How long are horseback riding lessons supposed to last?
A half-hour is normal for a private lesson where I go, 45 mins for semi-private 60 for group (3+ riders). Our lessons also start a little late pretty often; I jokingly call this “Bonnie-time”, for my instructor, who seems to do this on a regular basis. However, if your lesson starts late, it should also end late at the same interval. If you’re paying for a half-hour, get a half-hour of time in. If your instructor is really having trouble managing her time, you could always ask if you can continue to ride outside the arena for the extra time (at our place, it’s “riding in the field” — good for cooling down the horses and relaxing). However, your instructor SHOULD be able to manage her time. Talk both to her and the owner of your barn.
You need to say something to the instructor and to whoever it is that runs the barn office and schedules lessons. This is unacceptable- you are not getting your money’s worth here, and your son isn’t getting his full riding time. No, this is not a normal event at most stables- and the longer you keep silent, the more it will continue at this one. Speak up and complain about it, and keep doing it until someone makes an effort to resolve the issue. Your son has as much of a right to his full lesson time as any other student, and both the instructor and barn manager/administrator know this. Another thing you can do is to ask the parents of the other students to speak up and complain as well- after all, they are getting short changed too, and deserve to have their concerns addressed. This is a simple problem to fix- all it takes is better planning and prioritizing on the part of whoever does the scheduling. Starting lessons late all the time is disruptive to the instructor, too, and it mea
You may want to consider what level riding your son is at. For beginners it is best to have more frequent, shorter rides. The aspect of a shorter ride allows the student to absorb the information/new skills but does not over burden them. Also it is a way to build up muscles while preventing muscle fatigue. If an instructor pushes a student past their physical capability the student is no longer benefiting from the instruction. The student will begin using their muscles incorrectly, resulting in the formation of bad habits. As a parent, you want to make sure that your money is well spent. I would suggest discussing it with the instructor before bringing it up to his/her manager. You may want to ask the instructor why the lesson is running shy of 30 mins. Wait for her response, if she replies with an answer implying that she is attempting to get back on schedule, this is not acceptable. However, if she explains that your child has not developed enough muscle to sustain a full half hour r
If I were you, I would look for another trainer to take lessons from. Trainers are either ethical, or not. A trainer who has good ethical values is conscious that when a client is paying for a lesson that is supposed to last a given amount of time, they should get a lesson that lasts that amount of time. If there is a valid reason for cutting the lesson short, the trainer immediately offers the client a way to make up the time, or a rebate on the cost of the lesson. An unethical trainer rationalizes that things happen, etc., etc., and that if the client is somehow being shortchanged, it’s up to the client to come to them and demand a rebate or some compensatory time. If the client doesn’t complain, well, they must not care very much and for the trainer it’s money in pocket. This trainer is behaving unethically, unprofessionally, and is shortchanging you. Sure you can complain about being shortchanged, and the trainer will probably make some effort to appease you, but do you really want
Lessons are supposed to last however long they are scheduled. So, if you are scheduled for 1/2 hour, you should get to ride for 1/2 hour. Many horse people are not so good at checking the clock. It also sounds like your riding school is not putting any breaks in the schedule. By all means, you should constructively complain.
