Lesson cut short

VictoriaSponge

VictoriaSponge

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I went for a lesson today, not with our regular instructor but I’ve had a couple of lessons with her before. I find her teaching very useful but she’s on the pricier side so it’s more of a treat.

I hacked over to the arena so horse was warmed up and ready to go. She decided we should finish the lesson a little early as had a period of really good work and I agreed. I was a little shocked when I looked at my watch and realised I’d only had thirty minutes of what was supposed to be an hour lesson. She’d already headed back to her car by this point, which is unusual as we usually have more of a chat/reflection after, so she’d only been there about 35 minutes.

I paid by bank transfer beforehand for the whole hour. I’m torn because as pleased as I was with the lesson, I feel a bit short changed as £60 for half an hour of teaching feels like extortion.

Am I just being old and miserable?
 
Ah, I was agreeing you should stop until I saw it was only half the lesson.

I'd definitely finish up to 15 minutes early but that is too much imo. I'm sure there could have been something useful to be done or discussed, maybe about you rather than the horse.

I'd do nothing because you agreed but be ready for it to happen again and have a plan. I really think she should have spent some time at least speaking with you, perhaps she wasn't well.
 
I think finishing on a good note is great but I would expect something off my next lesson for half of the hour lesson.

Or just book and pay for half an hour going forwards. Do the warm up and cool down for free when you hack there and back.
 
I would let it slide this time but I would probably set up expectations with the coach differently in the future.

I don't do full hour of a lesson because that's quite intensive for my horses. I do like them to be warmed up and ready before the lesson starts, and then we do about 30 minutes of intensive lesson work, 20 minutes occasionally if it all goes well and the horse has had enough and up to 40 minutes occasionally if we have taken breaks to explain and discuss things.

I like to stop before the horse gets tired and starts getting things wrong. I don't use lessons for fitness work but rather for intensive learning and building on where we are.

I pay £50 per session for our eventing coach (international 5* rider) and £55 for our dressage coach (international GP rider) regardless of the time spent. It all evens out in the end.
 
You need to give her some feedback as she either doesn’t know business basics or is oblivious to commercial norms. Remember that many of instructors don’t have tertiary education, don’t have experience in the business world and at best are T&M service delivery people. However in your case they even failed at the T&M delivery!

As you got good outcomes in 30 mins, let her know you appreciated being able to get results so swiftly which is a testament to her quality instruction. However, in order to deepen your knowledge on how those results were achieved it would great to have a discussion. You were disappointed that the balance of time was not offered up for such a discussion.

If you are bold enough maybe suggest the 30mins be used as a credit when you next have a lesson.
 
I agree that half an hour at that price you would feel done by.
I would say to her ‘I really enjoyed my lesson last time and I am glad it ended on a good note but that you hadn’t realised that it was actually only 30 minutes’ see what she says to that. She may offer some money back.
 
I also would be pretty vexed, not so much with finishing the lesson early and on a good note but not even having a chat afterwards to use up some of your lesson time you payed for.
Some good suggestions above if you want to say something but I’m not sure I’d be brave enough.
 
I think I would be a bit more direct ' Can I book the other half of Sunday's lesson please?' There will be murmurings, but be polite, but firm. 'I'm sorry - I booked a full hour's lesson and it ended at xxxxx instead of xxxxx,' If there is disagreement, then I suppose you either ask for a refund, or look for another instructor. Shrinkflation at it's worst!
 
I’d be feeling miffed too. At the very least a progress chat and some homework should have been discussed if no more teaching was being offered. I’d be too much of a wimp to bring it up though probably but would be less inclined to book her again.
 
That is definitely cheeky. 10 minutes, sure but half the lesson! As others have said, she could have used the time to answer questions, agree a homework plan etc. No way would I be happy with £60 for 30 minutes. I'd be too much of a wimp - and would have been too wrong footed - to raise it there and then, but I think I'd have to raise it afterwards if I was ever going to use her again. If I was not using her again I'd probably chalk it up to experience and leave it.
 
Just a thought but do your normal chats/ reflections usually take you over the hour? If so I'd be inclined to let it go this time. I'm not good at confrontation anyway so if it was the first time it had happened and I was pleased with the teaching then I'd let it go but would say something if it happened another time or be ready to say next time that you'd like to talk or do x,y,z.
 
Are you certain lesson was meant to be an hour? Has this been specified? As most flatwork lessons are 45 minutes.

To be fair if you are excluding the warm up and cool down from the lesson, asking if you can just have 30 minute lessons sounds like a good idea.
 
This has happened to me before, in a RC lesson of 4 rather than a private lesson. Horse had only just warmed up and did a lovely canter, something we had been working on improving, she said’oh that was wonderful, I think you should leave it there’ now I’m all for ending early/on a good note/there’s always another day but we’d travelled to get there and i’d ridden for 15 minutes max! Anyway, as i hate confrontation and i am pleased with the canter i just agreed, it hasn’t happened since Fwiw, and i have since been the one to say I’m ending early on a good note.

Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again but if it did, I’d knock them on the head rather than say anything
 
Identityincrisis said:
This has happened to me before, in a RC lesson of 4 rather than a private lesson. Horse had only just warmed up and did a lovely canter, something we had been working on improving, she said’oh that was wonderful, I think you should leave it there’ now I’m all for ending early/on a good note/there’s always another day but we’d travelled to get there and i’d ridden for 15 minutes max! Anyway, as i hate confrontation and i am pleased with the canter i just agreed, it hasn’t happened since Fwiw, and i have since been the one to say I’m ending early on a good note.

Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again but if it did, I’d knock them on the head rather than say anything
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Yes because if I said anything in real life, whilst still on the horse, I would be so irritated, I would then struggle to carry on riding and interacting as normal in the lesson, and not being in the right headspace, is a bit of a death knoll to effective schooling (for me).
 
Identityincrisis said:
This has happened to me before, in a RC lesson of 4 rather than a private lesson. Horse had only just warmed up and did a lovely canter, something we had been working on improving, she said’oh that was wonderful, I think you should leave it there’ now I’m all for ending early/on a good note/there’s always another day but we’d travelled to get there and i’d ridden for 15 minutes max! Anyway, as i hate confrontation and i am pleased with the canter i just agreed, it hasn’t happened since Fwiw, and i have since been the one to say I’m ending early on a good note.

Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again but if it did, I’d knock them on the head rather than say anything
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That is awful! I'd have said no tbh. Very occasonally at home I'll stop after 15 mins if the horse has made a real improvement. But not in a lesson. You can let them have a walk on a long rein for a few minutes to reward the improvement and then try and replicate it. One instructor used to say a change is not real till the horse can do it 3 times in a row! Or leave that and work on something totally different.
 
SEL said:
I'm a bit of a wimp with those kind of things but I'd probably say given we only did 30 mins last time shall we book a shorter lesson next time and see what she says
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That's what I would do. Even though you're not directly querying the lesson, you are saying that you are aware it was only 30 minutes and it opens the door to discuss
 
Thanks all, reinforcing my thoughts really. I certainly don’t object to ending on a good note, I’d expect most lessons to be 40-50 minutes plus a bit of time for questions. I’d have been happy with the 30 minutes had she stuck around for this, but she was off! I understand that she may have needed to be some where as things do crop up, but a mention of this would have been appreciated. But then I wonder if she didn’t say something because then she couldn’t charge me for the hour?

I agree I’ll let it go this time; as previously I’ve had about 45 minutes of riding then about 15 minutes of reflection, but will be saying something if it happens again.
 
Definitely say something if it happens again! That is a bit of a cheek she should have charged you less definitely.

We were at a riding school who had a new instructor as the other one left, she was always staring late…made the kids stand around for about 10-15 mins while they got kids on ponies etc then end it at the 30 mins mark so they effectively only had a 15 minute lesson. Everyone complained, we left in the end as it was totally pointless!
 
I'd give her a call and say you missed having a feedback chat after the lesson, particularly since there was plenty of time for one, so could she give you some feedback now on why she felt things went so well this time.
 
Is the lesson price def per hour? I train with 3 top trainers and lessons are scheduled to be 45 mins long (but of course this varies depending on how the lesson has gone)
 
If I paid £60 for an hour of someone's time then I would expect for them to spend 60 minutes with me. Saying let's end on a good note just seems a cop out and an easy way of cutting short the time paid for.
Stopping when the horse has done well is fine but 10 minutes spent discussing things and then another 20 showing you how to do something different if necessary that won't tire the horse.

I wouldn't say anything as you agreed to stop but next time I would make sure it goes on for 60 minutes and very close to the end I would ask her to show you something, teach the horse something etc that was going to take another 10 mins to make the point. Plan what you are going to ask her to show you. If she says time up I would remind her that your earlier lesson ended very early.
 
canteron said:
Next time say

‘I hope everything is ok as I know you had to rush off last week and I was worried something was wrong’

So you are compassionate but make the point you noticed!
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I would add the word 'early':

‘I hope everything is ok as I know you had to rush off early last week and I was worried something was wrong’
 
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