Fine Print Farms

01/04/2026

Overview:This dissection will be a very participatory dissection. The group size will allow ample time to observe, touch, and move different tissues and joints. It will give us all a chance to explore, ask each other questions, and seek the answers to those questions as a group. Lorre Mueller will l...

01/03/2026

Let's Talk About What Riding Lessons Actually Cost (And What You're Really Paying For)

I see it in Facebook groups all the time: "How much should I charge for lessons?" or "Why are riding lessons so expensive?!"

So let's break this down for instructors trying to price fairly AND for students/parents wondering what they're actually paying for.

Riding lessons aren't cheap. Depending on your area, you're looking at:
$40-$60 for group lessons
$60-$100+ for private lessons

More for specialized instruction or top-level trainers. Yeah, riding is expensive. Here's why...

The Horse (The Biggest Cost)
A reliable, well-trained lesson horse costs:
- $5,000-$20,000+ to purchase (sometimes more)
- $500-$800+ monthly to keep (board, feed, farrier, vet)
- Training and maintenance to stay safe and sound
- Insurance
- Tack and equipment ($1,000+ per horse)

Do the math: One lesson horse costs $6,000-$10,000+ annually just to maintain and more depending on your area and if that horse medical needs such as injections, etc. If that horse teaches 15 lessons per week, each lesson needs to contribute roughly $10-$15 just to cover THAT HORSE'S costs.

The Instructor
You're not just paying for 45-60 minutes of instruction. You're paying for:
- Years (sometimes decades) of riding experience
- Training and certifications
- Expertise in keeping students safe
- Ability to match horses to riders
- Lesson planning and program development
- First aid and emergency response skills

Good instructors don't just show up... they've invested thousands of hours and dollars into becoming qualified.

The Facility
- Arena maintenance and footing ($$$)
- Barn upkeep and repairs
- Utilities (water, electric, heat in some cases)
- Insurance (liability insurance is EXPENSIVE)
- Property taxes or rent
- Equipment (jumps, poles, cones, etc.)

Risk
Horses are unpredictable 1,200-lb animals. Instructors carry:
- Liability insurance (often $1,000-$3,000+ annually)
- Risk of lawsuits
- Responsibility for student safety
- Physical risk (instructors get hurt too)

You're paying for someone willing to take on that risk to teach you safely.

WHAT STUDENTS ACTUALLY GET:
Yes, you're paying for riding instruction but you're getting SO much more:
✅ Physical fitness: Core strength, balance, coordination, cardiovascular health
✅ Mental health benefits: Stress relief, outdoor time, connection with animals, mindfulness
✅ Life skills: Responsibility, patience, problem-solving, resilience when things don't go perfectly
✅ Emotional development: Confidence, managing fear, emotional regulation, empathy
✅ Social connections: Barn community, friendships with people who share your passion
✅ Character building: Work ethic, humility, caring for another living being
✅ Unique experiences: How many sports let you partner with a 1,200-lb animal?
✅ Skills that transfer: Focus, body awareness, communication, reading non-verbal cues

You're not just paying to sit on a horse for an hour. You're investing in personal growth, physical health, and experiences you can't get anywhere else.

FOR PARENTS WONDERING IF IT'S WORTH IT...

I've watched riding transform kids:
- The anxious child who finds confidence
- The hyper kid who learns focus and patience
- The quiet kid who opens up while grooming
- The struggling student who finds their "thing"

Can soccer or piano do that? Sure, sometimes but there's something unique about the horse-human partnership that creates growth you can't replicate elsewhere.

FOR INSTRUCTORS STRUGGLING WITH PRICING:
Don't undervalue yourself trying to be "affordable." When you charge too little:
- You can't afford quality horses
- You can't maintain your facility properly
- You burn out working 60-hour weeks
- Your program suffers
- Eventually, you can't sustain the business

Charge what you're worth. The right clients will pay it. Students who only want the cheapest option often aren't the ones who stick around anyway.

Riding lessons are expensive because horses are expensive, facilities are expensive, insurance is expensive, and qualified instruction is valuable. But what you GET - the skills, the growth, the experiences, the joy... is priceless.

If you're a student/parent: Understand what you're truly paying for. It's not just an hour on a horse.

If you're an instructor: Don't apologize for charging what your services are worth. Quality costs money.

And if you're on the fence about whether riding lessons are worth the investment?
Ask anyone who rides. We'll tell you - it's worth every single penny.

Instructors: What do you wish students understood about lesson costs?

01/01/2026

01/01/2026

We have some big goals for 2026!

Can’t wait!

12/31/2025

Fantastic book for any horse owner!

New for 2026, and just in time to stuff the stockings of your favorite repro vet or breeding manager - the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biological Sciences "Formulary and Protocols in Equine Reproduction 4th edition".

This 82 page book contains dosage recommendations for hormone treatment, intrauterine therapy, antibiotics, and much more. The clinical protocols include a wide variety of techniques ranging from treating mastitis and ovulation prediction to biofilm therapy and labor induction. New chapters include both the Burns and Dutch techniques for managing retained placentas, deep horn insemination for frozen semen breeding, and managing foal heat breeding.

Priced at $24.95, this conveniently sized book fits in the glove compartment of your truck, and its spiral binding lays flat when open for hands free viewing.

US clients can choose to ship a single copy via USPS media mail for $10. Multiple copies require UPS or FedEx shipments, as do orders shipped outside the US.

For more details, or to order, go to our website:
https://www.arsequine.com/formulary-and-protocols-in-equine-reproduction-book-fourth-edition-2026

or give us a call at 1-800-300-5143 Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM- 4:00 PM Pacific Standard time.
Orders placed before 10 AM will ship the same business day.

12/30/2025

Nature’s multivitamin for horses! 🥕🐴

Carrots aren't just a tasty reward; they are actually great for your horse's health. They are loaded with Vitamin A (great for eyes and coats) and antioxidants that support the immune system.

Because they are high in fiber and water but lower in sugar than many fruits, they make for one of the best healthy snacks you can keep in your feed room. Who else has a horse that comes running when they hear the "snap" of a carrot?

12/29/2025

Contact Mariah to sign up210-727-77522026 Working Horsemanship Clinics at Fine Print Farmshttps://www.mobileapp.app/to/0SQQerf?ref=2_clhttps://www.mobileapp.app/to/DWLpFw0?ref=2_clhttps://www.mobileapp.app/to/NT3mjhm?ref=2_clhttps://www.mobileapp.app/to/HYzKtOa?ref=2_clhttps://www.mobileapp.app/to/I...

12/29/2025

Forget the Wind and Ride the Horse

I was tired from my first lesson. I was out of riding shape, having significantly less riding hours than I used to, and my back and core were screaming at me from the intensive focus and work I'd just done. I saddled up my thoroughbred for the second lesson when the wind picked up.

A tarp suddenly blew in from who knows where - causing him to dance sideways. As my most sensitive horse with the most anxiety, this was pretty poor timing for the wind to be howling.

I secured the tarp and mounted, but he shied at the side of the arena the tarp came from with each pass - tightening up, balking, and threatening to blow.

My teacher reminded me steadily with each pass of the circle to keep him aligned and focus on a steady tempo. "A horse in a balance finds calm in his body and worries less about the environment," she said. I know this to be true - I say this to my students all the time - but I could feel a storm around me and under me brewing, and my focus constantly being pulled by flapping blankets on fencelines threatening to jump out at us, dogs moving in and out of the scene, horses running in pastures - the perfect storm for a Thoroughbred to come unglued.

I checked my seat constantly under her direction and reminded myself to stay here with my horse - he needed me here, not thinking anywhere else.

"You know he's going to balk on that side," she said, "Get there ahead of time and be there for him - align and tempo, align and tempo." And then, the dreaded, "Release the reins forward! Don't bottle him up!"

To soften your seat into a chaotic back and give the reins forward to a horse threatening to come unglued takes an act of God. This isn't my first rodeo, figurately and literally speaking, but it is still hard to remember when the stakes are high. I believe in the message - but I know that one little mistake of my attention risks us both.

"Now channel that to a trot," she says. A trot feels insane - but I know deep down that movement is calming, and bottling him up will make him half crazy. I make myself trust it, and we trot.

Surely, piece by piece, he relaxes his neck, begins blowing out, and bends around the circle. I forget about the wind, the dogs, the blankets, the pivo that is spinning in the wind, and ride my horse - and wouldn't you know it, he forgets the environment too. Together inside of a wind storm we find our peace together.

Alignment, rhythm, tempo - The test of any method is how it works in less than ideal situations. And the more I see it work, the more I trust it like my life depends on it - because sometimes it truly does.

12/29/2025

𝐔𝐋𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐒 👀

𝙎𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩….

A big part of keeping horses happy, healthy, and staying competitive is keeping ULCERS away!

The hauling.
The stress of competition.
The nsaids.

There are so many things that can add to why your horse may obtain ulcers on the road, so our goal is to improve your odds of your horse not developing them!

Sometimes our routine order changes a bit based on what we are doing that day (traveling or competing)

But in general, this is what we have been liking as PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE.

➡️ Triumph Paste (Non-Prescription) 20cc in the morning or when we load them onto the trailer.

➡️ Sucralfate Suspension (RX) 30 min to an 1 hour before we get on the compete… if not competing that day, you could give it to them when you get to your final destination, (just make sure you don’t give any oral meds within an hour of administering Sucralfate, as Sucralfate changes how other medications can be absorbed) Sucralfate adds a sense of relief if they are recovering from ulcers, but in this scenario, helps lessen the chance of worsening ulcers from acid splashing onto the stomach lining when competing.

➡️Esomperazole, (RX) we like to give the capsules (we also just added the liquid option) at a maintenance dose when on the road. I feed the capsules on my grain… they are about the same size as my grain and the horses always seem to clean them right up! Esomeprazole is extremely cost effective, however you do need to make sure it’s the RX version and talk to your vet about the appropriate dosage.

➡️ Triumph Daily Gold (Non Prescription) or Triumph Digestive Support Pellets (Non Prescription) both of these are great supplements to give daily… you would choose one or the other, dressed in grain, or you can syringe directly the Daily Gold, which also adds a great amount of probiotics.

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

A few other products we like..

Misoprostol (RX) — specifically for the lower stomach (glandular) ulcers, or hind gut ulcers. If you have treated other ways, this might be a good addition to incorporate at some point to make sure you have targeted all ulcer prone areas.

Some miso products will also have omeprazole combined, if you are a Dr. Sharp client you can talk to us about your options!

All RX products are prescriptions… meaning we have to have you as an established client/seen your horse to prescribe!🫶🏻

The more you know. The better your horses feel!

📱208-565-0344

——————————————

Right now we have free shipping using code 2025 in the website! https://sharpsportsmedicine.com/shop

12/28/2025

12/27/2025

When the nose is invited forward instead of being held up, the whole body can start to work.

The back softens, the topline lengthens, and the hind legs get the freedom to swing and step under.

This isn’t about lowering the head.

It’s about creating space in the body so energy can flow from back to front into a soft, honest contact.
That’s where suppleness starts.

And that’s where real balance is built.

👉 What do you feel first when your horse truly stretches forward?