I don't know if this option is available everywhere, but while my wife was still working, she leased a horse for two days per week. She had owned quarter horses when I was stationed in Texas, and later in North Carolina, but had not done any riding for 30 years or so, so she wasn't sure how much she would want to put into it.
Leasing gave her use of the horse for those two days, but of course all the vet bills and worry were the owner's problem. After she retired, then she bought the horse that she had been leasing.
She really got a bargain due to an unusual circumstance. The horse was supposed to be a gelding, but it had an undescended testicle. When it first came the stable, it was skinny, and they think that the previous owner may have given it a testosterone suppressant to hide its virility. But then it gradually muscled up, and people would say how its neck looked almost as if it were a stallion. Nancy noticed that it did take a interest in mares, but thought that might just be for old times sake. But finally, someone walked a mare in heat past its stall and it damn near kicked the walls down. They did a testosterone test, and it had plenty. The stable's insurance policy wouldn't let them have stallions there, so the owner banished it to a pasture down in north San Diego County. Nancy couldn't let go, so she bought the horse and paid for the surgery to relieve it of that testicle, and then was able to bring it back. The surgery cost more than the horse.
She got to watch the surgery and take video. Its quite a big deal putting a horse in a sling and moving it around.
