Trainer % for lessons

[sheep_with_a_gun]

Do most boarding barns charge boarders a fee whenever they lesson? I would expect that liability, upkeep, etc. would be accounted for in the cost of board, so I’m not sure why that would need to be charged in addition.

[Midge]

@bhrunner06

Ohio

Half Hour Private Lesson- $50

Half Hour Group Lesson- $45

Hour Private Lesson- $70

Hour Group Lesson- $60

No horse use fees to use barn horses.

Trainer is currently also barn manager with a flat salary regardless of lessons taught. Looking to change to a % of lessons

Back in the dark ages, I had this exact job. We were all paid by the day and I was not paid any more as the manager than the grooms were. I got 30% of the lesson money.

[trubandloki]

@sheep_with_a_gun

Do most boarding barns charge boarders a fee whenever they lesson? I would expect that liability, upkeep, etc. would be accounted for in the cost of board, so I’m not sure why that would need to be charged in addition.

Oh, this is another long thread worth of discussion where people debate how life is not fair.

Lots of places charge a ring use fee to outside trainers coming and using the ring. The trainer then passes fee on to the rider.
Both sides of this debate have valid points. The trainer has zero overhead by using a ring that belongs to someone else, why should the barn owner support their business and not charge them a fee?

[mmeqcenter]

@trubandloki

@sheep_with_a_gun

Do most boarding barns charge boarders a fee whenever they lesson? I would expect that liability, upkeep, etc. would be accounted for in the cost of board, so I’m not sure why that would need to be charged in addition.

Oh, this is another long thread worth of discussion where people debate how life is not fair.

Lots of places charge a ring use fee to outside trainers coming and using the ring. The trainer then passes fee on to the rider.
Both sides of this debate have valid points. The trainer has zero overhead by using a ring that belongs to someone else, why should the barn owner support their business and not charge them a fee?

Yeah there’s about a million threads on this. A couple thousand on Facebook too.

The fee is to the trainer, not the boarder. If the trainer passes it on to the student, that’s their prerogative.
I don’t spend all my money on my farm for someone else to make money off of my property. Don’t want to pay a farm use fee as a trainer? Buy your own farm.

[OverandOnward]

@sheep_with_a_gun

Do most boarding barns charge boarders a fee whenever they lesson? I would expect that liability, upkeep, etc. would be accounted for in the cost of board, so I’m not sure why that would need to be charged in addition.

Just in my own experience, only when an outside trainer came in to lesson. The “barn trainer” didn’t owe the fee.

Theoretically, a trainer based at a barn should be keeping the barn full with their students and horses in training. The outside trainer is not providing that service for the barn, rather, the barn is providing the facilities the trainer needs to teach.

@mmeqcenter

I don’t spend all my money on my farm for someone else to make money off of my property. Don’t want to pay a farm use fee as a trainer? Buy your own farm.

Exactly. Without the barn’s facilities and upkeep, there is no lesson. Facilities are part of riding for a purpose that benefits from a trainer. And, every ride does add usage and a need for maintenance, even just dragging the ring.

I knew one barn that did not have an in-house trainer, who allowed one particular outside trainer to use the facilities as they wished. In return, the trainer did the daily ring dragging in the morning for two large arenas. This particular trainer was meticulous, he was out there at daybreak every day for a thorough ring drag. I can still see him on the rolling tractor, leaning out of the seat, squinting at his work to get it perfect. Everyone loved the arrangement.