Lesson Horses and their management

I’m wanting everyone’s opinion on lesson horses. How often should they be ridden, and how intense? How often should they be jumped and how high? How many days should they get off? What maintenance should be provided to them: chiropractic work, any supplements, etc.

i want to make sure that my lesson horses are treated well and not overworked. I try to watch for signs of them getting sore or sour and give them a day or two off a week.

Also interested in stories of your lesson horses. What do you do when a lesson horse starts being a super stinker ? I have one that will be trotting and then just random turns towards the middle of the arena and unsettles the rider and makes it hard to focus on anything but steering. I’m hoping me hopping on him a few times will help. How do you know if they’re just being a stinker or if they’re having pain issues?

thanks in advance

I think it entirely depends on each individual horse. That’s kind of the thing about running a lessons program, there aren’t really any algorithms. Just like any other horse, maybe a lessons horse can go every day. Some love to be ridden every day. Maybe some can be ridden twice some days. Some maybe every other day.

You’ve already said you watch for signs of stress or sourness; that’s the best any of us can hope to do.

I think the only things I would say are definite are I probably wouldn’t have them jump low fences more than twice a week (and that’s for an optimally sound younger mature horse), but I probably wouldn’t have many of them jumping regularly over 3’ at all. This is really the time when people need to be buying or paying to lease their own horses.

They are individuals: treat them as such with regards to maintenance and management.

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Mine are under used currently, but ideally, I would want them to go 5 days a week, with 1-2 of those days flat work only. I rarely let them jump more than 2’6". Mine don’t really get any extra maintenance at this point. They are built for the job, with well fitting tack and do well. The one got his hocks injected a few years ago, but has been fine since.

Where I started riding, and started my teaching career, the horses went 2-3 hours a day, 7 days a week. Up to two of those hours a day might be jumping. They very rarely went more than 2 hours in a row. They had about 4 weeks off a year. Horses either did well with that routine, or didn’t and so were sold. Quite a large percentage were still lesson horse into their 30s, and at least one into his 40s. They did not receive supplements or maintenance (it just wasn’t a common thing back in the 80’s-90’s around here). They were turned out in a group daily, and most were in tie stalls during lesson hours and overnight. I think it helped that it was such a large program, that horses could move down to easier lessons as they aged, and I think the regular, light work seemed to keep them sounder (although I hindsight, I am sure some of the “lazy” ones were actually bilaterally lame).

Even though those horses did great, and looked great, I don’t think public perception would allow for such heavy use any more. I also don’t think it is as easy to find the sturdy “mutts” that hold up well, as it was back then.

My coach’s main lesson horse will be 26 this year. He’s getting a little stiffer but he is still sound and happy. He goes 5-6 days a week in summer and probably a couple lessons a day. But he is used for very beginners and rarely does more than walk/trot. The odd person might canter a couple circles, maybe do some rails or a little c rail.

He doesn’t get any particularly special treatment. A senior feed and he gets all the grass on her property during the summer. He gets all winter off and he tells you in the fall when he’s ready for his winter holidays. His coat is still shiny and although he’s a bit of a hard keeper, he maintains a good weight.

He is naturally a very balanced horse who carries himself well which I’m sure has contributed to soundness. He has no swayback - his back and abdominal muscles have stayed very strong. I always think of him as an example of what consistent but not necessarily intense exercise can do for a horse (or person).

He will tell her when he is ready to retire. And he will have earned it. He has taught probably 100s of people to ride over the years - myself included.

That’s how my old lesson stable managed/manages their horses. They had one Thelwell-type pony who was absolutely ancient when I rode and is still there, he has to be at least in his 40s by now. Still goes in jumping lessons. Some horses just thrive on work.

Our lesson horses go 5-6 days a week for 2 lessons a day (one or 2 might do a third if it’s a beginner walk/trot only). Non of our lesson horses jump bigger than 2ft6 with a couple doing 2ft9 and all go out in a field or paddock daily (summer they live outside). They receive supplements as needed as well as any needed supplementary vet care (hock injections, Chiron etc). It’s not unusual for our school horses to be happy, healthy and trucking beginners around in their 20s… we love our schoolies :heart: They are the bread and butter of our barn! In fact, I sold one of my old hunters to my trainer as a school horse and she’s loving life

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I find that with beginner horses, they need to do a more advanced lesson or be schooled semi-regularly to keep bad habits from forming. I also find that my more advanced horses can be used more often for lessons than my beginner horses–mentally, the beginners are hard on the horses. But it really depends on the horse. I have one pony that can only do one lesson a day five days a week without it being too much mentally for her (she is a beginner pony), but have another that has no problem with more work than that with beginners. I had another that could do a beginner lesson a couple of times a week, but needed to do more advanced riders the other days. I do jump my lesson horses; I keep school horses that will do 3’ and usually I have at least one that can do 3’ 6". Those horses are not used to jump that hard multiple days a week–they may do two jumping lessons a week, if that, at those heights. The ones jumping lower heights may do more, especially the cross-rail ones. Our school horses go for years in our program without souring. But we do make sure to adjust for each individual.

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I always scheduled mine 1-2 lessons a day, up to 6 days a week. Always a day off, never more than 2 lessons. at least one would be an “easy” beginner lesson. I don’t mind if they do a crossrails-type class every day because that’s basically stepping, not really jumping. real jumping of any size, twice a week at most. mine got good vet and farrier care, including meds/fancy shoes/etc. as needed.

A good lesson horse is worth its weight in gold so I took very good care of them! we also didn’t have an indoor so they got forced winter breaks every year, not a bad thing at all.

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When I die, I want to come back as one of my trainer’s lesson horses. They normally work 3 days a week, are turned out in lovely grass the rest of the time. When they get to the point where they aren’t able to continue to do that, they just live out their days at her farm. They rarely jump over 2’, with an occasional 2’6" if they’re doing well with that rider that day. The lesson horses are a very, very special creature for sure.

So so varies on the horse and what works well for them. Where I grew up, lesson horses were used in multiple lessons at least 5 days a week typically. Looking back on it, lots of them were sour and probably had ab to more problems than I knew at the time (being 7). This can be compared to the college horses I was around, which were only used once a day, 4-5 times a week by competent riders and would never jump more than 3 times a week. Where I am now, there is an adult program, and those horses live the absolute life! They work about three days a week and do walk, trot, and light canter work.

Some horses do well in the intense lesson programs, however, it is crucial to teach those kids the importance of care and making sure the horses are doing okay and being well taken care of. I visited the place I grew up taking lessons and was horrified to see people jump off horses after jumping around multiple three foot courses and not ensured their horse is properly cooled off. I know for sure I would have been ripped apart when I wa a kid if that had happened, and am bladed to still have the horse’s best interest in my mind at all times. Definitely something to keep in mind.

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The barn I lesson at has really been struggling to find good lesson horses recently. We have had some good ones in the past several years, but we have also had to retire several due to age. The horse I am currently riding isn’t quite ready to join the program. While the mare isn’t naughty, she is just enthusiastic about working and jumping…she TAKES you to the fence.

Currently the lesson program has 5 nights of lessons, with one night having only one group lesson that uses school horses. Two of the other nights might see a lesson horse used twice, but would have a lighter beginner lesson, and a novice lesson. Most of the more advanced riders in this particular barn do have their own horses, so there is maybe only one or two lesson horses that would be jumped above 2’6", at most twice a week.

They are outside most days, weather dependent, during the winter, plus live outside all summer. The ones that need maintenance, do get it…be it injections, shoes, pads, supplements or extra feed.

As a student, I have found that school horses KNOW what they can get away with, with certain riders. These are smart critters. They have a rider that they know won’t make them go all the way into the corner? Of course they are going to take the short cut, and cut the end off the arena. I’ve been the student that has had to get on a “naughty” horse, and pretend to be a beginner. Floppy reins, bounce on the poor guys back, catch them in the face and land on their back after a jump. It isn’t an easy job to do all that wrong, for starters…but they would be pretty much perfect, because they knew who was on them.

Of course, the ones actually being naughty, and doing something like throwing a bucking fit in, or taking the bit between their teeth and taking off is a whole different story. That’s removal from the lesson program until it gets sorted out, starting with a tack fit, and seeing if they are sore somewhere.

Get an advanced student, with a stick, on them for an attitude adjustment periodically. It’s a reward for the advanced student to earn and a needed remedial session for horse to remind them of their job.

If at all possible, vary the lesson routine and get them out of the ring in short, group hacks or get that advanced student to hack them out. Couple of weeks completely off and turned out a few times every year also helps freshen them up and keep them that way.

Most barns mean well and try but I noticed they are a little hesitant to involve a vet for those lesson horses that start acting like real stinkers. That’s a mistake. A few are made of iron but most simply have learned to suck it up and tough it out when they hurt, That only works for so long before they can’t take it any more and act out to avoid continuing to work. You need to be very careful and not rule out chronic pain as a cause of misbehavior. Sometimes they are more afraid of the discipline from a better rider then the pain so may behave better, don’t get fooled.

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