02/21/2026
"Leasing a horse is to accept the responsibilities of temporary ownership," Armand Leone writes.
"You are buying the horse for a specific period with all the good and bad, hoped for, and unexpected along the way. Like a purchase, the rider lessee’s trainer plays an important role in the lease venture, perhaps even a more important role than in a purchase. The experience the rider has during the lease depends on the trainer’s skill in finding the right horse to fit the rider’s needs. There are immediate needs and reasonable financial constraints. The horse returned to the owner lessor at the end of the lease depends on the trainer’s keeping the horse in the proper program and with proper care.
In return for using her expertise to find the right horse, the trainer should receive compensation from the rider lessee and only from the rider lessee unless the rider lessee is advised otherwise. The trainer is paid to find a horse that suits. Just as when acting as a trainer agent in a purchase, the trainer is not a guarantor of horse’s performance during the lease. The trainer has a responsibility to work with the rider lessee to achieve a suitable performance with the horse and rider. From that perspective, the trainer’s obligations are no more or less than during a sale.
However, the owner lessor has a vested interest in how the horse is managed during the lease. From tack to turn out to after show care, the trainer is the most important factor in the horse’s well-being. The physical care depends on the right balance between training, showing, and rest. Because an owner can expect a rider lessee to be only concerned about the short term, she must look to the trainer to watch out for the horse’s interests.
The horse’s interests should never be sacrificed for the rider. The horse should be managed the same way as if it were owned. Unfortunately, that may not occur with a lease. While it’s always uncomfortable dealing with a lameness that develops during the lease, the parties should be upfront about it. Both have an interest in healthy horse, it is just the time frames that differ."
📎 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2020/03/09/leases-trainers-more-than-meets-the-eye/
📸 © Laura Brown
