09/06/2023
Really appreciate this perspective regarding buying and lessons - they do some helpful breakdowns on price points, too. If you’re on the fence about owning, I have 5 wonderful lesson horses with a wealth of teachings in them. I’ve absorbed the ownership costs so that you can learn and don’t have to 💕 but if you ever wonder why riding in a lesson program is so expensive - here’s some perspective, too 😉
Maybe DON’T buy the horse…. 🤔
I’m on a few groups for beginner riders, riders with fear issues, etc. I also have helped many people who have been “riding their whole lives” (aka, on and off, maybe rode four horses total since they hit double digit ages, maybe rode a lot as a teen but only rode on occasional weekends since), they lost/retired their oldie-but-goodie, they got a new horse that certainly seems solid enough, but things just seem to keep getting worse instead of better. Some of these people by horse after horse after a horse, and never seem to recognize that they are the common denominator. The people I see take lessons on my lesson horses and I have their horse in training for months, but even then it’s often times not enough for them to really get along with that horse and they end up selling and horse shopping… again.
They make great progress when they are with me because we can address tiny issues before they become big. I, or one of my more experience students, can hop on their horse and put in good things, and if the owner gets into a tricky spot, I can put them on one of my lesson horses to work on themselves. But these people do t have that support at home. With a support system, they can make it work, but not when they keep their horses in their own backyard, or at a boarding facility that has a bunch of casual riders, none of whom can ride through some squirly behaviors or have experience with these situations to be able to off good advice.
All the time I see these people wondering if they should just give it all up. Maybe they shouldn’t ride at all. They spend and lose thousands of dollars with little to show for it, and the emotional toll of failing over and over again, is palpable and debilitating. 
GIVE UP HORSE OWNERSHIP- NOT HORSES!!
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing!! 
Find a barn with a good lesson string and take one, two, or even three lessons a week!!! You’ll spend less, ride more, learn more, get experience with multiple horses, be able to set goals, and if at any point you decide you hate it, you can quit without the emotional turmoil of deciding what to do with your horse that you love but are scared of, or don’t enjoy anymore.
Horse ownership over 5 years…
5k horse
2500k in tack
100/mo farrier
500/yr vet
$450/mo board
$500 incidentals (fly spray, ointments, grooming supplies)
= $43,500
Two lessons per week over five years
$250/month for one lesson a week x 2
$500 helmet, boots, half chaps
= $30,500
And anyone reading this probably knows darn well those horse costs could double fast!!! Especially since this breakdown does not include ANY lesson or trainer fees for horse ownership. If you have a horse you’re having problems with you’ll probably still be paying for two lessons a week- and those lessons might be for someone else to ride your horse! Not you. Throw in training fees, a big vet emergency, or paying for a more expensive horse and you could get FOUR lessons a week on lesson horses for less cost. And if you get injured, you can take a break and not have all those costs.
We have many lesson horses here that work great in our program, but most of our regular students could probably not own any of them and it go as well as it does here.  And the ones that could, it’s because they’ve been with us long enough to understand why sometimes we quickly swap game plans. They see how we use patterns to get a distracted or scared horse back under control. They have put in the time to learn some of the groundwork we do.  We do a ton to keep our horses, happy, emotionally, balanced, physically, balanced, and therefore safe. It’s taken us decades to learn those skills….. we’re talking decades of being submersed in horse life over 8 hours a day.  We get more horse hours in in 6 months than most horse owners will in 5 1/2 years. No offense, but you are never going to catch up to me an experience… so lean on me and borrow my hard earned wisdom! That’s what I (and others like me) are here for! Ride our well prepped, well maintained horses. Utilize our knowledge EVERY ride. Life is short, riding well is hard, making mistakes is easy and costly (physically, emotionally, and financially) and if this is not your career, it only makes sense to lean on the knowledge and experience of someone who did make it their career and can keep you pointed in the right direction.
Just ride the lesson horses. If you want to hang at the barn, believe me, we can put you to work. We all have some extra horses that would love a grooming sesh, hand walking, whatever. We have a whole community here. You can get the whole package without ownership. Don’t give up riding- it’s not all or nothing.