I have a woman who is going to ride my horse.  Well she'll try him first and we'll see if her riding style works with mine, but I think it will work.  She is very experienced.

I told her she would need to join the BC Horse Council, because then she has insurance.  Is there anything you would write up or do when letting someone ride your horse?

Make sure the Horse Council insurance covers anything your horse and other rider do when away from your property as well as on your property.

When someone else is riding my horse, the first thing I do is show them my first aid kit. In it, I have all the essentials and the phone numbers for me, vet, and other barn people. I also have a little chart inside that gives quick reference to the normal vital signs - this is a good thing to share with anyone that is responsible for care of my horses.

Beyond first aid, I always go over tack cleaning and maintenence procedure - just clear up the air about what you do ad don't expect (do they need to clean and wrap up bridle/saddle (reset stirrups) everytime), and if you do or don't want certain products used. I also give the option of using their own equipment - as long as it seems to fit in my opinion.

I also am direct about the fact that I don't feed treats by hand to the majority of my horses. I do allow treats in feed tub. I also specify if the person should use my treats or bring their own (I have a horse with food allergies, so they use my treats/buy the same ones).

I write down booting, procedure - both for riding and turn-out. I hate returning to find a horse missing a shoe because a bell boot was left off.

I write down blanketing instructions.

I specify grooming issues (don't trim mane with scissors, no pulling of forelock or tail, leave fetlocks natural, don't trim off facial whiskers, etc)

If my horse is being boarded, I kindly as the leaser to not incurr any expenses in my name.

I also ask that the person leasing my horse not take saddle pads, wraps, boots, etc home for any reason (including laundry) - that way my stuff doesn't go missing piece by piece.

hmmmm - sure I go over more than that - but it's late and I've been up 23 hours already today. Well, got to go!

thanks for your thoughts.  i am actually looking forward to this.  i know my horse doesn't get enough exercise, so, i am thrilled that someone else will take him out.

i wouldn't have initiated this, cuz, i am fussy about my horses training, but, my neighbor joined us up and it sounds like a good match.

I just wrote up a short paragraph when I leased Party to Meg.  Basically saying that feed, housing, shoeing and vet are lessee's (her) responsibility, until Party comes home, and that if she doesn't want her anymore, she can come home any time, where I can only force her to give up Party if she is showing signs of not being properly cared for, i.e. lost weight, long feet, etc.....

It is not strictly airtight, but mostly just to make me feel better, and her too I hope.

If there is anything you don't want her to do w/ him (take him off property, jump certain heights, grooming issues, etc.), be sure to have it in writing.

If you need to limit the amount of time she rides (# of days per week for example) or reserve certain days/times for yourself - better to have that in writing. And if there are any limits to the showing - jump height, dressage level, number of shows or classes per show, etc.

If you will allow things (showing, going off property, etc.), but want to know in advance, put that in writing, along with how far in advance you must give permission (48 hours, 30 days, whatever).

How much of your stuff she will have use of - just the horse? Horse plus tack? Some tack, but not all?  Plus grooming equipment/supplies? Better to have it in writing so everyone starts on the same page. For example I know someone who is half-leasing a mare (who may have all her own stuff) - she uses a lesson/school saddle/girth (Sandy is privately owned, and only occassionally used for lessons) and has herself provided the saddle pad and brushing boots. To be fair, I do the same when I show a school horse (provide my own pad, so I know a clean one is available, lol).

And also - what if it doesn't work out? Even if it does, when/how will the lease end? How much notice does each side need to give? I was in one of those leases once - the horse and I just didn't gel. We each drove the other a bit crazy (actually nervous more than crazy - he scared me and/or I scared him - we'd get past it, and then something else would happen).

I needed a legal lease because the people leasing my horse are showing him in AQHA shows.  There are leases available on-line that you can view to get an idea of what to include.  Our lease shows where he is stabled, the responsibility for his maintenance and vet bills, allocation of insurance payments (mortalitiy to me as the owner, medical to the people leasing him), etc.  I could have specified the farrier and vet they use.  I just googled horse leases and there were a lot of links returned.

 I insisted on lessons with my trainer to be sure my leasee was on the same page as me and my horse. Stop by unannounced from time to time to check on how the leasee is treating your horse - don't assume, be sure. Also observe your horse when the leasee is handling him/her for any red flags.

 Your leasee should also notify you if there is anything of concern.

"very experienced" to me, would depend on the type of experience she's had - what has she done to show you where her experience has taken her? I've seen students ride the trainer's school horses when she's not around. Some behaviors I bet the trainer would not agree with. Do you mention use of spurs, whips, change of bits, etc. in your lease?

Mostly it has gone really well and helps for my horse to get more exercise than I can give.