Should i buy or lease??

Question

i have been taking horseback riding lessons for about 2 or 3 years now and i love it so muchh! i am thinking about buying or leaseing a horse...i just wanted to know what u guys thought, if it's better to buy or lease a horse? i live at 30. min from the barn i am currently at so idk what would be better for me and the horse...opinions and adivce please

Answer 1

Buying is more expensive but definitely more fun. I bought a horse after only a year of lessons and I'm glad I made the decision to buy instead of leasing. You get the feeling of being able to call the horse your own baby. I live about 10 minutes away from where I board, and can go there whenever my parents are home to take me, and soon I'll be able to go whenever because I'm getting my license. If you stuck with it for 2-3 years you would probably want to buy a horse as long as the circumstances are right.

Costs:

80 dollars each farrier visit

200 dollars each month boarding

500 a year vet check ups/floating

at least 1k dollars on tack, more if you get really good tack

I'd estimate a minimum 4k a year to spend on a horse, plus the cost of buying the horse itself.

Answer 2

Always, always lease FIRST.  Horse ownership is very expensive, lots of hard work, and a big commitment.

First, it would be a good idea to ask your trainer if you are ready and capable to care for a horse on your own.  If yes then you should lease first.  This gives you an opportunity to see how the financial costs affect you and your family.  Sure you can handle a month or two but can you handle it for 6 months or 8 or more?  The most expensive part of owning a horse is not the initial purchase, but the costs to keep the horse.

Second, depends on your age.  It always a shame to see a kid get a  horse and then a year or two later, discover the opposite s*x.  I strongly caution parents from buying when the kids are near that age where they are close to getting interested in boyfriends/girlfriends.  8 out of 10 kids will give up wanting a horse when they get into dating.  Unfortunate but true.  Its not fair to a horse to spend time with it then just ignore them when you start dating.  It is a lot easier to just stop leasing a horse then it is to sell one.  If you buy one you will still have to pay all the maintenance costs of it rather then a lease.  Typically you give a months notice then you're done.

Depends on your riding level.  If you can safely walk, trot, canter, and jump a horse you could defiantly think about buying.  But again, wait until you get into dating and decide if horses will be a hobby or a lifetime activity.

Are you and your parents prepaired to pay for emergency colic surgery which can run upwards of 3 thousand dollars?  If you have to penny pinch its not a good idea.  Save for a year while you lease so you have money saved for buying a horse, or for a vet emergency.  Its not fair to the horse if they need medication or special shoes or a vet visit and you cant afford to pay for it.

30 minutes is not all that far.  Are you going to go out there every day though to check on your horse?  Or have them in training so someone can monitor your horse?  If not leasing is a good option.  A typical lease is 3-4 days unless you have a full lease which could be 4-6 days.  If you have someone who is flexiabl then it will be even better then having set days to ride.

If you have buckets full of cash to spend and you dont know what to buy a horse would sure help solve that problem.  Point really being, you can always buy a horse, you cant always sell it and when it does sell it, can take a long time sometimes.  Leasing lets you test out horse ownership without having the full financial commitment.  

In my area typical horse costs are:

$125 minimum for shoes

$500 board

$600 training

$25 worming

$100 supplements, extra feed, meds, etc

$100 for a emergency savings account for emergencies or new horse things like tack or blankets

Usually, its about $1,200 a month which is $15,000 a year to have a horse.