(photo taken from sovereignquarterhorses.com)

Whether you are looking to have your child take riding lessons or are interested in lessons yourself, the process for finding a good riding stable is a worthy endeavor to ensure you and/or your child's happiness and safety while participating in a very popular past time. To help you out Saddle Up has 5 tips on how to find a good riding stable!

1. What discipline do you or your child want to ride? There are two main riding disciplines: English and Western. You can look online for more information on what English and Western have to offer as far as specific disciplines. Youtube is also a great resource, because then you can watch them all and see which one interests you or your child most!

If you or your child is unsure of which discipline to ride, try both and see which one you gravitate most towards!

(photo taken from thefashionfoot.com)

2. The next step is to look on the internet or in the phone book for riding stables in your area. Be sure to check which disciplines they teach! Pick out several that look promising and set up one trial lesson at each. It may feel like a lot of working trying different stables, but it's better to try a variety, especially if you are just starting out. And remember, you do not have to commit to more lessons after the trial until you and/or your child have thought about it and talked it over.

3. It's very important to make sure the trainers/teachers are professional, have quality teaching, are personable, and have a genuine respect and love for the horse and their students. It is not required that riding instructors be certified, but it's worth checking.

A good teacher will take the time to walk you or your child through all the steps, from catching the horse, to grooming, to tacking up, to ground work, and finally to riding. They will go over safety procedures and make sure everything is safe throughout the whole lesson. If there is any yelling at either the rider or the horse during the lesson, make a note of that. Many teachers take on a more drill sergeant persona, which gets the job done, but tends to create more mental tension for both student and horse. It's better if the teacher is relaxed during the lesson and doesn't make you feel like you're on a time schedule.

Make sure the teacher is someone you like and get along well with and that their trust worthy, especially when it comes to your and/or your child's safety and instruction.

4. The state of the barn can be a good indicator as to the general well-being of the place. Granted, there can be diamonds in the ruff, but a well-run, clean, and organized barn has a better chance of being a better stable all around, then one that is run-down. Answer these questions during your trial lesson and you will quickly discover what state the barn is in.

* Are all the paddocks/runs/stalls, clean? If they're not clean, is there evidence that someone will be getting to them that day?

* Is the water in the water troughs clear and clean? Is there signs of algae in the trough?

*Is the tack well oiled, in good repair, and hung up properly? Does each horse have their own tack?

*Is the barn/arena/tack room clean and have a fresh feel?

*Do the horses look healthy? IE: shiny coats, trimmed hooves, in good weight (no ribs showing or looking like they're pregnant... unless they are of course!) attentive, soft-eyed?

*Do the lesson horses run away when they see someone coming with a halter?

*Does the lesson horse seem happy to be caught, groomed, tacked up, and ridden? IE: no ears pinned back, cow kicking, nipping, taking off, crow hopping, not willing to move forward, looks stiff.

*Does the teacher treat the horse with respect? IE: no yelling, yanking, kicking, hitting.

If you've answered yes to these questions, it looks like you've found a great place! If you answered yes/no to about half of them, it still might be a decent place to ride. You may want to take a few more trial lessons to get more of a feel. If you've answered no to all of them, that stable will probably not be the best place to take lessons.

(photo taken from augustine.com)

5. Riding and being with horses is supposed to be fun, relaxing, encouraging, and safe. Finding a place that cultivates this is a gem and it is worth taking the time to find it. When you find it, you'll realize all the work to find it was so worth it.

(photo taken from chunkygalstables.com)

“There is no better place to heal a broken heart than on the back of a horse.” -- Missy Lyons

~ Saddle Up