Help! I can't decide to lese this horse or not!?

Question

I had the option of leasing this one horse. I test rided him yesterday and I turned it down but now I'm having second thoughts. They said if I changed my mind to give them a call. Here's why I turned them down.
a) the horse was pretty spooky, it just wanted to go back in the barn and hide in the corner of his stall.
b) the facility wasn't the greatest, it was just 2 barns and a little round pen and little feild.
c) the owner of the place scares me. yesterday she came out in a mumu and started yelling and cussing at the owner of the horse.

here's why i'm having second thoughts:
a) it's a really good deal, only $80 a month (cuz i would be co-leasing with some1 else)
b) the horse was previously abused so its understandable that he may take some time to get used to me.
c) it would be a good experiance to work with a horse that isn't very solid.

But anyways my dad said it was totally up to me but yesterday he said he was relieved when I said I didn't want to lease him.

What do you think I should do?

woops spelling mistake in title *lease

this is my ONLY oppurtunity to lease for this year. trust me I've looked and nothing else is in what i can afford rite now

*test rode, my bad

Alyssa- the horse I ride in lessons was a rescue horse who was abused. She was left in a field to starve. But she is one of my favorite horses. we get along really well and she is very friendly-- she comes up to everyone in the pasture

Answer 1

The cons are pretty major ones, and I think you did the right thing in not going ahead with this lease.

I had a pretty bad experience with a cheap lease: I was an intermediate rider and my trainer recommended a really green mare for me to lease. Said it would be an educational experience. I did not really like the mare when I tried her-I had worked with difficult horses before, but she was a REAL handful: stubborn, ornery, refused to listen, and refused every single jump I aimed her at, even with my trainer coaching me while I test rode her! But I trusted my trainer and this was my only chance to lease, so I went ahead with it.
My experience with her was SO bad that by the end of my 3rd month leasing her, I was absolutely terrified of jumping and basically had to start over from scratch to get my confidence back (I had been jumping 3' at the time). I would never, EVER have leased that mare if I had known in advance what the results of our relationship would be. I should have trusted my gut feeling-I was lucky I didn't get hurt in one of the many, many falls I had from her.

I would trust your gut. Do you have past experience with spooky/barn sour horses? Have you worked successfully with horses that behaved like this before? If he was trying to go back to his stall, he is definetely barn sour. A barn sour horse can be extremely dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced rider- if he scares you enough to make you give up and put him back in his stall, the situation can escalate to the point where he will bolt, spin and rear just to get you off so he can get back to his stall.

A previously abused horse can be a wonderful bonding experience for you if you have the experience and the supervision of a trainer to guide you. If you don't have a trainer to come out and give you lessons on this horse at least once a week, I would stay away from him.

Working with a horse that isn't very solid can be a good experience only if you have enough experience to handle it-like I said above: this could be good for you if you have worked before with horses that have his problems. Did you help out with the training of the other previously abused horse you used to ride? Did she have similar issues as this one? I'm concerned because I have worked at the SPCA retraining abused horses-some are so far gone they can only be handled by professional trainers. Hiding in the corner of his stall is a major self-confidence & fear issue-not a good sign at all.

What are you looking to do with this horse? Jump, barrel race, trail ride? If the facilities are not suitable for what you want to do, you won't be able to ride as much as you would like, which won't make the lease worthwhile.

If the property owner scares you, that's another big issue: you are going to be having to deal with this lady quite often, depending on how much you go to the barn to ride. Why was she yelling at the horse's owner??? Think about this one: if she starts yelling at you, too, will this keep you from riding? Remember the lease should be worthwhile to you.

Honestly, I think your points in stepping away from this lease are very valid. I would wait for something better to come along and use the money you're saving from avoding this lease for lessons on more advanced horses. Can you volunteer with a horse rescue organization in your area? I would try that on the side to get more of a feel for all the aspects of rehabilitating & retraining abused horses.

If you are very experienced, I would try the horse a second time. Ride him longer-for an hour, and see how he behaves. Do you have a trainer? If you do, have him come out and take a look at this horse, get a professional opinion as to whether he suits your skills and experience.

The one thing that concerns me about your question is that your first reaction was to say no because he was "very spooky". This says, to me, that somewhere deep inside you you think he might be too much for you. Not to repeat myself, but I would trust that feeling-you don't want to get hurt by riding/training this horse, or have such a bad experience that you quit riding altogether.

Good luck with your decision!

Answer 2

You already made the right decision. If the horse is spooky, lives in a crappy place with crappy people and is being shared with someone else you'll be very disappoined. eighty bucks is CHEAP but if the place is a dump and the horse is spooky it does you no good and co-leasing sucks because you have to share and people never agree on anything, do not share work loads evenly and do not treat your equipment with care. It sounds like a bad and dangerous deal, this horse needs a solid fondation and it sounds like it is already off to a bad start. Its better you stay out of it. You are better off saving your money and leasing a horse fully on your own that you trust, like riding and enjoy caring for in a safe and enjoable enviroment. Or use your money for 4 lessons with a professional (someone with a real facility not wearing a mumu) to teach you how to properly handle a horse and in a year or so rescue your own so you can bond with it and fully enjoy it.

Answer 3

Look for a calm, trained horse to lease, if leasing is what you want to do. I doubt if every time you see this horse, you will want to train, and train, and train some more! Lease one from a great facility, one that has been ridden alot, that is pleasant, and that you can fall in love with! This is a pleasure horse! If this lady ran out there like that at a person, no doubt she's doing it to the horses in some way or another too!

Answer 4

I say keep him on your mind, but look around a bit more - there might be a better offer for leasing with a better horse at a better facility. I did that after my horse was put down (2 months of owning him, only 3 weeks works well...), since the facility he was at is the best, and before I quit leasing this other horse, he was perfect except for one specific lead...

So look around your area a bit more, there'll probably be better horses that aren't as jumpy yet have a solid training and background.

Answer 5

Okay...you need to stay away from this situation. The last thing that this horse needs is the inconsistency of having someone "co-lease" him. If he has been abused and is as spooky as you say, he needs to have some consistent work done with him in order to help him get passed his issues. Also, as a lease, this is not something you want to get yourself into. You will have little fun and more work...look for something else.

Answer 6

if bud has again disorders, it is beautiful merciless to hold hammering his entrance legs and frame over a soar. roping horses are natural of horses who undergo from persistent ache due to the fact that of the harshness of roping...having to quit 1000's of kilos together with his again, his hips, his frame.... be well to Bud who is been well to you, for this reason some distance and get him an hour with a horse chiropractor to support him believe larger and hold a agenda with this chiro in order that Bud can final decades ache loose. and yeah, get yet another horse for leaping if the chiro says Bud may not make the reduce as a jumper due to the fact that of an excessive amount of put on and tear on his frame already..... I would not propose a pony due to the fact that you'll be able to outgrow that, except you are eight years ancient or very puny. Ponies are not able to preserve a entire lot of weight. And by the point a character is approximately 12, they've outgrown the horse.

Answer 7

GO FOR IT! Ask if you can do it month-to-month so if after a few months it doesn't work out you can walk away. It took me almost 2 years to get to a place where I trusted my horse & he trusted me - you never know what might happen down the road (good or bad) and you may wind up kicking yourself in the *** if you don;t try

Answer 8

If you aren't 100% happy I'd look around for a different horse- it would be awful if you lost your confidence around horses because of either the horse spooking easily or because of problems with the yard owner.

Answer 9

I own a horse too and when I was trading my horse it got spooked and I took him back. when I called back to get another time it was bought from anther state. so what I would do is look for another horse in the newspaper adds.

Answer 10

eeee!!!! thats a tougie!!!! i think i would do it for 1 month and ride the horse alot and get to know him, if it still isn't working out don't lease him again!!!