Riding schools rant

[CluelessShowjumper]

Probably going to be an unpopular thread but I just need to get it off my chest and hopefully a few of you feel the same…

What is it with riding schools “employing” teenagers that pay the riding school to help them on a weekend? They call it a pony day then order the kids around; poo picking, tacking up, mucking out, leading lead rein lessons…

Which leads me to the next point:

Lead rein lessons?! Wtaf. What happened to the good old lunge lessons for those who couldn’t ride unaided? And what happened to teaching the kids to tack up their own ponies/horses?
Now it’s said teenagers running around next to the kids learning to ride with 6 or so in a group lesson. Kids learn nothing.

Then there are the riding schools where (even though they are BS registered) the poor ponies work solidly the whole day… what happened to the days of max 2 lessons per horse per day.

I’m sure there are more to add here…

 

[sarcasm_queen]

For a lot of places, “employing” the teens is the only way they can afford to keep running. I loved helping out at my RS when I was that age, as did everyone else my age-there was always a waiting list.

 

[Red-1]

I wa sone of the young girls in the late 70s. I LOVED the stable work. It was like owning a pony, breathing in the smell, having new friends etc.

I also liked leading the ponies, especially on lessons where I could listen in.

 

[Red-1]

For a lot of places, “employing” the teens is the only way they can afford to keep running. I loved helping out at my RS when I was that age, as did everyone else my age-there was always a waiting list.

OOoh, cross posted!

 

[Snowfilly]

Those pony days are some of the best experience a teenager without a pony will ever have. I did it; I learnt all sorts of horsemanship and a bunch of customer service skills that I managed to parlay into jobs later on.

Tack cleaning, poo picking, leading are all essential skills and need to be learnt and refined and practiced.

As for lead rein lessons, you can do a lot more with a total beginner on a lead rein than a lunge. You can also have more than 1 person the in the school being taught at once.

I don’t know what the BHS regs are but the idea a pony can only do 2 lessons a day, when it’s probably not working most of the week, is laughable.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

minimum wage, or even apprentice wage, for younger people are less than adults and a lot of RS struggle to break even now never mind make a consistent profit.

 

[ester]

iirc teenagers paying to help as part of a ‘club’ a few years ago came about because resolved the insurance issues around having ‘helpers’/low paid helpers (I did it all for £5 a day )

 

[equinerebel]

I never had lunge lessons at a RS. I learnt in group lessons because my parents couldn't afford private and you did lead rein until you were off it. The teenagers who ran alongside me, I actually ended up on a livery with many years later. Even then they had nothing but positive stories of their days in the RS! I was always very jealous of them at the time, they looked like a real life saddle club to me.

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

I loved having my lead rein people when I was little. The best ones made it more fun! That was late 90s/early 2000s so it's not really a new thing. Neither is group lessons. I miss the games and handy pony type stuff. Loads of lunge lessons would have been quite boring.

I enjoyed being the lead rein person when I was old enough. And being dropped off for the day helping at the RS every Saturday. My parents didn't pay for that. I do think that's different to paying for stable management/'own a pony' days. Which they did on occasion pay for.

I would not attend an RS not appropriately staffed. Having the extra help for the lead reining on weekends and other bits like that is one thing, relying heavily on unpaid labour to function is another.

 

[Peglo]

Me and my friend helped at a local trekking centre as teens. We helped break a couple of shetlands being light enough to ride. We did the work for nothing other than an odd ride if a pony wasn’t being used that day. It was a good lesson that the work had to be done to own a pony but doesn’t mean you always get to ride.
It was very much for the joy of working with horses and learning a lot from the lady running it. I’m so grateful for the experience and ended up getting my first pony from her and she was invaluable.

 

[ycbm]

Probably going to be an unpopular thread but I just need to get it off my chest and hopefully a few of you feel the same…

What is it with riding schools “employing” teenagers that pay the riding school to help them on a weekend? They call it a pony day then order the kids around; poo picking, tacking up, mucking out, leading lead rein lessons…

Which leads me to the next point:

Lead rein lessons?! Wtaf. What happened to the good old lunge lessons for those who couldn’t ride unaided? And what happened to teaching the kids to tack up their own ponies/horses?
Now it’s said teenagers running around next to the kids learning to ride with 6 or so in a group lesson. Kids learn nothing.

Then there are the riding schools where (even though they are BS registered) the poor ponies work solidly the whole day… what happened to the days of max 2 lessons per horse per day.

I’m sure there are more to add here…

Lead rein lessons were what I used to do when I was 15. I'm 66 now, it's not new.

Also the "rule" I knew was 4 hours work per day, not 2.

 

[ester]

I loved having my lead rein people when I was little. The best ones made it more fun! That was late 90s/early 2000s so it's not really a new thing. Neither is group lessons. I miss the games and handy pony type stuff. Loads of lunge lessons would have been quite boring.

I enjoyed being the lead rein person when I was old enough. And being dropped off for the day helping at the RS every Saturday. My parents didn't pay for that. I do think that's different to paying for stable management/'own a pony' days. Which they did on occasion pay for.

I would not attend an RS not appropriately staffed. Having the extra help for the lead reining on weekends and other bits like that is one thing, relying heavily on unpaid labour to function is another.

Yup def not new, I was the runner 26 years ago. we had lead reins on hour and half hour lessons, quite fit back then

Ycbm was 4 hours too, though most did no more than 3 and at least 2 would be hacks not lessons.

 

[teddy_]

Definitely not new, I remember being on the lead rein myself in the late 90s .

 

[Rowreach]

Sorry OP, I can't agree with anything you posted (except to add that if you have evidence of ponies being overworked then you should address it).

Everything else, sounds pretty good to me.

 

[Mrs G]

My niece started 'helping' at her riding school on a Saturday as soon as she turned 11. She absolutely LOVES it. I think it's done her the world of good - her confidence has grown and she gets more horsey experience - the general handling and horse care side. There's no way she's getting a horse of her own anytime soon (not financially or otherwise practical!) and my horse isn't the most suitable for a novice child so this way she gets more hands on. Riding schools are disappearing at an alarming rate round us so if a few kids helping out doing something they enjoy and learning at the same time as helping then it's a win-win imo.

 

[EventingMum]

For some teenagers it's the only way they can get hands on experience without actually owning or loaning a horse which for some is not a financial possibility. IME "pony days" would be a less regular thing and would include some riding but would give the clients the experience of the reality of looking after a horse including the less glamorous side of things like poo picking.

The very nature of lunge lessons means they need to be private lessons which obviously means a higher cost and lunge lessons are more wearing on the horse than a lead rein lesson. Some riders, especially children will enjoy the camaraderie of a group lesson rather than a private lesson.

As for tacking up the horses prior to a lesson, in these days of health and safety each client would require some supervision which for a group lesson would be rather labour intensive. As a former RS owner we found that many clients were either on a tight schedule especially with after school activities so didn't have time or some really didn't want to know to the point that they just wanted to get on and ride for the full lesson time. We often received complaints that teaching stirrup adjustment, checking girths etc ate into their riding time.

I assume OP you mean BHS approved riding schools? The BHS will check documentation regarding horses workloads - the type of lesson, activity variation, age and condition of the horse will all be taken into consideration.

From my own experience of 35 years running an RS it's not an easy job, it has got increasingly harder over the years, costs have sky rocketed, suitable staff and horses are harder to find and, whilst I'm all for sensible H&S the documentation now required is unbelievable. Whilst we had some truly lovely clients we also found an increase in rude and entitled parents and children with little of no horse knowledge issuing ridiculous demands - I could honestly write a book! As for making money, you'll never be rich in the RS industry, the investment needed is huge and TBH you could probably make more money by sitting back and investing it wisely! Having watched many riding schools close I sadly jumped ship and did likewise last year and although I still feel immensely guilty for many of my clients, the lack of stress in my life now has been great.

 

[TheHairyOne]

I thought the OP was referring to the pay £100 (around here) for a 'day of learning' and then get treated like a slave for the privilege of paying your £100! Correct me if i am wrong?

I dont have an issue with the unpayed help (i used to live at my RS every holidays and it was amazing and I didnt care what I was asked to do as I went home smelling of horse happy). I wouldnt even mind if it was a small contribution for lunch etc, but I think the money charged by some RS for these kinda days is bonkers!!!

Lead rein lessons are super fun for the kids though and I dont have any problem with them. Much more cost effective for the RS and parents as well id imagine as I would guess a lunge lesson would need to be both private and the only lesson going on in the school. Also a lot tougher for the ponies.

 

[MagicMelon]

I was pretty horrified by lead rein lessons when my 6yo decided he wanted to go to my local riding school as his friend went there and I didnt have a suitable pony for him. Literally it was about 10 riders from total beginner age 5 up to adults just off the lead rein (but who couldnt stear). Personally I found it pretty dangerous but also very dull. A kid who must have been 13 leading my son around, not even noticing his feet coming out of the stirrups in trot and him starting to slide over... they just sort of walked and trotted a bit, changed the rein a bit. That was it. £25 for that! I thought theyd have much smaller groups of like 4 or 5 and do fun things like games (bending, cups on poles etc.) but this was the dullest thing ever. Great way to put kids off ponies. I had to stop it, I just couldnt face watching and paying so much for that. I cant complain that much as I used to be one of those kids who helped at my tiny local riding school years ago, I would lead kids about etc. however I remember it being far more fun!

They werent allowed to do anything tacking up wise, the ponies were lined up in the school and the kids chucked on. To do any of that, they had to pay extra to do that at "pony club" at the weekends.

 

[lynz88]

sorry but I see nothing wrong with lead line lessons, especially if it's younger kids. It was quite the 'norm' back home when learning to ride and there are even lead line schooling show classes for the kiddies. I don't think they do the same for adult beginners but I'd have no idea as it's been about 15+ years since I was at any riding school (and even then I was in the "advanced" lessons) so no idea what they do now. It wasn't for the "ground crew" to be teaching the kids but was the instructors job if a kid was slipping or whatever.

I've heard more and more that people aren't allowed to tack up a horse and that is very concerning. How are people supposed to learn? When I was taking lessons, it was mandatory to get there at least 30 minutes before your lesson so that you could get your horse, groom, and tack up and be ready. There were always barn helpers around who knew the horses inside and out. Those that helped out weren't paid - they were there for the love of it. There was a checklist of tack for each horse as well so you knew what to grab.

Can't comment on the overworked lesson ponies/horses but all the riding schools I knew were very careful about managing the horses/ponies workloads.

 

[stormox]

I worked in a riding school way back in the 60s and 70s. We had children who couldn't ride on a leading rein then! You would need a private lesson to be on the lunge!
I was one of those 'pony mad' kids once - no time up the stables was ever wasted. I would have been up there all day, every day if I could.
I don't think many riding schools ever only did 2 lessons a day per horse, usually 4 or 5 in my experience but only at weekends.

 

[cornbrodolly]

O P- you are so wrong on nearly every point !
Leaders are certainly better than lunge lessons. The riding school where I take my granddaughters have up to 9 in a class of quite young children, mostly with leaders. The children do learn, my 5 yr old granddaughter is now on her own , and in the other arena her sister, aged 8 has graduated to cantering and cross poles. And will go on pony days' to lern stable management this summer.Occasionally the rides are hacks, which everyone loves.
I see nothing wrong with girls [ boys also ] helping out , as children arent allowed to tack up their own ponies these days , and how else will they learn the realities of horses?

 

[Nudibranch]

Don't really agree with anything on the original post. My niece does the pony days sometimes instead of a (group) lesson. Everyone is happy. The RS do have older teens who are clearly more competent helping out, I guess they get a ride/hack or whatever in return. I used to help out, for nothing in return other than turning the ponies out at the end of the day once you were "trusted"! I still paid for my lessons. If you don't have your own pony you're grateful for the any chance to be around them. I was extremely lucky in having my own pony at home, but I still loved Saturdays at the yard. I learnt so much. My parents weren't horsey at all.

RS are subject to regular veterinary inspections these days in order to maintain their licence. I had a super Fell on free loan to our local RS returned because she failed the most recent vetting on flexion. She's absolutely fine with 24/7 turnout but not so much standing around a lot. The vet and the RS were onto it straight away and she came home (now on loan to a local family with full turnout and no issues).

 

[Nonjumper]

Probably going to be an unpopular thread but I just need to get it off my chest and hopefully a few of you feel the same…

What is it with riding schools “employing” teenagers that pay the riding school to help them on a weekend? They call it a pony day then order the kids around; poo picking, tacking up, mucking out, leading lead rein lessons…

Which leads me to the next point:

Lead rein lessons?! Wtaf. What happened to the good old lunge lessons for those who couldn’t ride unaided? And what happened to teaching the kids to tack up their own ponies/horses?
Now it’s said teenagers running around next to the kids learning to ride with 6 or so in a group lesson. Kids learn nothing.

Then there are the riding schools where (even though they are BS registered) the poor ponies work solidly the whole day… what happened to the days of max 2 lessons per horse per day.

I’m sure there are more to add here…

I'm sorry, but what??? I didn't learn how to tack up a pony until my parents bought me one. I was also lead, on a leadrope which was held by a young person (probably a teenager doing work for rides), until I was capable of riding well enough to not need it when I first started riding. Just how would you lunge an entire class of learners?? It simply isn't possible!

The riding school I attended did both pony days and during the summer holidays, pony weeks. You'd be given a pony to care for, groom, muck out, lead to and from the field for turnout, poo pick said field and of course ride every day. These were paid for events and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I learned to ride decades ago, so this sort of thing is nothing new. I'm really confused as to just what your issue is to be honest?

 

[maya2008]

Because despite the prices they now charge, they can’t make ends meet? Local RS to us - only do teeth if issues eating, no saddler (fitted by owners), feet only trimmed it too long - chips/flare ignored, no vaccinations, no regular worming. Cutting costs everywhere they can and then still only just making it through the year.

 

[Melody Grey]

Regarding lessons for beginners on the lunge, not all ponies tolerate the lunge that well and it’s hard work on them. Being on the lead rein is less demanding on the pony and much safer in my opinion.

 

[twiggy2]

I had lessons in the 70 and 80's and started on a lead rein, never a lunge lesson, I worked Saturday and Sunday for free, lead ponies for lead rein lessons, occasionally we would get a lesson in return but we did get to ride the ponies bareback to their field at the end of the day.
In 88 I started working on YTS in a yard, I taught lead rein nd beginners, max groups of 8, never gave a lunge lesson to clients, we gave lunge lessons to each other as students to improve our lunging, riding and teaching skills.
I used to receive a lunge lesson each week as a student but it was out of hrs and I was the only student that took up the offer of a free lunge lesson.
I really don't agree with OP and would love to know where they learnt that gave lunge lessons to beginners.

 

[ester]

I'm sorry, but what??? I didn't learn how to tack up a pony until my parents bought me one. I was also lead, on a leadrope which was held by a young person (probably a teenager doing work for rides), until I was capable of riding well enough to not need it when I first started riding. Just how would you lunge an entire class of learners?? It simply isn't possible!

The riding school I attended did both pony days and during the summer holidays, pony weeks. You'd be given a pony to care for, groom, muck out, lead to and from the field for turnout, poo pick said field and of course ride every day. These were paid for events and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I learned to ride decades ago, so this sort of thing is nothing new. I'm really confused as to just what your issue is to be honest?

Slightly chuckling at the concept of lungeing 8 at a time

 

[honetpot]

In the 70's most kids helped before or after their ride leading other child, and you were very well off if you could afford a lunge lesson.

I know someone who as an adult learnt to ride to be very competant in a short space of time, because she could afford private lessons, and buy an expensive horse. I never thought she or the horse enjoyed each other very much, they were both drilled and worked like machines.

Riding is so much more than being a 'good' rider, it's literally not like riding a bike, I would say 75% is brain work, working out what makes you and the horse tick, and how to get the best out of the combination. I think part of that learning starts just by being with them and prehaps the standard of riding, and to a degree teaching is falling because it is only based on short intense lessons, which are seen as better.

When my children were small they had their own ponies, and we always had an older child who shared them in return for rides, being able to do small shows, or even go to pony club camp, most of them either still ride or have their own equines. As an adult one asked me why I did this, because he has such happy memories, my answer was because that is how I learnt, by helping younger ones.

 

[SEL]

I don't think most RS make ends meet even with cheap teenage labour!

I think I'm in the minority learning on the lunge. I already had a grasp of the basics because my friend had a Shetland but we moved house and the RS in the village popped me on the lunge for 6 weeks.

 

[94lunagem]

Not quite sure what the problem is!

I did many a pony care day/week when I was a kid, learning all the stuff you don’t learn when you turn up for an hours lesson and hand the pony back straight after. I’m pretty sure my parents were glad of the childcare, especially in school holidays. And isn’t it better for kids to be active and learning than, say, sat playing video games all summer holiday?

As a teenager I spent most weekends and school holidays helping out, even after I was lucky enough that my parents bought me a horse (I was 13). Sometimes we got a free lesson, most of the time we didn’t but it was a fabulous way to learn, I made lifelong friends and developed a work ethic.

As an older teenager I worked in the office and allocated horses to riders etc. The horses never did more then 2 hours in one day, and let’s be honest a children’s lead rein lesson trundling round is far less strenuous than a lunge lesson. And what average 5 year old is bothered about the finer points most lunge lessons are designed for anyway. It also kept us teenagers fit, let’s just say I was far fitter when I ran round doing two lead rein lessons every Saturday than I am now! RS’s are also licenced and there are regular vet inspections, and while I’m sure no system is perfect, it is designed to prevent welfare issues.

Riding Schools are facing ever increasing costs and their place in the horse world is invaluable, if local kids helping out is a way to keep the doors open then I personally think that’s fine. It never did me any harm.