Ideas on how to Finance Horseriding

[celine.eq2023]

Hello! I found a nice lease, and am really excelling on him. I really feel for my parents though who take the burden of the lease financially and I want to do something about it.

I am a minor but I can work and have been doing so for a year or so, I just am on a break to focus on academics. I play piano competitively and I am rather advanced since I have been playing for 12 years. I also can do math, so I could maybe start tutoring for money.

Does anyone have ideas on how to finance Horseriding?

I feel embarrassed to admit that I need to step up because I feel like I should’ve been doing that a long time ago, but it’s important to me. Horseriding is so so important to me and I need to chase what I want instead of being passive. I am willing to do a lot of jobs so don’t be shy with the recommendations.

Thank you!

[Bluey]

Tutoring would be a great idea, right up your alley, takes the least time out of your day and energy and ties in well with your own learning curve, by reviewing what you already know.

If you are an advanced rider in a large riding center, maybe they need a part time assistant riding instructor and you may fit there also?
That and starting colts is how I made horse ends meet as a teenager, along with then not needing my own horse, as I was too busy training and showing other’s horses and that was helping my own riding advance also.

One other I did was work part time in a small local bookstore.
It helped that I had some time to study while working there when cleaning, sorting and stacking was done and client’s traffic was slow.

Once you look around, you will find so many possibilities, hope you find what fits you best.

[fivestrideline]

Definitely investigate tutoring - sometimes schools have connections on campus, so ask around the math department!

If you’re old enough to work as a hostess on the weekends, find a place that pays at least minimum wage hourly salary AND tip out to hostesses. Find the most expensive restaurant locally and start there - higher plate costs = higher tips, and usually the restaurants all pay their workers the same. It’s relatively easy to shift swap if you need a weekend off, and you do learn good people skills .

Sometimes a shift or two of work at the barn if you board can help, or if you’re old enough you can start a farm sitting business. A friend did that and made quite a lot of cash - she was punctual, had great horse skills, and didn’t take jobs for less than her rate (aka knew her worth and stuck to her rate sheet). This is probably the way to make the most money, but you need a car and to have a market for it locally, and to be smart about it.

Lastly, even 2 or 3 weekend shifts at the best paying fast food place in your town can show commitment and dedication to supporting your hobby. Just be careful not to take on so much your grades start slipping or you run out of time to actually ride!

[Foxglove]

I agree with tutoring as the safest, quickest way to earn money. I taught HS for 40 years and had access to the kids who were aces in their classes and generally nice kids too. I arranged [with parent permission and cooperation] for them to tutor (if they wanted to) for $50/hr at the local library using the private resource room --a totally glass room that was sound proof. Most in demand were the math tutors. Some tutored two students at a time. Language tutors, and proof readers for English classes were also often asked for. It didn’t always work out --some kids felt forced to go to tutoring by parents and resented the HS student trying to help them -no worries --we generally kept that from happening by asking the student himself how he/she felt about tutoring from Johnny Jones or Mary Smith. If the answer was, “my mom is making me,” then we tried to get the student on board --but it never worked to force a kid to go to a tutor. The kids who tutored were neat kids who loved their subjects and really wanted to share the joy with another. I had my own granddaughter tutored for 10 weeks by a math prodigy (and a really nice kid who now works for NASA). She was trying for a scholarship at a private school --after the 10 weeks, she scored through the roof on the SSAT math section! Anyway --make sure to keep yourself safe --tutor in a public place like the library, don’t accept rides from anyone except your own parents, and make some new friends when you tutor!

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Don’t sleep on the piano tutoring–often younger teachers who can relate to kids (and pick more fun music) actually help kids stick with it longer during the difficult beginner stages.

[Bogie]

Kudos to you for wanting to help your parents out with the costs! I think that tutoring would be your best bet as it also will give more credentials when you apply to colleges.

[celine.eq2023]

I once tutored someone for free but they really didn’t want to do it; they were forced by their parents, and it was really awkward. Do you think this will happen again?

Also what rates should I do? I live in a wealthier place in California and piano easily goes for 70 bucks an hour, so I was thinking I could do 35-40.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I think it really depends on the student, although sometimes you do have to push through that “I hate everything” stage with middle school kids. You certainly have great credentials–I would charge what you think your time is worth, but given you’d be traveling to people’s houses, I would at least charge $50-$60 to cover gas and the time you spend on the road.

If you’re genuinely unsure about your skills as a teacher, you could offer a first lesson discount of $35, with lessons at your regular price to follow. That way, the parents and kids could judge if you were a good fit.

[Annie10]

Tutoring, maybe give piano lessons?

[fivestrideline]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

but given you’d be traveling to people’s houses, I would at least charge $50-$60 to cover gas and the time you spend on the road.

OP - if you go alone without a parent or guardian do NOT travel to others’ houses. Do this at school or the library or heck even a coffee shop. Much safer as a minor.

[dmveventer]

I’m going to counter what everyone else has said so far - if you’re on a break from working to focus on academics, you should focus on academics. Riding and competitive piano are time-consuming hobbies, add school on top of that and that’s a lot on your plate. Your grades should be a priority, and you should also have time to just enjoy being a teenager and have fun on top of everything else.

You should talk to your parents about your concerns. If they wanted you to worry about financing your lease they would have brought that up directly, and they wouldn’t have agreed to the lease if it was truly a burden. They probably have their reasons for supporting your passions. My guess is they’d rather see you enjoy your junior years and pursue your passions while you’re young and don’t have to worry about having a job or paying your bills. That’ll come soon enough.

And I say this as someone who did have to pay for my lease through high school - I think there’s value in holding a job and starting to learn financial responsibility early, but that’s not the only way to learn those skills. Your parents may have different goals in mind and there’s more than one right way to raise someone to be a responsible adult.

[FjordBCRF]

@dmveventer

I’m going to counter what everyone else has said so far - if you’re on a break from working to focus on academics, you should focus on academics. Riding and competitive piano are time-consuming hobbies, add school on top of that and that’s a lot on your plate. Your grades should be a priority, and you should also have time to just enjoy being a teenager and have fun on top of everything else.

Im going to second this. @celine.eq2023 When I was a teenager, I was very fortunate that my parents footed my horse hobby, which included owning one horse and showing locally. They encouraged me to work, but not in the capacity that it would compete with school so I focused on summer jobs when I had more time and no school work. Through high school I worked at a seasonal restaurant on the lake, and in college I worked as equestrian staff at a summer camp and I got paid through the college to be stationed at our environmental science resource library during the school year. People rarely came in and I was able to use a lot of that time to study and read…and get tutored myself in organic chemistry! Thankfully one of my best friends to this day was my tutor so it was bearable haha.

I think with the tutoring, you’re probably not going to find that kids needing tutored are really excited about it unfortunately. I don’t think too many kids that age choose tutoring on their own accord, its likely being pushed down by parents. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a try though and that could be a summer activity too.

[fivestrideline]

To be fair - OP asked specifically for ideas of how to help foot some of the bill, not whether she SHOULD. I would assume she’s aware of the time commitment, and has/will have a conversation with her parents before committing to anything. As a minor, she usually has to anyways.

That said, good points about making sure you don’t take on so much that things start to slip!

[aregard]

As a parent, who chose to provide horse experiences for my children, I have a couple comments.

1. You could help your parents by being helpful in several respects. One is financially, which is the direction you are trying to pursue at the moment. Another is to make their life at home easier/better/less stressful. For example, if you don’t find a way to earn money this week, what if you made dinner, or cleaned the bathrooms, or did the laundry this week, so your parents didn’t have to? (Obviously I have no idea what your home situation is, but parents don’t just make money. They have to do a host of other things that you could help out with).

2. You could also look to the things in your life that your parents promote, and double down on those. I mean, it sounds like you are very self-motivated which is terrific, but if you turn the lens around, you will see that your parents have hopes for you, too, and that’s one of the reasons they are trying to provide you with these experiences. At minimum, they have to get you to adulthood without you inadvertently killing yourself. But it sounds like they are attempting to provide a variety of enriching experiences to broaden your world, expand your choices and enjoyment. So my advice there is: when doing anything that appears to be on their list, do it with gusto, and learn deeply. That way, you are wringing the benefit of their spending out of each experience, even if 10 years from now you are no longer pursuing that experience. Everything teaches.

3. Separation and individualization happens around this time, which in some situations leads to quarrels, stubbornness, reactiveness, refusals, on and on. Parents know this happens, it’s not a surprise. What’s a surprise is that many young people don’t understand that this is part of maturation, they don’t seem to see it coming. Learn to observe your own behavior to see how to reduce friction when it comes. Separation and individualization still occurs, whether you do it thru a fight or not. Become conscious of how you handle separation. You don’t have to be the drug kid, the late-night party kid, the too-many-boyfriends kid, the crazy driver kid in order to grow up and become yourself. Save that stuff for when you are operating on your own dime, as a thank-you to your folks for this experience you value.

Hope it all works out for you! Enjoy.