First of all, I’d like to give all my readers a big hug of gratitude. You guys have sent me several e-mails expressing your condolensces and offering words of wisdom. I’ve printed them all out to show my husband because, hey, I shouldn’t be the only one to reap the benefits of your experience.

Second of all, I know a lot of you get Riding Instructor University via RSS feed, and I’ve heard some grumblings about subscriptions failing. If you are one of them, please send me an e-mail (laura at ridinginstructoru dot com) letting me know the e-mail address with which you subscribed and the reader you use (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, Newsgator). Hopefully this information will allow me to locate the problem.

Now that those things are out of the way…

I’ve got a question for the community.

I want to hear about the best and the worst riding instructors you’ve ever known. They could be your teachers or instructors you’ve worked with. Doesn’t matter. I just want to know about your experiences.

Please don’t mention names when discussing the worst riding instructors, but feel free to give props to specific riding instructors who have impressed you (in a good way) over the years. More important, though, I want to know the qualities of these instructors. What made them the best—or the worst?

Let us know in the comments.

You’re allowed to change your mind. Just because you’ve build a successful horse business as a hunter/jumper or cutter or eventer doesn’t mean you can’t start over as a reiner or barrel racer or anything else. Your equestrian discipline of choice isn’t set in stone.

I’m not saying that it’s easy to switch equestrian disciplines. Far from it. Such a transition requires rebranding and recalibrating every aspect of your enterprise, and it takes time. Sometimes it doesn’t work as well as you hoped. Sometimes it works better.

These things aren’t easy to predict.

What I can tell you for certain is that you have choices. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the horse business, it’s that we can’t succeed unless we’re passionate about what we’re doing. If you’ve lost the love for whatever equestrian discipline you’ve chosen, it might be time for a change.

Make the Decision

One of the most common mistakes horse business owners make is hemming and hawing over this type of decision. Make your choice and move forward. It’s the only way to ensure a seamless transition to a new equestrian discipline.

By this, I don’t mean you should make the decision lightly. Carefully consider all your options, and shine an unforgiving light on all the reasons you have for making such a change. If your reasons don’t stand up against logic and reason, it isn’t time.

But once you’ve made the choice, it’s time to act. No waffling. No excuses. Put all your energy into recreating your horse business. Right now.

Set Guidelines

I mentioned previously that rebranding is necessary in order to switch equestrian disciplines. You have to change not only what you do, but how the rest of the world views your horse business. It’s no easy task.

For that reason, you must set clear guidelines about how this transition will work.

Decide whether the change is complete or partial. For example, if you’re switching from eventing to the jumpers, will you still give riding lessons to eventers or haul to three-days? Will your horse business center entirely around the jumpers, or will you cater to both disciplines?

Help Your Clients

Let’s say that you’ve been teaching western pleasure lessons for ten years, but now you’d like to switch over to reining. You think reining is more exciting, and you’ve been showing at reining events for a couple years. It’s where your heart lies.

For this reason, you plan to teach only reining classes at your barn.

This is fine, but it leaves your current students out in the cold. It’s your job to help them find another riding instructor who specializes in western pleasure. Refer them to someone you trust in the business (and in close geographical proximity), someone whose values and philosophies align well with your own.

If you board western pleasure horses, help their owners find a new stable. Suggest an alternative horse trainer. Make this transition as easy as possible for those who have chosen you as their equestrian professional of choice.

Get Involved

The easiest way to transition to a new equestrian discipline is to immerse yourself as completely as possible in that sport. Attend competitions. Make friends with other horse business owners in that discipline. Learn everything about it.

In a word: Network.

It takes time to build a horse business from scratch, which is what you’re doing if you’re making a complete switch from one equestrian discipline to another. It will take time, as I said before. But you can speed things along by meeting people and showing your new world what you’re made of.

Make Peace with Your New Status

A common problem for horse business owners who decide to switch disciplines is the demotion in status. It doesn’t matter to barrel racers that you were the Queen Bee of the cutting world. You have to prove yourself to this new arena of professionals, and sometimes it’s harder to start over than to begin at the beginning.

Accept your reduced status. Ingratiate yourself to those who are willing to give you pointers. Embrace this new chapter of your life. But check your ego at the door.

Although dangerous horses are serious problems for any equestrian, they are far more concerning when they are used in riding lessons. A riding instructor is responsible for the safety of his charges, and if he knowingly uses a dangerous horse in lessons, his liability increases.

We’ve talked before about gross negligence and liability. It’s true that all (responsible) riding instructors have their clients sign a liability waiver that indemnifies both the instructor and the equestrian facility. However, if the instructor is negligent in her care of students, that waiver is about as effective as a counterfeit thousand-dollar bill.

Take Time to Evaluate

Your lesson horses will have bad days and good days, and just because an accident occurs doesn’t mean you have a dangerous horse on your hands. It becomes a problem, however, when there are multiple accidents with the same lesson horse.

Think of it this way: Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. Take from that what you will. My point is that a history of dangerous behavior warrants examination.

Let’s say, for example, that a lesson horse has thrown four riders in as many months. On each occasion, the horse bolted without any warning and threw bucks until the rider fell off. The instructor and other observers could identify no obvious reason for the behavior.

In my opinion, this lesson horse should be removed from the program, at least until experienced riders have schooled him enough that the behavior stops. Otherwise, the instructor is knowingly putting his students at risk.

Each Situation is Unique

Whether or not a lesson horse is dangerous depends on a variety of factors, including the ages and skill levels of the riders. I’m certainly not suggesting we should eliminate all animals who fail to behave like robots.

Horses, like humans, have bad days, and sometimes they misbehave. The question a riding instructor must answer is whether the bad days outweigh the good, and whether the bad days constitute an unreasonable risk for his or her students.

When in Doubt, Ask Yourself These Questions:

• Is it more likely than not, on any given day, that this horse is going to hurt someone?
• Might this rider, by virtue of her experience or age, be injured if I put her on this horse?
• If asked, would I tell this rider’s parents that, based on my professional opinion, this horse is unsafe for their child?
• Would I hesitate to put my own child on this horse?
• Has this horse caused injury to a rider more than six times in the last year?
• If a student is injured while riding this horse, will I feel in some way or measure responsible?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes,’ I would take a closer look at the animal in question.

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First, an update.

For a while, I started to think that the Universe didn’t want me to continue Riding Instructor University. Not a week after I posted that I would be returning with new posts every day, the site experienced technical difficulties and was down for almost a month. Then, when I got the site back up, we had a death in the family and I was obviously otherwise occupied.

It’s been a rough start to 2012, and I wondered if I should just close RIU for good. Then I checked my e-mail and found dozens of messages from you guys, expressing gratitude for the information you’d found here, requesting the new Equestrian Professional Planner, and in other ways reaffirming the reasons I started this business in the first place. Thank you.

And so, after yet another delay, we’re back—and, God willing, better than ever. I’ve got the brand new 2012 edition of the Equestrian Professional Planner, which I started last year to help all you savvy business owners keep organized. And I spent all weekend writing posts for the next couple weeks.

So! Moving on…

After several hours of cursing at my computer monitor, I’ve completed the 2012 Equestrian Professional Planner. It’s a series of templates that you can print at home and assemble however you’d like. I recommend a sturdy three-ring binder for your planner, though you can feel free to get creative.

In addition to daily, weekly, and monthly calendars, you also have templates for address books, special dates, client references, and to-do lists. I’m publishing each template separately so you can pick and choose what you will need and use.

A couple changes from last year: First, the weekly calendar isn’t dated, as it was last year. It’s a one-page template with slots for each day of the week, and a space for you to fill in the date. I did this mostly for my own sanity, but also because it’s a smaller file size. Second, the pages no longer bear the RIU logo and web address.

As always, if you would like me to personalize any of the templates, feel free to contact me. Just make sure to tell me which templates you want customized. If your customization request includes your barn logo, make sure to attach it in PNG or PSD format.

The Deets

• Monthly Calendar: This is the month-at-a-glance template that allows you to keep track of major events, appointments, and other details well in advance. This should go at the front of your Equestrian Professional Planner so you can find it easily, and should include only brief, to-the-point details about your professional life.

• Weekly Calendar: Here we’re getting a bit more complex. The weekly calendar consists of a single template with seven columns, Sunday through Saturday, with a space for the date at the top. In each column you can check off to-do items, keep track of your hour-by-hour schedule from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and jot down notes. Unlike traditional day planners, Saturday and Sunday have the same amount of room as Monday through Friday because us horse business owners often work as much on the weekends as during the week.

• Daily Calendar: If, like me, you are uber-organized and you like to create lots of lists and schedules on a daily basis, the daily calendar is right up your alley. This template reserves an entire page for every single day, with space for half-hour appointments from 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., extended to-do lists, and plenty of room for notes. This template is not pre-dated, however, so you’ll have to record the date yourself in the space provided.

• To-Do Lists: I’m a list-maker, and I assume some of you are the same way. The To-Do List template I’ve provided is divided into three sections: high priority, medium priority, and low priority. There is also a key at the bottom that allows you to indicate the status of each item at the end of the day (or as you go, whatever you prefer). This is great for setting up daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly to-do lists based on the tasks on your plate.

• Address Book: What day planner is complete without an address book? I’ve given you a single page for every letter of the alphabet, though you can of course print multiple pages per letter depending on the size of your Rolodex. There are spaces for names, addresses, multiple phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. I’ve also given you a notes section for each entry so you can record additional information, such as extra phone numbers, fax numbers, and more. This is also a great place to indicate where you met the person, what company they work for, or how they prefer to be contacted.

• Special Dates: I’m a big believer in honoring special dates, and you should be too if you want to maintain loyalty among your clients. In the special dates section of your Equestrian Professional calendar, you can record any dates you like. Birthdays, anniversaries, whatever. There are spaces for the date, the occasion, and any planned response (e.g. phone calls, cards, gifts, etc.)

• Client Reference: This is a brand new addition to the Equestrian Professional Planner, and was requested by reader Ryan T. The client reference is a single sheet where you can record important information about your clients and their horses. There is a box for your client’s information and boxes for two separate horses. If a client has more than two horses, you’ll need two sheets.

Now! On to the downloads:

2011 Monthly Calendar (PDF)
2011 Weekly Calendar (PDF)
2011 Daily Calendar (PDF)
A-Z Address Book (PDF) To-Do List (PDF)
Special Dates (PDF) Equestrian Professional Planner cover (PDF)
Client Reference (PDF)

In larger barns, multiple riding instructors are sometimes necessary to serve all clients. They might specialize in different areas of equestrian sports, or perhaps they work with different levels of riders (e.g. beginning, intermediate, advanced). Whatever the case, it’s the horse business owner’s job to manage these riding instructors and ensure they are always on the same page.

Too often, I see groups of riding instructors where each individual instructor does his or her own thing, regardless of what his colleagues do. This results in alarming inconsistencies that can threaten a horse business’s survival.

This doesn’t mean that riding instructors shouldn’t be individuals. Of course not. But all instructors should be unified under common philosophies, values, and goals if the horse business is to succeed.

A set of rules

I’ve written before about the importance of barn rules, but what I’m talking about here are riding instructor rules. Things like:

• Ensuring all riding lesson equipment is put away at the end of a work day.
• Checking with other instructors to make certain a horse isn’t already in use before scheduling a riding lesson.
• Using the arenas/equipment only at specified, agreed-upon times.
• Avoiding disparaging comments about other riding instructors.
• Never “stealing” another instructor’s student.

Other rules will likely occur to you as time goes on and you see what issues crop up. They will vary from barn to barn, depending on the people who work there and the relationships between each of them.

The important thing here is to maintain both civility and order. To manage multiple riding instructors effectively, you must set boundaries and insist everyone respect them.

A published schedule.

Scheduling conflicts often crop up in barns with multiple riding instructors. If a schedule isn’t written and published (each week, to reflect changes in ride times as well as cancellations or make-ups), you can bet your employees will step on each other’s toes.

One of the riding instructor rules should require instructors to check with everyone else before making any changes to the schedule. This way, everyone knows what to expect when they arrive at the barn to teach.

A conflict resolution system.

If you think your riding instructors won’t argue now and again (or every day), you’re living in what I like to call My Little Pony Land. People don’t always agree on everything, so you need to have a system set up for addressing and resolving disputes.

For example, some horse business owners require that employees come to them with concerns first. This allows you to settle the issue yourself if possible, or to come up with a non-confrontational way to help them settle the dispute among themselves.

For example, one of your riding instructors tells you she doesn’t like the way another instructor teaches her students to post the trot. She describes the situation, and you can tell her whether she’s correct or mistaken, based on the way you want students at your barn taught. Then you can either educate the complaining instructor, or call in the other teacher to go over the preferred method of teaching. Your choice.

A quality control device.

Many of the horse business owners I meet have let their riding instructors have full rein. The teachers do what they want, when they want, with no real supervision. In my opinion, this is a mistake.

Your riding instructors represent your barn in every decision and action. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make sure they are projecting an image that is in line with your barn philosophy.

I recommend sitting in on riding lessons at least once a month. Watch how your instructors interact with their students and perform as teachers. Yes, it takes time out of your already busy day. But it also protects your horse business.

What about you?

Have you experienced trouble managing multiple riding instructors? Or maybe you’ve got this thing down to a science. Whatever the case, leave your perspective and experience in the comments below.

It’s been a couple months since my last post. Unfortunately, personal circumstances have prevented me from keeping up with the site, but 2012 is a new year (full of new advice for horse business owners).

Party in the barn, and everyone’s invited.

This year I want to focus RIU on helping horse business owners create sustainable, revenue-producing programs. From many of the comments I receive here on RIU and from the e-mails I get from readers, I deduce that lots of you are having trouble with your riding lesson, horse training, and boarding programs. I hear you.

So for 2012, you can expect new articles on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays here on the site. I’ll be kicking off this new schedule on Wednesday with a post on managing riding instructors, so stay tuned if you teach riding lessons at your barn.

Fridays will be devoted to Farm Freebies and You Tell Me posts, and I might sprinkle in a few bonus articles on Tuesdays and Thursdays as time permits.

Although I haven’t been posting much here at RIU, I have been checking and answering e-mails. Many of you have sent in questions, concerns, and requests for new content, and I’ve replied to every single one I’ve received. If you didn’t get a reply from me, please resend. Sometimes my spam folder eats legitimate messages.

And I wanted to give a huge New Year’s thank-you to my wonderful clients. You have all given me plenty of reasons to be excited about 2012, and you made 2011′s various personal crises much easier to manage. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support and your patience.

Now, a question for the crowd: What do you want from RIU in 2012?

What issues are you struggling with? How can I help you bring your horse business to the level you want, inexpensively and effectively? Which subjects are you most interested in?

Please leave your suggestions in the comments section below or send them to me via e-mail. Feel free to comment anonymously if you prefer.

I can’t wait to hear from you, and I’m extremely excited to see what 2012 brings your horse business!

Today’s question comes from Kacy of Starline Stables in Texas:

I would like to see an article done regarding overweight riders and the challenges they face learning to ride. I’m on the thinner side and can’t relate very well. If I had a better understanding what they’re going through, I might be able to teach them more effectively.

Thank you for the suggestion, Kacy, and I imagine there are lots of riding instructors who have the same concerns. Teaching overweight riders can be a frustrating experience because physical limitations get in the way of proper riding.

Taking it Slow

I struggled with my weight throughout my childhood, and it was no different when I picked up riding lessons as a kid. Insecurity led me to try to keep up with what all the other riders were doing, when I simply wasn’t fit enough.

Incidentally, horseback riding was what led me to shed my “baby fat,” and by the time I reached high school, I was no longer overweight. However, I do wish I had taken it slower when I was learning to ride because I wouldn’t have struggled so much.

The most important thing to remember when teaching overweight riders is that everyone works at his or her own pace. Extra pounds don’t automatically mean decreased endurance or strength, but riding instructors must pay attention to their students. Encourage all riders to let you know if they need to slow down or take a break.

Treat Everyone Equally

An overweight rider knows he or she carries a few extra pounds. It isn’t something about which one can be unaware. However, no one likes to have that fact pointed out.

It’s a fine line to walk. If you need to discuss something that involves the rider’s weight, make sure you take him or her aside to speak in private. When teaching groups of riders, try to treat everyone equally. A thin rider might suffer from lack of strength or endurance as well, so create an atmosphere where your students can talk to you about how they are feeling and whether they are able to keep up with the class.

Teach Lightness

The biggest obstacle overweight riders face is the impact of their weight on the horse’s back. Learning to post the trot, for example, is a greater challenge for overweight riders because when they miss a post, their weight is coming down hard in the saddle.

My advice is to teach riders the two-point position early on in their instruction, starting with the walk. Encourage your students to hop up into their two-point positions whenever they feel off-balance, because this way they’re taking the weight off the horse’s back. It’s a good rule to follow for all riders regardless of weight.

Make Suggestions

Several years ago, I taught a girl who complained of chaffing after every lesson. She was overweight, and the skin along the inside of her thighs would rub throughout her ride, and she would suffer the entire following week.

I suggested she sprinkle baby powder in her breeches before coming to her lesson. It seemed to help, and she said she no longer had the problem.

If overweight riders are uncomfortable wearing breeches, suggest Wrangler jeans or some other brand made specifically for horseback riders.

At the stable where I took my very first lessons, we weren’t allowed to wear oversized t-shirts because they can get caught on the cantle of the saddle while riding and post a safety hazard. It’s a common rule in the horse industry, but overweight riders are often uncomfortable wearing tight-fitting clothes. When my mother mentioned this to my riding instructor, they suggested I wear whatever I like, but tuck the tail of the shirt into my pants to remove the safety issue.

There are always ways to work around problems for overweight riders, but communication is essential. Encourage your students to come to you, in private, with any problems they might have so you can work together to find a solution.

Emphasize Flexibility

I was never very flexible, and this was a problem from the beginning of my riding career. Those who are flexible don’t necessarily realize how much elasticity is required in the saddle.

Encourage overweight riders to work on flexibility at home. Stretching, yoga, and swimming are all great exercise programs to improve the flexibility of muscles in the saddle.

Don’t Sweat It

Weight is a subject with which I’m not terribly comfortable—in fact, writing this article has been a challenge—and I have first-hand experience with being overweight in the saddle. It’s not fun.

The reality, though, is that all riders face challenges, and the best virtue a riding instructor can possess is compassion. View each student as a work in progress, a complex human being with his or her own set of strengths and weaknesses. Don’t worry about whether you’re catering to every potential weakness because you’ll drive yourself crazy.

Instead, focus on providing the best instruction you possibly can while listening to what your students tell you. Overweight riders will speak up if they get frustrated, or you’ll be able to tell by their demeanor in class. In other words, trust your instincts and your skills.

After spending the last week and a half with a wicked case of the flu, I’ve got runny noses, watery eyes, fatigue, and sneezing fits on the brain. Although my illness wasn’t related to allergies, the symptoms sure are similar.

And because allergies are so pervasive, there are bound to be plenty of equestrian professionals who suffer from them. Sure, allergies are a pain no matter where you spend your days, but when you’re constantly exposed to the elements, they tend to flare up just a bit more. So how can equestrian professionals get their allergies under control so they can do their jobs effectively?

1- See Your Doctor

My husband suffers from terrible allergies, and he’s tried every over-the-counter solution available. Allegra. Claritin. Zyrtec. Good ol’ Benadryl. Although most of them provided some relief, he still found himself carting around a package of Kleenex and battling overall misery. He finally went to see the doctor.

Prescription antihistamines have two main advantages: 1) They’re non-drowsy, if that’s what you request; and 2) They’re stronger. Sold!

Your doctor can also help you determine which allergens are your main triggers. A medical professional’s advice is always preferable to winging it on your own.

2- Wash Your Face and Hands

Part of the problem equestrian professionals face is the constant exposure to allergens, which are often transferred to the hands and face throughout the day. If you’ve got pollen on your hands and you rub your eyes, what happens? Instant allergic reaction.

Make a point to visit the washroom at the barn every hour or so to wash up. Not only will this help eliminate any allergens clinging to your skin, but it will also help get rid of bacteria that might make you sick in addition to your allergies.

3- Change Clothes

If your skin is an allergen-attractant, your clothes are even worse. The tiny fibers are like dust-particle catchers, and since your clothes are worn against your skin, they become a serious liability.

Keep a change of clothes at the barn and make sure you change clothes immediately upon arriving home. Then put the dirty clothes in a hamper with a lid and run the washing machine often.

I recommend leaving your boots outside or in a mud room closed off to the rest of the house. Clean them regularly.

4- Irrigate the Arena

If nothing else, stand out there with a hose and spray down the surface at least once a day. You can do the same with any other sandy areas, including the barn aisle way. Water will help congeal the surface and prevent free-floating dust, which will in turn minimize exposure.

Some barns install an irrigation system around their arenas to reduce the labor factor. While this might be expensive, it might also be worth it. Start saving up.

5- Wear a Mask

No, it’s not cool, and yes, you will look like a quarantine reject. But if your allergies are really bad at the barn, a mask might be the only option to get some relief.

Most barn owners turn out horses for at least a few hours each day, weather permitting. It’s like therapy for the animals, and it can also help them work off excess energy. But should you use individual or group turn-out for your horses?

Benefits of Individual Turn-Out

Individual turn-out means each horse is turned out in his own specific paddock or pasture. He is separated from other horses by some sort of fence—be it wood, vinyl, electric wire, or something else entirely—and he might go into the same exact paddock every day.

There are numerous benefits of individual turn-out, the most important of which is that horses separated by fences are less likely to hurt one another. Kicking, biting, and striking can all take place even with a few panels of wood between animals, but it’s more difficult for them to inflict serious injury.

When horses have their own private space in individual turn-out, you don’t have to worry about the problems sometimes caused by the pecking order. In other words, you won’t have an alpha mare keeping all the other horses away from the hay pile.

There is also less confusion with individual turn-out. When someone wants to bring in one horse for a ride, for example, he doesn’t have to worry about the other horses intervening. And you don’t have a stampede at the gate that could result in loose horses.

Benefits of Group Turn-Out

Conversely, group turn-out is generally a more social experience. The horses are allowed to form a pecking order just as they do in the wild, and this “herd approach” is considered by some to be more natural.

Horses involved in group turn-out might play better with others on trail rides or in the show ring because they are used to communal activities. Your mileage may vary on this one, but it’s something to think about.

And finally, group turn-out for horses is more cost-effective. It takes less fence and less overall space, which means you keep your overhead low. Not only can you avoid buying and installing all that fence, but you have less material to fix over time.

Personal Horses versus Client Horses

One of the things you have to consider in the horse business is what your clients would prefer. As mentioned above, group turn-out is slightly more dangerous than individual turn-out because horses have more access to one another. This means more injuries.

The liability issue alone is sometimes sufficient to convince a horse business owner that individual turn-out is best. If a client’s horse is seriously injured in the pasture, who is responsible? And how will you deal with potential legal disputes?

On the other hand, of course, you might work primarily with clients who want their horses socialized as much as possible. In this case, group turn-out is going to win because your clients want their horses to engage with one another for a few hours every day. Polling your clients will help you determine where their opinions lie.

The Danger of Co-Dependence

We used to turn out two of our lesson horses together because they got along famously. Over time, however, they became so dependent on one another that separating them was a hassle of monumental proportions. If you tried to catch one in the paddock, the other would intervene so they could stay together. And they would call to one another when separated.

Just like people, horses can form both healthy and unhealthy attachments. And believe me, it isn’t always easy to pinpoint which horses might present a problem. So consider this when pairing up animals in turn-out.

Giving Clients the Option

You can solve the whole problem of individual versus group turn-out by letting your clients choose individually how they want their horses pastured. If they prefer individual turn-out, they get their own space, and vice versa.

This can seriously complicate your life, but it’s entirely up to you. If you want your clients to have as many choices as possible, and if you have the space in which to set this type of operation up, go forth and provide options. Otherwise, you’ll want to stick to your guns on whichever decision you make.

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One of my students came to me several years ago from a riding instructor who had taught her diagonals backward. Another was taught to simply kick her horse whenever she wanted to change gaits. Bad habits are common among students who have received prior riding instruction, but how do you break those habits?

Respect Other Teachers

Inside you might be thinking this guy taught himself to ride horses watching old westerns, but outwardly you shouldn’t insult or belittle another riding instructor. Tempting though it might be, your job is simply to correct the behavior and to offer a better solution.

The student doesn’t realize he or she has been taught bad habits, and you might not be getting the full story. Just explain that you “do it differently” and ask the student to work toward this different method.

Explain the Reasoning

Too many riding instructors adopt a “because I said so” mindset when it comes to teaching their students. Avoid this. You should have a reason for every piece of education you pass on to your riders, and unless you share that reason, your students really have no idea why they ride a certain way.

Why do we canter on the inside lead? Because it balances the horse. Why do we give precise cues to change gaits? So the horse isn’t confused and transitions are smooth. When helping students break bad habits, create your own habit of giving each piece of instruction like an equation.

[What We Do] + [The Reason We Do It] = Good Instruction

Be Patient

If you’ve ever tried to stop chewing your finger nails or to be on time despite your propensity to tardiness, you know bad habits are hard to break. It takes time to replace old habits with new ones, and you have to be patient.

Some students are like sponges—they soak up everything immediately and you only have to tell them once. Most, however, require more time and attention.

Consider Private Lessons

If it becomes too difficult to help your student break bad habits in group lessons, you might switch to private lessons. One-on-one instruction can be more effective, especially with younger kids who have shorter attention spans.

Regardless, if you know a student is coming to you from a former riding instructor, set up an evaluation before you start formal lessons. Watch that student ride so you can determine what he or she has been taught before. That will help you develop a strategy once formal lessons begin.