I agree with @lenapesadie. Add that the average lesson horse is working in a groomed ring and actually doing work for what? Let’s be generous and say half an hour per lesson? So two lessons in a day is an hour worth of work. Less work than lots of privately owned horses do.
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Yes. What I’ve seen in my area is that school horse owners are pretty conscientious about scheduling so that horses aren’t exactly working hard twice a day. A WTC lesson and a pony ride or a walk is NBD imo.
Heck when I was coming up, it was considered proper for horses to have a dressage school in the am and a walk hack in the pm. 
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Show horses work twice a day. You’re not going to find many hunters or jumpers that go to the ring without a flat or a lunge (or both) earlier in the day.
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At home you can often add a hot walker trip in the AM.
Horses being moderately physically active a couple hours a day is not a bad thing.
Running horses into the ground is another thing entirely, two generally up down lessons a day is not that.
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Blockquote
I went to a Catholic prep school and the Vice Principal was really down on my lack of extracurriculars because I didn’t have time for anything other than horses (I showed on the circuit) and violin, which I DID play for school. My mother had to go and sit down with Sister Michaela and minutely outline my daily routine at the barn, what H/J competing was like, the fact that I was an assistant trainer (I did the beginners up to 3’ crowd), and so on, to convince her that I merited a place in the school’s Honor Society. When I applied to schools I had to craft my application to highlight the work aspect of things, not the seemingly-wealthy (we weren’t, thus the teaching!) spoiled horse girl side.
This was in the late 80s; I think today it would be even worse because kids are expected to do so many other things. I ended up getting fired from my short-order cook job because I had to take two weeks off to go to a big show in another state. My boss looked at me like I was crazy and horrible when I asked for the time off to go to a horse show; in retrospect I can’t blame her. I am sure I sounded like a brat, but that was my thing, so off I went!
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Loving the conversation.
Several people above mentioned my reining example and how western horsemanship is the entry level for reining.
I’ve won APHA Congress in the Western Horsemanship. 
That’s how I know I think I’d like reining. Still can’t find shit. 
Though, again, my background is not typical. For the sake of argument, I have no idea where you’d find a barn doing the western horsemanship either - unless it was some odd Parelli type off shoot or those folks that do the obstacle courses with pool noodles.
I’m not reading this post past the quoted part because I specified in MY post that I was NOT referring to anyone who doesn’t care about horses’ well-being. Quoting someone and then giving a long-winded reply to something that the quoted poster did not even mention is a huge annoyance to me.
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I dated a cutting horse trainer, which is how I ended up warming up cutting horses at shows, and hanging around a goodly number of reining people in Texas.
My suggestion would be to go to some reining shows, talk to some people showing, make friends, express your interest in the discipline. Talk to the trainers. This is probably the best in for getting to “try out” reining (presuming you don’t just want to pay for some reining training/lessons on a horse you own.)
I agree that like the more advanced parts of any discipline, you’re unlikely to find lessons an a serious reining horse untied to either a personal or professional relationship you develop over time.
I didn’t get to ride the grand prix horses of strangers, but I did get to ride
Grand Prix dressage horses
Grand Prix show jumpers
Advanced level eventers
National cutting horse hall of Fame horses
A horse previously owned by Reba McEntire
Based entirely on the personal and professional relationships I cultivated over time.
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the saddlehorse barn I worked at the beginner lessons were 30 minutes… if the rider was to have an hour the horse who evidently had a built in stopped watch would just stop at 30 minutes… the rider would need to dismount then remount before he would move
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I agree that a school horse doing two lessons in a day is not unreasonable.
Foxhunters go out for hours across challenging terrain, ranch horses can go all day long. Show horses get schooled in the morning and then may have to prep multiple times during the day depending on the class schedule.
Since we all seem to agree that the majority of schoolies rarely jump more than 2’, and the average lesson has built in down time for taking turns or just because the rider can’t do a whole lot of trotting and cantering without rest breaks, I think two lessons in a day for a fit and healthy horse is perfectly fine.
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IMO, the entry levels of riding and showing and what it means to progress are a lot different now than they were a few decades ago. Especially with “influencer culture” [barf] being a thing now.
While equestrian sports have always catered to the wealthy, it used to be that recognition was something you earned by becoming a good rider. If you wanted to compete at the big horse shows, you had to be able to jump sizable fences and ride pretty well. Of course it was easier to do if you had wealthy parents that could afford to buy you a made horse and pay for the best trainer, but working your way up was possible, and there were barn-rat kids who weren’t from wealthy families but who learned to ride well by putting in lots of time and earning catch rides.
Nowadays you don’t have to put the time and hard work in to go show in the prestigious stuff … just the money. The biggest competitions have events catering to rank beginners. You can go to your first horse show ever and do a “derby” in your shadbelly over little wee fences. If you’re wealthy enough to afford the “stuff”, you no longer have to put in the effort to become a good rider unless you so choose.
Add to that the current horse market, where $50,000 won’t even get you a horse that’ll jump around a 3’6” course.
To beginners starting out who don’t have those resources but who are interested in competing, it has to disheartening to see that at the entry level, what you can afford gets you far more recognition than what you can do.
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@mvp, @Ponyplusaninch, @foursocks…
Interesting to hear that my experience was not unique. I have never actually told anyone about it until this forum.
This is an interesting (and good point). Even people with experience in one discipline may have interest in learning another. Heck - I see saddleseat and driving lessons when I’m out walking around the perimeter, plus folks working in the different Western disciplines.
I still don’t really know where to look for these people. It would be awesome if there were weekend clinics (paid), or open houses with demos and info (could be free, could have an entrance fee if it’s held at a large facility). I’d absolutely pay and go to a “Intro to Driving/Gaited Horses/Cutting” clinic where folks could talk about their sport, a demo, and maybe a chance to try (or schedule a lesson). Community style fairs and open houses would help show people who might be interested in horses but intimidated or confused find out more about what’s around them (heck - my friend’s kid wants a unicorn birthday, and when I sent her a few links to people who did unicorn themed pony parties, she was surprised and excited - it’s hard to spread the word outside of your network sometimes).
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Aren’t there equine related festivals lots of places where this very thing happens? Or heck, in my part of the world there are county fairs and the state fair where you can see all kinds of various activities you know nothing about.
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I am now picturing, for my own amusement, the Reba McEntire horse being a very fancy GP dressage horse. 
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Oddly enough it was a really nice junior jumper!
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I went to one of the top universities in the country and as an alumni spent many years interviewing for them; I can definitely say that they were not looking for students to be well-rounded. They’re looking for passion, deep interest, demonstrated commitment, and hard work. And that tracks with my experience interviewing - the kids who had been advised (poorly in my opinion) to try to be well-rounded didn’t hold a candle to the ones who were deeply invested in something.
As the parent of a young rider it is discouraging to hear that some college admissions officers have a prejudice against riders, but it won’t change anything for our family. The values our daughter learns around hard work, taking care of her horse, persevering to overcome obstacles, etc. are worth far more in the long run than attending a more prestigious college. And I say this as someone who attended (and loved) one of the most prestigious colleges, but recognizes that a great education can be had at many, many colleges.
And as for the last point, I know many college-bound high schoolers who ride five to six days a week, several on their own horses and then exercising and training others. It isn’t impossible but does require some serious time-management skills.
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Those of us who know kids involved in horses understand the level of passion and commitment it requires, no matter how much help they may have.
But outside our bubble, I have seen numerous examples, sometimes shocking ones, of how little horse experience is valued.
A friend of mine (decidedly not a horse person) is a corporate attorney. He once interviewed a prospective candidate who was a graduate of prestigious undergrad and law schools. He had never heard of dressage (!), and when he asked her what it was (it was listed as a hobby), he immediately rejected her. In fact, he called her “a rich bitch” and all of the other people interviewing her agreed. Just because she rode horses. I’m sure the fact they were all ashamed they didn’t know what it was was a factor. (Yes, I was shocked and yelled at him.) He said all of the interviewers were city kids and had no exposure to horses.
In my own work–bear in mind, I’m a writer who doesn’t own her own horse because of my income–I’ve had people who take expensive vacations, have second houses, and very affluent hobbies say I must be “rich” compared with them because I take riding lessons and have half-leased a (not fancy) horse in the past.
I’ve also known people who are recreational endurance athletes say demean the sport as “just sitting there” and assure me they could do it without trying because they are so fit.
I feel that riding–kind of like yoga in a weird way–is one of those tainted “privileged white girl-associated things” and regardless of the truth (which involves lots of sweat, agony, and sacrifice, including financial ones), people who don’t know anything about the world get really triggered and angry by it, and once they know this one thing about you, they feel they know you.
I’ve written about horses, and even then I’ve found people in interviews shut down about that. Conversely, if I’m interviewing about a job that has nothing to do with horses, but the person rides, it’s like night and day in terms of their respect for me.
I’ve worked in the college admissions industry and I agree that “well-rounded” is out and “singular passion” is in, but respect for passion for horses is very thin (with the exception of very specific industries; obviously, if you’re applying to vet school or want to work for a drug company that makes animal meds or something like that, reactions will be different).
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Ideally, I actually agree. But almost all the lesson barns I know of have the horses work twice a day, for financial reasons. It’s not an issue of the physical work itself for most, but two hours of lots of walking in circles, often with a very unvarying routine, is one reason why lesson horses get so sour. I know some people are comparing this to fox-hunting and endurance sports, but realistically speaking, most lesson horses aren’t conditioned well enough or cared for well enough without a certain amount of wear and tear. It’s probably more the human equivalent of being a waitress or standing at a cashier versus going for a run.
Because they’re so used, too, lots of barns don’t take the time to make sure Old Reliable occasionally gets sharpened up, not just for riders, but for his own health (being ridden back to front, getting a chance to do some interesting things other than canter a few steps). They should, but it’s not always a priority.
But it’s hard to find good lesson horses. And certain kinds of lesson horses–usually the chunky, docile ones who aren’t spooky and reliable–will inevitably be in more demand at many programs.
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The current horse media outlets are not helping the issues. I’ve read Plaid Horse articles that make me shake my head and wonder who makes up these experiences and how do they come up with their ideas?! We are our own worst enemies to be sure— all the complaining about cost, worrying about sexual predators around every corner, taking everything so seriously that no one has any fun— I could go on. There’s a group that even has college scouts come watch kids— of course the kids are on borrowed horses and on their last legs at the end of the day. It would be nice to not see children crying about Pony Finals but the parents have been convinced only a 6 figure pony will do!
Maybe some fun and games at the beginner level and for older riders as well! Egg and spoon , wine and hors d’oeuvre balancing— just to be silly! These are poles on the ground, not brain surgery!
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