I never set out to offer a horsey B&B.  First Farm Inn Kentucky was to be a bed breakfast and home for horses for me, my husband and daughter (who was not yet 2 when we started).  I’d never given riding lessons, only taken a few at a park 20 years ago.  I just wanted to have my horse as my own lawn ornament after a dozen years of working in high-rise cubicles and to find a couple companions for him.

But my first bed and breakfast guests saw my growing collection of elderly rescue equines and begged to ride.  Everyone told me they knew how to ride horses.

            Having interviewed hundreds of small business owners in my previous job, I knew the capital rule of business success is “listen to your customers.”  So I posted a copy of Kentucky’s Farm Animal Liability Act and let some guests ride with me. 

            I was appalled. 

            People think they “know how to ride” if they sat on a pony when they were six, if they got a Girl Scout badge at eight, if they whomped around on a mule in the Grand Canyon.  Never mind that they’ve put on quite a few pounds since then, haven’t exercised more than lifting their fork in years and don’t know which direction the horn goes when you sit the saddle on the horse.

            But guests kept asking to ride.  I didn’t want them to hurt my horses – tho most were animal lovers who had no idea the pain and frustration they were creating as they jerked, kicked and gave contradictory cues.

            So, I started researching how to teach riding.  Like most sports, there are zillions of approaches, many people who cast themselves as experts and a relative few who honestly know what they’re doing and are willing to share their knowledge.  I read. I attended seminars. I joined the Certified Horsemanship Association and taught business marketing seminars in exchange for attending workshops. I rode and was critiqued by various instructors.  

            I took what I knew worked and followed those who were focused on logical riding “bio-mechanics.”  I watched my students.  I limited the size of my rides.  Soon I limited the weight of my riders to protect my horses.  I asked for advice.  I followed everything that made sense. I met and studied under my riding heroes – Julie Goodnight from Colorado and Aussie Colleen Kelly.

            I noticed people’s fears, lack of balance and difficulty in understanding posture.  I figured out ways to make them practice in the barn when the horses were still tied to the rail so they’d get the “feel” of sitting correctly – before they panicked when the horse started moving.  I tried to use all three learning styles to teach – visual (tho looking at my 20+ lb too heavy body in riding tights is embarrassing), hearing (repeating my explanations in different ways), and feeling (practice your posture against a door so you know what straight and balanced is).  “Turn your lower half into water and slosh around on top the horse.”  

            Riding in circles in rings is boring.  Deadly boring.  That’s generally what a “riding lesson” is.   Standing in the middle of a circle “teaching” makes me dizzy – tho I do private lessons by request. 

But, doing a trail ride requires some degree of common sense or experience that most people don’t have – unless the horses are starved, drugged or have a rutted path to follow. 

            After cooking and serving breakfast, I didn’t have time to groom and tack up 4-6 horses by myself while my guests waited.  Most of my guests love animals and want to touch them.  They need some orientation.   

            So, we all groom as I talk about how horses think, how to steer and the importance of balance and “giving back.”  I like to ride too.  So I do, with every group I take out.

Because balance is crucial to safety and the most important part of riding, I fit the saddle and stirrup length to every rider.  It means I own a lot of saddles and get my fingers pinched a lot when people jam their feet into a stirrup while I’m adjusting the leather.

            Every rider mounts from a step to save the horse’s backs and make it easier for them too.   Then we go to the riding arena and work on steering and control.  We weave in and out of buckets.  We may try to follow patterns between letters in the ring.  Regular riders or those with more experience may do mailbox races (get their horse close enough to open a mailbox, take out a toy, close the box and come back to me).

            Once everyone has some mastery, we go out and tour the farm, visiting the neighbors’ goats and cows, sometimes seeing a coyote, fox, rabbits or deer.        

I carry a cell phone for emergencies and a lead rope for the young, fearful or clueless who need to “focus on their balance” while I steer their horse from the back of mine.  Every once in a while I ride three horses at once, mine and a lead rope in each hand to those who are having difficulty.  It’s an acquired skill – and it helps if you have huge hands!

            First Farm Inn bed and breakfast also offers overnight stabling.  As more and more people now travel with their horses, moving kids to college, going on trail rides, heading South for the winter or West for the summer, at First Farm Inn, we “overnight” horses and their owners. 

            Finding a comfortable place to stay on the grounds with their horses is a huge relief for horse owners, who often like to feed at particular times or go out to check and make sure a horse who doesn’t like to travel has drunk enough water to stay healthy.  Many board their horses away from their own homes and get a kick out of being able to visit with their buddy at any hour.

            In my efforts to listen to my customers, I meet as many requests as I can.  I’ve had a couple blind riders, who did fine on a horse attached by a lead rope to me.

            While I get requests for birthday parties and activities for very small children, I decline them.  The liability risk is too great and not covered by my insurance. Nor do I have the staff to handle very small children or special-needs riders.  I do birthday rides that fall within my parameters of four to six riders over the age of five.

This article was written for Pamela Lanier's innkeeping website.