Finding the Right Barn
Published by GHC • Apr 4th, 2008 • Category: Horse Advice, by Sydby Syd, age 13
Finding the right barn can be hard. I’ve already switched barns once. I went from an older, quiet barn to a extremely busy and fairly nice one.
When searching for a new barn, the most important general things you should look for (or ask about) are:
SAFETY FIRST! Does every child, instructor and lesson rider wear a helmet? Does everyone have appropriate riding attire? If the horse is acting up, does the instructor do something about it? Does the stable have decent and safe places to ride?
Are the horses well trained? (This ties in with SAFETY FIRST!) Does every horse seem too spirited? Do the instructors occasionally ride the lesson horses to keep them well trained? Does the stable have appropriate horses for every level of rider? You may have to take a sample lesson to determine if the horses are well-trained.
Are the horses happy? Are they turned out daily. Are the lesson horses treated equally with the boarded horses? Does every horse get ridden at least once a day? Do the staff and riders love them? Are they well-fed? Do the horses have suitable and safe tack and apparel?
What are the trainers/instructors like? Does every instructor take safety first? Do the trainers know when to say no (example: we’re not going to jump today because this horse is still a bit green to it). Are the trainers nice, respectful, and do they have a positive impact on everyone? Do the instructors know how to give criticism without being too harsh?
These are the main things that make up a great lesson barn. Now here are some extras (things that matter depending on your needs and opinions).
Disciplines. Does the barn cater to the riding disciplines you enjoy? Do the instructors teach those disciplines well? Does the barn have the tack, equipment and right horses to give those types of lessons?
Population. How busy do you want your barn? Do you want an extremely busy show barn? Do you want a quiet one trainer, one lesson farm? Do you want a barn with say three trainers that is moderately busy? This is up to you to decide and ask about.
Other riders. What kinds of riders do you want to ride with?
So good luck to you all on your quest to find the right barn for you! Hopefully you’ll get it right the first time (unlike me). But don’t get discouraged if it takes a couple tries and a couple moves. It’s like finding the right horse, only slightly tougher. If you can think of your own rules and questions to add to mine, great—these are just the main points I could think of. As for me finding the right barn, third time’s the charm, right?
Also, if your planning on leaving your current barn but really don’t want to, ask your trainer or barn owner/manager if some changes can be made around the barn. Sometimes just letting people know how you feel can make a HUGE difference. My trainer has talked to some of the other instructors and they’re going to talk to the owners. So who knows maybe something thing will work out for me after all! As for you, good luck and good riding!
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EXCELLENT BLOG! I can’t think of anything to perfect it! Wonderful job!
I hope you good luck on your barn searches Syd! I’m glad I’ve found a barn where I’m happy with. You’ve also written an amazing blog. In future it would be my number one guide when I need to change places to ride. Overall, three words…I love it! :)
GREAT job!! I found my perfect barn the first time….it rocks!!
Syd- Don’t worry, God has the right barn just waiting for you to discover :D
VERY good explaination and catagories, BUT. I think that other riders should be wayy up there on the list! I keep my horses at an agistment paddock where a couple of the girls/riders aren’t the nicest, they love to laugh (at other peoples mistakes) love to talk about people (behind there backs while laughing) and love to encourage you to do what you are scared, intimidated or not ready to do (so if you fall flat on your face they can laugh at you behind your back!). I’m currently in a BIG pickle with one of the girls who used to be one of my good friends (we got our horses at the same time, we rode together all the time and we loved to hang out and just talk about when we fell off the other day and laugh about how silly eachother looked as they slid towards the ground!) there. I’m feeling quite sad and sorry for myself and I don’t feel that I am any were good as I really am. Mum thinks it will pass and hopefully it will all go back to normal but in the mean time I just have to grin and bear it! :-S But trust me without other people to ride, brag about your acheviements with or just hang out with you suddenly become a closed up person who only wants to be open with people they have know for nearly forever, friends are VERY important! Once you’ve lost them, your lost them.
Anyway enough about me (sorry just had to go poor my life story out. lol na!). Great blog just the other riders part should have been in the more important part. Best of luck searching for a new Barn/riding place! Your blog reminded me of something that made me smile! Great work! Ohh and good point on the saftey point! :D
It also looks good with the new layout/website look! :D
Tash: Don’t worry it will probably pass-with or without a fight- I was in a huge fight with my friend that accused me of doing something I didn’t do! Well best of luck!
Oh nad Syd- once again great job!
Tash: Those kind of meanies just like to feel on top of everyone else. Don’t ever take that into consideration, because their aim is to ruin your time at the stables. Dealing with these people can be hard, but just let them laugh all they want. Laughs are just laughs, and mean words just words. You love horses and horse riding and nothing they do can take that away from you. :D
thanks soo much Asia and Madelaina!
LeadMare when I came to look at the GHC blog on Sat it had a different background and look and everything but know its back to normal, what happened?
tash, I’m working on some behind-the-scenes maintenance and what you saw was a momentary glitch in that process. Hope this answers your question!
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