10 Things You Should Ask Horse Trainers Before Trusting Them With Your Horse

Choosing the right trainer is a lot harder than it sounds. For horse people it’s comparable to choosing the right person to watch your child. Here is a list of questions that are helpful when searching for the right trainer.

1) How many days per week will you ride my horse? What will my horse be doing on the other days? This is great to know. For me personally, I want to make sure my horses is getting turned out and having adequate exercise even on days they are not ridden. It is also great to know how many days they are left standing in their stalls.

2) Do you allow other other clients to ride horses that are in training with you or teach lessons on training horses?

3) How many assistants do you have and how many horses do you have in training? This is important because it will tell you if they have enough help to ensure the horses are properly taken care of. If there are 30 horses in training, with only 1 assistant. That’s 15 horses per person per day….there’s not enough time in the day to do those horses justice! I figure for every 10 horses there should be one person. A barn with 30 horses that has the head trainer and 2 assistants is great. It’s enough help to ensure that the majority of horses are ridden and the others are usually turned out or lunged.

4) What’s your horse show policy? Who will be taking care of my horse and what will they be doing if I decide not to attend a horse show?

5) What are the day, hauling, hotel and meal fees associated with attending a horse show?

6) Can I come see my horse any time, or do I need to make an appointment with you?

7) May I come watch you ride my horse?

8) Do you coordinate veterinary and farrier visits and emergencies?

9) How many lessons per week are included in the training?

10) Is blanketing, supplementing , general grooming and care included in your training price? If not, are they offered for an additional fee and if so what is it?

11) Is grain and the cost of supplements included?  If not, do you have a program in place that I can pay extra for or will I need to provide my own.

12) Do you have a training contract? If not, would you be willing to sign one? A training contract is a great thing to have because it puts everyone’s expectations in writing.

Okay, so there are 12 questions and not 10. I hope they help on your search for your next trainer. If you found this helpful, Share it with your friends on Facebook!