Many of our weekend clients are home school families and they’ve been asking us to put together a weekday program for years. So, we finally did it.

We designed this program as a daytime learning activity for children ages 4 to 17 who do not attend traditional public or private school outside of the home. Parents are encouraged to stay and attend classes with their children, but it is not required.

Please note: Due to the huge number of people who are keeping their children at home due to the Covid-19 virus, this program is overwhelmed. We ARE still taking appointments, but you may have to be very flexible with us, and we are NOT scheduling repeating weekly lessons in the H4H program so that we can make the program as accessible as possible to everyone who wants to experience horseback riding. If you would like consistent, repeating weekly lessons at the same time each week, please schedule a 1-hour group lesson or a private lesson instead of Horses4Homeschoolers. 

Typical H4H classes are an hour long, with a focus on experiencing life on a ranch and riding a horse. Horses will be fully tacked up and ready to ride when your child arrives. Ms Maddy manages the program with help from Ms. Kira and others, and will normally work with children on horseback for half the hour and spend the remainder of the time doing horse-related crafts or other educational activities. 

Please note: Rancho Escondido is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Public Charity and we do not discriminate (or tolerate discrimination) against people of all faiths or no faith, people of all races, abilities, nationalities, creeds and gender, and people of all sexual identities. Our facility is open to ALL people of ALL abilities. We celebrate diversity.

Lesson Format:

Our Home School Program is generally in a group format, with one or two instructors. This means that we’ll typically have four riders and two instructors in the arena at one time.

Program Limitations:

  • Children with Special Needs should contact us before registering. Our H4H program is NOT designed to accommodate children with disabilities and the HFH program is not staffed with side walkers.
  • Nobody over the age of 18, including parents, can ride in the H4H program. If you would like to take a riding lesson with your child, please schedule a group lesson.
  • No person who weighs over 270lbs is permitted to ride.

Note: Due to Covid restrictions, we try to keep familes together and try to avoid scheduling family groups with other, non-related riders.

The one-hour session is broken into two 30 minute segments, the first half typically is a horse-related activity and the second half is  riding. This format is an excellent introduction to horseback riding and barn culture, and a great way to see if horseback riding is something your child would like to get more serious about.  Many of our Horses for Homeschoolers Clients move up to Traditional Group Lessons or Private Lessons as they get more serious.

What to Bring

  • Please make sure that your child wears long pants (jeans) or riding breeches and a closed toe shoe. Sneakers are ok, but not great. Some sort of boot (with a flat heel) is preferable. Dress for the weather.
  • A bottle of water or other beverage
  • Bug Spray
  • A camera

Riding Helmets: Riding helmets are mandatory for all students. There are no exceptions. If you have an approved Equine Riding Helmet, please bring it. If you do not, we have plenty. We understand that some children with specific disabilities do not like the “feeling” of having something on their head. Please work with your child in advance using a ball cap or other hat. We cannot make any exceptions to this rule.

Costs:

Generally speaking, an hour-long Horses4Homeschooler lesson is only $15.00. There are no further discounts available for this program. The idea is to keep it as accessible as possible for everyone, but that’s as low as we can go.

Important: Our weekend lesson program is a different program, with different instructors and different objectives. Home school discounts do not apply to weekend lessons, and visa versa.

About our Horses:

We have 26 horses to choose from at the barn, each with their own training, their own temperament and their own style . We understand that riders sometimes develop a bond with one specific horse. But, if your child spends every single hour at the barn riding one specific horse, they will only learn to ride that one specific horse, not horses in general. We currently have six solid beginning level horses, and we cannot guarantee which one your child will ride. In fact, we’ll probably mix it up a bit, specifically so that your child gains exposure to different horses.

Cancellations (this policy applies to ALL of our riding programs):

Weather: We ride in an outdoor arena. If it rains, or if has recently rained, the arena may be too slippery to ride. Similarly, extreme heat, cold and wind make for a miserable (and potentially dangerous) day for both horse and rider. If we have to cancel due to weather, we will notify you as early as possible, and reschedule your lesson or refund you.

Your Responsibility: If you do not show up within 15 minutes of the start time of your lesson, it will be cancelled, with no refund or, if you have not yet paid, you will be charged for the lesson. Our instructors have to get here, clean stalls, drag the arena and saddle the horses. If you do not cancel at least 24 hours in advance, there is no refund for missed lessons. 

Registration Information

The best way to get signed up is to e-mail us. We’ll get your e-mail on our phone almost immediately and get back to you as soon as possible with open dates and times. If you prefer to send us a private message on Facebook Messenger, that is also perfectly fine, though we may not get back to you as quickly.

  •