Lease or Buy?

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LEASE

PROS

• Less of an investment
• Time to see if a rider is going to “stick with it”
• Able to move quickly into another animal when outgrown

CONS

• Money spent cannot be recovered
• May be required to keep pony at a particular facility or under strict conditions

BUY

PROS

• May be able to recover most or some of the cost of animal when sold
• You can do what you want with your animal

CONS

• May be hard to sell or take a long time when outgrown or found unsuitable.
• Loss of investment if animal becomes unsound or injured. 

Horse & ponies are sometimes available as a  “Care Lease”. There is no payment to lease the animal but you are required to pay for all the expenses for care of the animal. This is done sometimes with a young pony where the owner wants to keep the pony but wants miles put on him. In those cases owners may require the pony be shown x amount of times. Some owners don’t want to sell but cannot afford the expenses.

Half Leases can also be done and may fit your needs. Basically two people lease the same animal or the owner retains the right to still use the animal half of the time. This is a great way to save money and works best if the riders are at two different skill levels or ride different disciplines. You would only have to pay half the expenses. The only downfall is when both riders want to use the animal at the same time.