Oh dear, that's tricky as your daughter seems to be happy with the situation.

I was in a similar situation to your daughter when I was young: I had a pony on 'part-lease' from a riding stables, and that I could ride when he wasn't being used for lessons etc., but I was expected to help out a lot for this (rather rare) privilage. In hindsight, I do think that I was exploited a little, and that my Mum should have noticed / done something about this.

Just to add - I don't think that you should pay for more lessons for your daughter.

If the owner mentions that she should be riding every week, say that you agree, and ask whether she could have one ride every fortnight in exchange for the x hours of work that she does at the stables.

so... does she HAVE to work there in order to have lessons there?

if so, i would have words with them and just say that you're not happy with her being out for 12 hours a day.
or just turn up to collect her at 5?

if it's nothing to do with the lessons, and she simply wants to be there doing it that's different.

how old is she?

i used to spend every spare second at the stables, my pony was working livery, but i learnt so much more when helping out than i ever did in any lesson and made some great friends, if your daughter is enjoying here self i dont think its a bad thing, it also depends on here age, personally i loved every minute of it.Just keep an eye on it if you feel uncomfortable then i would talk to the yard owner.

i am not into horses atm but when i was younger it seemed to be that kids would work at the stables in return for lessons. not, you pay for lessons AND provide them with free labour.

i dunno, it's a long time for a 12 year old to be out working...

I spent all my time at the stables from the age of 11 to 17
my parents paid to loan a pony
I loved it
they're were a gang of us and although we worked hard we had the time of our lives
I'd leave her be if she's happy and be thankful she's only there on Saturdays

I'd let her be, she's probably in heaven!

(Don't know why they are taking out goose grass, it's good for horses)

You sound like a completely lovely mum for letting her. I was totally 'exploited' every Saturday by my riding school when I was 12-15 and loved every minute of it! I was only a fortnightly rider too and it was a pleasure just to hold the horses while students got on or to rake over the school at the end of the day. I never got any extra riding but it was just lovely to be there, poo-picking and tack-cleaning. Happy days!

I spent my entire childhood helping in a stable yard. I loved it. we couldnt afford to keep a pony but I had ponies from dawn to dusk. When I was older, about 14 and getting pretty competent, I started riding for people and spent my teenage years riding and competing other peoples horses.

Was I exploited? Well i worked really hard, but like wisecamel I also loved every minute of it.

If she loves it, then it's up to her, really. That said, when I worked at a stables as an instructor we always made sure that the yard girls got as many rides as possible. They all got at LEAST an hour's free riding every weekend - sometimes more, depending on how busy we were and what the workload of the horses was like.

They would have worked just as hard with no free rides, but we didn't think that was really the point.

Not exploited no but at my friends yard the helpers get a weekly free lesson at the end of the day.

If it makes you feel better, Ormirian: I pay an extra quid to allow Dd to help out, but she's only 9yo & apparently (says the stables) they need me to pay for it to be covered on their insurance. They say she could help for free if she were older. I get the impression they've no shortage of young teens wanting to do the same, at least occasionally.

I did this at the weekends as a child and we always got a few perks in the form of rides. We also got to ride the horses and ponies bareback to the fields at the end of the day.

My dd helps all day on a Saturday and doesn't get a freebie but does love every minute of it and always gets a sincere thank you from the owners.

It is the best way for her to learn and make friends up at the stables.

In her case she actually had to qualify to help out by taking a few courses at the stables.

I can't knock it as she is so so so so happy up there and I know if I was her age I would be too...infact I would probably do it now too!

My dd (age 8) does this at our local stables. She is only allowed to help out for half a day due to her age, when she is 10 she can stay all day.

She adores it and has learnt so much, from mucking out to grooming, hoof picking, tacking up, she is allowed to lead horses to and from the field, help beginner riders with their stirrups at the start of lessons etc.

I have never once considered we should get free rides for this. After all she loves being there, she is learning so much about horse care and I get a Saturday afternoon to myself However, I do know that once you are 10 the stable starts training girls in stable and horse care and girls (and boys!) can work towards bronze, silver and gold qualifications. Once enrolled on the bronze scheme the girl/boy gets allocated a riding school horse to look after. This means they are responsible for getting said horse ready for lessons, if the horse is used for beginner's lessons then that person is the lead rein holder etc. They are responsible for bringing the horse in / turning it out, keeping it's tack in good condition etc. The rewards once on the bronze scheme are also a free hack once every few weeks. All the helpers ride out together and it is great fun apparently. In addition the stables take all the stable girls out for a 'thank you' meal at a local restaurant at Christmas.

Dd only rides once a fortnight but tries to help every week. The yard manager seems to have no problem with this

If she was not allowed to help out at the stables, to do all these things she enjoys doing you would have to either buy her a pony, loan her a pony or share a pony, all of which would cost you a lot of money (you could find a free share, i.e. chores in exchange for rides, but they are few and far between, most owners expect a financial contribution in exchange for getting to ride their horse), so I think you have a good deal!

Another way of looking at it is, how much would you have to pay for someone to look after your child for a day? RS that allow youngsters to help out need to supervise them, teach them and provide insurance for them, all of which costs an enormous amount of money, so all in all I think you have the better deal here!