Before you send your horse anywhere, or make a purchase beware

[Marty]

Must be very careful when sending your horse out for breeding or training or before you purchse.

I find it completely crazy that people are offering stud services and training when they have little, or no facilities for your horse. Unsafe fencing, little to no barn or shelter, your horse being turned out with large numbers of strange horses, etc. is so not the way you would expect your horse to be treated, so before you think you know where you are sending your horse, you really need to visit the place in person. My friend was ready to drop off some horses at a trainers she thought she liked and was shocked at the filth the horses were living in. You would never know it from the ads and pictures. Needless to say she didn't leave her horses there.

Same goes for buying horses. Go look for yourself and see the kind of place they are coming from before you make a purchase. There's way too many people breeding out there that are not providing properly for them but yet they expect to get good money for them. Skinny mares, skinny wormy foals, no shelter, living in horrible conditions. Disgusting.

Please take the time to go visit in person before you sign any contracts.

 

[Carolyn R]

Amen Marty! Snotty nosed foals running around, with more than just a little cold, more like full resp. Infection, farms that transport, train, or move horses on/off the property frequently without having a proper place to keep them several hundred feet from the rest. Warehousing a horse rather than training it, thin does not equal conditioned..... Too all those that that are looking into trainers don't be afraid to stop in and check on your horse, better yet, the facility before hand. Don't knock a small place that only has a few horses there at a time, or a place that puts you on a waiting list. You may not appreciate it at the time, but when it is your horse's turn for training, you will appreciate that they take your horse, your business and their responsability seriously enough to know how many horses they are truely capable of handling/training on a daily basis. Do question a place that has 30-40+ client horses to train and show in their barn on any given month and only have themselves and maybe one helper to accomplish this. And please please please, no matter how good or accomplished or how many pics a trainer has in a magazine, no matter how many times they say, we just keep it simple, GET A CONTRACT outlining both yours and their responsabilities.

 

[Marty]

Actually this is the second time this has just happened to my friend. This weekend she was bringing her Tenn. Walking Horse to a trainer with a very good reputation of being kind and slow because her horse was so skittish. The problem was not with this person at all, but rather how he keeps his own personal horses. The feed was the cheapest junk you could buy at the local co-op and the hay was old and very dusty. All the horses were thin, covered with bite marks, and over crowded in only one pasture with stuff they could be hurt on. Only four stalls that she said were so full of old manure was about 3 feet deep. Although people are "nice" .."Nice" doesn't always make them good horse keepers.

I have a real beef also about people who breed like crazy but won't spend a dime to put into their facility. How the heck these so called people who love horses can lay around inside the comfort of their own homes while their horses are standing outside in freezing temps and dangerous lightning storms and can't provide as much as a darn lean-tu is beyond my comprehension.

 

[Miniv]

Good points, Marty.

As for trainers.....a big red flag for me is when the horse owner is told not to visit unannounced. I think the person who owns the horse and is paying the trainer has every right to visit during any reasonable time of day. There have been some sad stories about trainers who dictate visiting and why they do so.

 

[Lil Eowyn]

Thank you, I'll remember this in the future =)

 

[Jill]

Word of mouth is pretty powerful, too. I wouldn't have some of my best horses, and as a result, some of my best horse experiences, if I confined my purchases to folks I could visit in person. There are a lot of mini people who just need some basic horsemanship learning, but don't get it before diving in, and unfortunately, they can be taken advantage of and maybe never even know it happened.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes, I visited some places that still haunt me when I was shopping. What is one's responsibility when one has been and seen? I can't save the world and have to choose my battles. I'm almost afraid to go to farms now to look at horses for fear of what I'll find there.

 

[MindyLee]

I put a horse in trainning once... NEVER AGAIN!

Huge waste of $$$ and my horse was super skinny and so scared of everyone and the day light!!! I know my horse was never tuched and did'nt see daylight for 2 whole months and lived in a 8x8 stall. I showed up unanounced and got yelled at and I was horrified. My mares stall was full of poop and no bedding. Was never/hardly cleaned. I also dropped her off with a brand new halter, lead, & stall sheet and all 3 was missing. I did find them after snooping tucked away in a rubbermaid container in a Employees room only (I know they was trying to steal them!) The (world known trainner) was mad and bitting their toung the whole time I was there. And very upset with me when I asked to show me what my horse was trainned. NOTHING!!! My horse did nothing but freak out when approched by trainner cause Im sure it was my mares 1st time seeing the trainner in the 2 months she was there. Before I left I was asked if I was gonna keep my mare there for 3-4 more months as she had real pontial and needed more time, I laughed and said I dont think so! I'll be back at end of the month on such and such day/time to get her.

Im now been burned and even tho I know all trainners are not bad, but $700+ plus fuel. I just cant bring myself to ever send another. Seems like only a waste unless your friends or a big wealthy client to matter to a trainner.

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I do highly recommend looking and asking too before sending horses out. Ya never know what lies you will be fed!

 

[MountainWoman]

I have to do a pro trainer post because I'm using a trainer this season to show and handle my horses and I'm thrilled with her. Yes, it's expensive but she's providing a service to me and my horses and she's doing a great job. If you're searching for a trainer, don't be discouraged by big trainers. Just do your research, ask for recommendations and then see if you enjoy working with the person.