Lessons vs riding time?

Question

I am considering leasing a horse. However, if the lease is very expensive, I will have to cut down on the number of lessons I have. At the moment I have 1 lesson a week. I am still a beginner.
My question is, should I lease this horse and ride 3 times a week teaching myself, or should I not lease him and continue weekly lessons?
My trainer said I need to ride more to make my legs stronger.
I just don't want to develop bad habits while riding on my own.
What do you think?

The horse will be sold if I don't lease him.

I will ask if I can work for lessons.

But, they have a full time stable hand who mucks, turns horses out, ect. He doesn't ride though. I don't have enough experience to ride all my trainer's horses though.
Not sure what work I could do.

Answer 1

Ask the owner of the stables if you can work off the lease fee (that's what I do) and continue your lessons.

Answer 2

My daughter has been riding for 6 years now. Here is what I suggest:

Do not lease the horse yet. You need to take more lessons. Put the money on lessons because if you just ride more and don't have the technique, all you'll be doing is riding more and not getting better.

Have you considered sharing a horse instead of leasing one? That is what we did with my daughter. It is much less expensive than leasing one. Sharing with someone where you ride is a good idea. It costs less, helps the person who owns the horse and allows you to ride more often. Perhaps, if you speak with the owners where you ride, you'll find they have a horse you can share.

Another thing you could do is go to a horseback riding camp for a week or two this summer. This would give you many more hours to strengthen your legs and get more technique.

Good luck! And don't give up. If you love horses, keep at it.

Answer 3

In this situation, it really depends. If you are looking to ride in shows and be a competitive rider, I would continue your weekly lessons. However, if you are really just taking lessons to ride, you should lease and cut down on your lessons. In the times you are just riding without being in a lesson, practice your circles, turns, keeping the horse on the rail, posting, heels down, facing forward, good posture, etc. Also, it would allow you to build leg muscles and get better at grooming and tacking up a horse. Also, you could ask your trainer just to look at you for a few minutes when you ride to make sure you are not developing any bad habits. I'm sure he/she will be glad to offer advice or point out a mistake while you ride. Another suggestion would be to maybe lease for a month or so to see what is better for you. You could also try to work for lessons if the stable will let you. Chances are you will be up there more anyway if you are leasing a horse.

Answer 4

I see a lot about leasing on here - not sure what country you are all in, but here we have a loan system which is much better. You only pay the ongoing costs and loan a horse from someone who is, say, going away to university, or who's circumstances have changed and they don't want to sell the horse. If you have something like this, then I would loan a horse for 6 months, or try to get a part share where you pay half the costs and ride half the time, then you could afford a lesson every so often too. I like the idea about trying to get rides for helping on a yard too. I would say that it would be wise to think long and hard about leasing, see if there are any better options around you that will give you the opportunity to ride more without so much financial outlay. You could advertise offering to do yard work in return for regular riding and you may be surprised at what you get offered.
If you lived near me I would let you ride as often as you liked for free as I have had an operation and can't ride for 6 months! I am currently paying to have my horse exercised!! The worlds gone mad! Good luck

Answer 5

I would try to take 2 lessons a week for a while if you can afford it and hold off on the leasing. It is important to develop good habits early on so lessons with a GOOD instructor is priceless. See if you can help out around the barn. I used to do that in exchange for getting an extra ride or even a lesson at the barn where I rode when I was younger. Also one thing people forget in the rush to own or lease a horse is that the experience you get when you get on different lesson horses enables you to learn how to deal with all different types of rides and make you as a rider more versatile.

Answer 6

I think that you should hold off on the lease for now, and find a different horse later if you have to. It is more important that you learn to ride first and then get more time to practice. As a beginner you are still developing your seat and you will need to get that right before you can strengthen it.

In your case I think you would benefit more from weekly lessons than a lease right now. You still need to be shown more of the ropes before you can practice them. If you are still worried about strengthening your legs then there are other alternatives. One thing I like to do is take my saddle home and put it upright some place and sit in it in half seat for as long as I can while watching t.v. It is a great exercises because then you will know you are strengthening the right muscles without actually using a horse.

Best wishes!

Answer 7

My advice is not to lease or buy a horse untl you have been riding long enough (through ALL the good times and bad) until you truly decide you are commited to a horse. You never know, you could have it for a few months, and something bad happen, or you decide its boring or something, then you are stuck in a position which will most likely be uncomfortable.

For now, just go to a training stable and take weekly lessons until you are either decicated or not. From there you can deicde. And it is most important that you LEARN TO RIDE BY A TRAINED PROFFESIONAL, not yourself, or yes, you will develop bad habits which could be bad for the horse. OH AND BY THE WAY, LEASING A HORSE CAN COST THOUSANDS, because of hooves, and any diseases or sicknesses that may develope. I leased a horse before I bought my own and costed me $2100

Answer 8

i think you should forgo getting that expensive lease and get more lessons i mean theres really no reason to get a super-expensive horse unless hes some purebred and youre going to show or he has absolutly perfect manners &rides and so the owners can get away with murder pricing him thatr high

also! if your trainer says you need to make your legs stonger that must mean you are VERY!!!! new dont rush into things, it is soooo hard to break habits while your just learning and that perfect horse wont help either, he'll just go along with it like everything else, i think you should definatly get more lessons, it may sound boring but it works in the long run

ps: some exercises that will make your legs stonger are
not on the horse>>>biking on a hard speed, or you could hang over the couch and do what im about to say on a horse!
on a horse>>> sit straight (as usual!!!) in the saddle and take your feet out of the stirupps lean over and touch your boot with both hands (not at the same time thouhg!!!) then do it on the other side << dont cheat and lift up your leg higher !!! its really not as easy as it sounds, and make sure you have a calm, still horse for this!! keep trying it gets easier then touch the top of his head (poll) no stirupps no hanging on then touch the base of his tailafter you can do all of these esily with no stirupps and definatly not holding on you can try around the world, again make sure!!!! you have a good calm horse for this who will stand all the shenanigans going on up there<<
REMEMBER stirupps are not there!!!! and hands are just for balance in the air

dont worry if you slid off on side saddle just hop back on and do it again, this move improves more dexterity and balance in the saddle too! good luck!!!! ;-)

Answer 9

I think that you should do lessons for another year working on your leg muscles. Then on July of 2008 you should look around to see if you could help out with stable hand to earn money. Then you could probly pay for lessons and the lease that you want on that horse.

Answer 10

hello.. i will suggest you to take note of the basic technique in riding during your training. then as from what you trainer have said, you need more rides. then is is better for you to lease a horse for at least a week and apply your basics. less lesson more of practice...practice makes perfect.. have some road runs to strengthen your legs.