Horse Arena Agreement: Fill & Download for Free

There are many ways you can learn to ride a horse, not all of them very advisable! Here’s a few (somewhat ordered from suicidal to rational):1. Buy a random horse, house it at your place and just hop on it. You should have a well fenced area to ride on and a barn to keep the horse, otherwise the garage and the closest road will have to do.Pros: no boarding fees, by far the cheapest way to actually own a horse. You’ll have fulltime contact with your horse (when you’re not at school/work), so you’ll grow very fond of each other. you may become a fine self-taught rider (there are many out there) because if the horse is well trained and trustworthy, it can teach anyone to ride decently.Cons: you must deal yourself with the troubles of getting vets, farriers, and food for your horse. though the basics of horse riding are simple and can be learned from books and online, actually DOING it is very hard. plus, you’ll have no instruction on safe riding and horse management, so you’ll make mistakes that could create a VERY dangerous situation for your horse and you. if you don’t bother to build a well fenced arena and a safe barn, you’ll have to take the risk of riding on the road and leaving the horse outdoors year-round where it may die of exposure, run away or get stolen. You might also be tricked by the dealer/seller into buying a completely unsound, crazy or green horse that will cost a lot of money and cause a lot of tears. Really the worst idea ever!2. Find someone who owns horses on your neighborhood and make friends with them. You may even come to an agreement, paying with labor or sharing bills so they’ll let you ride.Pros: little to no cost and you don’t even have to buy your own horse to begin with; they may also share riding gear with you.Cons: your rider friend may not be the best tutor and their horse isn’t necessarily the best for you (even if it makes a good team with the owner). and you’ll end up fighting over who’s paying if the horse gets injured while you were riding/lookign after it...3. Go to a riding school/equestrian center and ask about leasing one of their horses/ponies. You may have the option to take it home, or keep it at the school and use it as agreed upon.Pros: no need to buy a horse (no commitment), fancy installations and a safe environment if you stay in the school premises or the comfort of having your own horse at home if you so choose.Cons: unless you pay extra for some tutoring, there might not be anyone willing to help a newbie, and if you bring it home there’ll be no help at all (same as option 1).4. Get lots of regular lessons at a well reputed riding school BEFORE even thinking of buying a horse.Pros: you’ll get plenty of practice on how to ride and generally deal with horses, so when you decide to commit to leasing or buying you’ll have a pretty good idea of the chores involved. You’ll make tons of horse-savvy friends that will keep helping as you go along. You might even meet your future horse at the school! In any case, once you’re ready to get your first horse it’ll be easy to get a professional to help you choose.Cons: regular lessons are expensive and in most places there’s no such thing as doing chores to cut down the bills (doesn’t hurt to ask, though). You’ll have to buy your own gear after the first few lessons. Your favorite school horse can be sold, leased or otherwise taken away without early warning, which can be heartbreaking if you fell in love.Needless to say, number 4 is by far the safest/sanest option. You’ll develop a sound riding posture along with all the needed cues, and learn how to manage most of the silly stuff horses do while riding. You’ll have a lot of time to realize if riding really is for you. You’ll find out if you have what it takes to deal with horses in general - some people buy horses thinking they’re like puppies, only to grow terrified of them once they realize that horses are half-ton beasts with a very weird personality that takes a lot of guts and a firm hand to properly train and manage. If at any point of your lessons you start disliking it, you can always walk away and forget about horses, without the issue of having to sell your now intractable pony to a slaughterhouse. In most schools you’ll get to try a bit of every major discipline (dressage, jumping, trails, cross-country, vaulting…) so you’ll find out which one you’d like to pursue. And schools have safe environments and insurance that will cover most (if not all) accidents you might have.Choose wisely.

Wow - after reading all these replies I am going to re-think just commenting to Carol VanZile - and write an answer.If you aren't living on an inherited homestead and you don't want to pay board but you do want to keep a horse you might just wind up with a very large mortgage. Even if you do live on a homestead and you own it outright, you have to pay property tax. Fence it and add outbuildings... your taxes leap up. Keeping a horse is a very expensive proposition.But there are other ways. If you have a great deal of skill some extra time, and are a really good talker you might be able to work out a trade with someone. I once arranged to keep someone's car running in exchange for riding privileges. I also boarded my horses in exchange for stables management and traded lessons for boarding my horses. And I traded training for board. Look around, think creatively, and be honest about your skills, abilities and availability. There is no point promising what you cannot - or will not - deliver.For youngsters fascinated with horses the opportunities have dwindled over the years. Back in the day I used to do all manner of barn chores in exchange for riding privileges, but these days people are so bent on suing - and so afraid of a law suit - that it can be hard to get that kind of trade going. I do believe that if the youth want to work - and I mean really work - they will learn a lot about horses even without getting on. And under certain situations lesson fees might be reduced or dropped entirely for the right student with the right work ethic and a strong enough release agreement. Just remember that child labor laws will apply. As they should.It used to be that nobody expected to get on a horse if they weren't willing to clean the stall, fork the hay, haul the water and clean the tack... at the very least. Recently though I heard a lady ranting about how irritating it was to have to show up early to her daughter's lesson because the instructor wanted the student to learn to lead the (already tacked) horse to the arena. That's not how horsemanship is supposed to work.Land is not cheep. Fencing is also incredibly expensive. Add a shed or stable... One should also consider the price of homes outside town but within commuting distance versus those in town.In Colorado's eastern plains you need to plan a minimum of 35 acres of pasture for each horse if you expect to keep them on pasture. You will need additional acreage for pens and stabling as they do such a job of trampling the soil around feeders, water tanks and buildings that they'll destroy about 3 acres just by standing on them. You'll need a quarter acre for your house, too, as a horse needs nearly constant supervision. You can't just buy the land, park the horse on it and visit on weekends.Even "pastured" horses will need some hay or supplements from October until May or June as freezing takes a good deal of nutritional value out of our grass. Just sayin'.

It seems most are in agreement here; Beating your animal is never the answer.To give you an idea of the methods I use for training, here is an example of something my horse does and I have shown many others the same trick.My horse has been taught line up next to a mounting block (or table top, rock, fence or whatever I happen to be standing on). From this position, I can lean my leg over and sit down gently on his back. He stands still as still as a statue.The day I am teaching a new horse how “line up” (as I call it) I have no other agenda. I am not in a hurry and the student has my complete attention. Patience and focus go a long way when teaching a horse.I will have the horse in the arena with his headstall and reins. Nothing else is required. I will keep in mind that my communication with the horse must to be clear and I have only 3 seconds to tell the horse “good job” or “try again”.I am sitting up high (like I would when I mount) and I have the reins in my hand. My goal is to make the horse want to move his butt to the right. So here’s the game: I am going to annoy him (no pain, no whips, nothing negative) just shaking the reins and clicking at the horse. The horse wants me to stop. He will try a number of movements to figure out how. The second the horse takes even the tiniest step to the right, I stop, I get very small and I look away from him.I give him time to think (which is shown by the horse chewing). When the horse is again quiet I begin annoying him again. The shake is small, the clucking is directed at the horse. Nothing needs to be a big movement. The horse will try to reproduce the his movements to figure out what made you stop. Keep on him but never be anything but calm and patient. This is a game and you want him to succeed.The horse will eventually take another step to the right. Usually the butt moves first which is exactly what we want. Again, the second he moves to the right, all the clucking and shaking goes quiet. Do not look at your horse in the eye. Let them breathe and piece together what’s happening.Once the horse moves to the right, you will ask him to get as close as possible closer so you can mount comfortably. I usually hop on bareback so the horse knows the final step and the purpose of the game.I have shown this trick to horses that get it right away and others where my tongue is in knots by the end of the day. I have never met a horse who did not eventually get it.Expect to repeat this game a handful more times to cement it into their memory. (Sometimes horses platy this game where it’s “I got it! I got it! I got it! I forgot it” Don’t get discouraged. You will not be starting over. It’s just how some horses brains work.I had a trainer who had the best words of wisdom that I hold true. It is NEVER the horses fault. If a horse makes a mistake, you were not clear in your communication. Now I know there are some horses that exceptions to that rule. There always are. But as a generalization it holds water.Be clear. Be patient and set the horse up to win. Your relationship will be a partnership; a dance of unequal partners who work well together.