Horse Riding Lessons Are Failing Safety Standards

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Horse Riding Lessons Are Failing Safety Standards

• Holidaybooked

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The current credit crisis is not new news to any
property owner with a mortgage or small business
paying out staff struggling for footfall through
the door. The increasing government debt has
built up and now we, as the consumers are fitting
the bill and this means cutbacks.For any
business if the takings and profits are down
something has to give or the business goes bust
and this is why some riding centres are cutting
corners on your safety to keep their businesses
from going under. Before you or your family set
foot in a saddle, first check to see if the horse
riding lessons youve booked are safe and meet
current standards for safety. What may shock you
is how each centre differs from the next and we
discover how some riding centres are failing to
offer safe riding conditions.
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Riding lessons have
always been associated to middleclass and those
privileged children with rich parents and a white
Range Rover, horse riding and all that comes with
it certainly an expensive pastime. In todays
generation there is an increase in digital
activities such as Xbox and play station and
other online gaming so there is no better time to
get them away from the sofa and into the saddle,
learning a new activity. Horse riding can be
great exercise and also teach pupils a new skill,
old or young there are horse riding lessons and
activities to suit all abilities from pony
trekking to full on show events.
How can you ensure your booking is in
safe hands? And what should you look for?
Studying what it takes to become a British Horse
Society Approved Establishment and looking at
their work standards in order to gain this
accreditation, key issues are identified.
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How are riding lessons made up and where your
money is going? Income from the lessons will be
partly used to buy the horse feed, dental care,
routine medical care, hoof replacement and
equipment and repairs to saddles and bridles.
Sometimes a great beginner house can be the older
less twitchy steed but they can cost more in
dietary supplements to help keep them healthy.
The average cost to provide care feeding for
one healthy horse is around  80 135 per
month.
In addition to feed and water, horses need
supplements (essential vitamins minerals),
vaccinations, and treatment against parasites,
annual dental examinations, and hoof care every
4-10 weeks. The riding centre manager works
continuously to ensure the horses are in the
right condition and this is with the aid of
trained medical staff that visits regularly. Most
centres also pay for insurance, machinery
equipment, maintenance or improvements,
electricity and water and workers or helpers
salaries. In general, lessons are unable to pay
even a fraction of the cost of operating a centre
but from the cost of a lesson expected to pay for
total care of the animals, instructors and the
centre including additional staff.
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Can they afford to be an approved centre? If an
association such as the British Horse Society
(BHS) approves the centre to give horse riding
lessons they should follow a strict Health and
Safety policy to keep their accreditation. With
the cost of running a riding centre increasing
and the current flood weather not helping, these
small family run businesses start to form cracks,
by way of cutbacks, putting safety at risk. The
cost of running the riding centre means I cant
afford to join. Riding centres will often
relinquish their responsibilities onto the
customer by way of a Riders Registration Form
that has statements like I understand that
riding at any standard has inherent risk and that
all horses may react unpredictably on occasions
and I may fall off and could be injured. I
accept that risk.
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• Questions you should ask before booking?
• By asking a few simple questions to the centre,
  you can safely enjoy your riding lesson without
  any headaches, save the headaches for after you
  fall off.
• 1. Does the centre have Public Liability
  Insurance?
• 2. Do you provide PAS015 approved riding safety
  hats?
• 3. Can you provide temporary personal accident
  cover?
• 4. Are you part of the British Horse Society
  (BHS)?
• 5. Do you offer a cancellation policy, in case I
  need to cancel your lesson?
• BHS approved means that all establishments
  offering horse riding lessons are regularly
  inspected to ensure they meet current standards.
  The BHS award three forms of grading, Approved
  (A), Commended (C) and Highly Commended (HC).

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Contact Address Holidaybooked 32 Greenacres,
Puddle town, Dorset, DT2 8GF UK P.H.NO 01305
848039 Email handleyseo_at_gmail.com
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