Riding schedules at h/j barns?

[nycjumper]

I think your first sentence says it all. In a boarding barn, you’re generally free to come on your own schedule. In a true training barn, there is already a set schedule for staff/trainers/clients and you need to adhere to it. If every rider just wanted to come out and hack around at their convenience, it creates a huge inconvenience for the barn staff, trainer, other clients, etc. You decided at 4 PM on a random day that you want to take Fluffy for a ride but that’s the time someone needs to drag the ring or the farrier is there working or the grooms need to be picking stalls or trainer has already ridden the horse that morning, etc…

I’m sure the BM/Trainer (I think they are one and the same from your post) would be happy to accommodate but schedule the times in advance so s/he knows you will be there.

[endlessclimb]

I ride alone a lot. I have a young horse who has a wicked prop spin we’re working through, as well as a propensity to trip. She’s tripped/fallen once, which is hands-down the worst I’ve ever been hurt.

I want my phone on my person if I’m on the young one. It’s not a fail safe, but nothing is. I am torn between wanting to video my rides with the Pivo, but wanting my phone physically on me just in case crawling to the tripod is out of the question.

Right now, with the young mare with a hair up her ass due to winter and the trip potential, I let someone know when I’m getting on, and tell them if I don’t contact them in an hour to send help. This allows me a VERY slight peace of mind when I decide to video the ride instead of have my phone on my person.

The mare recently failed a neuro (1/5), had two EPM tests come back inconclusive, and then passed a subsequent neuro no problem. I don’t know what her deal is, but I don’t think she’s my future eventer (to put it lightly).

[enjoytheride]

@Tini_Sea_Soldier1

Nope. Have to disagree. Plenty of perfectly normal adults do not just decide to go ride by themselves with no one else around. That’s fine if you want to live your life that way, but honestly, it’s just not safe and after watching more than one person knocked unconscious riding and knowing several with life-changing/life-altering falls, I’d prefer to have someone around to call for help.

If I didn’t ride alone I’d never ride. It’s kind of weird that you’re judging people who ride solo. I’d love the comradery and would certainly be motived to ride more with friends, and I do take steps to ensure my safety but I ride alone daily. Even when I was at a boarding barn I was often there alone and rode alone.

Many many many people ride alone.

[enjoytheride]

@Peggy

You can add riding alone, including jumping without a helmet and going off on hours-long trail rides, to the list of things that people commonly did in previous decades

Did? How about still do!

I have gone on several hour trail rides in a national forest totally alone. The only time I ever fell off I was in a group of people and my horse ran away and was lost for 24 hours in the forest so seems to me I’m safer alone on the trail!

[Ace1]

This is your pretty girl you had inspected? (Note: fascinating read for those not in the know about inspection preparation!) I clearly have not read about health issues she has had, but I’m very sorry to hear she may not be the performance horse you had hoped.

As to the OP’s question, nothing new to add, but I’m guessing it’s a liability issue, either for insurance purposes or for the barn’s reputation (e.g., “Did you hear what happened to Susie?! She’s been in hospital for a month because XYZ barn lets people ride with no helmet, no one around, three riders on one pony, and a pack of rabid wolves - on the trail no less!”).

Hoping OP comes back to let us know how @meupatdoes script went.

[endlessclimb]

@Ace1

This is your pretty girl you had inspected? (Note: fascinating read for those not in the know about inspection preparation!) I clearly have not read about health issues she has had, but I’m very sorry to hear she may not be the performance horse you had hoped.

Indeed! She’s been a clutz from day 1 (bought her as a just-turned 3 year old), it’s possible it’s just who she is, but the failed neuro is concerning enough that I don’t feel comfortable jumping her over solid stuff. She clearly can jump, and I’ve jumped her plenty - but if she will never really care about where her feet are, eventing is obviously out of the question!

She really moves like a hunter if you allow her out and down a bit, so perhaps that’s her calling.

[Ace1]

…she is the horse version of me…

[findeight]

Perhaps it would be appropriate to differentiate between riding alone on personally or publicly owned property or on private property owned (and insured)by the boarding/training barn and/or their landlord?

Five decades in boarding barns and they do get sued, all the injured party or the insurance company who paid their medical bill has to do is claim negligence. Almost always costs more to defend against the claim then settle out of court. Usually the barns don’t publicly share any details.

[endlessclimb]

For me, it’s a little of both but primarily private owned.

[enjoytheride]

A boarding barn can make whatever rules it wants “no jumping alone, no riding alone, no riding without a helmet, etc” but people can and do still ride alone, at boarding barns and private property rules permitting of course. People need to pick the barn that works best for their needs and a barn with set riding hours or rules about not riding alone work for some and not others.

The poster stating that people don’t ride alone seems to have specific experiences that do not reflect the greater world.

[victoriakent]

Depending on what their staffing situation looks like, I will relate this to our own business. We own a sports performance company that is mostly by appointment only. We work weekly with the clients to set their training times, and we also tell them if they want to come in and work out on their own when we are already there then that is fine, but to check with us first. Occasionally a client will show up at lunch time or when we are closing up a little early and not realize we were about to head out the door. My sweet darling spouse hates to tell a client no and will stay late every time unless I am threatening to throw all of his fishing rods in the river if he is late for XYZ event. Sometimes as a business owner we sacrifice our own sanity to try and make our clients happy, and your trainer may have other things they need to tend to, but feels like they cant. When you talk to them, perhaps ask if it is ok if you ride when they arent there if you bring someone else with you to be eyes on the ground. I know for us, we won’t leave a client alone in the gym incase there is a freak accident, so reassuring your trainer of some safety precautions may help ease their mind.

[2bayboys]

@enjoytheride

@Peggy

You can add riding alone, including jumping without a helmet and going off on hours-long trail rides, to the list of things that people commonly did in previous decades

Did? How about still do!

I have gone on several hour trail rides in a national forest totally alone. The only time I ever fell off I was in a group of people and my horse ran away and was lost for 24 hours in the forest so seems to me I’m safer alone on the trail!

Yup! If I didn’t ride alone I’d never ride. I do take precautions, helmet every ride, cell phone, check in with DH to let him know if I’m taking one up the mountain, but those of us who keep horses at home can’t rely on a buddy to ride with most of the time. It’s also one of the first tests I do with a new horse, checking to see if it will ride out by itself or even work in the ring alone without seeing its buddies. If that is a problem, then the horse won’t work for me.

Interestingly all of the worst injuries I’ve sustained with horses have been on the ground, not from falling off. And a few months ago I fell in the bath tub and scared myself silly because DH was traveling and I lay there imagining what could have been. Life is fraught with hazards.

[enjoytheride]

Yep, wish I had more people who wanted to ride but I don’t so I ride alone!

[MHM]

My parents owned their own business for almost fifty years.

They said that if they were open for 23.5 hours a day, and only closed each day from 12:30 AM to 1:00 AM, there would always be someone who would want to come in at 12:45 AM, with a perfectly valid reason why that was the only possible time they could make it. Lol.

So business owners are free to set policies that work for their situation, and any customer is free to accept those policies or go elsewhere.

[Scribbler]

Honestly I feel safer riding alone on trails or in an arena because all of the hairy moments with my well broke mare are caused by other riders and their horses. And I’m not a big fan of random camaraderie so I only ride with a few people I actually want to talk with. Even then I often prefer alone. I’ve even trailers out to ride alone in our horse parks.

I do have a cellphone on me at all times.

[islgrl]

@Tini_Sea_Soldier1

Nope. Have to disagree. Plenty of perfectly normal adults do not just decide to go ride by themselves with no one else around. That’s fine if you want to live your life that way, but honestly, it’s just not safe and after watching more than one person knocked unconscious riding and knowing several with life-changing/life-altering falls, I’d prefer to have someone around to call for help.

I ride alone all the time. I don’t really have a choice. I hope nothing happens, but if I had to wait for someone to show up to ride I wouldn’t be able to ride…

[Rel6]

Riding alone is makes me nervous, and I am generally very bold on a horse. I really dislike riding if no one is on the property, and will only ride my own horse if I’m at the barn alone (with a text to let a friend know when I’m getting on). Even hacking out in the back field alone when the barn itself is busy makes me a bit nervous sometimes, despite my horse being a very solid sort. I grew up riding in busier barns, so I can’t really remember a single time I had a ring to myself as a junior - riding alone has just continued to feel unfamiliar to me.

My friend, who is more timid/nervous than me, loves riding alone. She would take her mare on trail rides alone and prefers to have the ring to herself. She likes not having to worry about others in the ring or people watching her ride. She grew up at a quieter barn where this was more the norm.

Yes, there is an inherent safety risk in riding alone if something were to happen. But like many others, sometimes the only time I can ride is when no one is at the barn. To each their own!

[Pally]

Is it possible that somewhere between “You CAN’T ride outside your lesson” and “Ride whenever you want”, they just want you to literally schedule your hacks? While I feel like this would have been explicitly laid out when you entered the program… it’s possible there was just confusion/miscommunication.

My current workplace schedules all rides, lesson or not. This ensures that:

• the arena (esp. smallish indoor) is not over capacity
• rider groupings are safe and appropriate
• anyone that might need a little extra supervision gets it
• your horse isn’t out in the paddock (probably covered in mud) when you show up.
• your horse isn’t being “double booked” between you and a service provider such as the farrier, bodyworker, clipper, etc.

If it were me, I’d probably tell them you’d like to ride on your “free days”, work on getting it scheduled with them, based on both your availability and what they can do. They put it in the calendar, you show up and aren’t “riding outside your time”. If that doesn’t work…well, then explore if it’s a good fit. But try this first!

[Baybear]

Best thing is to discuss with the barn owner or trainer to see what the deal-e-o is. I definitely think there are barns where owners feel more comfortable always riding in a lesson so it just seems to evolve into a policy when it really might not be. And then there are some places where they just don’t have the facilities for a lot of riding. Where I board we have a huge outdoor ring, there is usually a field or paddock available to ride in, but a pretty small indoor. If there’s a lesson going on we can still ride in the ring and just stay out of their way. If they’re doing a lot of jumping, other riders will leave the ring or most of the time watch.

A program where boarders are encouraged to ride only during lessons would be a turn off for me. I’m a working adult and have a chronic illness so sometimes I may just want to walk my horse around the place and don’t feel up for a lesson. It’s all about what works best for me and my horse. I can also see where those who want a full care facility are perfectly fine with that sort of set up. They want the lessons and riding outside of a lesson isn’t a big thing for them.

I think it’s important to be at a place that checks off most of your boxes, few places are perfect.

[findeight]

Actually, no place is ever going to be perfect. There’s always going to be something…even if you keep at home.