Horse Lease and Co-Riding Contracts: What to Put in Writing

Sharing a horse cuts costs and makes sure your horse gets enough exercise on the days you're not there yourself. But a verbal agreement that "feels fine" falls apart the moment the horse goes lame, the co-rider falls, or one of you wants to stop. A couple of pages on paper prevent most of the hassle.

Which Form Fits Your Situation

The term co-rider covers a spectrum. The more another person takes over, the more you need to put in writing.

For a casual co-rider, a short agreement is sometimes enough. With half-board and a lease, money and use are at stake, and a real contract belongs with it. Important: in all these arrangements, the owner usually remains the one legally responsible for the horse, even when someone else is riding it.

Liability: Where It Most Often Goes Wrong

Under Dutch law, a horse counts as an animal for which the possessor is strictly liable. Loosely translated: if your horse causes damage — it kicks someone, breaks loose, runs into a car — you as the owner can be held liable for that, even if you weren't there yourself. Liability insurance is therefore not a luxury.

Two scenarios you want to cover in advance:

• The horse causes damage to a third party (another rider, a passerby, property). This usually falls under the owner's/possessor's liability.
• The co-rider or lessee gets injured while riding. Horse riding carries its own inherent risk; even so, it's wise to record that the co-rider rides at their own risk and carries their own accident or WA (Wettelijke Aansprakelijkheid — statutory liability) coverage.

Whether your existing policy covers a co-rider or lessee varies by insurer. Some policies only cover the owner and household members. Call your insurer before you let anyone ride and ask explicitly — also have them confirm whether coverage changes for a paid arrangement or a lease. What follows here are the broad lines; for your exact situation, your insurer or a lawyer is the authoritative source.

What Belongs in Every Contract

Keep it concrete. A good co-riding or lease contract describes, at minimum:

• Who and which horse: name and details of both parties, the horse's name and chip/passport details.
• When and how often: which days, how many times a week, and whether those days are fixed or by arrangement.
• What the co-rider may and may not do: riding only or also lungeing (moving the horse in circles on a lunge line), hacking out, jumping, competing, or transporting the horse. Record explicitly what is not allowed.
• Fee: the monthly amount, what it covers (part of boarding, feed, farrier), and the payment term. For half-board, expect roughly half the fixed monthly costs, but that depends on the horse and the region.
• Care and rules: use of own or shared tack, feeding and turnout arrangements, dealings with the instructor, and the yard's house rules.
• Insurance: who carries which coverage, and confirmation that the co-rider rides at their own risk.
• Illness, injury, and costs: who calls the vet and who pays if the horse is out of action. Does the fee keep running if the horse can't be ridden for weeks?
• Notice period: how, and with what notice, each party can end the arrangement — a month, for example.

A handwritten or digital document with both signatures and a date is legally valid; you don't need a notary. Both parties should keep a copy.

Lease: Extra Points to Put in Writing

With a lease (legally a form of loan-for-use or rental, in Dutch bruikleen or huur), someone uses your horse exclusively, often for a season or longer. That calls for tighter agreements than with a casual co-rider:

• Term and renewal: a fixed end date, and whether the lease continues automatically or must be renegotiated.
• Where the horse is kept: does it stay at your yard, or move to the lessee's? A move affects insurance, costs, and oversight.
• Cost split: who pays boarding, farrier, vet, insurance, and any competition costs during the lease.
• Health decisions: who may call in a vet or treatment, and up to what amount without consultation.
• Return and condition: in what condition the horse comes back, and what happens in case of injury or, in the worst case, death during the lease period.

Because more money and risk are involved here, a lease is the type of agreement where having a lawyer check the draft is rarely wasted money.

Avoid the Classic Disputes

Most conflicts don't come from bad intentions but from mismatched expectations. Three recurring flashpoints:

1. The horse is out of action. Agree in advance whether the fee keeps running during lameness or colic (abdominal pain in a horse — always call the vet), and who covers the vet costs.
2. The co-rider does more than agreed. Someone goes hacking out or jumping without permission. Put in black and white what's allowed.
3. One of you wants to stop. Without a notice period, you suddenly have no co-rider — or the co-rider has no horse. A one-month notice period absorbs that.

In Short

• Choose the form — casual co-rider, regular co-rider, half-board, or lease — and match the contract to how much another person takes over.
• Call your insurer before anyone rides your horse, and ask whether a (paid) co-rider or lessee is covered.
• Record at minimum: the parties, days, what is and isn't allowed, the fee, insurance, costs during illness, and the notice period.
• Two signatures and a date make it legally valid; for a lease, it's worth having a lawyer read it too.

A contract isn't a sign of distrust but of clarity. It protects the horse, the co-rider, and yourself — exactly at the moment something goes wrong.

See also: Insured as a rider or co-rider · Which insurance you need · Liability around your horse · Full board, half-board, or your own stable