Rules

Lessons are booked and paid for in advance. Absolutely no lessons will be given without payment. Prior to the lesson the parent of children under 19 will be asked to read and sign a Waiver of Liability form. A friend or relative cannot sign for the student. Proper riding footwear is mandatory, in particular, a boot with a small heel. Helmets are not required for the first lesson as students will be coached on the ground to start.

Before the end of the month, please make sure you have informed us that you wish to continue to participate in lessons at your regular time. This ensures that you receive the same time slot as the month before. If you do not pay for your lessons before the beginning of the month they are not considered to be booked.  Should the student want to take a hiatus from lessons over the summer months their current time slot will unfortunately not be held open for their return.

Anna’s Contact:
(902)956-4794, or email her at [email protected], or send her a Facebook Message .
Kaila’s  Contact 
(902)986-6999, or email her at [email protected], or send her a Facebook Message.

It is important that you call and not become a “No Show”. Lessons may be canceled without penalty with 48 hours’ notice, lessons that are canceled with less than 48 hours notice will be subject to the lesson fee, unless we can find a substitute for your riding time. We do not guarantee our ability to find last minute substitutes.

You are responsible for scheduling your make-up lessons. This must be done through your instructor. Make-up lessons may be scheduled within the same month as the missed lesson and will be subject to availability. If the make-up lesson cannot be made up in the same month, it must be made up the following month or will be forfeited. Make-up lessons may be on a different day and time than your regular lesson. In instances where lessons are cancelled by Meadow Brook Stables or the Instructor (i.e. inclement weather or instructor illness) then a make-up lesson will be scheduled by your instructor. If you have to cancel a Make-Up Lesson it will be forfeit. There is a limit of one Make-Up Lesson per Month.

Grooming and saddling the horse are part of every lesson. Horses need to be thoroughly groomed before and after each ride. All equipment must be put away. Students should arrive 10-20 minutes before the lesson, and plan to stay 10-15 minutes after their lesson. The more the riders learn about grooming and tacking up skills the more tasks they can do by themselves in the future. The early arrival doesn’t apply to our young riders that need assistance with catching their horses, grooming and tacking, their lesson starts at the scheduled time. If students show up 15 minutes late their lesson is forfeit, and no refund will be given.

Parents are welcome to watch their children ride. We do ask if bringing children to the lesson that aren’t riding that they sit quietly to observe and don’t pose as a distraction to the horse or rider.

The instructors consider many different factors when assigning horses including the riders’ size and skill, and the horses’ temperaments, workloads, training. Each horse will teach you something. Asking is all right, but please do not demand that you ride (or not ride) certain horses. Instructors reserve the right to hold a ground or theory lesson when deemed necessary or appropriate for any lesson.

Helmets: ASTM-certified riding helmet. We recommend taking your child to Greenhawk (either in Truro or Halifax) to get properly fitted for their own helmet.
Boots: Must have a well-defined heel.
Pants: Jeans, leggings, breeches or sweat pants may be worn
Gloves: A must during the cold weather.
Tops: Form-fitting tops should be worn.

Riders should dress for the weather in layers with sweaters that zip or front-button so they can be easily removed or put on while the student is helmeted and mounted. Jackets must be zipped up if they are worn while riding. Hair must be kept out of the face by being tied back. No gum chewing while riding.

During winter months we recommend the use of Hot Paws (or similar) hand and feet warmers for the lessons, and coming with a thermos of hot chocolate. During summer months we recommend coming with a water bottle or Gatorade, as well as sun block.

Horses love carrots and apples but please ask first before feeding them. Please feed with a flat, open hand to avoid harm to your fingers.

All Riders, parents and guests are expected to follow the Rules of the Barn. These rules are in effect for the safety and well-being of all the horses and all the riders. Please respect our rules and understand that everyone has the same rules. If people attending at the barn cannot respect and participant under the said rules they will be asked to ride and train elsewhere.

Lessons, or any portion of lessons, canceled due to inclement weather (i.e. thunderstorms, high winds, snow) will be made up. We will make every effort to contact you in advance of inclement . If you have any concerns about the weather please check the Facebook Group for Updates.

If an absence is noted at the time of payment, i.e. the first lesson of the month, this will be considered a Planned Absence. A make-up lesson may be scheduled within the same month as the absence. A Make-up Lesson Request form must be filled out by your instructor at the time of payment for a make-up lesson to be scheduled. Any absence not noted at the time of payment is considered an un-planned absence.

The lesson will be forfeited. We understand last-minute conflicts arise, however we are unable to accommodate a make-up/credit due to our large client base. Our programming is well planned and we make every effort to limit the number of participants per lesson.

NO EXCEPTIONS