So you Might want to lease a horse?

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As mentioned in the ads, I won’t just lease to anyone.  I tend to be pretty picky about who leases my horses.  From a horse experience perspective, my boys are fine with beginners, but in general, beginners are not equipped to handle the other aspects of leasing related to the non-riding aspects of riding.  Proper tacking, grooming, and knowing what to do when things don’t go right are important “ground skills” that are generally not on the beginners resume.  So I generally seek someone with a decent amount of riding experience.

As important as the experience is the overall maturity level of the rider.  The best lessees are those that are responsible adults that are good communicators.  Since we work on a base schedule, use of the phone, text and email is important to communicate changes in advance when known and last minute so I know when there is a scheduling issue.  Good communication also allows other riders know what each is doing, often creating additional riding opportunities. 

Finally, unless there are very unusual circumstances, I won’t lease to a minor.

Portola Pastures has capable trainers in residence there.  I typically will recommend one based on the riders needs and my horses can be used in lessons on the property.  In addition, so long as a trainer is approved by Portola Pastures management, a rider can bring in her own trainer if so desired.  Group, semi-private and private lessons are available.

Leasing with me has most of the benefits of ownership without the risks.  Owning a horse is costly.  Excluding the initial price of a horse, the horses are quite expensive to keep. Beyond the board, there are many other expenses including shoeing, extra feed, stall cleaning, shavings, tack, equipment or any extraordinary vet work.  The lease cost is fixed and there are no “gotchas”.

I have lived in the Palo Alto area since coming here in 1981 to attend Stanford Business School.  I have been in the same home since 1991 and have no plans to move.  I am committed to my two horses for life, so they will not be moved and will not be sold.  This predictability is a key benefit of owning, but in this case, the benefit exists without owning. 

I provide all of the tack and everything one needs to ride that is related to the horse.  I have a large tack shed where it is all kept, right next to the horses’ stalls.  If a rider prefers using her own saddle, I allow that provided I make sure that the saddle fits my horses properly.  There is room in the shed for personal items that riders use (e.g. helmet, chaps, and change of clothes).

Born in 1999 and a direct descendant of Electioneer.  If you have been to the Red Barn at Stanford, Electioneer is the large brass statue at the entrance to the Red Barn.  Leland Stanford acquired what is now the University as a Standardbred breeding farm in the late 1800s and he was the largest breeder in the west with 700 broodmares.  Were it not for Standardbred (harness) racing, Stanford University would not exist today.  Wastin Time raced from ages 2 to 10 and has been retired since.  He is a “professional” in every sense of the word. Read all about the connection between Leland Stanford, motion pictures, a murder mystery and Wastin Time [Click here to read this interesting article].

You can see his old work ethic in the round pen [Click here to see video] as you can sit in the middle and read a book while he trots or canters around you.  “Waste” jumped some, but when I jumped, it was primarily Don’t Laugh At Me.  He even was jumped side-saddle in a show (and took second amongst regular jumpers!).  He is perfect on the trails, in the arena, and really in all environments.

Born in 2004.  “Laughers” is an exceptional personality.  He has of course trailed all over the place (as has WT), but what he lacked as a good race horse, he has more than made up for in everything else.  I have jumped him up to 3’ in competitions, though I have not done so recently.  He has been on hunts, hunter paces, hunter chases and done cross country.  He has even appeared in one dressage schooling show soon after he retired from racing (he retired at age 4).  He is very “oral” – that is he does all kinds of things with his mouth and loves to use it to fetch [Click here to see video] and he loves to have water squirted directly into his face [Click here to see video]

As mentioned earlier, riders typically ride up to four days each week, but there is opportunity to ride more as well.  We use a “base schedule” where each day is divided into am and pm, creating two theoretic riding “slots” per day for each horse.  This schedule is available on line so all riders can see what others are doing.  We also use this to post vacations and other planned missed days.  There are many more slots than riders ride, so in nearly all circumstances, riders can ride when they want.

The horses get out once or twice each day.  I always get my horses out daily and on average, there are only 2-3 days each year where they don’t get out at all.  Even in the rain and if riders don’t ride, I will round pen or walk my horses.

The horses board at Portola Pastures.  Each horse has a 12 x 12 stall and a 12 x 24 piped paddock.  They live next to each other.  The facility has a flat arena (though you can do some jumping there), a jumping arena, a square and round pen, and a turn out pasture.  It is important to understand that the facility has no power and therefore no lights.  My tack shed is lit (solar powered).  Obviously then there are less daylight riding hours in the dead of winter.  During that time, some riders shift work schedules toward the early part of the day and ride at day’s end.  Others ride less and/or augment weekend riding.  Others will ride in the morning.  While it would be ideal to have a lit and covered arena for winter evening riding, often such facilities are crowded.  Either way it does not exist at Portola Pastures. 

There are about 100 horses at Portola Pastures in pasture and in stalls.  So there are plenty of people to connect and ride with.  It is also quite common for my lessees to ride with one another or with me. Here is link to the Portola Pastures website: [Click here to see website]

Pearson-Arastradero Preserve is a beautiful mixture of rolling savanna grassland and broadleaf evergreen forest. It varies in elevation from 275 feet in the northeast to 775 feet in the southwest. Wildlife abounds on the preserve and it is not uncommon to see deer, bobcats, coyotes, and many varieties of birds. Each area of the preserve has something different to offer, whether it is a view of the bay, a quiet walk through the grasslands, or a snooze by the lake.  Trail riding is super here on the Preserve. [Click here to see a three-minute video of what a trail ride is like on one of my horses].

I encourage you to look at the Preserve's website [Click here to see website] and look at a satellite view of the Preserve and Portola Pastures (On Google Maps, punch in 1600 Arastradero Road Palo Alto, CA) to see how close everything is and to see the roughly 13 miles of trails.

Off the property, I take my horses up to Windy Hill, about a 15 mile round trip.  You should Google that as well.  One can ride there on trails that go throughout neighboring Portola Valley.  At the top of Windy Hill, one can see the Pacific and the Bay and there is a nice picnic area where we usually rest the horses and eat lunch or a snack.  I do this a few times each year.

Also a few times a year, I rent a friend's truck and trailer and take the boys to Half Moon Bay for a beach and trail ride.  They love the sand and the ocean and riding on the beach is a real treat.  The sand is deep, so they horses get a good workout and even when galloping, there is essentially no hoof noise!  As super and convenient as the trails are in the Preserve, the beach ride makes for a nice change of pace. [Click here to see video]. [Click here to see a July 2014 - with background music].

Portola Pastures is not a fancy training center so riders are responsible for grooming and tacking up the horse before riding and properly putting away equipment and grooming the horse after riding.  Also, while hay is provided and fed by the barn staff daily, I supplement the feed with a bran mash which the last rider of the day feeds the horses (about 10-15 minutes of time).  Also, my stalls are cleaned every morning by a stall cleaner, but I do ask riders “police” the stalls (basically pile up messes in the back of the paddock) when they are done riding so the horses stay cleaner when they lie in the shavings.

During the initial “get to know you period” before a lease is signed, and usually for the first few rides afterwards, I review the tacking and related items with each rider.  In addition, I have a “Care” document that reinforces what we go over so riders have a reference if needed.