I understand what you’re saying. I would certainly prefer that my horses never misbehave, but realistically here is what can happen: We have an indoor arena, so we don’t cancel very often. On a rainy day, the horses won’t be turned out as usual. In a cold, stormy week, even our quiet school horses might be fresh. They might canter faster; they might be more reactive when someone opens the door to come in. This is what I’m talking about- it’s really hard to find that bomb proof campaigner that never puts a foot wrong. And before you say, “Oh, this a great opportunity to teach them horsemanship!” You know what? Many, many parents don’t want to pay you if their kid isn’t riding. That’s a fact. And then we circle back to the frustration of the Lesson Program mindset- tons of cancellations when the weather is bad (even though we have a beautiful indoor) and then we have conflict with the Lesson Program parents who expect you to provide makeup lesson after makeup lesson.
I rode one this year who was missing an eye (and thus got worried at the canter, resulting in aggressive head tossing and rushing), tripped on the flat quite often, and wouldn’t bend one direction.
I rode another one that would grab the bit, rush fences, and then buck on the backside, even if the fences were cross rails.
I’m an adult, doing this for fun, and paying $80 per lesson to do so. I quit because, to me, that behavior is ridiculous. I can ride my own greenies at the house for free if I wanted to engage with that. But I feel for the kids, who are put onto these horses because their families can’t afford more than lessons - and are told to suck it up. Who is that fun for? Not the kid. Certainly not the horse. The pocket of the lesson barn is really the only one profiting in this scenario.
I don’t know a single lesson program who allows school horses to jump more than 2’. The better barns around here do have horses that are competitive at the local shows, simply because they can half lease or show lease them to provide additional income since they’re paying for the upkeep anyway. But all I’m talking about is something that will safely take a rider around a course without feeling out of control - the bar can hardly get lower.
That’s my point, Arelle. Have you priced that horse you speak of? Now do the math with your $80 lesson.
Yes; I have. LOL I own 11 horses and I’ve been on the board of the local H/J club. I know what it takes and I’ve spent over a decade with the local lesson providers. I’ve seen it done well, and I’ve seen it done shitty, I know the economics of both, and I will die on the hill of “if you don’t want to do it right, with safe, sound, and enjoyable horses then you don’t need to do it at all”.
That’s actually quite a high bar, to expect a horse to do that six days a week with a different rider each time.
I think there’s a difference between “fresh from being in” and a horse who is green/hot most of the time. (And I think it’s a good policy to call “door” when entering the arena, versus telling the kid to hang on and deal with a horse who spooks when it’s banged open without warning.) Also, for some students, during times like that, it might be appropriate to take the lesson down a notch. Some instructors aren’t okay if a kid is struggling with a more forward horse to let them not canter for that lesson and just work on the trot.
I know a lot of students flourished in the old “suck it up” mentality and a lot of them dropped out and instructors said “good riddance,” but I hope there is a place for students (in all spheres of life) who progress at a slower rate if they do have fear issues.
I do have to say that as an adult, though, I never enjoyed lesson programs like I did leasing a horse and taking private lessons, so it might also be true that yes, except for certain kinds of students or people just getting their feet wet, the model is getting unsustainable.
@Arelle–amen to all you said!
Since you have been doing this for so long, you realize that a person yelling door does not mean a horse in the ring will not spook when the door is opened.
Obviously. Jeez, why do you need to be so nasty. “Since I have been doing this for so long.” Look, of course, I’ve ridden horses who took exception to the way the sun looked on the arena sand and spooked violently. (And I don’t consider myself a good rider at all.) But I’m just saying that there are risk reduction things that not all barns I rode at did.
One of my main schoolies had a complete come apart yesterday over sunlight shining through a crack in the door. My mind immediately went to: I wonder if she has ulcers? We really can’t afford a 30 day course of Gastrogard on her. It would completely wipe out the school horse budget this month.
Ugh, I hope that’s not the case. (And the anti-sun horse I’m thinking of…I don’t know if she had ulcers but I did sometimes wonder, I just don’t think she was ever checked for them.)
I do want to add–I know it’s incredibly hard to keep school horses, and even good, relatively young ones can suddenly have health issues which can put a lesson barn into the red. It’s something that no other sport has to worry about–an ice rink may be expensive to maintain, but the loner skates people buy before getting their own aren’t going to go mysteriously lame overnight.
Twenty-five years ago when I first had my own lesson program I went to an auction run by the Jennings (remember Professional Auction Services?) and brought home a 12 yo Tb mare, around 15.2, cute and sound. She would walk trot canter and jump around a little 2’ course with anybody. She didn’t have a lead change and was hard to catch but she won at local shows and was darn easy. I paid less than $2500 for her.
Back then I charged $25 per lesson so in four months she was paid for.
Today she would be closer to $25,000 as a short stirrup horse, but you wouldn’t be able to buy her since she’d be one that would be leased in barn to one rider after another.
The math these days just doesn’t work.
Not sure if this has been talked about but Brian Wee, has helped a number of people with there riding schools to make it a viable business. He is a horseperson with real world business experience and some great ideas. I highly recomend it.
The best lesson programs I have been associated with had several things in common -
The all required or offered a pre-paid package option. Some would allow “drop-ins” but they offered a decent discount for the pre-paid package option. One did 4 “semesters” per year that were prepaid. There was a two week period at the end of semester for make up lessons, and a guaranteed complete week off for the horses at the conclusion. Students were guaranteed no more than 2 indoor or ground lessons per semester. This allowed the school owner to budget effectively for the 12 - 13 weeks. She knew exactly how much money she had to work with, and exactly how many/what type of horses she needed.
They also were a boarding operation, and their relationship with their boarder were such that boarders were willing to have their horses used in lessons occasionally or when the owner couldn’t ride. (This provides that all important step up from the beginner schoolie string - a horse that’s a little more forward and responsive, but is still amateur safe. This is a piece many posters have said is missing now.)
They had some kind of working student/barn rat gig, so they had kids to ride the “not quite ready for the school string” mounts until they got there. They also had a pipeline for potential schoolies coming in.
Even if all that is in place, I don’t know HOW it’s financially viable at $60 a lesson. Forget special shoeing or Previcoxx or joint injections or saddle fitting or all the other things that school horses should have.
How do you say in your program outline that you have the right to fire a student/family for…… and give x notice?
I don’t know if you have to say it in the program outline.
There’s no right to take riding lessons at a private facility.
I have had a conversation along the lines of “I don’t think my program is the best fit for you.” or “I don’t have a suitable school horse for you to ride” followed by referrals to others programs.
I DID have a policy in writing that repeat no shows/no calls would no longer be scheduled for lessons.
Are you open to rethinking your client base?
A very successful program in my area is politely but deeply explicit that they are not a program for people looking to be competitive. They treat their lesson program like recreational soccer or a YMCA class. Students buy a block of lessons that have to be used within a time period but the focus is on getting to be with the horse, grooming, etc. The fundamentals are not framed as gatekeeping things that have to be mastered in order to “really ride” but rather an end goal of building a lifelong appreciation and ability to safely interact with horses.
This same program also has an awesome adult program. I believe it runs for two hours two mornings a week. Similarly, lessons are purchased in a block but it is a totally kid-free space. There is coffee and a light breakfast. Adults get to spend time grooming and learning about an interesting horse topic and a new skill. A friend who is a re-rider but doesn’t have the time to really reengage goes twice a month to groom, do some light massage techniques they were taught, and then goes for an easy walk hack around the property with some friends. Horses are the vehicle for self care and connection.
None of these would sustain a bustling program but perhaps there are some creative ways to engage new audiences, challenge younger assistants to grow their teaching toolkit, and help the oldies offset some of their costs.
I want to say, this is n absolutely fabulous concept and so many middle aged horse (and horseless) women in my area would love something like this. Looking at it from the self-care, therapeutic angle.
But even having those abilities doesn’t make the sport financially accessible now, unless you’re in a very inexpensive area. I can manage a barn and staff, develop a young horse, bring them to their first shows, and sell them jumping around with changes. I’ve turned down full-time riding jobs from good pros. I make “lowest six figures” a year on average at my day job, sometimes more, sometimes less, and I get trainer’s rates (aka a dry stall) at my barn, but…
The dry stall plus hay plus vet/farrier/supplements/etc is $1500 per month. Since I have a dry stall, I have to be at the barn 7 days a week, which interferes with the day job that pays for everything. A two-day local show to prove the horse can go off-property and not lose their marbles is $500.
I’m admittedly in a high cost of living area but even if you can DIY it, and even if you can USUALLY make your money back selling the horse, the upfront costs are still incredibly off-putting. I’m in my 30s - why would I spend $20k a year on a “sale horse” when I can put that in retirement savings like a sane person?
If horses were my #1 priority, I could move to a cheaper, horsier area, but I like where I live and have a strong network of great horse people here, so starting over isn’t appealing. I have no horses on my bill at the moment and am helping a pro friend hack horses once or twice a week. That’s scratching the horse itch without annihilating my finances, which feels like the best scenario I can hope for.
This sounds great in theory, and I’m certainly not slamming the idea-- I’ve ridden at barns like this too–but I think the problem is you sometimes run into problems trying to cater to people who are just dabbling in horses, or who don’t have the finances (or just the desire) to get in deeper. Purchasing a lesson block might help, but in my experience riders gravitating to these programs are more apt to cancel because of bad weather/ family commitments because it’s just an activity, not a lifestyle. And then they don’t progress, and don’t want to come back for more lessons. Or more serious riders, getting a taste for riding, then move onto more competitive barns because they do want to progress and get sticker shock when they realize how much it takes money-wise to move beyond an easy w/t lesson with grooming.
Again, I’m not slamming the idea–but the barn I am thinking of really struggled because people who just took a few lessons here and there (even if cancelling within the time frame) didn’t keep it afloat, and it was frustrating to ride in the arena with riders who didn’t ride enough to develop a skill set.
My local parks system used to run a program like this for adults and kids–grooming and walk-trot lesson, bought as a “block” so it was prepaid, using horses from the therapeutic program run through the parks system but is no longer offered because of either finances or lack of interest.
Problem of replacing lesson horses: How I did it when I ran a bigger program. I bought and sold horses as well, and would use those horses for better riders. I would identify horses I wanted to keep for the lesson program, and use them first with the better riders, then with the intermediate riders, and then when they were ready with the beginner riders. When horses were starting to get mid to late teens, I would sell them as I had another to fit in their spot that was coming along, and I sold before they lost too much market abitliy. While some lesson horses stayed in the program longer, I would say average time I would keep them would be three or four years…I had a constant supply of good lesson horses, and also horses that were ready to sell. My students did well at the local shows, my students could ride anything, and people saw those horses and wanted them…I was able to sell for good prices. Now, I did own my own barn, and did have pasture which helped. But that is how I did it. I ran around 15-16 lesson horses at any given time and another half-dozen or so that I was selling and/or making into new lesson horses. Set like this a program can have decent lesson horses coming up and not have a problem. The biggest problem I had was finding reliable help for the farm
