Lesson horses, if I have not said it already, are the bread and butter of any riding instruction business. They are the glue that holds the operation together, and without amazing lesson horses you will find it difficult to succeed in the horse business.
The problem is that finding lesson horses can seem no easier than locating the Holy Grail. In the dark. Amid thousands of non-holy grails identical to the genuine artifact.
You might look at forty horses before you find a suitable mount for your students, and even then every purchase is a gamble. The horse of your choice might get sick eight weeks after you bring him home, or might prove to be lame more often than sound.
However, you will discover that lesson horse evaluation is a skill. This series of articles will look at the steps in lesson horse evaluation, and will help you narrow your search and simplify the process.
The lesson I want you to take away today, however, is that lesson horses come in all sizes, shapes, ages and price ranges. There is no one set of criteria or behavioral attributes that define all school horses, and you might find the perfect candidate in the most unlikely of places.
One of the best lesson horses I ever met was a 14-hand pony named Dolly. She was pigheaded and an all-around pain in the rear, but she taught her students something new every time we put a saddle on her. She did not fit the classic profile for a perfect school horse, but she became one of the favorites at the barn.
Think about the last time you hired an employee or selected a service provider. You looked at each candidate carefully and with an eye for the individual’s unique traits and qualities. The same process should apply to selecting school horses.
This eight-part series on Lesson Horse Evaluation will help you systematically choose lesson horses for your horse business and will improve your ability to give your students what they need. Special thanks to a reader named Jess for suggesting it.
And, if you’re looking for other information about lesson horses, check out our collection of articles in the entire series, Lesson Horses 101.
Explore the Lesson Horse Evaluation Series:
- Behavioral Suitability
- Physical Ability
- Student Compatibility
- Equine History
- Vet Check
- Disposition
- Price
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Editor in Chief of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. Follow her EquiTips on Twitter.
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Behavioral Suitability
About the Author: Laura Jane Thompson is the Chief Equestrian Officer of Riding Instructor University and the Feature writer for the horses section at Suite101. She believes that any horse business can succeed provided its owner practices smart strategy.
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