20 Rainy Day Activities for Riding Instructors

As I look out my window on this rainy fall day in Houston, I have to struggle against the irrepressible urge to curl up in bed with a Dean Koontz novel. Seriously, I might not even make it through this blog post.

Rainy days are opportunities to relax, to rest on your laurels with no thought to the consequences. This is especially true for riding instructors because, after all, you can’t exactly shut yourself inside your nice, dry, windowless cubicle and get on with business as usual.

Of course, we’ve all got to make a living, so there are rainy day activities that can make riding instructors more productive.

If You Are Teaching

Some riding instructors teach on rainy days just like the do on sunny ones because—haven’t you heard?—they need to put food on the table. If you have a place to gather that provides shelter from torrential assault, these rainy day activities are great for riding instructors.

1. Teach your students about parts of the horse, grooming and different types of equipment.
2. Hold a clinic on grooming and braiding. Give all students a chance to try out their skills.
3. Bathe the horses. This only works on moderately warm days in facilities that include an indoor wash stall.
4. Play Equi Jeopardy. Maybe I’ll market a commercial version of the game. The point: TRIVIA!
5. Clean tack with your students. It won’t violate child labor laws because you’re teaching.
6. Clean stalls. Same principle.
7. Teach your students basic veterinary medicine, like wrapping legs and giving injections.
8. Give a clinic on equine nutrition.
9. Ride in the indoor arena, but only if there is no lightening or thunder.

These rainy day activities for riding instructors should only be used if you get parental consent first. Some parents don’t like to pay for non-mounted lessons, so you need to open up the lines of communication.

If You Aren’t Teaching

More often than not, riding instructors cancel lessons on rainy days. This is understandable, and it gives you a unique opportunity to get some work done without dozens of ten-year-olds vying for your attention.

1. Update your horse business web site. You know it needs some work, so take time to mention your students’ accomplishments.
2. Write up riding lesson plans. Decide what your students will do for the next six weeks or so.
3. Balance your finances. Figure out who owes you money (and to whom you owe money) and write up invoices for outstanding balances.
4. Build a fort. Okay, not exactly productive, but who doesn’t like to build forts?
5. Check on the lesson horses. Examine them for any injuries and spend time giving them each a good grooming. They’ll appreciate the effort.
6. Design an emergency preparedness plan. This can save your life (and the lives of your horses) down the line, and what’s more inspiring than a storm?
7. Create a welcome packet for your new students. Include a welcome letter on your professional letterhead.
8. Catch up on your correspondence. Call students who haven’t shown up in a while or students who came out to visit but haven’t signed up for lessons yet.
9. Make plans for horse summer camp. It’s never too early to create new ways to make money.
10. Start a blog where you write about your students’ progress and your own efforts as a riding instructor.
11. Branch off into new areas of the horse business. Maybe you could host birthday parties at the ranch or start a horse training service.

Rainy day activities provide clarity and help riding instructors catch up. Don’t waste your time worrying about the weather or lamenting your inability to teach normal lessons. Improvise!

You might also like:

1. What Should
   Riding Instructors Wear?
2. Should Riding Instructors Let Students Ride Outside Lessons?
3. Where Do Riding Instructors Stand?
4. New Year’s Resolutions for
   Riding Instructors
5. Should Riding Instructors Yell?

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.