WAVERLY, WV-- If you want a nice home business doing your most
fun thing—working with horses—a small public lesson
program can be tremendously profitable. And you cannot be replaced
by a computer or someone working somewhere overseas.
In the mid-1960s, I
made what would be a six-figure income in today's dollars on a
small property with half a dozen horses. So I know it can be done.
I also know it is a hard thing for most people to do. That is
because they think of themselves as part of the horse industry
first and as a horse business owner second. Instead, they need
to see themselves in a business specializing in riding lessons.
Their only goal
should be running a really neat little riding school.
They need to forget about everything else in the horse
industry altogether because buying, selling, breeding,
showing and all the other things horse people like to do just
run up expenses and eat up your profits.
Many people in the horse industry give riding lessons but they
do not think of riding lessons as the best way to spend their
time. They use lesson programs to attract clients toward their
real goal of participating in all the other activities in the
horse world.
When you visit their barns, you will see horse trailers sitting
all over the place. They may be selling trailers and horses and
saddles and horse-related stuff. They are probably training horses.
And they are boarding the horses in training and running boarders
to shows and charging training fees at shows.
They drive pickup trucks and they wear fancy boots and silver
buckles or some other horsey costume. Everything at the place
looks really busy and important but they are probably not making
much money.
Setting up and running any profitable business requires sitting
down with a paper and pencil or computer to calculate an operating
budget. You add up all of your expenses—and that means all,
right down to the last lead rope.
Then you estimate your potential income—how many horses
times how many lesson per day plus summer riding camps and other
income possibilities. If the difference between the two
is positive, you make a profit and have some income to
live on.
Over a series of fits and starts in the horse industry, I figured
out that the activity that brought me the most profit and the
steadiest income was a small lesson program that emphasized the
relationship with the horse.
Most people interested in riding really want the opportunity to
build a relationship with a horse. If you build your lesson business
around this need, around the concept of enabling people
to have fun interacting with horses, you can make a living
and have fun doing it yourself. You do not need to spend a lot
of money to create your lesson business. But you do need to plan.
Consider your riding school's location first.
Ideally, you would locate on an acre or so along an access road
visible from an interstate highway so you are visibly advertising
to every passing car.
Acreage will be cheaper (and zoning issues less problematic) where
development stops but balance land costs with accessibility. Customers
are willing to drive just so far for their fun and they like to
have nice roads to get them there.
Locating at the intersection of two roads increases accessibility.
Do not invest in more acreage than you absolutely need. That may
depend on zoning and other considerations but anything you own
needs
maintenance.
Remember that you are running a riding school, not a farm. The
essentials for your riding school include a small barn that will
hold five or six horses and a riding arena 50' x 100' or 60' x
120'. You can even start out with a 60' x 60' arena and plan to
expand it as your cash flow builds.
Pole construction keeps building costs down if local zoning codes
allow it.
For your customers' comfort, pave the parking lot and make sure
it is easy for parents to get in and out. Do not let a muddy parking
lot be the first thing they see when they drive in.
Locate a nice lounge between the parking lot and the arena to
give parents a place to sit and watch lessons through a window.
This also reduces the likelihood that they will talk to students
and interrupt lessons . Put changing rooms with rest rooms on
either side of the lounge, one for gals and one for guys.
Make the lounge a clean, comfortable place where parents can wait
and stay clean. Do not allow dogs because dogs like to jump up
on nice clothes or lick people who do not like being licked. No
hairy barn cats, either.
Limit customer traffic into your barn area.
It can be hard to supervise things and keep your program running
on time when parents can wander in and kids can play while you
are tacking horses up or taking different horses in and out of
the riding arena. Extra supervision takes staff and staff raises
your expenses. A lot. Without a lot of people traffic, the horses
can enjoy some quiet time between their lessons and there is less
chance they will be fed things that are not good for them. The
concept is to keep the horses safe from the people.
At lesson time, you bring the horse into the arena to the student,
maybe discuss what kind of day the horse is having with the student,
and then hand the horse over so they can start enjoying their
relationship with that one horse that day.
If you and your horses understand the concepts of heeding, you
can teach the horses all sorts of patterns that make group lessons
easier to manage.
You can heed all the horses into line, control their gait and
direction, and keep everything safe. Heeding is based
on working with horses in rhythm and relaxation. When
everything stays rhythmic and relaxed and comfortable, a lesson
horse can do his work in the morning and still feel fresh to work
again when the kids arrive after school.
Plan your riding program around your students' interests .
You can use a developmental program that ranks students as their
riding ability increases.
As they move up through the ranks, they are allowed to do more
things or ride different horses. You can offer lessons for moms
and retirees in the morning, kids in the afternoon, and working
folks in the evening.
You can run horsey day camps during school breaks and summer vacation.
You can schedule special weekend lessons early or late in the
day for parents who want to ride with their kids. You can run
weekly or monthly Sunday 'shows' for students. We used to have
a New Year's Eve sleepover for kids. We made a game of learning
the parts of the horse, horse tack, and other horsey information.
It was high-paid babysitting that both parents and kids loved.
You do not need to buy fancy horses for a program like this.
To kids, every horse is important and they do not care how expensive
the horse was to buy. However, every horse should have a story
that helps kids build their relationship with him.
Sam loves fizzy soda and peppermints. Misty is a neat pony but
she loves to play tricks if the rider does not give her full attention.
Sharluck is a rescue horse that likes to have his neck scratched
in a certain place. You personify the horses and help
the kids have fun.
Plan your lessons to have fun as well as teaching skills. Kids
love to jump but they also love to play all kinds of games on
horseback like ring spearing, musical chairs, relay races, etc.
Games not only add variety for the students but
they also keep the horses interested. Plan lessons
that keep the fun fresh whether you are working with walk-trot
riders or more advanced students.
Making your riding school profitable requires close attention
to expenses.
Dress neatly but do not worry about wearing the most impressive
horsey costume.
Insist that kids dress neatly and wear helmets and safe footgear.
Otherwise, they can keep their expenses down, too. You do not
need a pickup truck and trailer because your horses live at the
school and stay there.
There is always somebody with a horse trailer you can hire if
needed. Never buy a horse just because someone is offering you
a good deal. Only buy a horse—or anything else—unless
you really need it.
Do not go recreational shopping at tack stores or feed stores
or expos. Every dollar you do not waste buying something you do
not really need is worth several dollars in your pocket.
Keep it simple. Keep it small. Buy just what
you need when you need it. Pay attention to your students' needs
and find ways to meet those needs. Keep it fun for them and you
can make money doing what is fun for you—working with horses.
_________________________
© 2009 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre. Instructor
and trainer Ron Meredith has refined his "horse logical"
methods for communicating with equines over 40 years as president
of Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre (147 Saddle
Lane, Waverly, WV 26184; 800-679-2603; www.meredithmanor.edu),
an ACCET accredited equestrian educational institution.
