COVID-19 Q&A
Are You Accepting New Boarders?
Yes. Far West is accepting new boarders during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please contact us to schedule a tour, or to speak with a staff member about moving to Far West.
Are You Accepting New Riding School Students?
Our Riding School has undergone some changes to accommodate social-distancing guidelines, as well as the most current CDC Guidelines for Equestrian Activities. Please contact the office to speak with our manager about the current options for new and returning students.
Board & Training Q&A
Can I Bring In My Own Horse?
Yes. We offer full-care boarding with a wide range of services to ensure your horse is well cared for. Please call our office or email us to arrange a visit to tour our property and inquire about specific services.
Can I Lease a Horse from Far West?
Yes. Students in our riding program often fall in love with a particular horse or pony and some of our school horses are available for full leasing or on a half lease.
We can also work with riders to help them locate and lease a horse that they may want to bring to the barn. Leasing offers all riders an affordable opportunity to form a special bond with their own horse, or to start showing without the long-term financial commitment of fully owning your own horse.
What Does “Board” Include?
Heavily bedded banked stalls, automatic waterers, two-window cross breezes, and customized ‘room service’ delivered three times a day - what more could you want for your noble steed? Stalls are cleaned multiple times a day, and your choice of alfalfa, timothy, or orchard hay is dropped three times a day along with any grain or supplements needed. In the winter, blanket service is standard at no extra charge, along with daily turn outs available throughout the year. Your stall has space in front of it for up to two standard tack boxes, while our grooming stations have room to store your tack should you choose to keep it close by.
What Does “Full Training” Include?
Full training covers 6 days a week of a combination of lessons, trainer rides, and Pessoa ground work. Our trainers will work with you to devise a schedule for you and your horse makes the most of every ride.
What is the Difference Between “Basic Care” and “Full Care”?
We encourage all of our clients to invest in the care and safety of their horse through our grooming options of full or basic care. With full care, you are assigned a personal groom that sees to all of your horse’s needs, from body clipping, tacking and un-tacking, bathing, wrapping, blanketing, hand walking and more, as well as caring for your saddle and tack. With basic care, you are responsible for grooming, tacking and un-tacking, and any wrapping or poulticing needed; blanketing is included in board for your convenience. Basic care is a great option for those who enjoy the extra time (and responsibility) with their horse.
My Horse is Laid Up or Coming Back From an Injury, What Options Do I Have?
In the event of an injury or rehabilitation, we offer two separate rates based on what your horse needs during recovery. Whether your horse needs to be hand walked three times a day, iced, poulticed, or ridden under a strict plan by your vet, we guarantee we will get your horse back on its feet with patience and care.
Riding School Q & A
When Can I Visit the Barn?
While we are always closed on Monday’s, we are open for our clients Tuesday - Sunday. Though owners are able to come out and see their horses any day of the week, we do ask that lesson clients schedule their visits within our hours of 8:30 - 5:00 during the week, and 8:30 - 12:00 pm on the weekends. Please remember that the majority of the horses at Far West are privately owned, and should not be fed treats or handled without their owner’s permission. If you would like to schedule a tour, please visit our CONTACT page.
What Do I Need For My First Lesson?
Unless previously arranged otherwise, all new students at Far West will start with a 30-minute riding evaluation. Our trainers will evaluate the student’s riding, listening, and coordination skills on the horse. We start our students as young as seven years old. Generally, a first-time riding student will begin in half-hour long private lessons until they can comfortably walk, trot, and steer and then may join one of our one-hour beginner groups. For your first ride, plan to arrive in:
Riding Breeches, or Jeans (NO SWEATPANTS or LEGGINGS)
Tall Boots, Paddock Boots, or Cowboy Boots (NO SNEAKERS or HIKING BOOTS)
An Approved Riding Helmet (We have some you may borrow for your first ride)
What If I Need to Cancel a Lesson?
We require 24 hour notice for any lesson cancellation. Canceling within 24 hours of your lesson will result in a 50% charge of the lesson amount. No Show/No Call’s will result in full charge of the lesson amount. Cancellations due to unforeseeable circumstances on the barn’s part, such as weather, will not result in a charge.
My Lesson is at 10:00 AM - What Time Should I Be Here By?
One of the perks of riding at Far West is that we have wonderful grooms that handle the tacking and un-tacking of the lesson horses. The scheduling of six trainers, three arenas, and multiple lesson groups is no easy feat, so we ask that you arrive at least 10-15 minutes before your scheduled ride time in order to help us stay on schedule, and give you the most amount of time in the saddle.
I’m Ready To Look the Part, What Should I Buy?
Once you decide you want to add “equestrian” to your personal bio, it’s time to dress the part. Here’s all the pieces you’ll need:
Riding Breeches
Paddock or Tall Boots
Half-Chaps, if you chose Paddock Boots
An Approved Riding Helmet
A hairnet, for those with long hair
Riding Gloves
Carrots for your Favorite Horse
Are There Age Restrictions?
YES. It’s never too late to learn how to ride a horse, but we do prefer to wait to start kids’ riding lessons until they are at least seven years of age for a variety of reasons, including:
Listening Skills
By the age of 7, most children have been in a classroom environment where they are used to listening to adults other than their parents. When riding a 1,000 lb animal, it is imperative that children are able to quickly process and execute directions from their trainer. In their lessons, children must be able to focus on the task at hand, not on the world outside the arena. There is also important vocabulary that must be understood in order to have a safe, educational lesson. Some of that vocabulary includes: “halt,” “outside/inside leg,” “stay on the rail,” “half-halt,” “reverse,” “circle,” “diagonal,” “horse-length apart,” “posting trot,” ‘half-seat/two-point,” and more.
Strength and Motor Skills
Even the smallest pony is several times stronger and heavier than a human. During your lesson, you may have to use your arms to pull left and right or back on the reins, use your legs to kick, squeeze or push, and use your core to stay upright and balanced at the walk, trot or canter. To properly steer, one must anticipate and prevent a horse’s movements, or quickly correct it if the horse goes off course. Over-correcting, pulling too hard, or not having enough “umph” behind a command can lead to a frustrating ride for both the horse and rider that could lead to one or both getting hurt.
Emotional Maturity
Horses are living, breathing animals capable of emotions just like humans are. Unlike riding a bike, children need to understand that their actions can hurt and/or upset the horse, and that horses will treat us like horses; they sometimes push, nibble, sniff and spook, and it’s our job to keep our toes and fingers away from them. At some point in everyone’s riding career, there will be a fall. Falling is 100% part of becoming a better rider, and should be treated no differently than falling in a gymnastics meet or slipping on a soccer field. Sometimes, if a child is too young, a fall is traumatizing and can lead to a lifelong fear of horses, which we try to avoid by having the best horses possible matched up with kids who are ready for the realities of this sport.
Are There Height or Weight Restrictions?
YES. For your safety and the longevity of our school horses, we do ask for your height and weight so the trainers may choose a suitable horse to ride. Weight max: 180 lbs.
I Don’t Own A Horse, Can I Still Take Lessons?
Yes. For students who do not own their own horse, our riding school program gives riders the opportunity to still enhance their skills on a regular basis and, on a variety of school horses. How often you choose to ride is up to you. Check out our lesson horses under the RIDING SCHOOL tab!
When Are Lessons Offered?
Lessons are scheduled Tuesday through Sunday; mornings, afternoons, and evenings. Our arena is lighted so that we have the ability to offer lessons in the morning before work/school as well as into the evening.
Can I Ride in A Group?
We offer group lessons for all level of riders. Your trainer will evaluate your riding level so that you can ride with others of a similar level. Our groups are small, usually from three to five riders, and all students get plenty of attention and jump time. Our beginning rider lessons are held in the “downstairs arena” where we can keep group lessons small so that we can provide great individual attention to each rider in the group.
We offer group (as well as private) riding lessons six days a week. Everyone works at their own pace in a group and our flexibility allows for private lessons when needed as well.
When the student is ready the rider may be invited into the “middle ring” where more advanced training is conducted. Riders are not required to own their own horse in order to advance to the middle ring.
When Am I Ready To Jump?
While the best riders in the world make it look easy, jumping takes a lot of preparation and skill before it’s safe to start learning. Before we point you at your first fence, you should be able to:
Steer at the walk, trot and canter
Trot and canter without stirrups
Canter poles and adjust strides within poles
Go up into a half-seat and back to a seated position fluidly
Stay up in a half-seat for at least 5 laps
Keep your heels down at all times, inner calf on and no pinching knees!
Do You Only Teach Kids and People Who Compete?
We offer lessons to children age 7 and older through adult. We have many adult first-time riders, and adults who are just returning to riding. We do have an outstanding reputation of being one of the top training barns on the West Coast, but we also have a great riding school program for those riders who are not necessarily interested in showing.
Can I Bring My Kid(s) to the Barn?
Far West prides itself on being a family-friendly barn with students as young as 7 years old, and (fair warning) kids are most likely to catch the bug for horseback riding when they see their parents, siblings, or friends having a good time in the saddle. Younger children are welcome in the barn, but they must be supervised at all times and obey barn rules: no running, no screaming, and no interrupting the horses in the ring during a lesson. The best-behaved youngsters have been known to sneak in a pony ride for good behavior!
Can I Bring My Dog to the Barn?
For the safety of our barn animals and clients, dogs are not allowed inside the barn.
What Happens When it Rains?
While rain in Los Angeles is not a common occurrence, we do have a protocol in place for when it does. To ensure the longevity of our arena footing, we “seal” the rings before the first rain drop falls. There are multiple factors that go in to deciding when it is appropriate to return to our normal lesson schedule, so it is important that you check for our Weather related e-mails regularly.
Do You Offer Trail Rides?
No. We do not offer trail rides.