By Cathy Sobke
Owning a horse can be a commitment spanning years, if not decades. At some point, you may be looking to lease your horse. You found the perfect mount for your steed and you have worked out the basics, such as cost and what your lessee (person doing the leasing) intends to do with the horse. So what next? You have an agreement, right?
Maybe… as a practicing lawyer for over 10 years, I can give you some tips to keep in mind as you head down this road. In many ways the terms of a lease need to be more exhaustive than a sale agreement because it is not just a one-time transaction, but an ongoing relationship lasting the duration of the lease. (Just as a heads up for our Canadian and other international friends, I know nothing about your legal system but feel free to learn a bit about ours in the U.S.)
Get it in writing
It does not matter if you are free leasing your lawn ornament (a free lease is usually where the lessee picks up the costs of board and care) or you are leasing out a FEI-level horse that is worth more than most people’s houses – Get. It. In. Writing. Why do I say this no matter the cost? Say you are free leasing your horse and the arrangement is fine for a while. Months turn into years and then the lessee starts making noise that they own the horse, not you. After all, they say, you “abandoned” the horse and they have been generously paying its expenses for years. Now you worry, or worse, have to prove in a court, that your horse is still yours. You know what would shut down this debate before it even started? A written lease agreement. Otherwise you may have no other document showing you actually own horse.
Make changes
Say you are putting together a lease and you pull a form from the internet- something I would not recommend, but we lawyers know it happens (you get what you pay for after all ). The form includes things that you do not want. Or the lessee put together the lease and now you are looking it over and it says the term is renewable by the lessee but you discussed only doing it for a year. Well, change it! Take out your pen, cross things out, or take another piece of paper and put together an addendum which supplements the original agreement. For some reason people seem to be intimidated by the idea of drafting or modifying a “legal” document. Yes, there are terms of art that us lawyers are trained to use and a lawyer would be able to put together a document that better protects you (after all, that is why we have a job), but that does not mean that you can not put something together which shows your intent (which is ultimately what a judge would care about).
Be specific
Make sure the lease identifies the horse, does not have any blank spots, and includes basic terms such as cost and duration. This should also include care and maintenance, such as veterinary, farrier, dentist, etc by provider name and identify who pays. Include things which you may have assumed but should have in writing. For example, you are leasing your horse to one of your trainer’s clients, you may assume the horse will stay in your barn. Put language in there that the horse is not to be boarded elsewhere. You do not want to show up at the barn and find your horse has moved without you knowing.
Beware of vague or confusing language
Typos, improper use of pronouns, and incomplete sentences are not just things that drive English teachers nuts, they create confusion and ambiguity. A contract is a piece of evidence that is used to show the party’s intent. That intent gets confused and muddled if the lease can be interpreted in multiple ways. If not a lawyer, maybe have a non-horsey friend read it over to see if they understand the agreement. Ultimately if your lease ends up before a judge, they probably will not be an equestrian either.
Include a release and waiver
Your barn may have its own liability release and waiver but it may not cover you as an owner. If you want to have it as a separate document from the lease, that works too, but if the lessor gets hurt on your horse, it is a good idea to have yourself protected.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and you should talk to a qualified (preferably equestrian) lawyer if you have questions about your situation. Happy leasing!
In the event you have additional questions, Cathy Sobke has been a lawyer for over ten years, an equestrian for life, and is happy to help her fellow equestrians with their legal questions. She is available to discuss your issues www.kewlegal.com/team-member/catherine-sobke/