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FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

for your horse without help of a trainer? If your child cannot, how much are willing to help
your child until they are able to do so themselves? You may need to factor paying a
trainer for any additional help, or enlist the help from a horse savvy friend. If your child is
not enrolled in lessons and you do not have the ability to teach them, they should be able
to walk and trot independently before they go riding off into the sunset. We encourage
working with us to find a suitable horse for your child. If you decide to buy your horse
through an outside trainer and would like them to come to our facility to evaluate your
child, you must get prior approval before making any arrangements. We encourage our
riders to work with their instructors to find a good horse and rider fit. Ask your trainer for
help if you are unsure about your children ability.
▸        MONEY- Can you afford boarding, shoeing, and vet bills? Insurance can be
purchased for your horse, but often small visits from the vet can add up so you need to
consider this in addition to the basic boarding cost.
▸        TIME- Are you able to dedicate the time needed to owning your own horse? If you
have a young child, you will probably need to assist and help your child while he/she rides
since there will not be an instructor present. Some children are responsible enough that
they do not need the help of an adult in order to safely ride their new horse, while others
can get easily frustrated with the prospect of owning a new horse and may need your
support.

Q: What is the average costs associated with owning a horse?
A: Board at our facility is $125.00/month for pasture board and $200.00/month for stall
board. This includes two feeds a day of grain and hay, water, and shelter. Additional
costs are farrier (between 6-12 weeks depending on horse and season) $20.00/barefoot
$40-80.00 for shoes (a horse will either be barefoot or need shoes) shots (about
Q: My child has a favorite lesson horse, but it is leased out. Can he/she still take it to
shows and ride it?
A: Children that lease a horse has preference over that horse when showing. The lesser
will get first pick of classes. If your child is in a different division (walk/trot as apposed to
short stirrup) it may be possible provided it is arranged with the child leasing the horse
and the instructor.

Q: My child wants to lease a horse. When can they come and ride it?
A: $50.00) twice a year. Other costs will arise such as vet and tack bills.

Q: When is it O.K. To leave my child unsupervised?
A: It is your judgement as a parent if this is a good idea. If you do decide to leave your
child at the facility, no supervision will be provided unless they are in a lesson. If we are
not giving a lesson, we are either taking personal time or working hard to get other chores
done around the farm. Some children are responsible enough to take care of their horse
or ride without the supervision of an adult, but others are not Your child must be able to do
the following to ride without supervision: catch/cross tie his/her horse independently, tack
their horse up, properly warm up/cool down horse, put all tack and horse away. If your
child would like to come during the scheduled times that barn chores are being done and
would like to help out, they are more then welcome to, but please remember that children
often get bored with dull work and often loose interest quickly. Children can tag along if
you choose to let them, but we are often working very hard to get all of our work done in a
timely matter, and cannot keep track of your child during the process. For this reason if
you choose to let your child participate, we cannot be held responsible for your child's
actions. It is a great opportunity for a responsible child to learn the in’s and out’s a caring
for horses.

Q: Is there barn hours?
A: If you own or lease a horse, you are more than welcome to come at any reasonable
time to ride or care for your horse. If you own or lease a horse, we encourage you to
come out and ride as often as your would like. We just ask that if you are the only person
left in the barn you run down this checklist before you leave. Parents please remember if
you are dropping your kids off and they are the last ones to leave, they must do these
following tasks before leaving.
□        Close both the tack room door, the wash stall door and bathroom door
□        Put all your tack away, throw away garbage and clean up any messes that were
made
□        Turn off all outside lights. The arena light is to the left of the inside of the top barn
door on the fuse box and the tack room light is to the right of the door.

Q: I would like to take lessons. How will I know what time slots are available? What are
your rates? What is your policies?
A: Our schedule of lessons is on a dry/erase calender in the tack room. It is also listed on
our website at www.boardyourhorses.com/lessons if you click on schedule, you can see all
open time slots and which are already booked up. Group lessons are $15.00/hour and
private lessons are $20.00/hour. Please try to cancel in as far in advance as possible. If
you have a time slot reserved and habitually cancel, you will give up your time slot to
another diligent rider. Please show up at least 20 min. early in order to have your horse
tacked up and ready to go for the lesson. If you cannot do so by yourself, please have a
parent help you as much as possible. An instructor will be available, but we encourage
the rider to do as much as they can on their own.

Q: I would like to take lessons, but I work shifts and cannot come on a certain time every
week. Can I still take lessons?
A: Sure. If you go to www.boardyourhorses.com/lessons and click on schedule, it will show
you the lesson times we have available. Then just call us at 724-239-2056 to schedule a
time that’s open. Please try to call as far in advance as possible.

Q: I would like to take lessons, but not every week. Can I still take lessons?
A: Sure. If you go to the same website as the above question and follow the same
procedure. We cannot guarantee your time slot though, because weekly lesson take a
higher priority.
Your child can ride the leased horse three days a week in they are not being used in
lessons at that time. If you do come and the horse in the lesson, talk with the instructor
and we will attempt to make sure everyone has a horse to ride whether we use a different
lesson horse or let your child ride a different horse.