Accommodations: Horseback Riding Lessons
Erika with a horse-friend named Blue Bell.
I’ll preface this by saying that I don’t have experience taking lessons at many facilities, but I feel confident enough to say that the world of horses and horseback riding (outside of therapeutic settings, that is) is not very accessible. Imagine if it was the norm for lesson programs to ask the customer if they could benefit from any accommodations or modifications to standard procedures, protocols, and/or equipment, when they sign up for lessons.
Horse riding facilities are not the outlier when it comes to this and it seems like they actually fall into a gray area when looking at the types of businesses required to offer accommodations to their patrons. In my opinion? If you are offering services to the public, you should be considerate of how all people can access your services. Being accessible takes thought, research, planning, and tweaking, but it should be the norm, not the exception. Typically, the onus is….. on us (those who need accommodations)…. to ask for what we need. Easy enough, right?! WRONG! If only people knew how hard it was to ask for things we need and how often we forgo the thing all together to avoid feeling like we are causing a fuss over our “special requirements.”
I’ll be transparent: I still haven’t even worked up the nerve to ask my riding instructor for accommodations and it’s preventing me from scheduling my next riding lesson!
I’m sure she would be fine with my requests and I know she expects me to ask for what I need, but I get stuck on the itty bitty percentage of a chance of “what if she isn’t?” So, I become avoidant. Not intentionally, but because I am neurodivergent and these “stuck points” create barriers to me living by my values. That said, I am working on building a skillset that helps me through these challenging thinking patterns.
Here are some accommodations I think would benefit me as a person paying for private horseback riding lessons. Remember, these are just ideas!
Ensure the lesson horse is in the barn (or wherever we will be tacking up) so I don’t have to fetch them from the pasture.
Reason #1: I am often in pain and the long walks to/from/in the pastures can contribute to more discomfort and sometimes it could cause an acute flare of a chronic issue. As a result, I am anxious about this occurring and may avoid taking lessons completely.
Reason #2: I overheat easily. I’ve always been this way naturally, but it’s exacerbated by medication. When I’m hot, it makes me feel overwhelmed and overstimulated. As a result, I am less present for my lesson, don’t experience as much joy, and feel extra exhausted.
Note: Just wanted to acknowledge that fetching your lesson horse from their pasture can be a way to build a rider’s horsemanship skills and develop a bond with the horse. I can see lesson programs resisting the accommodation for that reason. I believe, however, that we can be creative and both meet the needs of the rider without losing opportunities to practice these important parts of horsemanship.
A tall mounting block is needed. Rather than hoist myself up from the stirrup, I would do much better if the mounting block was approx. stirrup height so I could simply swing my leg over and put my feet in the stirrups.
Reason #1: Mounting can cause the saddle to shift, which would have to be fixed once I’m in the saddle. This makes me anxious and I am not able to concentrate on mounting safely if I am worried about shifting the saddle too much.
Reason #2: I am re-learning how to do this in my current body at my current age. I’m not as flexible as I was when I was younger, but I can ride, so a tall mounting block removes some physical challenges related to traditional mounting.
Note: Mounting blocks are expensive, big mounting blocks are not portable, and horses and riders are all different sizes! It can be a major inconvenience to meet this accommodation, but having a mounting block that could benefit many riders (and many horses) is generally a one-time investment. I acknowledge the planning and saving that may need to take place for this to happen, but in my opinion, it’s worth it to create an accessible facility for riders of all ages and abilities.
Breaks. During a one hour private lesson, the instructor could offer 1-2 five-ish minute breaks. Taking a break in the shade will allow me to hydrate and do a body scan to see how I’m feeling physically and mentally.
Reason #1: This is helpful because with my predisposition to overheating, I lose a lot of water to sweat, and staying hydrated will help me not feel so depleted after this activity.
Reason #2: I tend to lose track of my physical needs when I’m concentrating hard, such as during a riding lesson. Taking short breaks will allow me to do check-ins with my mind and body and make any necessary adjustments.
Note: I acknowledge that riders should be self-aware enough to ask for a break when they need one, but if we keep in mind the reason that this is an accommodation, it might be easier to remember that the rider may have genuine reasons why “just asking for what they need” isn’t quite that simple. Having a shaded spot can take some creativity, but in my opinion, being able to have lessons in the shade, or at least access to some shade, is a must-have basic necessity for any lesson program.
How about you?
Riders: What accommodations would you find helpful? (disability or not - sometimes barriers get in our way!)
Instructors: What additional barriers might lesson programs/facilities encounter when offering accommodations to their riders?
Other topics I think a lot about and will likely share my thoughts here are:
accommodations and accessibility for volunteers at horse-related nonprofits
accommodations for adopters at horse rescues with riding requirements
Thanks for spending time with me! Stay comfy.