How to price and invoice horse training and schooling packages

The short answer

Price horse training and schooling around the full time and costs of delivery, then define exactly what each session or package includes. Invoice the agreed work clearly, separate travel and arena charges, and track prepaid sessions. Set fair written terms for cancellations, unused credit, weather disruption and livery-plus-schooling arrangements before taking payment.

*By Kamal Leadbitter, Founder. Last reviewed November 2026.*

How should you price horse training and schooling sessions?

A session price needs to cover more than minutes in the saddle. Preparation, handling, travelling, discussing progress with the owner and writing notes can all be part of delivering the service. If you leave them out of your calculation, the working day can look busy without paying properly.

My approach is to make the agreement easy to understand before money changes hands. An owner should know what they are buying, what might cost extra and what happens if the plan changes. That matters especially when several weeks of work are paid for together.

Start by calculating the income the business needs to recover. Include your own pay target, insurance, equipment, transport overheads, training, administration and an allowance for replacement and quieter periods. Divide that total by realistic chargeable hours, not every hour you are awake and available.

Then calculate each service using:

Session price = delivery time × target hourly recovery + separately attributable costs + agreed extras.

Delivery time may include preparation and follow-up as well as the schooling itself. Keep your internal calculation consistent so routine overheads are not counted twice. The owner needs a clear service price, not a tour of every cost in your accounts.

Review actual time against your allowance. A short visit with a long drive can be less viable than a longer session at your base. Pricing decisions should come from your own costs, capacity and service, rather than an assumed national going rate.

What should count as a schooling session?

Define the unit you sell. A schooling ride, an owner coaching session and groundwork are not interchangeable descriptions. Explain whether you work the horse, coach the rider or combine the two, and whether preparation and a brief handover are included.

A useful service description answers these questions:

• Where does the session take place?
• What is the expected appointment length?
• Who catches, prepares and untacks the horse?
• Is arena hire included or charged separately?
• What feedback or written notes are included?
• What happens if the horse is not fit or suitable to work?

Distinguish an appointment window from a promise of continuous ridden exercise. The appropriate work may vary with the horse's condition, response and welfare needs. Explain how you will handle a shorter session, an alternative exercise or a decision to stop.

Do not sell guaranteed outcomes within a set number of rides. Agree an aim, assessment point and communication plan instead. Owners can reasonably want clarity about the work without you promising that an individual horse will progress to a timetable.

Name any exclusions. Transporting the horse, attending competitions, dealing with another professional or providing extensive video feedback may be separate work. If you are happy to provide it, agree the scope and price first.

How should block bookings and prepaid packages work?

A block booking reserves a series of appointments. A prepaid package gives the customer an agreed entitlement in return for advance payment. They may overlap, but make clear whether dates are reserved immediately or must be booked later subject to availability.

Do not discount simply because someone asks to buy several sessions. First identify what the package saves you: fewer booking messages, clustered travel or more predictable scheduling. If it saves little and increases refund administration, a large discount may make the arrangement worse for you.

A package can offer certainty rather than a lower price. For example, you could define a series of schooling visits with a progress review included. This is an illustrative structure, not a claim about what trainers normally charge or what any horse will achieve.

Keep a session ledger separate from the invoice balance. A fully paid invoice does not tell you whether three visits remain. Record the package reference, sessions purchased, dates used, valid cancellations and remaining entitlement.

Send an updated balance after each visit or at an agreed interval. This is particularly helpful where an owner has more than one horse. State whether credit belongs to one horse, one owner or another clearly defined arrangement.

What should happen to unused sessions and package refunds?

Write the policy before selling the package, not when someone asks for money back. Explain expiry, extensions, transfers and the treatment of sessions you cannot provide. Avoid a blanket “all payments are non-refundable” clause.

Consumer terms must be fair and transparent. GOV.UK warns that excessive cancellation charges and automatic loss of upfront payments can be unfair; simply obtaining a signature does not settle the issue. 1

Keep any expiry period understandable and connected to how the package can realistically be used. An owner should have a reasonable opportunity to book. Explain what happens if your diary, rather than the owner's choices, prevents sessions taking place before expiry.

For an early ending, start with the amount paid, identify work already delivered and assess any fair, evidenced cancellation loss. Do not quietly reprice all completed sessions at a higher rate merely to remove the refund. Any proposed recalculation needs transparent terms and a fair basis.

GOV.UK explains that cancellation charges generally need to reflect actual losses directly resulting from cancellation, with reasonable steps taken to reduce those losses. Allow for savings and replacement bookings rather than treating every unused session as automatically forfeited. 3

Consider a clear extension process for injury or other interruption. State who can approve it, how the revised date is confirmed and whether the arrangement is paused. Keep the policy proportionate and have consumer-facing terms checked professionally where needed.

How should you charge travel and arena hire?

Choose a travel method that reflects the real cost of the visit. That could be an agreed zone fee or a distance-based calculation, with travel time included or separately explained. Make clear whether distance means one way or the round trip.

For shared yard visits, decide how the travel charge is divided and what happens if one owner cancels. Do not surprise the remaining owners with a larger bill because a neighbour dropped out. Explain any minimum visit charge before confirming the appointments.

Arena hire should have a clear payer. If the owner books and pays the venue directly, say so. If you arrange it, explain whether the hire is included, passed on at cost or part of your own combined price. Keep your records consistent with that arrangement.

Set out how venue cancellation charges are handled, but do not assume an external charge can always be passed to the owner regardless of circumstances. Explain who made the booking, what was agreed and which costs were actually incurred.

Use separate invoice lines where they help understanding: schooling session, agreed travel charge and arena hire. A single combined price is also workable if its scope is clear. The point is agreement, not creating the longest possible invoice.

How should livery-plus-schooling arrangements be priced?

Livery-plus-schooling needs a more detailed agreement because daily care and training can continue on different schedules. Separate what the livery payment buys from the schooling entitlement, even if you present one overall package total.

Define accommodation, routine care, feed or bedding allowances where relevant, turnout arrangements and the number of schooling sessions. Identify services outside the price, who can authorise them and how additional expenditure is approved.

Explain whether you bill weekly, by calendar month or for a specified period. Those are not the same thing. State how arrival and departure partway through a period are calculated, and when a change in service level takes effect.

Record what happens during rest, illness or a veterinary instruction not to work. Daily care may still be provided while schooling pauses. The agreement should explain the price consequences rather than automatically charging for training that is not delivered.

Use a regular statement showing the period covered, livery component, schooling delivered or remaining, agreed extras and payments received. Avoid leaving several weeks of loosely described yard costs to be explained at departure.

What belongs on an equine training invoice?

An invoice needs both the required business details and a description that connects to the agreement. The owner's name should be clear, with the horse's name as a helpful reference rather than the only customer identifier.

GOV.UK lists the required invoice details, including a unique identification number, supplier and customer details, description, supply date, invoice date, amounts, applicable VAT and total owed. There are additional naming requirements for sole traders and limited companies. Use the checklist appropriate to your business. 1

For a package sale, describe the entitlement: the number and type of sessions, the agreed package period and any included travel or hire. For individual sessions, show service dates. For livery-plus-schooling, identify the billing period and separate components clearly.

Show advance payments already received and the remaining balance. Add the payment due date, accepted methods and a reference. Keep session usage records linked to the package so you do not accidentally invoice a prepaid visit again.

If you are VAT registered, check the treatment of your particular supplies and advance payments with your accountant. HMRC's VAT guidance covers these issues; do not assume that receiving money before the first session means there is nothing to consider yet. 2

Which booking terms help avoid disputes?

Keep terms short enough to read but specific enough to use. Cover the service, price, payment point, cancellation process, late arrival, weather, suitability to work, your own cancellation and complaint contact.

Weather needs more than “sessions go ahead whatever happens”. Explain how you decide whether conditions are suitable, when you will notify the owner and whether the appointment is rearranged or refunded. Do not make a trainer cancellation indistinguishable from an owner no-show.

For consumer bookings made remotely or away from your premises, consider statutory cancellation rights separately from your ordinary booking policy. The Consumer Contracts Regulations contain conditions and exceptions, including provisions concerning some dated leisure services. Do not assume every equine package falls into the same category; get advice for your actual offering. 1

Send the terms before payment and keep the version accepted with the booking record. If you later change the price or package, confirm the new agreement rather than silently editing a page the owner may never revisit.

Frequently asked questions

Should horse trainers charge by the hour or per session?

Either can work if the service is clearly defined and the price covers all delivery time and costs. A session price gives owners a simple total, while an hourly approach needs an agreed charging basis. Explain preparation, travel and follow-up rather than leaving owners to guess what the clock includes.

Do prepaid schooling packages need a discount?

No. A package can offer reserved appointments, a defined programme or a progress review without a lower session price. Only discount when your own figures support it. Explain what is included and avoid implying that advance payment guarantees a particular result for the horse.

Can unused training sessions expire?

An expiry term needs to be transparent and fair in its circumstances, not merely printed on the invoice. Explain the booking window, realistic availability and extension policy before purchase. Consider whether your own availability prevented use and assess refund questions against the agreement and applicable consumer rights.

How should I invoice several horses at the same yard?

Identify the contracting customer and list each horse's work clearly. If owners pay separately, issue separate invoices and explain how shared travel or hire is allocated. A yard address is not enough to establish who owes the money, so confirm responsibility before you attend.

What happens if the horse cannot be schooled on the day?

Follow the agreed welfare and interruption process, assess whether suitable alternative work is appropriate and discuss the position with the owner. Record what was delivered and what happens to payment or package credit. Avoid counting a full schooling session automatically without considering the agreement and circumstances.

What is the next step?

Define one session, one package and one clear set of terms before adding more options. Try SaidToPaid free, and use the free sector resource pack as a starting point for tidier equine bookings and payment paperwork.

Sources and photograph

• GOV.UK: unfair consumer contracts
• GOV.UK: cancelling goods or services
• GOV.UK: invoice requirements
• HMRC: VAT Notice 700
• Consumer Contracts Regulations: cancellation provisions

Illustrative photograph by ARTISTIC FRAMES on Unsplash, not a SaidToPaid customer case study.