Horse Riding

(I'm going to try to do this without revealing much personal info so sorry if this is a bit vague)

I've never ridden horses before, but I've always been extremely interested in them. Recently I have been toying with idea of getting horse riding lessons, but I have no clue where to start.

I am a teenager who is not yet an adult. I live in a metropolitan area on the border between the Midwest and the South East states. I do not have the space to own/rent my own horse. I have never worked with horses much, and I have only ridden a horse once maybe twice.

I am just looking for tips or suggestions. Also, how do I know that a stable is legit? What is a good price for lessons? How involved is horse riding (time commitment wise)? Am I starting too late? Just general stuff like that. I figured you guys are the best people I could find to get a bit of advice from. XD

I hope I can offer some advice~ I'm in the teens as well, and currently on my own horsey adventures. However... I'm not sure what you mena by 'legit'. Like, are you looking for some serious training for showing or dressage? Well that's... advanced... Doesn't have to be. But even if it's not, it would still be more expensive, I'd imagine.

Out of personal experience - and beliefs - I must suggest starting small. Working with a friendly, small ranch owner can mean a very relaxed environment, which I think really helps build confidence working with the horses. On top of that, I advise looking for horsemanship lessons, not just riding. Get involved with everything you can! Grooming, tacking, feeding, training, lunging! As long as that's what you want.

How do you find these amazing places, though? That is the trickiest part! This was not something I did myself... But if I would, I'd probably find local equine communities online and get involved a bit. Like on facebook, perhaps.

Also going to local shows - if you can find public facilities and events - and just hanging out could be rewarding. When I go to a show, I actually spend more time in the barns, saying hello to the more sociable horses there. A good many of times I have been invited to pet or feed a treat to the horses by the owners or riders themselves. If you just "throw it out to the universe", mentioning you want lessons and don't know where to start... Somebody might come around to help!

Another way I've found things was by literally just driving around. I saw a sign with a fjord, wrote down the name of the ranch, and googled it up later. Thank goodness they had a website! A good many others did as well, but only the fjord one I physically visited. They were very welcoming, but pretty 'legit', and very helpful.

P.S. - 'working student' or paying formyour lessons through helping around the ranch could be really good! So long as you don't mind/confident enough/have the time to muck and such!

The hardest part for me was finding a good stable to get lessons at when i first started riding. I would suggest just looking around in your area online and seeing what you can find. In my area the average price for a lesson is about $40, give or take. All stables are different price wise and it also depends on what you want to do. Just taking lessons is not a huge time commitment but it does take up some time. However owning a horse takes a whole lot of time so you need to make sure that you are ready to give up some of your time. Leasing is about in the middle also depending on the owner. It is never to late to start riding, just take a good amount of lessons and don't cut them short. I sure hoped this helped! XD

Last edited on 2016-12-08 at 10:06:19 by Western Ways cooper8

You're never too old to start! I'm in my teens as well and I'm currently working at a barn as a working student. I live in a touristy area so good barns are not easy to find (I drive 45 minutes to get to mine). Barns around here have lesson prices around $45 - $50 for private (1 hour) lessons. Prices all depend on your area. As for time commitment when I have just a lesson it's usually about an hour and a half. To find a good barn I would look up their websites or Facebook page. Usually on their Facebook they may have reviews you can read.

Thanks everybody! This was all super helpful :3

You could also get really lucky like me and find places that let you do things in exchange for riding lessons. At the first place I rode my mom paid for my lessons but the second place let me just muck the stalls and ride with his niece since she was little afraid about riding. I still stop into see him when I can and he still offers to let me ride, lol. But we are like 4 hours away now so I only get there every couple of years.

The third place I rode at had me doing everything from stacking hay, taking care of her emus and pigs, fixing fences, finding the halter of one particularly sneaky horse, etc. These three all happened from about 7 to 14 years old. Moving is what caused me to leave all but the first.

The fourth and final place I rode at (so far) I pretty much did a little of everything. I even got to try my hand at farrier work one time. I also got to help out with her summer program to help at risk kids which was great. That happened a few years back, I had to stop due to winter weather the roads between her place and ours was really bad/not as well cleared.

But I sort of still am around horses. My one friend has one horse these days and my grandparents have two minis and a Welsh pony (that is a guess on her breed BTW, she is a rescue so we don't know much about her).

I'm seventeen years old and I've been riding since I was 2 years old. I grew up on a horse farm and, though I no longer live there, have never lost the horse part of my soul.

I find, for me because I'm extremely picky and OCD, the hardest part of lessons and finding a barn is finding 1) the kinds of people I like to be around (not a rich, snooty barn with all little girls whose daddies pay for anything they could ever want, but real, down-to-earth, sell-my-soul-for-my-horse kind of people) and 2) finding a trainer whose personality and style clicks with my own. in my entire riding career, i have only found maybe one or two trainers who i adored. and they never seem to stay for me. one moved to the other end of the country and the newest one i found after searching does not have enough room or lesson horses to sustain my interest as none of her horses are at my level of riding.

my tips for you are to research, research, and research. i don't mean to make it sound like a school project, but it is. take it seriously. call any barns around you (find them through google, facebook, friends, etc) and talk, talk, talk to the trainers, owners. find people who also ride there and stalk their social media. see what it's about. definitely go visit the barn before scheduling any lessons. research the horses they have to see if they fit your level or what vices (if any) they have. demand everyone be straightforward with you (the horse business can be a scary and sometimes sketchy one. don't ride with people who make a habit of not telling the full truths). be confident. show them that you want this and you will fight to get what you want. and, after you've found everything you want, continue to show them that you want this. ride like your life depends on it.
remember: these trainers may be selling their last lesson pony for your use only if you lesson with them. or you may be the last slot they had to fill. there will be other people who want this too, but you have to want it more. if it sounds like i'm an olympic coach, teling you to fight for your dream, that's because that's what you have to do. don't get on their horse, take up their time, and not try your best. if you're sore, that's a good sign. trainers want to see you sore and still doing lessons - it means you won't let it stop you from learning (unless, of course, you're very sick and very sore or broke your leg or something. then, obviously, take time off. and if the horse is sick or sore or hurt, obviously take time off then too.)

but that's what i have for you.

Find a place that serves what you want to do. Dressage, show jumping, western, etc. Look at the property that it's on and do your homework about the stables in your area!