Well no a beginner is not going to spend 30 mins on Google and then be able to 
do everything themselves for a horse. But they could very well find enough info to realize they need a different program. Or a different farrier, vet, saddle and so forth. Horse care itself is pretty straightforward.
Horse care requires above all a good understanding of the basics then diligent consistency. I started at 14 in a small self care backyard barn, learned from other teens and books, was fortunately a super committed kid that cleaned, fed, rode, every day. And had absolutely no issues with the horse. We kids did better than the low end dude string down the road.
Looking after a horse isn’t hard conceptually, nothing a bright teen can’t figure out. It is a grind physically and a time sink for many adults.
People do go badly wrong when the follow idiot ideas about feeding or care.
1 Like
When I was a beginner, which is, admittedly, a LONG time ago, I took lessons at a local stable which included instruction in basic stable management, including grooming and tacking up. (ETA a local stable which sent riders to both the ASPCA Maclay and AHSA Medal finals.) I also read lots of books.
When my parents bought us a pony to share (and look after at home) we joined the local Pony Club. Not only did Pony Club teach us a lot about stable management, but several of the Pony Club mothers gave us (and our parents) lots of hand holding advice.
We also learned a lot from the vet, the farrier, and the people at the tack shop.
We also read a lot.
5 Likes
Thought about this thread tonight.
My pony was diagnosed with a heart murmur today. I texted Mr LS, not a horse person, about it while he was at work. When he got home, he told me about the information he read in the internet about horses with heart murmurs.
Is Mr LS now capable of doing the cardiologist job? No! Does he know more than he did before? Yup 
6 Likes
Another East Coaster here, and there are probably an equal number of boarding-barn type options in my area compared to true, dedicated h/j programs. A lot are smaller and more based on word of mouth. That said, the boarding barn I’m at is probably the biggest barn in the area by number of horses.
It sounds like your specific area of the East Coast might not have as many, but that certainly isn’t true for the East Coast in general.
2 Likes
East Coaster here. There are plenty of H/J barns that accept all kinds of situations and where the riders actually know something about their horses. Ours is a show barn with a well-known, established, old school trainer. Everyone tacks their own horses at home, even if you are riding multiples. Lately, there’ve been 2 new ladies and 2 kids to join us who had never tacked up their own horse before, so they learned. Every weekend, people trailer in for lessons on both afternoons. Packed house. People keep some of their horses at home, then bring them in for de-feraling prior to shows, swapping them out with other horses they own that have been in the barn. Too much money for them all to be on the property at the same tiime. Some horses live mostly outside, but most only go out when the ground is unfrozen and dry. People hunt, trail ride and do all kinds of weird things when nobody’s looking at off-hours,
We have people who used to do everything, and now want to do nothing. We have people who have never done anything, who now know how to put on a martingale and wash a tail. There are leased, aged, low ch/adult jumpers (many) and six-figure 4 year old hunter prospects who can’t jump courses. They are small-pony projects that kids ride in halters, unattractive but saintly low children’s hunters, and A/O hunters, green hunters, adult hunters, and all manner of jumpers that get ribbons at indoors.
We have grooms at the shows, who tack up the trainers’ rides when they’re at home. At shows it is required to have grooms. They want all the horses to look the same and to be prepared in the same way every time. The grooms take great pride in their work and the horses are immaculately turned out, I had never seen anything like it.
Variety, don’t knock it, notice it!
10 Likes
Lifelong east coaster here. While I do think the barns with programs have gotten a lot more prevalent in the 30-ish years I’ve been riding, I’ve only ever boarded at one barn that would have tacked my horse up for me. I’ve boarded at two smaller hunter programs, where students were expected to do things like tack and groom themselves, and instruction on that was part of early lessons, as well as summer camp type programs or lessons in bad weather.
Right now I’m boarding at one of those mythical “boarding” barns without an on-site trainer running the program. This is the second one I’ve been at with my horses in the greater DC area, so they do exist, even in bigger urban areas 
My hunter trainer comes in to teach a couple of us once or twice a month, and I also jump with a 5* event rider who comes in to teach once or twice a month as well. There are a couple dressage trainers who come teach too. I actually find it quite educational being around experienced folks in other disciplines, because you can get some outside the usual way of doing things in your discipline thoughts on care and training that can be helpful.
6 Likes
I love this post, though I hate that it had to be written.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen the same thing over the last 20 years I’ve been in the “business” (my first riding lesson was 2002) and I both hate it and understand why it has happened.
First, we all know the adage of “youth are the future of our sport”. More and more barns and programs are competing with after school sports, music lessons, etc just to keep a steady influx of participants. Most moms and dads don’t come from an equine background and asking for a family to spend 2 hours at the barn a couple evenings a week (30 min tack up, 60 min lesson, 30 min cool out) is time their other kids don’t get attention, time dinner is late, etc. Minimizing that ask makes the participation easier and I think it’s simply a result of “how do we remove as many roadblocks as possible to encourage as many participants as we can”. I’m not saying it’s the best approach, but it certainly makes logical sense as to why we’ve removed a lot of the DIY aspect from lesson programs.
Second, there’s kind of a co-time management/co-liability thing going on. I ride at an IEA barn right now and I literally have no idea where anything is kept; I show up, they put the saddle on the horse I’m riding, and I walk to the ring. When I get off, I hand the horse to a working student, grab my saddle, and head off on my merry way. This particular barn stays super busy - up to 50 lessons a day. By taking out the risk that Susie used Jimmy’s bridle on Max, or that Dobbin went to the arena missing a martingale, etc - they’ve streamlined the time management aspect and they’ve decreased their liability that someone has inaccurately put on or missed a piece of equipment required for the lesson. I own my own facility, I’m more than happy to tack up my own horse and I’m certainly capable of doing so, but again - I understand why it’s happened this way.
Last, and I think some mentioned this above, but it’s the easiest way for someone to maintain a personal standard. I’ve been at some DIY boarding facilities over the years. Woof. While some owners had horses that were slick, shiny, well maintained, etc - some believed in 14 week farrier care, and didn’t understand what a top line was meant to look like. I’ve seen programs where trainers have allowed clients to haul in and their horses simply don’t fit the standard of the trainers program (ie - they’re under muscled, hairy, long toes, etc). From what I’ve seen and heard from all of my connections, most trainers would like to give people more options - but they just can’t risk their own hit to a reputation. I think about this from a corporate lens - if I have my own “employees”, I can ensure they’re wearing the right uniforms, have a minimum base standard of training and expectations, etc. If I hire a contract workforce, I might hit the lottery or I might get someone who looks like he just fell out of a turnip truck. Potential customers don’t care, they simply see the outcome - by having more of the inputs under my control, I can better control the outcome. Trainers aren’t usually doing this to get rich; I imagine if I were in their shoes, I wouldn’t take the risk either of working my butt off from sunrise to sunset to lose potential clients because they saw Debby DIY with me at a show and took the impression that was how I managed my horses.
I don’t know how to fix any of this; I feel like most trainers, if asked, would give people that truly wanted more learning the time and knowledge. But… is that what most people want? And how do you walk a line of efficiency (every horse in the barn is under the care of Farrier A scheduled in advance) with personal desire (every horse in the barn has their own farrier and own vet and the scheduling is all over the place)?
4 Likes
I’ve boarded at three different boarding-only (no trainer on site whatsoever unless you bring them in for yourself) barns in New England for the past 10+ years, and know of others. They’re definitely out there.
1 Like
I never knew this was common in LA. My first ever experience with these set ups (which is what I have now) was on the East Coast. I do think you’re right that they tend to have waiting lists and there isn’t a ton of turnover.
I am now with a barn that is structured this way, but it’s another discipline not HJ.
Essentially, I found myself priced out of the HJ trainer barns in my area after my former’s trainer’s barn closed. My former HJ barn’s board was priced in my budget and the training and lessons were feasible as well. Once my former barn closed, I realized that every available option in reasonable distance was above budget. In addition to being drastically above budget, the barns each failed to meet at least one of my basic criteria: acceptable turnout and a well drained, footed arena with lights so I could ride in evenings.
Not having an on site HJ trainer is not easy but I am making it work. I have been doing this a while so at least I felt I had the knowledge and basics to try to make a go of it. I found a trainer who comes to work with my horse and me, and I own a trailer so I can trailer myself to additional lessons and to shows.
4 Likes
We are talking about “show barns”, right? Where the majority of owners actively show for at least part of the year? That’s the “industrial complex” I thought was being referred to. I think it’s a fair description, to a point, as the activity and process of showing are at least somewhat consistent.
I think I’ve known of areas that don’t have rated shows within, say approximately, 60 miles or so that are more likely to not have a resident trainer. Or an “official” trainer. The owners may organize themselves into cooperative groups to show with, sharing a tack stall and chores at the show. I’m not sure that these owners were the most serious elite-level competitors, though. More recreational amateurs who want to do well but put more importance on the experience.
Perhaps the most serious goal-oriented competitors choose to locate themselves in trainer barns. That may be part of the statistic.
