New Trekking Centre; advice requested :)

[Charlie_H]

Hi,

My partner Daisy and I are in the early stages of opening a trekking centre, and would love anyone who has done so to share their wisdom! We have the space and the horses ready, and have applied for a licence from Wiltshire council. Initially we will just be taking out small groups of up to 4. We don't have a school and won't be doing any schooling.

What I am wondering is:

What gear do we need to provide other than helmets? Is there a certain safety standard of equipment needed? What sizes should we have available for use?

Where is best to get insurance? After we receive our licence we will request a quote from Shearwater insurance services, has anybody used them before?

Any other advice or experience shared would be very much appreciated

Charlie

 

[rifruffian]

random thoughts....be well organised to accept payment through all the modern means, be ready to deal with cash banknotes, consider how to deal with people who book and do not turn up, consider how to deal with short notice cancellations, consider the idea of offering gift vouchers for treks, would it be a good idea to have vending machines on site.....et al

 

[LaurenBay]

If you have no arena..are you planning to access riders experience before the trek? If you get those who say they are very confident and experienced so you give them a more forward Horse and then half way round trek they are struggling to do a rising trot you could find yourself in trouble.

 

[Gloi]

Was talking to the trek leader on a ride out last year and they said that they couldn't ride routes they used to because everywhere they rode now had to be accessible to emergency services as part of their licence/insurance agreement.

 

[Littlefloof]

Random thoughts -
First aid - human and equine - what training do you have / need, what kit will you need to have with you? Think about clients who may turn up with medical conditions, eg asthma, severe allergies, diabetes.
Will you be taking adults, children or both? If your clients are children, then do you need to think about safeguarding policies, especially in a mixed group?
Hi viz items for clients and ponies (helps you spot them as well as other trail users).
How long will you be going out for? Do you need to think about water / refreshments / snacks, especially if your clients are not used to moderate physical exertion ;-)

 

[Red-1]

If it were me I would like at least a 20m round pen so you can put unknown riders through their paces.

For helmets I would go with the competitive standard rather then just the EN.

I would do safety stirrups if some of your clients won't have proper riding footwear.

I would wear High Viz.

I would have an individual log book for each horse detailing training, vet history etc.

Risk assessments.

COSHH register and follow regulations.

Insurance.

Personally I would contact the BHS for help, if you could get registered not only would it get you potentially more clients, but the rules etc would actually give you a template to work to. EG safeguarding, risk assessment, etc etc.

1st aid.

Licencing with local authority.

I would advertise on Facebook, so many things are now and it is free!

 

[be positive]

I think you need to apply for insurance and have it in place before you get a full licence so I would get a few quotes now as from memory it will be much the same whatever size your centre and is one reason I never started the small RS I planned because being the size I wanted with no staff was just not viable, there were no concessions for being a one man band, although it may have changed.

I don't think you need an arena to assess riders but will need somewhere enclosed just in case you do have concerns about ability and it may be a good idea to have a plan to assess all new clients as part of your risk assessment, just a walk, trot around a small paddock should give you an idea of whether they are safe to ride out or if being on the lead rein will be better.

Up to date first aid will be essential and probably child protection if you are taking out children, it is a bit of a minefield getting started best of luck.

 

[Notimetoride]

I worked in two trekking centeres in Wales. Riders are obliged to and are trusted to be honest about their ability - there's absolutely no time to be assessing each rider before a ride (time is money). We did get the odd 'all the gear no idea' who rode in an arena once a fortnight, yet considered themselves to be an experienced rider, but these were few and far between. 99% of people were totally honest. The biggest problem was people telling porky pies about their weight. It's important to ask at the time of booking to be sure you can accommodate them. Causes great embarrassment when they book, turn up, and you can see that you don't have a horse that can carry them. Ooooops!

 

[McFluff]

As well as hats, think about boots (I’ve seen people turn up in flip flops!), jackets and gloves.
Once you have your eye in you’ll be able to assess ability just watching them on the ground. As notimetoride says most are honest, you do get some who have more bravery than ability. Weight and limits is a difficult one to manage, ask clothes size as well as height weight.
Think about:
How you’ll handle people who are heavier than they say and too much for your horse
People who won’t listen and hit, kick, jab the horse (yes, it happens, thankfully rarely, but have a plan)
What to do in bad weather
How to cope when people get lost and are late
Deposit, cancellation and refund policies
Photos (and good spots to take them)
Horse workload, and how to keep them sweet and top up their schooling
Routes and how to keep things varied for the horses (you don’t want them to get into a habit of always cantering in particular places
Tack replacement - stirrups and leathers and reins all seem to wear out quickly, or get broken, or need swapped round to accommodate different riders.

It is good fun (working there, never owned) and you will meet some lovely people. Just prepare for the mad minority and you’ll be fine!

 

[Suechoccy]

Criminal record check (DBS)?
Thick numnahs for protection against sloppy riders
Bottle bag for each saddle
Spare horse for when one of yours is off work and you're fully booked

 

[Shay]

My current hobby horse - but don't forget every business has to be compliant with the GDPR....

 

[Ample Prosecco]

I was chatting to the owners of a highly successful new trekking centre after a brilliant ride with them. They were not at horse professionals - she had been in PR and rode horses as a hobby and he had been in finance. This was a 'lifestyle change' venture.

They said the key was to treat it like any other business and focus on the customer experience. Too many people come from the other way - they are skilled horse people and so work with horses but they are not customer focused. That certainly ties in with my experiences of stroppy, shouty, stressy trekking centre hosts! Or being taken out for rides by bored teenagers who spent the time on their phone.

What will your USP be. How sort of training in customer service/conflict resolution will your staff have etc.

Good luck, sounds exciting!

 

[Kaylum]

Our trekking centre provides footwear.

 

[Rowreach]

As well as hats, think about boots (I’ve seen people turn up in flip flops!), jackets and gloves.
Once you have your eye in you’ll be able to assess ability just watching them on the ground. As notimetoride says most are honest, you do get some who have more bravery than ability. Weight and limits is a difficult one to manage, ask clothes size as well as height weight.
Think about:
How you’ll handle people who are heavier than they say and too much for your horse
People who won’t listen and hit, kick, jab the horse (yes, it happens, thankfully rarely, but have a plan)
What to do in bad weather
How to cope when people get lost and are late
Deposit, cancellation and refund policies
Photos (and good spots to take them)
Horse workload, and how to keep them sweet and top up their schooling
Routes and how to keep things varied for the horses (you don’t want them to get into a habit of always cantering in particular places
Tack replacement - stirrups and leathers and reins all seem to wear out quickly, or get broken, or need swapped round to accommodate different riders.

It is good fun (working there, never owned) and you will meet some lovely people. Just prepare for the mad minority and you’ll be fine!

I've had a couple of people turn up wearing dresses! And several with elaborate hairstyles who don't like the idea of putting a riding hat on their heads.

 

[ester]

Definitely think about having some boots available. Telling people to come with a 'shoe with a heel' led to some rather amusing options!

 

[Kaylum]

Hopefully you have also thought about different sized stirrups and leathers. Very important from a safety point of view.

 

[turnbuckle]

Must say, I think you are VERY brave. It'll tough in todays mad world.

But it's a great area for it.

Trying to think of a positive angle, what about offering picnic rides with really delicious food? Join up with a local restaurant/deli/pub if you don't fancy cooking.

PS Happy to come up menu ideas if you pm me - but I suspect you'll be a tweak busy with the basics for a bit.

 

[Keith_Beef]

My partner Daisy and I are in the early stages of opening a trekking centre

From the rest of the post, it seems like you're in the early stages of planning, not of opening.

 

[Denbob]

Ooh whereabouts in Wiltshire? Just out of curiosity because I grew up in the area!

In terms of refreshments, picnics are always a good idea and i'd also suggest a route with a pub stop perfect for long Summer rides to give the horses (and riders) a bit of a break!

Second the part about individual log-books for each horse. And all the posts about hi-viz, safety stirrups of all sizes, boots are also an essential. Will you have an age limit for children? Under 16's to be supervised that kind of thing?

i've never been to a trekking centre which needed an assessment, but certainly a back-up plan should someone book onto a more advanced ride on the assumption it's easy or for some reason needs to get back to the centre in an emergency or decides to wimp out halfway round.

 

[McFluff]

I've had a couple of people turn up wearing dresses! And several with elaborate hairstyles who don't like the idea of putting a riding hat on their heads.

Haha, so have I, but they were 6...

 

[poiuytrewq]

If you have no arena..are you planning to access riders experience before the trek? If you get those who say they are very confident and experienced so you give them a more forward Horse and then half way round trek they are struggling to do a rising trot you could find yourself in trouble.

I worked at a stables where we did rides out, mostly tourists but this happened so so much. It was at times a bloody nightmare!
The realisation that if I proceeded round the booked route with certain riders on certain horses we would possibly all die as they were very definitely not as they claimed.
Some kind of area just to quickly see clients walk, trot maybe canter if they claim to be capable would be very beneficial

 

[Cortez]

I think you are mad, actually. NOTHING could induce me to put myself, or horses I liked, through the ordeal of dealing with The General Public and their delusions. Good luck, you will need it.

 

[ester]

I do think splitting rides can help with the lack of truthfulness on ability sometimes as you can then improvise as to who goes the canter routes and who doesn't.

Mostly you do need to find some very good, tolerant horses though.

 

[Gloi]

I was a trek leader for a season in my younger days. Didn't know till then just how many crazy people there are.

 

[teapot]

My current hobby horse - but don't forget every business has to be compliant with the GDPR....

*shudders at the mere mention of GDPR*

 

[SpringArising]

I used to board at a trekking centre in France for a couple of years, and also helped out over the summers, so I have some experience with this.

For those saying you should assess the riders before the treks, I understand why, but logistically it makes no sense and it would be far too time consuming to have everyone be assessed before you leave. The most important thing is that ALL of the horses are mannerly and in no way dangerous - if that's the case you eliminate the risk of anyone being over-horsed.

We had around 15 horses on site, and of course they were all different - some more forward than others - but they were all OK to be ridden by total beginners.

 

[Rowreach]

The most important thing is that ALL of the horses are mannerly and in no way dangerous - if that's the case you eliminate the risk of anyone being over-horsed.

We had around 15 horses on site, and of course they were all different - some more forward than others - but they were all OK to be ridden by total beginners.

I know somewhere that got taken to court because the extremely quiet horse put its head down for a nibble of grass and the very novicey rider toppled slowly down its neck.

The problem is that even the best behaved horse is still a horse and they do tend to get a bit jaded doing boring walk rides with wobbly people on board. I agree with Cortez, I wouldn't do it to my horses - and it nearly broke my heart working at a trekking centre. The poor horses were completely shut down and miserable.

 

[EventingMum]

There are some very important points raised here so far. Your insurance will probably place some hefty restrictions on you too such as minimum age for riders etc. Correct registration forms, risk assessments, portable first aid kit, coordinates if the route you are taking for emergency services also need careful consideration. As far as hard are concerned I would suggest adjustable one will fit different head shapes more easily and I would look at stirrup cages to stop feet slipping through the stirrups if you are faced with variety of footwear, not everyone will agree to wearing or fit what you provide. I would also make sure your trek leader is qualified no matter how experience they are as this is a different kettle of fish to being a competent rider. One place I heard of was recently sued as the rider claims she didn't hear the leader shout to duck going under a heavy branch and hot knocked of the horse. There is so much red tape now its a nightmare to keep up with it all.

 

[cold_feet]

........?

They said the key was to treat it like any other business and focus on the customer experience. Too many people come from the other way - they are skilled horse people and so work with horses but they are not customer focused. That certainly ties in with my experiences of stroppy, shouty, stressy trekking centre hosts!
.......

This. I’m just back from a trekking holiday in Morocco where this was exactly the case!

 

[teddypops]

I've had a couple of people turn up wearing dresses! And several with elaborate hairstyles who don't like the idea of putting a riding hat on their heads.

I had one woman turn up in a mini dress and high heels!