Lesson pricing question

[dogsbody1]

In my area, the going rate for your basic casual riding lesson is about $80-$100. That’s for a 30-min private or 1-hour group lesson.

Of course, I would love for lessons to be cheaper. But I also know the overhead costs for running a lesson barn are no joke. Feeding and shoeing and sheltering horses isn’t cheap! A big part of what you pay per lesson goes straight into the lesson horse’s upkeep.

But here’s the part I don’t understand. Why are lessons on school horses priced the same as lessons on your own horse? You’re already paying monthly board to feed and shelter that horse. You’re the one paying the farrier and vet.

The overhead costs to the barn have to be WAY lower for a person riding their own horse than for someone riding a schoolie. So why aren’t the lessons cheaper? Every barn I’ve ever been to prices them the same.

I know no one is getting rich running a lesson barn, so this is not coming from a place of outrage or resentment. It’s more that I wish owning a horse (with its myriad associated costs) could entitle owners to a discount on lessons. Personally, I would love to take more lessons, but it’s hard to swing the cost after board every month.

[Bristol_Bay]

I’ve had various people part lease my horses over the years. The last horse I part leased was a children’s hunter who could compete at rated shows. I calculated the costs per day to board and shoe him, plus insurance and a lease fee. It worked out to about $100 per day that they rode.

Even my TB for whom I only charged part of his board and shoeing was $55 per day, and this was pre-pandemic inflation.

So I think what’s happening is that the actual cost of maintaining the school horses is averaged into the lesson fees for the privately owned horses. Otherwise a lesson on a schoolie would be prohibitively expensive.

One local barn charges $145 for a lesson on a school horse.

I might also mention that the barns around here are not owned by the trainers. They pay the same board as everyone else.

[JenEM]

When I boarded with my trainer, I did pay a lower per lesson rate for riding my own horse than was charged for lesson riders on school horses. It wasn’t a massive difference, something like $10-15 per. Now, if I ship into her new farm, I pay the same as someone coming in for lesson on a school horse, which makes sense, as I"m not paying for any of the daily wear/tear/maintenance out of a board bill.

[dmveventer]

Every barn I’ve ever been at has had a lower price for boarders/leasers, so I guess it just depends on your market. It can also depend on whether the barn owners are teaching lessons themselves or if they have to pay staff instructors. The difference has never been that much though, maybe $10-20 per lesson. I don’t think the costs are as different as you have in mind, your board is covering your horse’s daily care, not the instructor’s time, wear on the arena, jumps and other equipment, etc.

[trubandloki]

@dmveventer

Every barn I’ve ever been at has had a lower price for boarders/leasers, so I guess it just depends on your market.

I agree that it depends on the market, because no barn I have ever been associated with has a lower price for boarders/leasers.

[endlessclimb]

It’s a mixed bag in my area. Some charge more for a lesson on a school horse. Others do not. All have a haul in fee for bringing in an outside horse.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

I’ve usually seen it that the trainer charges a certain fee, with an additional cost for use of a school horse, if the rider does not own or lease.

When the fees are the same…I will say, that at every barn I’ve ridden at with lesson horses, boarders and leasers always got priority, because they usually lessoned more frequently than people who had their own horses, showed more, and also got more attention/more demanding and focused lessons. Obviously, sometimes this caused social friction, fairly or unfairly.

By “fairly,” I mean, we all understand why a school horse isn’t going to be jumping as high as someone’s personal horse, but sometimes lesson riders don’t understand that, and by “unfairly,” I mean lesson rider’s lessons being totally “phoned in” by an instructor on her phone which gets put away when the person who owns her horse as a boarder rides in the arena.

[dogsbody1]

@dmveventer

I don’t think the costs are as different as you have in mind, your board is covering your horse’s daily care, not the instructor’s time, wear on the arena, jumps and other equipment, etc.

But what about the riding school horse’s daily care? That’s my point. I understand how the price of my riding lessons should account for the instructor’s time, insurance, the use and maintenance of the facilities, etc. — but shouldn’t someone riding a school horse be paying that, PLUS a little more to offset the cost of the horse’s daily care?

[trubandloki]

@dogsbody1

but shouldn’t someone riding a school horse be paying that, PLUS a little more to offset the cost of the horse’s daily care?

If this is important to you, make sure you a pick a barn that has that billing structure.

[BAC]

I paid more for a lesson on a school horse than I did when riding the horse I was leasing so I guess it just depends on the facility and their rate structure.

[Luseride]

I used to charge less if a rider was on their horse but ended up quite often spending more time with them than the ones on my horses. Part would be adjusting tack or figuring out how much was the horse and how much was the rider. Sometimes it was the “one more question” scenario that would eat into time after a lesson.

It became also less complicated to keep my records when it was all one price.

[dmveventer]

Like I said, it’s been standard practice at all of my barns, but it’s not a huge price difference. I’m not sure how much more you think they should charge? $10 per lesson assuming a school horse does 5 lessons per week is about $200 per month which is enough to cover a good chunk of that horse’s basic care depending on your area/their needs. The lesson price is primarily covering the instructors time and wear other facility, which you contribute to equally on your own horse.

[dogsbody1]

@trubandloki

@dogsbody1

but shouldn’t someone riding a school horse be paying that, PLUS a little more to offset the cost of the horse’s daily care?

If this is important to you, make sure you a pick a barn that has that billing structure.

It’s not that, exactly. It’s more like I’m interested to know, 1) how common this is, and 2) what the actual cost breakdown is.

There was a viral Facebook post some years ago where a barn owner broke down all the overhead costs of running a barn. The post made it clear how little (if any) profit there was to be had in boarding horses. I think it was eye-opening for a lot of people (myself included), who get sticker shock at the cost of board and entertain a fantasy that boarding horses is a lucrative enterprise. Once you know the costs of hay, feed, labor, and maintaining the facility, it’s no longer an appealing idea to buy a little horse property and board horses for “extra income.”

Anyway, I guess what I am looking for the is the riding lesson equivalent of that Facebook post. What am I missing? Is the cost of maintaining a string of lesson horses really so marginal that it doesn’t make sense to charge people any less for owning their own horse?

[dogsbody1]

@dmveventer

Like I said, it’s been standard practice at all of my barns, but it’s not a huge price difference. I’m not sure how much more you think they should charge?

I don’t know how much more I think they should charge. Maybe they shouldn’t charge any more at all (and it seems like most barns don’t). That’s why I’m asking the question.

My assumption is that a significant driver of riding lesson prices is the cost of the horse’s upkeep. I think that’s a reasonable assumption. It’s probably the first thing most of us would point out if asked by non-horsey parents why their kids’ riding lessons cost what they do. But maybe if you actually do the math, the horse’s upkeep is a marginal part of the cost.

If that’s true, then it’s easier to accept why a barn would charge the same whether you own your own horse or not.

I just don’t really have much insight into the costs of running a lesson program, so that’s why I’m asking.

[CBoylen]

It likely depends on how the barn is structured, who owns the facility, who owns the horses, who teaches the lessons, and whether they are paid by the client or the barn. My schoolhorse lessons are $10 more than my owned or leased horse lessons. My ship-ins are also $10 more.

[2bayboys]

Here’s another take. When I had a few school horses and a few boarders at my own farm, the schoolies made money consistently while the boarded horses basically broke even and only provided income through lessons, going to shows, etc.

A good school pony would pay for itself the first two weeks of the month and the second two weeks would pay me. A solid useful school horse can easily do ten lessons per week, especially at lower levels. Mine would normally do one in the morning and then one in the afternoon, since I had a large number of homeschoolers who rode early.

A boarded horse barely paid for itself through its monthly board fee and only paid me when extra services were provided. A privately owned horse would only do one or two lessons per week.

[dmveventer]

@dogsbody1

My assumption is that a significant driver of riding lesson prices is the cost of the horse’s upkeep. I think that’s a reasonable assumption. It’s probably the first thing most of us would point out if asked by non-horsey parents why their kids’ riding lessons cost what they do. But maybe if you actually do the math, the horse’s upkeep is a marginal part of the cost.

I just think your assumptions are off. Basic care for a school pony is really not that expensive compared to the costs of buying land, maintaining the facility, and paying your staff/instructors enough to make it worth their time. Those are the costs that are really putting boarding business in a rough spot IMO. You can cover a lesson horse’s basic costs with a fairly small portion of the lesson price. The cost is largely covering the instructor’s time and expertise and contributing a bit to the facility upkeep, which are the same whether you own the horse you’re riding or not.

[Angela_Freda]

@dogsbody1

My assumption is that a significant driver of riding lesson prices is the cost of the horse’s upkeep. I think that’s a reasonable assumption. It’s probably the first thing most of us would point out if asked by non-horsey parents why their kids’ riding lessons cost what they do. But maybe if you actually do the math, the horse’s upkeep is a marginal part of the cost.

Its what we all cite for why lesson barns are dying, the cost of the lesson horses and it’s care

[Showbizz]

What I charge for a lesson on my lesson horses is almost TWICE what I charge if you haul in your own, and that includes the haul in fee.

[CHT]

In my area, lesson horse lessons are more than own horse lessons. I agree it makes no sense for it to be the same. Boarders should not be subsidizing lesson horses.