Let riders book your lessons online, not by text.
Stables gives your barn a booking page where riders see the lessons you have scheduled, how many spots are left, and what they cost, then book and pay in four quick steps.
Credits, waitlists, reminders, approvals, and billing all run off the same lesson calendar, so the arena schedule, the roster, and the money always agree.
- ✓Private and group lessons with a live count of open spots
- ✓Card payments straight to your barn's own Stripe account
- ✓Lesson packages, credits, and a waitlist that refills canceled spots
- ✓Reminder emails to riders and a roster email to the instructor
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2 spots leftGroup Flat LessonTue 5:30 pm · Arena 1
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Full · Join waitlistGroup Flat LessonThu 5:30 pm · Arena 1
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4 spots leftGroup Flat LessonSat 9:00 am · Covered arena
What is riding lesson booking software?
Riding lesson booking software lets riders reserve a place in a lesson without calling or texting the barn. It shows what is available, takes the rider's details and payment, confirms the booking, and keeps the instructor's roster up to date.
Stables does this from the lessons already on your barn's calendar. You decide when lessons run and who teaches them. Riders can only book the times you have opened, so there is never a surprise booking at a time the arena is taken.
Four steps from your barn page to a confirmed lesson
Riders book from the Lessons section of your public barn page on stables.co or in the Stables app. Free lessons skip the payment step.
- Step 1
Lesson
The rider chooses a lesson type and reads your description, price per rider, and whether the barn provides the horse or the rider brings one.
- Step 2
Time
They pick from lessons already on your calendar, each showing the spots left. A repeat weekly option books up to 12 lessons of the same type in one go.
- Step 3
Rider
They book for themselves, a rider saved on their account such as a child, or someone else by name. Guests only need a name and email, and signed-in owners can choose one of their own horses.
- Step 4
Pay
They pay by card, on account if they are already a client, in person, or with package credits. Credits are offered first when the balance covers the booking.
Setting it up takes a few minutes. Follow our guide to taking lesson bookings online.
Set up every lesson you teach, once
A lesson type is the template behind every lesson on the calendar. Set it up once and each new lesson inherits the details, and booking rules can differ from one lesson type to the next.
- ✓Lesson length and a buffer between lessons
- ✓Max riders, from a private lesson to a group of 100
- ✓Price per rider
- ✓Default instructor
- ✓A public description riders read before booking
- ✓Barn provides the horse, rider brings one, or either
- ✓Whether clients can book it online
- ✓Instant confirmation or approval required
- ✓How far ahead and how close to the lesson riders can book
- ✓The cancellation window
- ✓Which payment methods are allowed
- ✓Extra instructions shown to the rider
See the full walkthrough in setting up lesson types.
Get paid when they book, or when you say yes
Lesson income should not depend on someone remembering to send a payment link. Stables collects at booking, and it still gives you the final say on who rides.
Card payments to your account
Card payments go to your barn's own connected Stripe account, not to a shared pot you have to request payouts from.
On account for regular clients
Signed-in clients can book on account, and the lesson joins the rest of their charges on the next invoice.
Approval without the risk
When a lesson type needs approval, the card is authorized at booking and only charged when you approve. Decline, and the hold is released.
In person when that is easier
Allow in-person payment for trial lessons or cash regulars, lesson type by lesson type.
Sell lesson packages riders can use when they book
Lesson packs keep riders coming back and put money in the bank up front. In Stables, a package is a bundle of credits that riders spend at booking, or that your staff apply when they complete the lesson.
- ✓From 1 to 500 credits per package
- ✓Credits that never expire or expire after a set number of days
- ✓Limited to the lesson types you choose
- ✓Public packages anyone can buy from your page, guests included
- ✓Private packages for the clients you invite
- ✓Credits returned automatically when a client cancels in time
- ✓A low-balance email when two or fewer credits are left
- ✓A credit ledger for every client, with manual adjustments
Learn how credits are spent and topped up in lesson packages and credits.
A lesson calendar that runs the week for you
Set a lesson to repeat weekly and it stays on the calendar until the date or count you choose. A standing group lesson keeps its riders from week to week, and each week is billed on its own.
Lessons tab
See the next two to four weeks of lessons marked Open, Booked, Full, or Completed, and filter to what needs attention.
Instructor view
Give each lesson an instructor. Instructors on your staff see their own lessons without seeing the whole barn.
Add riders from the barn
Staff can add several of a client's riders to a lesson at once, and assign one of the barn's own horses when the barn provides the mount.
Share the booking link
Copy the link to your lessons page and put it in your bio, your website, or a message to a new rider.
Full lessons that refill themselves
When a group lesson is full, riders can join the waitlist in one tap. If someone cancels, the first person in line gets an email and an in-app offer that is held for 24 hours, or until the lesson starts. If they do not take it, the offer moves to the next rider automatically.
The evening before a lesson, between 5 and 7 pm barn time, confirmed riders get a reminder email and the instructor gets a single roster email for their lessons. You can switch rider reminders off, and clients can opt out.
- ✓A confirmation email, or a request email when approval is on
- ✓A new booking email and in-app notice for the barn
- ✓An email when a request is approved or declined
- ✓A waitlist offer when a spot opens
- ✓A reminder the evening before the lesson
- ✓An instructor roster email for the next day
Read more about the lesson waitlist and lesson reminders.
Close out each lesson and see what the program earns
When a lesson is over, mark it complete and decide for each rider: use a credit, bill later, or no charge. Billed lessons go to Pending Charges and onto the client's next invoice, so nothing taught goes unbilled.
The lessons report shows lessons taught, riders, riders per week, revenue, and credits used over the last 30 days, 90 days, or year, broken down by lesson type.
See what the numbers mean in your lessons report.
Built for barns that teach
Lesson booking lives inside the same Stables account that runs your boarding, care, and billing, so lessons are never a separate system to reconcile.
Lesson barns and riding schools
Publish group and private lessons, fill them online, and keep school horses assigned from the barn's own roster.
Boarding barns with a lesson program
Let boarders book on account alongside their board, and let outside riders book and pay by card.
Instructors on staff
Each instructor sees their own lessons and gets a roster email the evening before they teach.
Independent coaches
Teaching on your own rather than for a barn? Stables gives you a personal booking page built around your availability instead.
Independent instructors should start with Stables for equine coaches.
Booking and approvals in your pocket
- ✓Riders book, pay, and use credits in the Stables app
- ✓Riders buy packages and join waitlists on their phone
- ✓Repeat weekly booking in the app
- ✓Staff review booking requests and approve or decline them
- ✓Staff open any lesson to manage its riders and waitlist
A better way to fill the arena
| Without Stables | With Stables |
|---|---|
| Riders text to ask what times are open | ✓Your barn page shows every open lesson and the spots left |
| Payment is chased after the lesson | ✓Riders pay by card, on account, or with credits when they book |
| A cancellation leaves an empty spot | ✓The waitlist offers it to the next rider automatically |
| Lesson cards are tracked on paper | ✓Packages, credits, and balances are tracked for every client |
| The instructor finds out who is coming at the gate | ✓Instructors get their roster by email the evening before |
Keep exploring Stables
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Software for Equine Coaches
Run an independent coaching business with clients, packages, invoices, and payments.
Horse Lesson Scheduling Apps Compared
See how six lesson scheduling tools for riding programs stack up.
Best Software for Riding School Management
What riding schools should look for in scheduling, billing, and client management.
Riding lesson booking FAQ
How do riders book a lesson with my barn?
Riders open the Lessons section of your barn's page on stables.co, or use the Stables app, and follow four steps: choose a lesson type, pick a time from the lessons on your calendar, enter the rider, and pay. Guests only need a name and email.
Can I approve bookings before they are confirmed?
Yes. Turn on approval for the whole barn or for individual lesson types. The rider's card is authorized when they book and only charged when you approve. If you decline, the hold is released, and a credit used for the booking is returned.
Where does the money from card payments go?
Card payments are made to your barn's own connected Stripe account. Card payments need a connected payout account, and you can also accept on-account, in-person, and credit payments.
Can I sell lesson packages?
Yes. Create packages of 1 to 500 credits, set an expiry or none, limit them to certain lesson types, and make them public or private. Riders can buy public packages from your page and spend the credits when they book.
Is there a waitlist for full lessons?
Yes. Riders can join the waitlist on a full lesson. When a spot opens, the first rider in line is offered it by email and in the app, with the spot held for 24 hours or until the lesson starts. Unclaimed offers move to the next rider.
Do riders get lesson reminders?
Yes. Confirmed riders get a reminder email the evening before, between 5 and 7 pm barn time, and the instructor gets one roster email. Reminders are sent by email and appear in the app.
Can riders book several lessons at once?
Yes. A rider can book up to 12 lessons of the same type in one booking, including with a repeat weekly shortcut. The booking goes through only if every lesson has room.
Can riders cancel on their own?
Signed-in riders can, from My Appointments, until the lesson's cancellation window closes. A credit used for the booking comes back and the open spot is offered to the waitlist. Card payments are not refunded automatically, so you decide on any refund. Guests contact the barn to cancel.
Can I use this if I am an independent coach?
Yes. Independent coaches and trainers get a personal booking page where riders request times from your availability. See our equine coach software page for how that works.
What does riding lesson booking software cost with Stables?
Lesson booking is included in Stables, which is free to start. Transaction fees apply when payments are processed through Stables, and no Stables feature is locked behind a higher plan.
Open your lessons for online booking
Set up your lesson types, put your lessons on the calendar, and share one link. Riders take it from there.
Free to start. Transaction fees apply when payments are processed.