We’ve been talking this week about getting to know your riding lesson students, but you also need to know as much as you can about your adult employees and clients. Keeping kids safe at the barn means putting them in a secure, threat-free environment.

I don’t know if it’s going too far to ask to ask horse business owners to run background checks on their clients, but you should definitely be running them on employees. If your new horse trainer has been convicted of assault in six states, he shouldn’t be working at your farm. Period.

We live in a scary world, you guys, and I encourage you to remember that the horse business isn’t run in a bubble. We like to think of the barn as a security blanket, a safe place where people are nice to one another and horses are the top priority, but this isn’t always the case.

Bad people can own, train, and compete horses, just like they can teach high school Algebra and work at the local pharmacy.

More important than running background checks, however, is getting to know the people you see every day. Keep your finger on the pulse of your horse business, listening to what your clients talk about and responding to any potential threats.

Your clients and/or employees will tell you if they see or hear about someone acting inappropriately. It’s what you do with that information that counts.

I’m not inviting you to start a witch hunt, nor am I suggesting that the horse business is a magnet for criminals and psychopaths. What I’m telling you is that you can’t be too careful, especially if you’ve got kids at your barn.

There are several things you can do to keep kids (and adults) safe:

• Run background checks on all employees;
• Check references for employees and clients;
• Communicate with the people at your horse business on a regular basis;
• Make sure kids are supervised at all times;
• Create a zero-tolerance policy for violence against animals and humans; and
• Watch how people at your barn interact.

The worst thing you can do is stop paying attention. Stay vigilant, and keep the safety of kids in your top priorities.

Related posts:

1. 5 Barn Safety Tips You
   Can’t Survive Without
2. How to Stop Theft at the Barn
3. Keeping Students in Line

A reader named Lisa left a particularly insightful comment on my article about dealing with hyperactive students. She said, in part:

Now I am straightforward about asking parents and students about any medications or learning disabilities. Don’t be afraid to ask these questions – we instructors are teachers and we need to know these things to give the student the best of our own abilities!

And she is absolutely right. The more you know about your students, the more effective you will be as a riding instructor.

It might not be a bad idea to come up with a questionnaire that you give each of your students prior to starting riding lessons. They can fill it out at their leisure and you’ll have all the tools you need. Yes, these questions might seem personal, but failing to ask can get your students hurt.

Sample Questions for Riding Lesson students

• Are you taking any medications? If yes, please explain.
• Have you been diagnosed with any conditions, disorders or disabilities that might impair your ability to ride, and work with, horses?
• Do you have a learning disability? Please explain.
• Have you ever had a negative experience with a horse? Please explain, and indicate any fears you might have about equestrian activities.
• Do you have any balance or coordination issues that might affect your ability to ride?
• Have you been diagnosed with a developmental disorder (e.g., ADD, ADHD)? Please explain.

These are just a few questions you might ask your students before they start riding lessons. If the student (or his or her parents) give affirmative answers to any of them, discuss those answers before putting the student on the horse.

Find out what you can expect, whether there are any triggers to a disease or condition (e.g., allergies, frustration, heat), and what you can do to make the learning process easier and more enjoyable.

Your students will appreciate your attention to detail and the depth to which you care about them.

Related posts:

1. Q: How do you deal with hyperactive students?
2. Teaching Students to Post the Trot:
   Part One
3. Teaching Students Horsemanship

You have the right to decide what activities go on at your barn. If a client or employee makes you uncomfortable with his treatment of people or horses, you can ask him to leave. It’s that simple.

Aggressive horsemen are not unique, and you are bound to get one at your barn sooner or later. Maybe he uses those wicked-looking spurs that could puncture the hide of a rhinoceros, or perhaps he feels that kicking his horse is appropriate punishment for stepping out of line. Whatever the case, we all draw the line at “too aggressive” differently, and it’s up to you to decide what flies.

But before you kick an aggressive horseman out of your barn:

Watch Your Words: You might think an aggressive horseman is abusive, but try not to sling that word around. You might want to substitute “inappropriate” for “abusive” to keep the situation from escalating.

Make the Horse the Priority: If an aggressive horseman has put a horse in jeopardy, attend to the animal first. The horse is the most important thing.

Police Are Your Friends: Call the police if an aggressive horseman has made threats toward you, other people, or any animals on your farm. It will keep you out of both trouble and danger.

Terminate the Business Relationship: The best thing you can do with an aggressive horseman is to terminate your business relationship. Tell him that he is no longer welcome on your property, and you’ll have solved the problem. If necessary, report his behavior to the appropriate authorities.

No related posts.

Most horse boarding business owners check out their human clients before allowing them to move in. But what about your equine customers?

Horses can cause as much damage to an equine facility as their owners—if not more. Protect your horse business by evaluating all potential boarders before you offer up a stall.

Today’s Farm Freebie: Horse Boarding Equine Evaluation template.

This simple document should be filled out when a potential customer gets serious about boarding at your facility. It includes much of the information you need to know to determine if that horse will be a good fit for your stable.

You can have your potential customers fill it out themselves, or you can conduct a Q&A session while you fill it out. Whatever the case, make sure the potential client knows you need truthful answers.

The template collects basic information, such as age, gender, colors and markings. Then there is a list of criteria on which the client should rate his horse between 0 and 10, with 0 being no problem at all, and 10 being a serious problem. This section includes such behaviors as kicking, biting, cribbing and dietary issues.

Horse Boarding Equine Evaluation template (PDF)

If you would like to have this template personalized with your barn name, logo or other information, please contact me and I’ll do what I can.

Related posts:

1. Farm Freebies: Gift Certificate
2. Screening Applicants in the
   Horse Boarding Business
3. Farm Freebies: Barn Rules

This web site is all about developing a solid horse business and letting it take off. It’s about finding your passion, your reason for living, and making money with your skills. It’s about solving problems and improving solutions, and preventing catastrophe.

I strong>love helping an individual launch a successful horse business. I don’t do this because it makes me rich or because it makes me famous—it does neither. I do it because my story has led me here.

The other day, I was considering my future and what I want to do with the rest of my life. I’ve got a lot on my plate, and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of work in front of me. Not only do I write articles for this web site and consult with horse business owners, but I’m also hard at work on my first novel, and occasionally I take freelance writing jobs.

I consider shutting down Riding Instructor University on a weekly basis, mostly because I feel guilty for indulging two passions. I love to work with horses and horse people, but I love writing more—and rarely is there enough time in my schedule for both. I compromise often.

But it would be wrong to close the doors of RIU and move on to other things. It would be wrong to deny other people the knowledge that I have amassed over the years, and it would be wrong to close the valve that allows me to stay connected with the horse community.

When I was seventeen I sustained a terrible injury that completely changed the course of my life. Not only did I break my ankle in several places, but the doctors discovered that I broke my ankle because of osteoporosis. Then, a year or so later, I cracked a couple vertebrae in my back.

I take medication for osteoporosis, but another fall from a horse could render me completely immobile. Therefore, riding and competing are out of the running in terms of career choices. I taught for a long time, and now I do this.

The point here is that my story led me to where I am today, just as your story led you to your destination. We all have different histories that make us who we are; my reasons for entering the horse business are entirely different from yours.

Our stories serve to unite and define us, to inform our decisions and to smack us down for our mistakes. I am as much a servant to my story as I am a choreographer.

We talk a lot about the specifics of the horse business here at RIU. I dispense advice about budgets and scheduling and stable management. But the real issue is your story and how it influences your career decisions.

Take the advice you find here and apply it to your own horse business. Disregard the irrelevant information and absorb the relevant. Remember that there is no one right answer, that each of us has to make decisions based on our experiences rather than just the numbers or the facts.

I strongly believe that the horse business is as much about heart as mind. The odds might be stacked against you and you might feel alone. Vulnerable. Helpless. Frustrated. But you can turn any hardship around by applying the very things you’ve learned from horses to the horse business.

Maybe you became a riding instructor because you did not have a strong adult influence in your life as a child, and you want to provide that security to other children. Or perhaps you train horses because you see the potential in all animals and you want to see that potential realized.

What’s your story? What have horses taught you? And where can you go from here?

No related posts.

While removing a student from his horse might not be an ideal scenario, it is sometimes necessary. Riding instructors must protect themselves, their clients and their employees, which sometimes means making difficult decisions.

There are three situations in which you should remove a student from his horse in riding lessons:

1. Dangerous behavior
2. Refusal to follow orders
3. Ill/injured animal

That’s the criteria. If you are teaching a riding lesson where one is true, it’s time to remove the student from his horse.

Dangerous Behavior

I taught a riding lesson once where a student purposefully tried to run his horse into another horse in the arena. I’ve seen lessons where a student drops his reins or takes off at a canter without warning, or attempts to jump an obstacle without permission. All grounds for automatic removal.

Your horse business will not survive if you allow dangerous behavior to continue. Your students must respect you enough to stay safe when working with horses, and if they don’t they lose the privilege of riding. Period.

Refusal to Follow Orders

Even if a student is not being overtly dangerous in a riding lesson, his refusal to follow the orders you give should result in removal. You conduct riding lessons a certain way for a reason—to keep everyone safe—and a student who disrespects your commands should not be tolerated.

I have a three-strikes rule for this situation in my riding lessons (unless the behavior becomes dangerous, in which Strike Three happens right away). Set a zero-tolerance party for failing to follow rules and you’ll have a much more orderly riding lesson program.

Ill or Injured Animal

Let’s say a horse comes up lame in the middle of a riding lesson. Or what if you notice that a horse seems dehydrated. When this happens, it is best to remove the student from his horse immediately.

If possible, you can set up another horse for the student to ride, thereby saving the lesson. If you can’t, you can offer a make-up so the student doesn’t miss out. Whatever the case, respond to an ill or injured horse immediately.

Behavioral Removal

In every situation except the last, it is important to make it clear that removing a student from his horse is a punishment. It should be uncomfortable for the student so that it discourages repeats in the future.

Some riding instructors make their students sit outside the arena and watch the rest of the class, while others send disrespectful students to the barn to muck stalls or clean tack. Whatever the case, send a message when things get out of hand in riding lessons.

One caveat:

Make sure that students (and their parents) know the rules before you remove a student from his horse. This is extremely important because the student (or his parent) is paying for the riding lesson, and will therefore be upset when he gets nothing in return for his money.

Give every student a copy of the rules, and make sure to talk to parents after a riding lesson where a student was removed. Tell them what went wrong and exactly how you handle it so there are no misunderstandings. Communication, you guys. It makes the horse business go ’round.

Related posts:

1. Group Riding Lessons Versus
   Private Riding Lessons
2. Should Students Prepare Their Own Horses for Riding Lessons?
3. What Do Your Students
   Wear to Riding Lessons?

Horse business owners are as entitled to payment as any other entrepreneur. If your clients don’t pay on time—or at all—you cannot continue to offer your services. Everybody loses.

But don’t make the mistake of assuming that your clients think about payment from your point of view. They’re thinking about their own income and expenses, and they view your invoice in terms of how it affects them.

We’re all egocentric to a point. Your job as a horse business owner is to structure a payment policy that will encourage customers to hand over the dough.

Spread the Word

A horse business payment policy only works if your clients know about it. You can charge late fees up the wazoo, but if your clients don’t realize a late fee exists, good luck collecting it.

Your payment policy must be put in writing and distributed to all clients. I recommend printing up a copy for each new customer, then asking that they sign a second copy for your records. This way, they can’t say later they didn’t know about your policies.

Make It Clear

Tell your clients exactly how your horse business payment policy works, step by step. Pretend you’re explaining the terms to a four-year-old—be specific, clear and simple.

For example, a riding instructor’s payment policy might look like this:

• Payment for riding lessons must be made one month in advance.
• Payment must be rendered by the first of every month.
• Late payments incur an automatic $10 fee, plus $2 every day until paid.
• Students may not ride in a given month until payment is rendered.
• Students lose their slots after 15 days of non-payment.

It’s clear, simple and effective. Students know that if they don’t pay by the first for the entire month in advance, they will have to pay $10 plus $2 for every day the check is late. If they haven’t paid by the 15^th of the month, their lesson will be given to someone else.

Apply it Across the Board

Don’t let your horse business payment policy slide for anyone, regardless of the circumstances. I see it all the time: a horse business owner becomes friends with his clients, and therefore doesn’t say anything when the check is “lost in the mail.” This might seem like a charitable and friendly response, but it’s suicide for your business.

Because when you let one person slide, you’ve got to let everyone else slide, too.

There might be occasions where a client experiences a legitimate financial hardship. In that case, you’ll want to review the situation in detail and make an appropriate, business-conscious decision. However, if you’re willing to give clients a break when they get laid off or suffer an emergency, you need to have a clear plan for dealing with those situations.

For instance, you might put a line in your payment policy that looks like this:

“If you are unable to pay your invoice for any reason, due to legitimate financial hardship, you must discuss it with us prior to the date on which the invoice is due.”

You might also add that you reserve the right to enforce your payment policy regardless, and that a signed agreement will be necessary for alternate payment arrangements.

Think like a business owner, not like a friend or fellow horseman. Otherwise, your payment policy won’t be worth the paper it’s written on.

Related posts:

1. The Horse Business Guide to
   Getting Paid
2. Kiss Unpaid Bills Goodbye
3. Five Easy Tips for Managing
   Finances in the Horse Business

Yesterday we talked about incentives in the horse business, but today I want to take it a step further. You can generate interest in your horse business services without actually offering anything for free.

Or you can combine this tactic with a freebie. Your choice.

Today’s Farm Freebie: Gift Certificates

Gift certificates are used the world over in every industry. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is to generate business from customers who might never otherwise have become customers. For example, a potential student who didn’t realize he might enjoy riding lessons until his friend gave him a gift certificate for his birthday.

See how that works?

The person buying the gift certificate gets an easy, no-hassle present, and the recipient gets whatever service(s) you provide.

The only difference is how gift certificates are rendered. When you purchase a gift card from Wal-Mart, for example, you hande the teller $100, and she gives you a gift card worth $100 for the recipient. In the horse business, your customer gives you $100, and you hand her a gift certificate worth three riding lessons, or whatever.

Same concept, different medium.

And so, I’ve prepared for you some gift certificate templates that you can use for free in your horse business. You can customize them with your logo or barn name, then just print them up and fill them out.

Gift Certificate Template #1 (DOC)
Gift Certificate Template #2 (DOC)
Gift Certificate Template #3 (DOC)

If you would like to have any of these templates personalized with your barn name, logo or other information, please contact me and I’ll do what I can.

Related posts:

1. Farm Freebies: Horse Boarding Equine Evaluation Template
2. Farm Freebies: Riding Instructor Schedule(s)
3. Farm Freebies: Horse Business Employee Information

Everyone enjoys a good incentive now and again. When you go to the grocery store, do you clip coupons for your favorite products? If a restaurant is offering a free drink with your meal, are you more likely to eat there than an establishment where you will have to pay two bucks for a Diet Coke?

Incentives are as good as currency in business, but they are often overlooked in the horse business. It’s like riding instructors and horse trainers think they are above the this practice. Or maybe they just don’t see how it can apply to them.

If you can harness the power of incentives in the horse business, you’ll see a corresponding uptick in income. I promise.

For example, maybe you’re a riding instructor and you’d like to teach more students. You’ve advertised in local papers, put up flyers in the tack store and spread word of mouth. But your classes still aren’t full.

Your existing students represent an untapped resource. Provide incentives for them to bring in more students, and you’ll have cut your work in half.

Tell your students that for every new rider they bring in, they get an extra lesson free. They get more riding time, you get a new customer. Tit for tat.

Or you could advertise a free lesson (or half off a lesson, whatever) to each new student who signs up for a month of classes. You’re guaranteed the future income (you can even require they pay in advance), but the student feels he’s getting a better deal.

Incentives can be used in every facet of the horse business. If you’re a farrier, for instance, you could offer free trims to new customers. If you’re a horse trainer, offer a free thirty-minute assessment ride. Try to harness incentives where all you give away for free is your time; that way, you’re not actually out money as you attempt to make money.

Brainstorm incentives with your staff and come up with unique ideas to draw in more customers. The more unique, the better.

Related posts:

1. Horse Business Plans 101:
   Marketing Plan

In response to last week’s article, Why Horse Trainers Shouldn’t Advertise Natural Horsemanship, I received several e-mails accusing me of prejudice against natural horsemanship. I invite you to go back and re-read the article, specifically the last few lines.

If nothing else, the response to my article only proves how divisive this arena is.

Nothing is Wrong with Natural Horsemanship

This Web site is not about equestrian philosophy. It’s about business, communication and solving your clients’ needs. It’s about turning equestrians into horse business owners, and turning horse business owners into better entrepreneurs.

Rarely will you find two equestrians with identical views on horse training. There are almost always at least a few points of contention, and this fact makes life hard for horse trainers. Why make it harder?

Natural horsemanship is a divisive subject, as is every other horse training methodology in the business. Your definition of natural horsemanship is likely different from mine, but if I choose you to train my horse using natural horsemanship, I assume you will use my methods.

It might be an ignorant and erroneous assumption, but that’s how your clients think.

A better idea would be for you to describe your horse training methods using no labels at all. You might say, for example, that you will:

• Never use harsh artificial aids
• Won’t bully my horse or use unnecessary force
• Introduce my horse slowly to new concepts
• Believe in asking my horse to accept things rather than forcing him into obedience
• Use only a snaffle or equivalent bit
• Maintain soft hands

That’s just an overview, but which is clearer? Saying you practice natural horsemanship or that you resolve yourself to the above approaches to horse training?

Communication Requires Understanding

Let’s say that you are interested in training for a marathon. You enjoy running but have very little experience with it, so you’re hiring a trainer to get you in shape and help you prepare for the marathon.

You hit the Internet and search for fitness coaches in your area who specialize in running. You find the Web site of a local professional who offers just what you’re looking for, but he promotes the philosophy of Evolution Running.

Some of you might know what that is, but the vast majority of my readers are shaking their heads right now. Evolution running? What’s that? How will it benefit me?

Those are the questions your clients are asking if you advertise natural horsemanship or any other horse training philosophy. If they don’t know what it is, you’ve failed in communication.

Let’s look at it a different way. Say you have heard of Evolution Running. In fact, you’ve had an Evolution Running trainer before, and he or she was abusive and controlling. You didn’t like it at all. So you immediately click away from the page because Evolution? You’re not having any more of that!

Now apply it to natural horsemanship. What if one of your potential clients has hired a natural horsemanship trainer before and reacted negatively to it. You can’t control what that other trainer did, and his definition of natural horsemanship might be totally different from yours. But the client doesn’t know that.

Insert Horsemanship Philosophy Here

Maybe you practical Centered Riding or classical dressage or any other horsemanship philosophy. Maybe natural horsemanship has nothing to do with your horse training service.

Same rules apply, you guys. A philosophy is, by its very nature, amorphous, and subject to extreme interpretation. It isn’t a set guidelines or program that everyone follows to the letter.

Your horse training clients want to know what you can do for them. Most of them don’t care whether you practice natural horsemanship or anything else; they care about what improvements you can make to their relationships with their horses. End of story.

Applying that logic, horse trainers shouldn’t advertise natural horsemanship or classical dressage, or any other philosophy. Or if they do, they should expound upon that declaration with specific details that will address client concerns and help facilitate a meeting of the minds.

Related posts:

1. Why Horses Trainers Shouldn’t
   Advertise Natural Horsemanship
2. Do You Need a
   Horse Training Assistant?
3. Expectations in Horse Training