# As an instructor, how much do you pay to teach in a barn?



## ojzab (Aug 6, 2014)

I'm boarding my horses where the barn owner also gives lessons. I really like her riding lessons, there is one free a month included with the board. Lots of people take weekly lessons with her as well. Then a new instructor starting coming to the barn once a month for privates, a lot of people signed up. She teaches groundwork and the barn owner has been taking lessons with her as well. 



Now she is at the barn 6-8 hours a week, as so many of us love her and we take weekly lessons. I just found out that when I pay her $40/h the barn owner charges her $10 for each hour she teaches. I felt really bad about it, so I started paying her $45 so that we split the $10 charge. 



I know that when people trailer in for lessons they pay arena fee. I didn't know our instructors had to pay to use the arena too. 



Do your instructors pay to teach if they are not barn owners? If you are an instructor, what have your experiences been in this matter?


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Like you, I have a barn owner who teaches, and I take lessons from her. I also have a travelling instructor and she doesn't pay the barn owner anything to teach. They have some sort of understanding.


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## ojzab (Aug 6, 2014)

Thank you for replying! I feel really bad for my instructor. She's fairly young but is absolutely excellent and honestly I believe she is a better trainer than the barn owner, at least for groundwork. I don't want her to be taken advantage of.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

I have never had to pay to teach at a barn. The horse owners are already paying for use of the facilities, so why should and instructor pay more on top of that? The facility owner should be happy that an instructor is keeping their customers happy at that facility.


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## ojzab (Aug 6, 2014)

TXhorseman said:


> I have never had to pay to teach at a barn. The horse owners are already paying for use of the facilities, so why should and instructor pay more on top of that? The facility owner should be happy that an instructor is keeping their customers happy at that facility.



I think the barn owner feels that that this young woman is taking her students. Some of us are not taking weekly lessons with her anymore as we are taking lessons with the groundwork gal. 



The barn owner is honestly great. It is a no drama barn and I love boarding there. But I worry my fovorite instructor is either going to raise her fee to $50 which some of us would feel is too much to pay for weekly lessons. $40 is already quite high for our area. The barn owner also charges $40 and she actually wanted the groundwork instructor to charge us $50, but she refused. Or the groundwork instructor won't teach here anymore if she finds a better deal at another barn.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Some barns do not allow outside trainers. That, of course, is their right.

I did give a lesson to a former student at a barn that had just changed management. The new manager said that he was going to meet with all trainers and discuss what he was going to charge the trainers for using his facilities to teach resident owners. The last I heard was that my student and a good percentage of others have changed barns.


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## BzooZu (Jan 12, 2014)

The barn I ride in has this kind of policy for trainers if they are not also boarders:
1/3rd of price goes to the trainer / instructor
1/3rd of the price goes to the horse owner (so if you ride your own horse you dont pay this part)
1/3rd of the price goes to the facility owner / BO

Boarders who are also instructors or trainers get all the money to themselves. ( Of course they do pay board so...)

It has been working well as far as I know.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Barns I worked at, also boarded at charged outside instructors to teach from their facility.
The barn had various instructors with teaching ability from beginner to Medal/Maclay & USET riders for juniors and jumper divisions if desired.
So, if the "staff" instructors were not good enough or you not like them and wanted a different one of your choice brought in..._then you paid for that._
When a outside instructor was teaching, the ring was reserved and no one else was permitted to ride in it...spectators were welcome to watch/audit...but no horses except the one under instruction.
It was a inconvenience for other boarders and lessons were scheduled when the facility was quietest for that reason, but there were always boarders around and riding going on no matter the time of day.
It is also a "deterrent" to not go outside the staff of qualified and bring outsiders in if _you_ ultimately had to pay for that luxury by the fee charged.
The barn I worked at also prepped the ring by fresh grooming the surface for that lesson, had jumps placed in the ring at specified locations per the outside instructors wishes...when you rode with a outside instructor our place was prepped like it would be for a horse show..

I can't speak for other facilities, but I know "the fee" collected was used to help pay for the insurance policy for riders in case of injury....
Any outside instructor also must carry their own insurance policy as they were not covered under the barns. A declaration page of something was given to the B/O for insurance proof.
So yes, in my experience a fee was charged and with just cause since it benefited all boarders and riders on premise.
Our barn charged a ring fee of $10 _per student_ taking a lesson each time with outside instruction. The price you paid for a lesson, well one way or another you were paying that fee. 

:runninghorse2:...


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## Interstellar (Feb 15, 2020)

Like horselovinguy stated, the money is typically going towards insurance and other issues/needs.

If a trainer brings their students to our farm to use our indoor (only one in the area), we charge each horse a haul in fee and the instructor an instructor fee. They're using our facility, putting wear on our equipment, and we need to have money in place to pay our staff to move jumps in or out, or to clean up a mess if they leave it. 

Insurance is another big thing. The barn has to be covered if something happens with this instructor and someone decides to sue the facility. I think it's 100% normal at any facility, especially ones who are 'bigger' and more professional.


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## ojzab (Aug 6, 2014)

Interstellar said:


> Like horselovinguy stated, the money is typically going towards insurance and other issues/needs.
> 
> 
> If a trainer brings their students to our farm to use our indoor (only one in the area), we charge each horse a haul in fee and the instructor an instructor fee. They're using our facility, putting wear on our equipment, and we need to have money in place to pay our staff to move jumps in or out, or to clean up a mess if they leave it.
> ...



This makes sense, thank you. She does have her own insurance, but there coud be other insurance considerations, I'm sure. Those who trailer in for her lessons pay the arena usage fee, on top of this instructor paying her own fee for teaching. 



This is not a big barn! We all clean up afer ourselves, but what you say makes sense.


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## ojzab (Aug 6, 2014)

BzooZu said:


> The barn I ride in has this kind of policy for trainers if they are not also boarders:
> 1/3rd of price goes to the trainer / instructor
> 1/3rd of the price goes to the horse owner (so if you ride your own horse you dont pay this part)
> 1/3rd of the price goes to the facility owner / BO
> ...



Thank you! Out of curiosity, how much are the lessons?


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## ojzab (Aug 6, 2014)

TXhorseman said:


> Some barns do not allow outside trainers. That, of course, is their right.
> 
> I did give a lesson to a former student at a barn that had just changed management. The new manager said that he was going to meet with all trainers and discuss what he was going to charge the trainers for using his facilities to teach resident owners. The last I heard was that my student and a good percentage of others have changed barns.



I've been thinking about changing barns to be honest.


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