I've wanted to learn how to ride for a long time and have never actually had any money. I'm FINALLY starting a new job in a couple of weeks but don't know if it'll be enough...does anyone know, approximately, how much a riding lesson would cost around the Surrey/Hampshire/Berkshire border?

Hi there !

If I were you, I would try and look up various riding schools in the area,, if thats what you are looking for. Google maps is a good place to start , type "riding in ..." and many will come up. Look on the schools websites etc, and they should say the prices.
However, if you are looking for your own horse, or one on loan, they vary massivly in price. Some loans are free, or you only pay for the cost of shoeing, though some can be more than £80 a month! A good website for loans, and horses for sale is nfed.com.
Hope this helps.

__________________
There is no such thing as a problem, the solutions just haven't been figured out yet !

Everyday is a fashion show, and the world is your runway !

It doesn't cost all that much because if you're only starting the last thing you should do is get a horse on loan you're better with an old placid horse who's used to beginners and they will have them at the school. It's £10 a class for me just call around the local stables and see what their prices are

__________________
"A dog is not "almost human," and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such."
John Holmes

Owned by Buster cairn terrier mix and Leo netherland dwarf mix bunny

For anyone wanting to learn to ride a horse, the only place to go is to a registered and licensed riding centre where there will be available a qualified instructor and a suitable horse. At the beginning it is a good idea to have some one-on-one lessons - ie just you and the tutor. Now this may cost a little more but the first few lessons are designed to show you how to sit on a horse properly. If you learn at the begining how to sit upright and hold the reins , then you can build from there.
There is no way that you can cope with a loaned horse - so don't even think of it.
In a prosperous area like Camberley there will be a riding school - just look in the yellow pages and ask around. You'll need at the beginning at least one lesson a week and until your muscles develop that will make you ache enough to last until the next lesson. There used to be a Wey Valley Riding Club - see if you can find it.

Look up on the Internet the British Horse Society (BHS) web site - they have a good manual on learning to ride - if you enjoy your first few lessons, then buy a copy.

But a warning - learning to ride a horse, leads you to riding a horse, owning a horse, competing on a horse and it becomes a lifelong obsession. When you find yourself in a tack store buying your own riding hat, then you'll know you are hooked.

Best of luck

B G

I wish ours we £10 over here! Its more than that for a 30 minute lesson

__________________
LOADING CRAZINESS..
████████████]
99% complete..

(-: plɹoʍ ʎʌɹnʇ ʎsdoʇ ʎɯ uı uo ƃuıoƃ ɥɔnɯ os 'uoos ǝɯıʇʎuɐ ʞɔɐq ǝq ll,ı ɟı ʍouʞ ʇ,uop 'ʞɐǝɹq pǝpuǝʇxǝ uɐ ƃuıʞɐʇ ɯɐ ı

I used to live in Surrey and now live in Hampshire and I think that an hour long group lesson cost around £20 - £25. A private lesson usually costs more.
And if you do get hooked, riding kit can work out quite expensive too!

__________________

I'm owned by two Labradors and a Belgian Shepherd Malinois, and a little black cat.

Make no mistake, horse riding is an expensive hobby. If the price of a shared lesson seems high and the cost of a riding hat, riding boots, jodhs,
leather gloves and a shaped waterproof jacket seems daunting then wait until you consider the cost of kitting the horse out. As she leaves the yard my horse is wearing something like £1750 worth of leather wear. She has a
purpose built wardrobe in the garage which houses maybe £10,000 worth of saddlery.

She cost the price of a fairly young second hand car to buy and she costs more than our car to run on an annual basis.

And bearing in mind that she can put you in Accident & Emergency with broken bones and a cracked skull at the flutter of a plastic bag I sometimes wonder if she is worth it.

However in the days when I used to earn good money, I worked it out that I might as well waste the money on my horse as to give it to the tax man for him to waste on numerous ideas and ventures that personally I thought were not my business.

So my advice is that to enjoy the countryside, all you need is a pair of walking boots, a stout waterproof jacket, a map and a compas You could even borrow the neighbour's labrador for company.
You makes your choice and pays your money.

Horses are like caviar for the general.

Rycroft is one of the cheapest around that I've found. I live like 10 mins from you, and have ridden at Hawley Equestrian but it's very expensive, I ride out with a friend who has 4 horses in Ash. Umm, theres Bearwood Stables which I've been told are good. There are a lot of riding schools around the area, as you probably know there are a lot of private schools ha. Is there not a riding school as you head out of Yateley through Eversley and out the other side? Or is that just a saddlery place? Just past Bluebeckers on the left...

__________________

__________________


A dog will come to call, A cat will take a message and get back to you

I don't know, but it's one of the cheapest I've found, but then again I normally use one of my friend's horses who stables there for lessons so it might be a bit cheaper. I'm still looking for a school to join properly.

__________________