Fairhope Stables

03/17/2025

01/29/2025

Why $50 to $80 for a Riding Lesson is the Bargain of a Lifetime! 🐴

At first glance, $50 to $80 might seem like a lot for a riding lesson. After all, it’s just 30 minutes or an hour on a horse, right? But here’s the kicker: that price doesn’t even begin to cover the full value of what you’re getting.

Let me break it down for you:

When you pay for a riding lesson, you’re not just paying for the time spent in the saddle. You’re paying for decades of knowledge, years of training, and an entire operation dedicated to creating a safe, fun, and rewarding experience.

You’re paying for an incredible partnership between horse and human—something most people only dream of experiencing.

You’re paying for the *generations of knowledge and skill* that went into breeding or selecting a safe, reliable horse—a horse that can teach a beginner to steer or build confidence in an intermediate rider.

You’re paying for the *thousands of hours* that trainers and instructors spent educating that horse, putting on the miles, and teaching it to be patient, forgiving, and downright saintly.

You’re paying for the tack: saddles, bridles, bits, saddle pads, girths, and all the fittings—carefully selected for comfort, fit, and durability. You’re also paying for the endless supply of grooming tools, from curry combs to hoof picks to detangling spray.

You’re paying for feed: hay, grain, supplements, and the occasional treat. You’re paying for veterinary care, including vaccines, deworming, dental work, and emergency visits. Don’t forget the farrier—someone has to keep those hooves in tip-top shape.

You’re paying for the blankets: rain sheets, winter rugs, coolers—whatever is needed to keep the horses happy and healthy in every season. You’re paying for the halters, lead ropes, and fly masks that keep them comfortable and safe.

You’re paying for the facilities: the arena footing, jumps, fences, barn, and tack room. You’re also paying for the equipment that maintains it all—tractors, ring drags, hoses, water buckets, muck rakes, shovels, and the never-ending repair bills that come with running a stable.

You’re paying for the labor: the early mornings and late nights, the endless stall mucking, the feeding, and the hauling of hay bales. You’re paying for the nights someone walks a colicky horse until the vet arrives.

You’re also paying for the *risk*: every time a lesson horse takes a rider, there’s a chance they could end up hurt or permanently lame. These horses are worth their weight in gold, and it’s my job to keep them safe, healthy, and happy. That’s why they’re only worked a certain amount, jump sparingly, and have strict limits on their workload.

So when you hear, “$50 to $80 for a lesson,” what you’re really getting is the result of years of dedication, hard work, and care. You’re getting a piece of a much larger puzzle—the kind of puzzle that most people don’t see but that makes those 30 or 60 minutes possible.

It’s not “just a lesson.” It’s a lifetime of expertise and a whole village behind it.

I am grateful to my team and the incredible horses for all they bring to people’s experiences. 💙💛

If you are looking for a riding facility here are some tips 📣

1. Do your due diligence before selecting just any facility for you or your child to ride at

2. If it doesn’t feel safe, trust your gut!

3. Any given day, someone wakes up and decides to become an instructor bc they have horses and want to make a buck. Unfortunately, most of them have a little to no prior experience.

4. Instructors/trainers should have references and insurance! This is a business at the end of the day and everyone should be protected.

5. Accept the word NO. Trainers have lesson horses and your best interest at heart. They are not trying to hold you or your horse back to be mean. The amount of students we have received from other programs that are riding or surviving beyond their capabilities is horrifying. What may take you one week may take another rider a month. Everyone needs to go at their own pace to do it properly and safely, This is not a race but something to enjoy at your own pace 🤠

12/17/2024

What is it about a big a$$ non-aerodynamic box going down the road that makes people want to put their bumper right up on it?
We are hauling our livelihoods, our best friends and our families. We can’t stop on a dime but if you don’t have lightning fast reflexes or are distracted, that doesn’t matter. If you’re following so closely that you can’t see my mirrors, you also won’t be able to see anything coming up that might require me to put on my brakes. You’re risking everyone’s future and what does it get you? Sitting on my bumper will make me go even slower than before just to be careful!

12/08/2024

Not wiping off the Bridle and bits before hanging it up is another pet peeve!

12/06/2024

I have attended many CPR classes over the years, but was never told this…..
When you are alone and have a heart attack. What are you gonna do then ?
A rarely good post that can't be shared often enough:
1.
Take a 2 minute break and read this:
Let's say it's 5:25 pm and you're driving home after an unusually hard day's work.
2.
You are really tired and frustrated.
All of a sudden your chest pains. They are starting to radiate in the arm and jaw. It feels like being stabbed in the chest and heart. You're only a few miles away from the nearest hospital or home.
3.
Unfortunately you don't know if you can make it..
4.
Maybe you've taken CPR training, but the person running the course hasn't told you how to help yourself.
5.
How do you survive a heart attack when you're alone when it happens? A person who is feeling weak and whose heart is beating hard has only about 10 seconds before losing consciousness.
6.
But you can help yourself by coughing repeatedly and very strongly! Deep breaths before every cough. Coughing should be repeated every second until you arrive at the hospital or until your heart starts to beat normally.
7.
Deep breathing gives oxygen to your lungs and coughing movements boost the heart and blood circulation. Heart pressure also helps to restore a normal heartbeat. Here's how cardiac arrest victims can make it to the hospital for the right treatment
8.
Cardiologists say if someone gets this message and passes it on to 10 people, we can expect to save at least one life.
9.
FOR WOMEN: You should know that women have additional and different symptoms. Rarely have crushing chest pain or pain in the arms. Often have indigestion and tightness across the back at the bra line plus sudden fatigue.
Instead of posting jokes, you're helping save lives by spreading this message.
❤️ COPY (hold your finger, click on the text and select copy, go to your own page and where you normally want to write, select finger again and paste)

11/25/2024

Adding the Tri-Color Championship ribbon for another Blue at the Season closer

11/23/2024

First “Blue” for the last show of our 2024 Season.

08/25/2024

Five entries will sell at online auction on LABOR DAY.
BIDDING: https://beiler-campbell.bidwrangler.com/ui/auctions/114524

05/20/2024

Get it done!! Don’t forget!!