Ownership of a Horse Used in Shabbos Competitions
Question
I am orthodox and would like to buy a horse. The horse would be for sport and competition. The competitions start Wednesday and continue through Shabbos. I would not compete on Shabbos but multiple people will be riding in my horse.
I would like to know if it’s a halachic problem to own a horse that non religious people ride and compete with on Shabbos. I would also like to know if it’s a problem if they drive my horse home as they must leave when the competition ends and sometimes it ends before Shabbos is over.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Hagaon Harav Fried shlit”a writes:
Jews who are unfortunately not religious, may not ride your horse on Shabbos.
When it comes to non-Jews, there is an issue of earning money from a Shabbos activity, which is called sechar Shabbos. Therefore, one must rent out the horse for several days so that the payment is considered to be for the other days of the week. This is called havla’ah.
In addition, one should arrange that a non-Jew be a partner in the ownership of the horse.
Through this agreement, the earnings of Shabbos belong solely to the non-Jew, while the earnings of the rest of the week belong to you.
You can find an example of such an agreement, together with an explanation, on our website;
Partneship with a Non-Jew | Between israel and the nations - judaism and civilization | Ask the Rabbi - SHEILOT.COM
Once you will have done such a partnership, and it should include also ownership of the stable then there won't be an issue with regard to them returning the horse on Shabbos.
Wishing you well.
If you decide to go ahead and have a partnership with a non-Jew, then we can help you write out an agreement, so it would be suited to your specific case.
