Without knowing any specifics you may be surprised to learn that free leasing a horse can actually be more expensive than full leasing.
is a free lease more expensive than a full lease?The term “free lease” is loosely used and can have multiple meanings. Because of that it’s important to understand whether the free lease you’re looking into matches your expectations. Often a free lease is more expensive than a full lease.
A free lease can mean just come out and ride, in which case it would really be free, or it could mean something entirely different. A free lease could mean that you take the horse and assume all the responsibilities of owning the horse while you’re leasing. For example: boarding, hoof care, veterinarian, additional feed, and miscellaneous costs. So it is quite possible that a free lease can be more expensive than a full lease(the horse boarded at the owners barn, vetted, trimmed, and fed) where you simply pay a flat fee for using the horse.
If the free lease you were considering turns out to be the expensive kind($$$) and you’re looking for a bargain($) think about the half lease option. The half lease typically gives you 2-4 riding days per week and costs a little more than half of what you would pay for a full lease.
Manage your expectations by geting the specifics for any horse offered for “free lease”, if you’re looking to free lease, be clear about your expectations as well.