I have a lot of folks asking what I offer for lessons! So I figured I would give a description of how a typical lesson goes.. let’s give this a try!
Today, Stella came for a lesson! She normally would have to catch the horse she is riding for the lesson but I decided I would wade through the mud and catch a few. She showed up and took off his blanket to reveal a muddy horse! Off to the back of the trailer she went to gather the grooming supplies! She began to brush off the mud and prep him to saddle. Next, she gathered her saddle pad from the back of my trailer and her saddle. She knows where to place the pad because I have taught her! Next she attempts to swing the saddle on to the horse. She is short and he is tall so I did help! Next time, she will figure out how to use the mounting block to swing that saddle! Once she had Spider saddled (I watch like a hawk and have taught her how to safely move around horses that are tied or loose) she gathered his leg gear and his bridle. Leg gear on, she then dropped the halter to his neck and bridled him (with help from me) and off to the riding area we went!
Before we begin to work on turning, the horse needs to be warmed up! She began with a walking lap each direction then proceeded into trotting 3 laps each direction! Of course I’m telling her things about her posture, hands and feet to help her to work with the horse for this step!
After a good warm up, we worked on how to turn. No, I don’t have a barrel pattern set up. I personally own a full set of poles and 7 barrels. I set up random things for the students to work around. Sometimes it’s figure 8’s. Sometimes it’s a giant rectangle. It just depends on what we are targeting for the day. Today Stella was working on turning at a trot then driving him to lope after completing the turn! Working on control etc. After we have completed our goals and everyone is working nice, we quit. Then Stella dismounted, loosed the the saddle and lead spider back to the trailer. There she un-tacked him and put everything away. She brushed him and would have turned him loose if I didn’t have another kiddo on the way. All in all, she was at my house almost for 2 hours!
Sometimes our lessons are an hour. Sometimes two. Heck, I have a few that are learning how to do ground work. Sometimes that is 4 hours. My price is the same no matter the time. I charge $50 a lesson. I do my best to clear two hours per student. Sometimes I will have two students ride together but only the ones I know will work together! They usually really enjoy having a partner to ride with and learn from each other!
When you sign up to take lessons with me, it’s a full meal deal. I teach horsemanship first. We build from there! Also, since I don’t have a covered arena, we have to be respectful of Mother Nature! I hope this helps!
Rachael's Equine Services 