07/11/2024
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It's difficult to have a business in the horse industry today. So, move your business to the horse community - With the rise of the horse industry, riding students and horse training clients have lost a lot of respect for experienced professionals. This change has made it difficult or impossible to operate a local horse related business except in the few high end equestrian locations.
Today most young people who teach riding or train horses for a living struggle to make a profit. Instead of being treated as professionals, clients see them as service providers, and they expect you to fulfill their every expectation, even when their clients are wrong.
As these changes occurred, I was well established in my career. I was, therefore, less affected by students and clients who came to my farm expecting me to pander to them. I didn't matter if they arrived in a luxury car or a beat up truck. I was looking for committed students. I decided if they were a fit for my farm, not them. Today's young professionals feel they cannot be choosy about their clients in this era of entitled clients and students. But I think it is important for professionals to set the rules.
First, I suggest that people working in the horse business today identify what they do best. Do not attempt to be all things to all people. Let potential clients know that you have a focus. This alone will differentiate you from the common panderers, and having a focus will build your professional reputation. It will also help build your skills more quickly in the kind of work you do best. This is because you won't have the distraction of trying to do everything people ask or expect.
Next, you must require commitment. When people see you as only a service provider, they believe that you are subject to their whims and demands. They will arrive late, miss lessons and demand the impossible from you. I required a ten lesson commitment from students along with a down payment. Clients who sent me a horse or train, were required to make a substantial deposit. When you have these kinds of procedures, people will respect your professionalism. When they are required to act first by paying you a sum, they demonstrate their commitment to your work.
You will need well trained, calm lesson horses. Minimally, I recommend having one large easy keeper and one reliable pony to start. You can half lease (horse not available during scheduled lessons but any other time) lesson horses to capable students to help them get more riding time and this will help cover the cost of a lesson horse's keep.
If you have students who can help improve a horse, you can give them lessons on your prospects in training, which increases the number of your lesson horse string. Plus, this teaches a student basic horse training while it generalizes the horse's training to include new and different riders.
My business plan was based on three income streams. Boarding and lessons paid the bills. Training other people's horses generated additional income. But the real profit was in selling horses that I bought and trained or retrained. To succeed at this, you must buy low and sell high. Most of my prospects came from the racetrack or auctions and some from breeders who had too many horses.
The money is in the horses, and you must be a good judge of prospects You must also be able to maximize each horse's potential. Find a mentor or an apprenticeship because you might go broke trying to teach yourself. And do not be afraid to cut your losses. An auction horse can go back to the auction where you might find a better prospect.
Being a riding instructor or horse trainer can be more of a lifestyle than a business. This difference is also the difference between operating in the horse industry or in the horse community. There is a cultural difference. A horse community based business won't make you rich but can support you. I you choose to be strictly a business and part of the horse industry, not the community, you probably will be forced to do things in your operation that you will regret like using training shortcuts, drugging horses and other low quality actions just to make money.
I recommend offering diverse experiences to your students. We played broomstick polo, did moonlight rides, rode drill team and went to a few competitions each year. These kinds of diverse activities teach riders that a horse is a horse and that riding is riding no matter what the discipline. Fox hunting and polo were my primary focuses, but diversity kept my students interested and striving to improve.
Build your own barn culture with high standards of horsemanship. This is what worked for me. It doesn't matter if you rent or own a farm, you can create viable business based on quality. Be authentic. Each of us has something special to offer.
* images, the top three are me giving lessons at my farm. I most often taught while mounted on a green horse that I was training. Bottom images are of applications from lessons learned. me and students fox hunting, drill team and playing broomstick polo.
