Strange Lease?

[FieldOrnaments]

Hello, I have recently been looking for a quiet mount for some gentle hacking after a while away from the saddle (though never far from a horse!) Through the local horsey grapevine, I was introduced to a stud/charity that offers horses for 'lease', whereby you pay a one-off sum of two or three thousand pounds, plus the ongoing upkeep of the animal, and must keep it on the yard it already lives on. This is not a style of arrangement I've ever heard of before and, to be blunt, it sounds something of a con; whilst it's undeniable that the preliminary 'price' is a lot less than the animals would go for were they on the open market for sale, it still seems a lot of money when no more privileges are conferred to you than with an ordinary part loan/share. But I was wondering if I was being ignorant and anyone here who has ever done such an arrangement could shed some light on how it works/any potential benefits I cannot see.
With thanks.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Sounds about as fishy as a dead mackerel to me TBH.

Supposing you move? and can't keep the horse there any more? Can you take it with you to your new yard? Or do they pay you back your cash and you walk away.

It would be interesting to see the small print.

And as well as the cash up-front you're then having to pay for the ongoing upkeep? Jeez, that sounds a nice little fiddle, right. Why didn't I think of that one: anyone want a hairy cob for the winter??

Do they actually get any punters take this up I wonder?

Personally I'd give them a (very) rude gesture.

 

[Nasicus]

Where are you based? I don't think this is anything you'll legitimately come across in the UK, but you say Lease which is more common a term in the USA?

 

[TealH0rse]

Sounds like a scam. Either a ‘horse will be gone after you pay the fee’ scam, or a ‘loaning but might as well just buy you’re own’ scam.

Definitely wouldn’t go for it.

 

[Esmae]

Nice work if you can get it eh? Personally wouldn't touch that with a barge pole. Cheeky so and so's!!

 

[Abacus]

What happens if the horse goes lame or can't be ridden, do you still have to continue the arrangement? And how long does the payment entitle you to - a year, or forever? Sounds very odd to me.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

No, I'm in the UK - I just don't see how this is anything like a traditional loan/share because of the lump sum required before commencing doing anything with the animal. I'm not interested in taking it up anyway as the horses are much, much higher calibre animals than would be required for what I want to do....something young with BE100 experience/potential is probably not going to enjoy buckle end hacking once or twice a week!

 

[Abacus]

It sounds as though you might just need a share of a nice straight forward horse. I think there are plenty of people who would want you to ride theirs in this way, and might only want a minimal financial contribution. Unless you really want a whole horse and all the expense of that.

 

[IrishMilo]

Post the name of this 'charity'...

 

[cobgoblin]

Hmm.. I wonder how many people they lease the horse to at the same time. Nice little earner!

 

[sport horse]

You can look up the credentials of a chairty on the Charities Commission web site.

 

[ycbm]

What happens if the horse is not sound?
.

 

[Wizpop]

I would also be very interested to see the contract……..

 

[CMcC]

It sounds odd. But I wonder if the key is that you describe the horses as high calibre. Perhaps the initial investment gives you the right to ride and compete the horse for a specified period of time. The initial outlay being far less than the value of the horse, and what you would expect to pay to purchase. You pay costs of the horses keep/livery etc but have no responsibility if the horse is unsound for vets bills, you just hand the horse back, your maximum loss is the initial investment whereas if you owned the horse you would potentially have large vet bills and the risk of loss of total value.

 

[blitznbobs]

The market for talented pony leasing is increasing and operates on similar criteria… they have to be insured by the leasee and stay on the yard… thus enabling kids to access better ponies than they/ their parents can actually afford and go for teams etc… I can’t see why it couldn’t happen in the horse market too