# Beginner Rider Having Hard Time Finding Lessons



## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Can you go back to the places which teach riding only? Maybe do that and try and also find a rescue which takes in volunteers - you will start off sweeping the yard but gradually you will absorb knowledge and they will let you have more responsibility over time.


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

I used to teach riding lessons. Unfortunately, people were exceedingly rude more often than not. They would come late, not show at all, bring extra people, or come 45 minutes late and want me to split the lesson with them coming back a different day to finish up. Or they bring their dog with them that they just adopted... Etc.

I had someone call about horse rentals- I told them I gave lessons only and all they wanted to do was gallop the entire time when they came for a lesson. After 40 minutes my horse was Done. I had them swap to my pony with a rough canter since they were incapable of listening to anything I had to say. 

Liability is a huge issue. If you have insurance with a 1 million cap, they can sue for 2 million. Also no liability waiver in the world will prevent or waive a child's right to sue later on in the future. If one parent and the current husband signs a liability waiver, the ex-husband could still sue. The same issue applies to grandparents that want riding lessons for their grandchildren. 

Anyhow, I still give lessons on an incredibly strict and limited basis. I suspect this is why you are having a hard time finding anyone. There are some wonderful people out there- you just have to find them.


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## Danneq (Sep 18, 2020)

This is not uncommon. It took me... six? seven? tries to find the barn I'm at now, where I am very happy. Just keep trying. I know you said you don't have a lot of options, and I completely understand how discouraging it is. Just keep trying.


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## Morg93 (5 mo ago)

Danneq said:


> This is not uncommon. It took me... six? seven? tries to find the barn I'm at now, where I am very happy. Just keep trying. I know you said you don't have a lot of options, and I completely understand how discouraging it is. Just keep trying.


Thank you <3. That makes me feel so much better that others go through this as well and that it isnt just me!


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## Morg93 (5 mo ago)

4horses said:


> I used to teach riding lessons. Unfortunately, people were exceedingly rude more often than not. They would come late, not show at all, bring extra people, or come 45 minutes late and want me to split the lesson with them coming back a different day to finish up. Or they bring their dog with them that they just adopted... Etc.
> 
> I had someone call about horse rentals- I told them I gave lessons only and all they wanted to do was gallop the entire time when they came for a lesson. After 40 minutes my horse was Done. I had them swap to my pony with a rough canter since they were incapable of listening to anything I had to say.
> 
> ...


Is Liability still a big concern for people in states with Equine Lability Act laws passed? I see signs at all the barns I go to that says under the Equine Liability Act we cannot be held liable for injury or death. I can imagine how awful it would be to deal with people like that! That would be so disrespectful!


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

In short - yes. It doesn't completely relieve you of liability and if you are found negligent in any way it carries almost no weight.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Morg93 said:


> Is Liability still a big concern for people in states with Equine Lability Act laws passed? I see signs at all the barns I go to that says under the Equine Liability Act we cannot be held liable for injury or death. I can imagine how awful it would be to deal with people like that! That would be so disrespectful!


It's less of a concern, the person has to prove negligence but it's still an issue. Even as just a barn owner, when boarding outside horses and just for keeping a stallion the premises, I have had to carry a minimum $1 million liability policy. 

To find a lesson barn in this day and age is getting tougher. It's not easy to find and keep a string of horses that are suitable for a bunch of different riders and a lot of barns are going to the training only horses & owners model rather than just teaching riding on barn owned horses. Makes sense for the trainers, especially now that costs are going through the roof. You might try finding a show venue in your area and go watch the show, especially the classes of the disciplines you think would interest you and then go back to the barns and see if you can talk to the trainers and get information from them on who is accepting new students. Be prepared for some frustration there too. I was looking for someone to train a couple of my horses and, of course, train me and ran into a lot of, "I train horses, not people.". In other words, they'd take your horse, train them and show them but would not train you to ride your own horse. No thanks. You want somone who'll take on a beginner and teach them from the ground up. Start out just taking lessons. The longer you go on, the more you'll absorb from the ground up, even if they don't give formal lessons on ground work and keeping of horses. You can always ask lots of questions once you're established in a barn.


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## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

As @Dreamcatcher Arabians said, even if you just take riding lessons you will absorb a lot of knowledge just by being there. Lessons in ground work only really teach you about various techniques but you need to spend hundreds of hours just being around horses. That’s not something that can be learned in lessons.

If you do go back to the “riding only” place, you could make yourself useful in less obvious ways. Grab a broom and sweep just outside your horse’s stall. If that doesn’t get a negative reaction, sweep the entire barn the next time. Build up their tolerance of having you around and you will soon be asked to do something more meaningful, like carry some hay and it will take off from there.


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## PinkPrancer (Nov 10, 2020)

Aw dang, I'm sorry you're having so much trouble finding a place, I never realized before what a common problem this is  Would it be possible to maybe join some social media groups that focus on your area and ask there for recommendations? I learned that a lot of barns don't even advertise anywhere, so there might be a whole bunch of places you're overlooking because you don't even know they exist!


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## Morg93 (5 mo ago)

PinkPrancer said:


> Aw dang, I'm sorry you're having so much trouble finding a place, I never realized before what a common problem this is  Would it be possible to maybe join some social media groups that focus on your area and ask there for recommendations? I learned that a lot of barns don't even advertise anywhere, so there might be a whole bunch of places you're overlooking because you don't even know they exist!


Thanks <3 Its so true nobody advertises! The last place i tried was just a referral someone gave me from word of mouth. I have joined a few horse pages on FB for my "area" but most of the posts are irrelevant and too far away. Its so tricky getting your foot in the door at first to find the right people who can refer you to the right barn and trainer. I'm going to keep trying to just be involved in anything horse related and hope i stumble upon something good eventually!


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