Drafting Boarding and Lesson Contracts: What to Include

Most disputes between a yard operator and a client aren't about the horse itself, but about what the parties thought they'd agreed: who pays the vet, what happens if payment falls behind, and who's liable if the horse is injured. A written agreement stops those questions from surfacing only once things have already gone wrong. This overview covers, in broad strokes, what belongs in a boarding, lesson, or stabling contract; for wording that's watertight and tailored to your situation and current law, have a lawyer or your trade association review it.

Three Types of Agreement, Three Risks

A professional yard often works with several contract types side by side. Each one covers a different risk, so it pays to keep them separate.

Boarding agreement (full or half board) — you house and care for a horse that remains the client's property. The biggest risk lies in unpaid boarding fees and in damage to, or caused by, the horse in your care.
Stabling agreement (bare stall / self-care) — you rent out stall space only; the owner does all the care. Here it's mainly about access, use of facilities, and what falls under your supervision and what doesn't.
Lesson agreement — you teach lessons on your own horses or the client's. The risk here is rider injury, no-shows, and the question of under what conditions riding takes place.

Many yards combine a short agreement per client (the individual arrangements) with one set of general terms and conditions that applies to everyone. That keeps the signed document short and lets you update the general rules in one place.

What Belongs in Every Contract

Regardless of the form, there are provisions that belong in almost every agreement. The table below is a checklist, not ready-made wording.

Item	Why it belongs
Parties and horse	Full names, address, and identification of the horse (name, chip/UELN, passport number). Without this, it's unclear which animal is meant.
Service and price	Exactly what you provide (stabling, feed, turnout, mucking out, use of the arena or horse walker) and the price, including VAT where applicable.
Payment and term	Amount, due date, payment method, and what happens if payment is late (interest, collection, suspension).
Duration and termination	Start date, whether the contract runs indefinitely or for a fixed term, and the notice period for both parties.
Care and health	Who arranges the vet, farrier, deworming and vaccinations, and who bears those costs.
Liability	Who bears which risk for damage to, caused by, or around the horse (see below).
Insurance	What insurance you carry and what you require from the client.
House rules	Reference to the yard's rules: opening hours, use of facilities, conduct, safety.

Make the service description as concrete as possible. "Full board" means feeding twice a day plus daily turnout at one yard, and only shelter and hay at another. Whatever you don't spell out explicitly leads to disagreement.

Making Payment Watertight

Payment disputes are the most common reason a yard operator pulls out a contract. A few provisions that make the difference:

A fixed due date and payment method. Preferably in advance, monthly, by direct debit or a standing transfer. "Paying whenever it's convenient" isn't an arrangement.
Consequences of late payment. Set out that you may charge interest and (out-of-court) collection costs if payment is overdue. How you're allowed to calculate those costs is set by law; have the wording checked so the clause holds up.
Suspending services. You can't simply stop feeding or hold back the horse over a payment arrears — caring for a horse remains a duty of care, and a right of retention over a living animal is legally sensitive ground. Describe which steps you do take instead (a reminder notice, termination, a deadline), and have a lawyer confirm what's allowed in your case.
Price changes. Set out how, and with what notice period, you can adjust your rates, so an increase doesn't feel like a breach of contract.

What you're actually allowed to do in the event of non-payment — and certainly what you're allowed to do with the horse — depends heavily on the circumstances and the law. Don't rely on a template you found online for this.

Responsibility and Liability

This is the part where the amounts at stake can run highest, and where a loosely drafted contract most often falls short. Two things get tangled up here and deserve to be named separately.

Care responsibility — who decides and pays in case of illness or injury. Set out who you call if the horse has colic at night, whether you're allowed to call the vet yourself in an emergency at the owner's expense, and up to what amount you can act without prior consultation. Without that arrangement, you're left empty-handed in an emergency.

Legal liability — who's on the hook for damage. Under Dutch law, liability for an animal rests in principle with its owner (strict liability), but as a commercial keeper, you as the yard operator can be liable for damage that a horse in your care causes or sustains while under your supervision. A contract can divide that risk, but not without limit: a clause excluding all liability often doesn't hold up, especially not in cases of injury or gross negligence. The broad outline is in the guide on liability around your horse; for how far that reaches in your situation, a lawyer or insurer is the source to consult.

Always link the liability clause to your insurance. Make sure your commercial liability insurance (AVB) with custody cover includes the horses in your care, and require in the contract that the client insures their own horse against illness and their own damage. What you insure and what you agree contractually need to match up — see what a professional needs in insurance.

Lesson Contracts and Safety

With teaching, the risk shifts to rider injury. Points that belong in a lesson agreement or enrollment terms:

Assumption of risk. Horse riding carries an inherent risk that the rider accepts. You can state that, but it doesn't discharge you from your own duty of care as an instructor — an overly broad exclusion clause won't survive in court.
Safety requirements. A mandatory riding helmet, suitable footwear, and the right to refuse a rider who behaves unsafely or wears equipment that doesn't meet standards.
Cancellation and no-shows. When a cancelled lesson is or isn't charged, and with what notice period.
Minors. For lessons to children, a parent or guardian signs; set out who the point of contact is.

Trade-association templates exist for lesson terms and liability in the lesson business. The FNRS, the Dutch trade association for riding schools and boarding yards, offers members general terms and model contracts; that's a better starting point than writing your own from scratch.

General Terms and Model Contracts

You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Proven templates exist for the equestrian sector that already cover the usual risks.

Trade-association templates. The FNRS makes model contracts and general terms available to members for boarding, lessons, and stabling. These are drafted with the sector in mind and updated periodically.
Properly declaring general terms applicable. Terms only apply if you hand them over before or when the contract is concluded, and the client accepts them. A reference on your website, or a reference added afterward on the invoice, is often not enough. Have the client sign to confirm receipt.
In writing and signed. A verbal agreement is legally valid but hard to prove in a dispute. A signed copy (or a digital equivalent) per client is the bare minimum.

A model contract is a starting point, not an end point: adapt it to your own services, and if in doubt, have it reviewed by a lawyer familiar with current legislation.

In Practice: How to Set It Up

A workable order for getting your contracts in shape:

Split your services into boarding, stabling, and lessons, and determine the risk you carry for each form.
Start with a trade-association template (FNRS, or through a lawyer) instead of writing your own from scratch.
Make the service and price description concrete — leave no room for "that's not what I thought we agreed."
Arrange payment, termination, and payment arrears explicitly, and have the collection and suspension clauses checked.
Align liability and insurance with each other, with custody cover for horses in your keeping.
Have each client sign both the agreement and confirmation of receipt of the general terms, and keep a copy.

A good contract isn't meant to signal distrust of clients, but to give you something to fall back on if a conflict arises. Invest once in a solid set and keep it current; that costs less than a single dispute that gets out of hand. For the exact legal wording and current statutory requirements, a lawyer or your trade association remains the right source.

Compiled from public professional sources. For diagnosis, dosage or legal advice, a professional is the right source. Translated from the Dutch original.