I’m happy with my partial-lease of Mae.