Horse Riding Lessons Are Failing Safety Standards

By Author: Peter Dkpori
Total Articles: 6
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The current credit crisis is not new news to any property owner with a mortgage or small business paying out staff struggling for footfall through the door. The increasing government debt has built up and now we, as the consumers are fitting the bill and this means cutbacks.

For any business if the takings and profits are down something has to give or the business goes bust and this is why some riding centres are cutting corners on your safety to keep their businesses from going under. Before you or your family set foot in a saddle, first check to see if the horse riding lessons you’ve booked are safe and meet current standards for safety. What may shock you is how each centre differs from the next and we discover how some riding centres are failing to offer safe riding conditions.

Riding lessons have always been associated to middleclass and those privileged children with rich parents and a white Range Rover, horse riding and all that comes with it certainly an expensive pastime. In today’s generation there is an increase in digital activities such as Xbox and play station and other online gaming ...
... so there is no better time to get them away from the sofa and into the saddle, learning a new activity. Horse riding can be great exercise and also teach pupils a new skill, old or young there are horse riding lessons and activities to suit all abilities from pony trekking to full on show events.

How can you ensure your booking is in safe hands? And what should you look for? Studying what it takes to become a ‘British Horse Society Approved Establishment’ and looking at their work standards in order to gain this accreditation, key issues are identified.

How are riding lessons made up and where your money is going?

Income from the lessons will be partly used to buy the horse feed, dental care, routine medical care, hoof replacement and equipment and repairs to saddles and bridles. Sometimes a great beginner house can be the older less twitchy steed but they can cost more in dietary supplements to help keep them healthy. The average cost to provide care & feeding for one healthy horse is around £80 – £135 per month.
In addition to feed and water, horses need supplements (essential vitamins & minerals), vaccinations, and treatment against parasites, annual dental examinations, and hoof care every 4-10 weeks.
The riding centre manager works continuously to ensure the horses are in the right condition and this is with the aid of trained medical staff that visits regularly. Most centres also pay for insurance, machinery & equipment, maintenance or improvements, electricity and water and workers or helpers salaries. In general, lessons are unable to pay even a fraction of the cost of operating a centre but from the cost of a lesson expected to pay for total care of the animals, instructors and the centre including additional staff.

Can they afford to be an approved centre?

If an association such as the British Horse Society (BHS) approves the centre to give horse riding lessons they should follow a strict Health and Safety policy to keep their accreditation. With the cost of running a riding centre increasing and the current flood weather not helping, these small family run businesses start to form cracks, by way of cutbacks, putting safety at risk.

“The cost of running the riding centre means I can’t afford to join”.

Riding centres will often relinquish their responsibilities onto the customer by way of a ‘Riders Registration Form’ that has statements like “I understand that riding at any standard has inherent risk and that all horses may react unpredictably on occasions” and “I may fall off and could be injured. I accept that risk”.

Questions you should ask before booking?

By asking a few simple questions to the centre, you can safely enjoy your riding lesson without any headaches, save the headaches for after you fall off.

1) Does the centre have Public Liability Insurance?
2) Do you provide PAS015 approved riding safety hats?
3) Can you provide temporary personal accident cover?
4) Are you part of the British Horse Society (BHS)?
5) Do you offer a cancellation policy, in case I need to cancel your lesson?

BHS approved means that all establishments offering horse riding lessons are regularly inspected to ensure they meet current standards. The BHS award three forms of grading, Approved (A), Commended (C) and Highly Commended (HC).

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