I teach at this sort of barn, where one can be as serious as one wants, or not. But the ponies/horses for the not-serious still cost about 15k to buy these days to have anything trained and safe. It sounds like a big difference between 100k and 15k, and of course it actually is, but for a middle class family it might as well be the same. I have 45 lesson kids. Probably 5 will end up owning a horse, at the most.
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Not here in the midwest - I see a TON of ponies and older horses going for under $3k. Most are reasonably beginner suitable. They won’t be hunters, but they’re definitely safe enough for kids to doodle around on. I definitely have seen the price increases on the nicer horses, but these backyard types are still out there.
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But still, keeping horses is very expensive all things considered and there’s a lot of risk. It’s a bit above what the average American household can afford for one of their children I think.
Certainly removing competition makes horses less expensive but you know board alone is still pretty steep.
My old guy is safe as houses. He was also free. He eats the same (if not more than) a 100k horse.
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Fair. Location does make a difference.
Well, it’s not just the purchase price. I live somewhere that cost of living is relatively low. I still pay a LOT for monthly board, shoes, vet, insurance, lessons, supplements, etc. So even if someone gave a horse to an average middle class family, they might not be able to afford to keep it going. The purchase price is but a drop in the bucket.
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This is very true. I wonder how many lesson type barns encourage partial leases? Multiple pony kids “owning” one horse. Things like that might work?
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Super common in my area in multiple disciplines to have school horses part leased to a couple of kids.
When it comes to the cost issue shutting people out, I think what we’re largely seeing is the middle class being hollowed out in this country. Salaries haven’t kept pace with inflation as compared to the 1960’s or 70’s, from all I’ve seen. I live in a relatively high COL area (central MD) and you can’t find board at a barn with a lesson program and a decent ring to ride in for under $600 a month, unless you can do a self-care option or drive out further away from the population centers where a few barns are still offering field board. Which is still $350-400 a month, and obviously not suitable for every horse.
And we all know that board is just the “base” of your average expenses, even on an inexpensive horse with minimal maintenance needs. Lessons can’t be had for under $40 anywhere, and most are in the $50-70 range, even for a group lesson. Kids need lessons/supervision at least part of the time, as do adult novice riders. Unless you can keep horses at home or are knowledgeable enough and have the time and inclination for self care, I don’t see a way to keep a single horse and keep paying for lessons for under $600-700 a month, and that’s pushing it.
I live in one of the highest income counties in this state, where the median household income is in the low six-figures. Meaning a good chunk of what we consider “middle class” falls below that. Considering you can’t buy a modest townhouse for less than $350k right now, or rent one for under $2k a month, even $100,000 or so a year doesn’t go far when you factor in normal household expenses for even a small family (two parents, one kid).
The average person has basically been priced out of all but the necessities and a few little luxuries these days, is how it looks to me, unless they’re willing to go into a fair amount of consumer debt. Obviously horses fall outside of the bare necessities category.
At this point, outside of the astronomical cost of showing, I feel like so much of the affordability issue is a systemic problem, not a “horse world” problem.
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Knew of several barns who did “school leases”, 2 or 3 days week split between 2 kids. Sounds like a good idea but quickly turns into a PITA. Parents not wanting to sign for more then 1 month at a time was the biggest hurdle- try shuffling 6 or 8 kids and horses around every month. Took up more time then actually teaching them. Then you get the rescheduling and/or trying to do make ups or substituting horses when the primary was hurt or sick discussions. All the barns admitted they had the same issues with it.
It was supposed to help entry level riders get more quality saddle time and ease them into full leases and ownership. Didn’t work, didn’t get any horses sold. None of those barns run lesson horses today, two are not running period, sold the property and got out.
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Yeah, lesson horses in general are expensive. As the cost of horse ownership increases, that decreases the number of lesson horses a barn can reasonably support. The saddlebred academy programs still seem to do ok, but that’s because the academy programs have their own championships etc. and they show at almost all the major shows.
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You sound exactly like my father, 60+ years ago! 
I finally got what he meant 30 years later.
It was a hard truth to hear both times, and the second time it was just the echo of his voice in my head.
You are both right. 
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Lessons can be had for under $40 in some places.
I doubt any full-time residents here make 6-figure salaries (well, maybe the cardiologists).
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From what I have , the ASB Academy programs are not exactly cheap.
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Tying in with another thread about board increases–even in my expensive area, you can find group lessons for $50 or so, if you dig. But what about the quality? I think for most kids, a weekly lesson a horse that’s too hitchy to comfortably canter around the arena for more than half a lap at a questionable lesson barn starts to get frustrating.
Even if people get into horses thinking they can do it on the cheap, they realize they can’t go on compromising horse care riding at a shady barn on horses of questionable soundness (or boarding your own horse at a facility with questionable care/feed/facilities). I know so many cheap places that are revolving doors, because they attract people who don’t know much about horses who come for the low prices, they get frustrated when the kids don’t progress, and then get sticker shock moving on.
I honestly think, too, that with what more people know about care, that lots of cheap barns that were in business years ago probably shouldn’t have been. I remember wanting to go riding as a little kid and my mom took me to a place, looked at the horses/facilities, and then drove me straight home. She wasn’t what most of you’d call a horse person, but she was compassionate, and had ridden as a kid, and knew enough when the horses weren’t cared for properly.
I’m not saying that the most expensive barns provide the best care, btw, but I think with costs going up, it’s hard to run a decent lesson barn with basic horsemanship standards.
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I love your mom, I think. Good for her using her intuition. My friends in Colorado wanted to get their daughter riding. They selected a place that is, well, the armpit of horse farms. Even a non-horse person should have known that place was a hell hole for horses. But selfishness trumps compassion so often when it comes to horses. They gave that place their money, took “lessons” on their lame skinny horses, and the place still operates today.
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I agree! Mom wouldn’t even let me go on pony rides if she thought the ponies looked unhealthy. You are so right about selfishness for kids sometimes trumping compassion where animals are concerned. I wish parents really reflected upon the lessons they were teaching kids when they go to sketchy barns just to save a few bucks. And often these are parents who would never accept the same kind of poor care for a dog/cat as normal!
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Cheap of course is relative. $45 a lesson on a school horse is a bargain compared to $85 (on your own horse) for dressage lessons in my area.
But like everything else, it depends where you are and how the barn is positioning it’s services.
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Growing up, I took lessons for $20 on someone’s personal horse. The “expensive” trainer was $30/lesson (but she’d drive to get to you). I try not to think too hard about how much I pay now 
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If no one wants the hassle or expense of running lesson barns, the problems will solve themselves. We will return to the pre-WWII model where riding was for the very well to do, the “landed gentry” or the children of pros.
In the Post war era, many ex cavalry men set up riding academies catering to the new middle class in suburbia. It was an aspirational type sport (like tennis, or golf, once seen as the purview of the rich) and it took off. My parents get me into lessons but wouldn’t and probably couldn’t commit to more. I was relegated to the lesson string but ended up taking lessons with the barn owner who was the head trainer because I was willing to get on the newly off track horses and some of the less cooperative schoolies. I soon realized that I was OK to use as cannon fodder on the new OTTB’s (this was the 70’s, they were mostly TB’s) but once the horses were doing their job and sold to a “boarding client” I wasn’t allowed to hack them when owner was unable to. That job went to a kid who had parents who were potential buyers. I’m sure I was thought of as “not serious” because I wasn’t going to buy a horse. Most of those “boarding clients” haven’t touched a horse in 35 years and yet here I am, still riding, but not owning a horse. I taught my friends 2 granddaughters from crossrails to 3’ for free in order to be able to ride their horses, I’m the sales floor manager at a tack store. I think I’ve shown I’m committed, even though I don’t own or show any more.
I like CBoylen’s model. There is a place in horses for people who don’t want to compete. Not every “non show barn” provides substandard care. Many people love the social aspect of their barn. I often meet 45+ year old riders who just want to have fun on and with their horses whether hacking in the ring or riding out. They are interested in proper horse care and want good and safe instruction and are frustrated that they are not taken seriously at many barns because they lack “show goals.”
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It’s not that they’re not taken seriously, it’s that they’re not generating income for the barn beyond board, which is little to no income at all.
I grew up riding in a large lesson barn. At any one time they had 30+ school horses, they all wore shoes, we had an indoor ring, lessons went on every evening and all weekend, and this was a decidedly non-showing facility. We paid $8 per lesson when I first started.
Today I run my own small program and I wonder if I’ll be able to continue once my two oldest school ponies retire as it’s so difficult and expensive to find replacements. I’m a good young horse rider and I think I’d be better off buying, training, and reselling young horses rather than doing lessons. Although I’m fast approaching the age where that won’t be an option either.
My prediction is that within my lifetime horse ownership will be impossible for anybody but the very wealthy or for rural people who already have their own property and can keep pleasure riding horses in the back yard. The people in the middle will just be stuck.
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