Writer Amy Moore:
You don’t need us to tell you that horses are expensive and, every now and then, money has to be saved from somewhere. We show you how to look after the pennies
Save, save, save! That’s what I do at this time of year and our ‘Save money, ride more feature’ has advice I love!
MONEY... IT’S NOT what you spend, but how you spend it that counts. Put some thought into what you really need and apply a bit of canny lateral thinking and you can get a lot more quality per quid and make much more progress per pound. Here we reveal clever ways to save on training, cost-saving tips for competitors, plus gear and gadgets that’ll save you time and money.
Train for less
Having lessons is enjoyable, helpful and essential for quality progression. But the costs can be prohibitive, especially if transport is involved. But there are ways of getting top-quality training without the hefty price-tag.
Join forces
One simple way to keep costs down is to share your lesson. Most trainers are happy to do this and there are lots of benefits. Group lessons are fun and informative, while watching other riders gives you something to compare yourself with. You can learn from the feedback they get, as well as your own, and take note of what exercises they’re asked to do. Plus, it relieves some of the pressure.
Go camping
Riding camps are held nationwide and offer great value for money. Shelling out a lump sum for concentrated training can seem pricey, but the value you get from it will be so beneficial that it’s worth finding a way. And you’ll learn so much you’ll most likely be able to cut back on other regular lessons for a while afterwards. Camps are social and very informative. Most include a number of lessons, video training, individual feedback, competition practise, stable management updates and lots of eating and drinking. Some are general riding based and others discipline specific. British Dressage runs camps in each region over long weekends. They include group and private lessons, test riding, video analysis, workshops, stabling, food and social evenings. They cost around £180.
Get techy
Technology has opened up a world of opportunity, making it easier to improve without leaving the house. Yourhorse.co.uk has plenty of advice articles on everything from flat work and jumping skills to horse care and vet advice – all of which you can access for free! Horsehero.com contains hundreds of training videos covering all disciplines, plus interviews with riders, blogs and biographies. It also has videos about natural horsemanship, stable management and transporting horses, etc. It costs £43.20 per year to join, which can be paid monthly. If you specialise in dressage or eventing,
then dressagetrainingonline.com and eventingtrainingonline.com offer targeted training through videos from international trainers and judges, plus other benefits, including the opportunity to have your riding evaluated. The standard plan costs $35 (£28*) and t the gold costs $50 (£40*), but it’s designed for those with little access to other forms of training due to location or lack of local trainers. Podcasts are also a fantastic way to get training at the fraction of the cost of a lesson. Listen while you ride – it’s like having the trainer there with you. Soundschooling.com offers a variety of schooling sessions priced at £5.49 or iridetraining.co.uk have similar audio downloads for £7.99. Once downloaded, you can use as often as you like. All sorts of general riding and horse care is covered in the www.horsehour.co.uk podcasts. They run a Twitter hour at 8pm on Mondays when you can ask questions and get answers from thousands of participants. Finally, www.horseradionetwork.com has podcasts, some of which are also discipline specific.
Catch a demo
There are hundreds of equine demonstrations every year offering an opportunity to learn from the world’s best. You can be a spectator and scribble lots of training notes or volunteer to be a guinea pig rider. The latter sounds scary but if you have a horse that can deal with the atmosphere, you’ll get loads from it, and all for free. Check event and equine society websites, Facebook and Twitter to see these kind of opportunities advertised. The best event to head to is, of course, Your Horse Live. We bring together a raft of top riders and trainers under one roof – and with lots of shopping to be had too. www.yourhorselive.co.uk has all the information and ticket deals. Away from demonstrations, some of the bigger competitions, such as Badminton and HOYS, offer course walks with the riders. These cost around £15.
Magazine and email training
Your Horse magazine is stuffed with training advice every month – and all for less than the price of a coffffee and a cake. We have access to the top riders and trainers and we’re always on the look out for riders like you, at all levels, to feature in our lessons. Don’t be shy. To be considered, get in touch by emailing us at getinvolved@yourhorse.co.uk Make sure to watch out for our new series – Hairy Hopefuls – which kicks off next month (issue 424 on sale 9 March). Check it out for trainer Alison’s Short’s clever strategies to train horses of every shape and size! Also, our annual Training Academy, starts with the August issue (428). This showcases expert training tips and exercises from the UK’s best riders and trainers.