Happy Horses, Happy Customers
Creating a Successful
Equestrian Entity with Proper Programming and
Management
By
Sarah L. Mesa for
Equestrian Management, LLC
It
is hard to imagine that there are businesses
losing money in an industry with a $102 billion
annual impact on the U.S. economy. But for
many of the reportedly 4.6 million Americans
involved with horses, their business sense
is somehow lost in translation when it comes
to their equestrian enterprises.
For many people, their horses are
their salvation
– an escape from the stresses of daily
life; a chance to slow down and take in the
joy of a quiet ride through the woods or maybe
to face a new challenge in the competition
arena.
Maintaining that peaceful
feeling, however,
involves more than just showing up at the
stable. A successful, hassle-free equestrian
entity requires not just a dream and the funds
to build it, but also the knowledge to keep
it running. Without proper operations programming
and management, your serene retreat can quickly
become your biggest headache.
Starting any business is a risk. Failing enterprises
equate to lost clients and lost money. But
in addition, failures in your equestrian business
can open a Pandora’s Box of troubles.
Poor planning, inadequate staffing and improper
equine care can lead to unsafe conditions,
sick or injured animals and a myriad of liability
issues, leaving you and your company completely
exposed.
But before you let yourself be
scared away
by what could go wrong, take a moment to understand
how proper planning and management can not
only avoid potential problems, but also assist
you in creating and sustaining a successful,
and even superior, equestrian facility, no
matter the size or function.
Ask the Right Questions
Before you invite clients into your
beautiful
new facility, prepare yourself for the questions
they might ask you and the demands they may
have.
Is your lesson or training program
customized
to the specific needs of your clients? Are
your stable managers and riding instructors
certified through nationally-recognized certification
bodies? Does your operations management team
come to the table with a background in equine
care and expertise in running an equestrian
business? Do you have established customer
service guidelines to ensure the satisfaction
of each client?
What about safety and quality of
care? Can
you provide evidence of established equine
care procedures? Are your staff and instructors
trained in First Aid and CPR-certified? Does
your facility have strict and established
safety guidelines – the first line of
protection against careless mistakes and negligence
that can lead to huge liabilities?
It’s enough to make your head spin.
But being able to answer “yes”
to all of these questions means you are prepared
to run a booming equestrian operation. So
let’s tackle a few of these questions.
Quality Staff Equals a Quality Product
 Finding
employees with a substantial record of past
experience and qualifications is difficult
in the horse world. Often times, equine care
education is informally passed on from one
generation of horsewoman to the next. And
while there have been certification programs
for riding instructors through nationally-recognized
certification bodies for some time now, until
recently there has been no such standard for
stable managers and staff.
”Certification of riding instructors
and managers is not a state or federal requirement
in this country, so unfortunately anybody
can put on a pair of boots and breeches and
call themselves an instructor or barn manager.
However, there are a growing number of equine
professionals who are voluntarily seeking
certification,” says Alejandra “Alex”
Abella, Director of Equestrian Management,
LLC.
“Certification shows that the instructor
or manager you are employing not only cared
enough to make a good impression by proving
his or her qualifications to perform the job,
but also that he or she is concerned with
safety and minimizing liability. Both of these
factors are important in a good professional
of any industry, and they are essential in
our business.”
The Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA)
and the American Riding Instructors Association
(ARIA) are both now offering stable management
certification programs. University Equine
Studies programs are also an excellent source
for candidates with a solid education in horse
management and reputable references.
Once you have these wonderfully qualified
employees, you want to hang onto them. Historically,
staff turnover in the horse industry has been
enormous. Employees were expected to work
for low wages, no benefits and few opportunities
for growth simply because they loved what
they did. This “emotional slavery”
creates unhappy, restless and financially
insecure employees.
Offering your barn staff the same quality
of life that is expected in any other career
field will create loyal, proud and hard-working
employees, and this in the long run will help
you maintain happy customers and a healthy
bottom line.
Safety First
 As
a barn owner, liability can be your worst
enemy. The first step to guaranteeing safety
in your barn is hiring a well-trained staff,
freeing you from having to worry about sloppy
mistakes or poor choices that can lead to
big problems. Go one step further and have
your staff trained in First Aid and CPR certified,
making them truly prepared for any situation.
Develop strict safety guidelines for all aspects
of your operation and then make sure they
are uniformly followed. A posted set of rules
are useless if they are not being observed.
Unannounced safety checks are an excellent
method of keeping tabs on how well the safety
guidelines are being adhered to.
Additionally, you want to have clear protocols
for human and equine emergencies. Once these
protocols are established, practice following
them. Training sessions with mock emergencies
will educate your staff and develop a comfort
level with handling crisis situations.
Added protection for accidents can make or
break an equestrian business. You must have
standard and well-written release of liability
agreements that are signed by each and every
person handling, riding or exposed to the
horses.
“The equestrian industry is flourishing
and our professionals are only getting better
but it still is a very specialized industry,”
ads Alex Abella. “You really have to
know a lot about the horses, their care and
what their owners and riders want, to run
a successful equestrian operation. Otherwise,
if you are not an equestrian professional
yourself, how do you know if the candidate
you are interviewing for your barn is a good
professional or not? They could sound very
knowledgeable about laminitis and ring bone
or they could just be selling you the Brooklyn
Bridge! That is where we come in; we harvest
the great crop of up and coming professionals,
add our uniquely high standards of care and
customer service, and we give our clients
worry-free, turn-key management that is efficient
and oftentimes profitable.”
Know When to Ask for Help
Anyone with experience in the equestrian world
knows that it is a huge and continuously growing
industry. However, they also know that not
all businesses in the industry are successful.
The root of the problem is often the fundamental
fact that most brilliant equestrians are not
the most savvy business people. On the flip
side, those with the capital to start an equestrian
business rely on talented horse trainers and
riding instructors to help them build the
reputation of their business.
Accurate record-keeping, good accounting and
maintaining a solid operational budget are
just as important for your equestrian business
as having a stable full of beautiful horses
and a big-name trainer. It is important not
to lose sight of the fact that this is a business,
which requires a solid business sense and
continuous re-evaluations of programming and
business goals. Remember also that targeted
marketing is a component of any successful
enterprise.
As you can see, developing a profitable, flourishing
equestrian facility requires good resources,
meticulous planning and preparation for anything
that comes your way. In the end, you may find
that you need help making your equestrian
dream a reality. Whether that means finding
assistance in specific areas of weakness or
deciding to go with an operations management
company that can provide turn-key services
is up to you. But anything that helps you
keep your facility profitable and enjoyable
will only help you and your clients enjoy
your horses, which is what the real goal of
every equestrian business should be.
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