Boarding, Leasing or Keeping a Horse at Home: How to Choose and What to Ask

By Gayle Woods Editors Updated 5 min read

Before you buy a horse, or when your current setup isn't working, you have three basic options: board a horse at a barn, lease a horse someone else owns, or keep a horse on your own property. Each suits a different budget, schedule and level of experience. Many people use all three at different points in their riding lives.

The three options at a glance

Leasing Boarding Keeping at home
Monthly cost Lowest Highest Middle
Up-front cost Little to none Purchase price Purchase price, land, fencing, shelter, equipment
Time each day Only riding time Riding plus some care Two hours or more of chores
Flexibility High, easy to end Medium Low
Control over care Little Some Full
Help nearby Owner, barn staff Barn staff, trainers Mostly you

See the cost of owning a horse for detailed budgets.

How horse leasing works

A lease lets you use someone else's horse, usually for a monthly fee, while the owner keeps ownership. Common types:

  • Full lease: you get exclusive use of the horse and usually pay most or all of its costs, such as board, farrier and routine vet care. The horse may stay at its current barn or move to yours.
  • Half or partial lease: you share the horse with its owner or another rider, often riding two or three set days a week, and pay part of the costs. A common entry point, often a few hundred dollars a month.
  • Free lease: no lease fee, but you pay the horse's expenses. Often used for older horses whose owners want them in work and well cared for.
  • Lease-to-own: part of the lease payments go toward buying the horse later.
  • Show leases: for competition horses, often priced per year as a share of the horse's value.

Why lease first: you learn what owning a horse really involves, find out what kind of horse you want, and can walk away at the end of the term.

What a lease contract should cover

Never lease on a handshake. A written contract should include:

  • Term and fee: start date, end date, monthly fee and when it's due.
  • Costs: exactly who pays for board, feed, farrier, routine vet care, emergency care, dental, deworming, supplements and tack repairs.
  • Use: what you can do with the horse, such as jumping height limits, trail riding, showing, taking it off the property, and who else may ride.
  • Care standards: feeding, turnout, shoeing and who makes vet decisions.
  • Insurance: whether the horse has mortality or major medical coverage, who pays the premium, and whether you need liability insurance.
  • Injury and illness: what happens if the horse goes lame or needs time off. Does the lease pause? Who pays?
  • Ending early: how much notice either side must give, and what happens to fees already paid.
  • Release of liability, under your state's equine activity law if it has one.

Choosing a boarding barn

The right barn makes owning a horse a pleasure. The wrong one makes it a constant worry. Visit several barns, more than once and at different times of day, before you decide.

Horse care

  • Turnout: how many hours a day, in what size area, alone or in groups? More turnout is better for most horses.
  • Hay: how much, how often, what quality? Look at the hay in the barn. Is it green, sweet-smelling and free of dust and mold? Do horses have hay in front of them most of the day?
  • Water: clean, plentiful, and kept from freezing in winter.
  • Grain and supplements: will they feed what you provide, and how many times a day?
  • Stalls: size, bedding, cleanliness, ventilation. See stall size and bedding.
  • Fencing and shelter: safe fences and somewhere for horses to get out of the weather.
  • Blanketing, fly masks, medications: included or extra?
  • Health requirements: does the barn require vaccines and a current negative Coggins test for every horse? It should.

People and running the barn

  • Who does the daily care, and how experienced are they?
  • Is someone on the property, or close by, at night?
  • How quickly will they spot and report a sick or injured horse?
  • Which vets and farriers come to the barn?
  • Are the other boarders happy? Ask them.

Facilities and riding

  • Arena footing and lighting, round pen, trails
  • Tack room security and space
  • Trailer parking
  • Hours you can come and ride
  • Lesson and trainer arrangements, and whether outside trainers are allowed

The boarding contract

A good barn gives you a written contract that spells out what's included, the monthly rate, extra fees, notice for moving out or rate changes, emergency procedures and liability. Read it before you sign.

Keeping a horse at home

Having your horse in your own backyard is a dream for many riders. It gives you full control over care and saves board fees. It also means:

  • Daily chores, morning and evening, every day of the year, in all weather. Feeding, watering, mucking out and checking every horse.
  • A companion. Horses are herd animals and shouldn't live alone. Plan for at least two horses, or a horse plus a donkey, pony or goat.
  • Land and facilities: enough pasture or a dry lot, safe fencing, shelter, water, hay storage and manure handling. See how many acres a horse needs and manure management.
  • Equipment: at a minimum, a wheelbarrow, manure forks, water tanks, trough heaters, and often a tractor.
  • A backup plan for when you're sick, traveling or out of town.
  • Local rules: zoning, how many horses you can keep per acre, and manure regulations.

Which option is right for you?

  • New to horses or not sure you'll keep riding: lease first, ideally at a lesson barn.
  • Busy schedule, want help and community: board at a barn with good care.
  • Experienced, with land and time, want control: keep horses at home.
  • Want a horse but can't cover all the costs: a half lease or sharing a horse.

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions