Hi, I want to teach lessons on my horse but am not certified to teach them. Is that okay?
No you do not need a certificate to give lessons or train. I use trainers all the time and could care less if they have a piece of paper or certificate. I look at many things but that is not one of them. Not sure what your age is or experience is. Keep in mind that if you start giving lessons you will lose any non pro/ammy status you have. Which should be a consideration for you b/c if you are not looking to make a living at training and lessons then you do not want to compete against the pros. In my opinion if you are not showing and proving you can do what you are asking to get paid for you should not be giving lessons.
Then there is the consideration of insurance and other factors that you should really look into.
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No you don't need a certificate but you should have insurance.
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no it isn't. As you know, horseback riding is a dangerous sport. If you're just teaching a friend, it's fine. But other than that isn't a good idea. There are too many risks involved and you could find yourself getting into a lot of trouble.
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You can teach but it might be harder for you to get clients, or get hired. Some riding schools will hire you but they won't be the good ones, and you will get paid less and might have to charge less per lesson than a qualified instructor, or people will just opt for the more qualified one. Just get insured too so if anyone falls off they can't sue you.
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It depends on the state you live in. You should always have insurance tho. I have seen certified instructors that did not know a correct moving horse from a hole in the ground. I like to use instructors that have went to great lengths to gain education from well respected riders. You can get a certification by sending in a 30 minute video and taking a written test, but if you go out an learn from people that know, it will show in your abilities.
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No you do not need a certificate to give lessons or train. I use trainers all the time and could care less if they have a piece of paper or certificate. I look at many things but that is not one of them. Not sure what your age is or experience is. Keep in mind that if you start giving lessons you will lose any non pro/ammy status you have. Which should be a consideration for you b/c if you are not looking to make a living at training and lessons then you do not want to compete against the pros. In my opinion if you are not showing and proving you can do what you are asking to get paid for you should not be giving lessons.
Then there is the consideration of insurance and other factors that you should really look into.
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15 years of showing
you shouldnt teach when it is a paying customer though it is probably fine if you know the person well
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Anyone can call themselves a horse trainer or riding instructor, and if someone is willing to pay you for it, that's all it takes. However, the major issue is one of liability. In order to afford to pay for the liability insurance coverage that you need (and it would be idiotic to do this without it), you may have to charge more for the lessons you give than people will be willing to pay you.
Before you do anything else, look into liability coverage, and also become intimately familiar with the laws in your area that apply to equine activities. If you will be teaching minors, the laws are different than those that apply to adults, so be sure you know the difference and have it covered.
I can't stress this enough. I've seen lawsuits that destroy people's lives when they didn't know what they should have known before getting into these kinds of situations.
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RN who has seen many health insurance companies win liability lawsuits when they didn't want to pay the large claims to provide for intense or long term medical care to their injured clients. Some of these lawsuits were brought against the family members of their clients, and the clients had no say in it.
57 years with horses