Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have my own horse? What equipment do I need to Buy?
No we supply the horses and all the tack! The only equipment students need for lessons are proper footwear with a square 1/2 heel, and a certified Equestrian Riding Helmet. We do have helmets students can borrow if they forget theirs or for the first few lessons if they aren't sure what to get or how they will like the riding lessons. We suggest helmets be replaced at least every 5 years and after every fall where a student hits their head. Greenhawk Harness and Equestrian is a good place to start looking for helmets and riding clothes as they will help ensure a proper fit. Students need to have long pants for riding in that are not slippery and have some stretch. Students need to dress appropriately for the weather depending on the time of the year. Appropriate footwear may include cowboy boots, paddock boots, rubber boots or winter boots with a heel, hiking boots or work boots with a heel. Always check with your coach if you unsure about your footwear.
Why does my invoice have a lesson fee, school horse fee and tack fee?
We keep track of lesson fees, horse fees and tack fees separately. Some coaches get paid by the lesson fees, some students may have their own horse and/or tack, and sometimes the horse and tack fee is replaced by lease fees.
What if I need to miss a lesson?
Students can cancel lessons with 4-hours notice through Equine Office. Students are responsible for rescheduling their missed lessons that they canceled themselves via Equine Office. Lessons cancelled with less than 4-hrs notice do not qualify for a make-up. Students that don't get at least 30 minutes of riding in a lesson due to a fall, lame horse or other interruption will be issued make-up lessons by their coach, which students can reschedule themselves using Equine Office. Students have until the end of the session to reschedule missed lessons and make-ups. Note that the barn may cancel lessons due to coach absence/illness, weather or arena availability/events. The office will reschedule these lessons, typically over the break between sessions.
Why do I need to commit to the whole session?
Scheduling group lessons with multiple skillsets and availabilities is challenging and we try to do this only 4 times per year for both students and coaches sake. Students need to commit to whole session so if we need to purchase more horses of various skillsets we have a commitment from students that some of their daily feed and care costs are covered. The deposit covers all the school horse fees for a program/session and helps to ensure this commitment to the horses care and wellbeing.
What if I need to start a session late or end it early?
For lessons missed at the beginning or end of a session, we are willing to do the $5/missed lesson fee instead of the lesson & tack fee. These missed lessons must be declared before the start of the session. The $5/missed lesson fee does not apply for lessons missed in the middle of a session - these must be made-up as make-up lessons. Please note that their is no refund on the school horse fee (i.e. the deposit) for these lessons.
What if I forget my Equine office log-in user name or password?
If you can't remember your user name, it is the email address that you used to register for the lesson program. Contact the office if you have forgotten your user name or if you need to change the email address. If you have forgotten your password, you can click on forgot password to reset it. If you get any error messages while trying to log-in or resetting your password, contact the office at [email protected] for help.
how does the monthly payment plan work?
All our weekly lesson programs require a deposit (non-fundable) and then will have the price listed for either 2 (Parent & Me programs) or 3 (Intro Program and EDP) monthly payments. The monthly payments listed include the GST. For the Intro Program, the 2 payments are due on the 1st lessons and then at the beginning of the next 2 months. For Children's lessons the payments are due on the 1st and 5th lessons. For EDP students the payments are due on the 1st lesson, then at the beginning of the next two months of the session (note for Summer Session there are only 2 payments). Preferred methods of payments are E-transfer, cash or cheque. If students want to pay via credit card, monthly payments will be recalculated to include a 2.75% credit card fee and invoices will be re-issued to students so they can pay online via credit card.
why do students get assigned different horses each lessons? can i ride the same horse if i find one i like?
We feel it's important for students to ride a variety of different horses while students are developing their skills. All horses have different personalities and different strengths and weaknesses. To be fair to students, they cannot ride the same horse more than 2 times in a month without a) leasing that horse OR b) paying an additional lesson lease fee. See the Horse Leases page for the fees and expectations for leases. The lesson horse lease fee is $10/lesson to ride the same horse weekly in lessons.
What are the options for volunteering at the barn?
Click here to go to our volunteer page
How can I see how much I owe on my invoice?
Equine Office does not keep track of invoices and payments yet, so clients need to refer to their Quickbooks Invoice that was emailed to them. There is a link in the email to view Invoice. This invoice will be updated online for clients as they make payments and they can re-check it to see the balance remaining. Click on Print or Save, and then on View Invoice to see the updated invoice with your payments. If you can't find your original email, you can email us to re-send it to you!
Can I Take the Intro Program more than once?
We've had many clients ask can my son/daughter/myself take the program more than once? The answer is yes, of course! We find that for students that experienced a lot of anxiety or nerves the first time around, or who are in the age range of 8 to 12 years old, taking the intro program more than once can be beneficial. This is both from a financial perspective ($10/lesson cheaper than the equestrian development program for a longer lesson time) and from a learning perspective. Our brains cannot learn when we are experiencing anxiety, so if you found you or your child were anxious a lot in the first session, you will still find that you are learning a lot the second time around because you will be less anxious and have the capacity to absorb more information!
What do I register in after the intro program? What do the skill levels mean?
After the Intro Program, students can register in our weekly lesson program the Equestrian Development Program. You can read more about the EDP here.
Different skill levels for the equestrian development program include:
Different skill levels for the equestrian development program include:
- POST INTO: completed the intro program, first time in the EDP program (will have assisted tack-up included with a coach or junior coach). Work on improving position at the trot, learning to catch and release horse outside, work towards independent tack-up
- NOVICE: completed a post-intro package, confident posting trot and just learning how to canter (will have assisted tack-up included with a coach or junior coach)
- INTERMEDIATE: working on becoming confident in the canter on a variety of horses, just starting to learn about collection, bending, and on the bit (catch and tack-up independently or assistance for a fee)
- ADVANCED: confident in collection, can ride any of the lesson horses, getting a horse on the bit and advanced movements (catch and tack-up independently or assistance for a fee)
I'M HAVING TROUBLE LOGGING INTO EQUINE OFFICE, WHAT DO i DO?
Sometimes different devices (like work computers) have trouble accessing equine office. Try logging in on a different computer, using a different browser or your phone first.
If you are getting a Token Error, go to this link: https://equineoffice.io/logout
You should see an orange logout button. Click on that button. It will either take you to the login screen or it will do nothing. If it does nothing, click this link: https://equineoffice.io/login Then you should be back at the login screen.
If you are getting an unrecognized email error message, email us at [email protected] and we will try to reset your account.
If you are getting a Token Error, go to this link: https://equineoffice.io/logout
You should see an orange logout button. Click on that button. It will either take you to the login screen or it will do nothing. If it does nothing, click this link: https://equineoffice.io/login Then you should be back at the login screen.
If you are getting an unrecognized email error message, email us at [email protected] and we will try to reset your account.
How do I book practice rides, get registration info, equine office help, see the barn rules and student contracts and waivers?
Clients can view these things on the private client page here: https://www.sagehillstables.com/clientpage.html
