Horse Vent/Rant-ish thing.

[Sierra pachie bars]

I have seen a lot of that in the show world, why I am not there anymore. I have no desire to go back to that level ever again. I watched some people hit their horse between the ears with the wrong side of the riding crop to get them to put their head low. I had a trainer hit my horse in the head, I was not there I was told by someone who saw. He had a head injury , and would have seizures. I was one of the top two in the world at the time and lost it all because of that. My horse was out for months. Never able to go back he retired to a pasture.

 

[EweSheep]

Me either, having NO desire to go back into the show horse world. Left me disillusioned about the whole thing. Gaited horses and Arabians were the worse for me. Are there any honest shows out there? Probably not.

 

[patandchickens]

Without getting into the whole "show barn" issue, I will just say that I FIRMLY believe that if you are not comfortable at a gut level with too-large a percentage of things you see going on at a barn, you should find another one.

Feeling okay with the way horses are handled and managed is really important, partly because a lot of the time your gut instincts are right, and also because even those times you may not be objectively correct that there are serious problems, you do not need to spend an hour or two a day most days for the rest of forever WORRYING that there are and waiting for the other shoe to drop and being all stressed out about what you see around you.

I know that "find another barn" is often way easier said than done (been stuck in some really tough places myself), and will likely mean making some compromises. But training... you can do that on your own and trailer out and maybe even have your own instructor come somewhere else. Whereas care and handling and management, those are what your horse lives with *all the time*.

If you are really attached to the barn, intellectually on its show and trainer merits, maybe give it some more time and see if you see things differently after a couple months... BUT, if your HORSE starts seeming stressed by the environment I would suggest really gettin' outta dodge.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[TheSitcomGirls]

My advice to you Celtic Hill is not to quit. Learn everything you can about the different ways people do things. Help with kindness the horses you can. Even when everything seems wrong, there is usually a lesson to learn.

In a perfect world every horse would be 100% sound and not require any special means to keep them performing.

But that's not the case.

One of my horses played polo with me for fourteen years. I retired him at age twenty and he had six good years of retirement just being a horse of leisure before we had to put him down. Without hock injections he would have been put down at age six. He wasn't even pasture sound then. He got Hydrocortisone and Legend hock injections every 6 - 9 months for his entire life.....and he was an amazing horse.

 

[jettgirl24]

I'm sure we all know this, but just for the record not all show barns are like that. I have definitely seen that stuff go on at a couple of other barns but NEVER at my current barn and while I can't speak to what they do at home rarely do I see that sort of thing at shows. Honestly the only time I see truly questionable things going on at shows it's with trainers who may wish they were true professionals but based on their show performances and the performances of their students they are FAR from it.

My barn would definitely be considered a "show barn" and virtually everyone there rides competitively. I work with a woman who is in my opinion (and many others') is THE best trainer in my area. She's an unbelievable rider and horsewoman in her own right and she consistently turns out FEI riders who are very competitive in our region and nationally. In fact her working student won 2 of the 3 golds at young rider championships in Kentucky last year and she got the silver in the 3rd division. The sort of things that some of you have been describing would NEVER go on in my barn and if my trainer caught anyone behaving in that way with their horses she would probably have their head. Frankly it's stupid because you're not doign yourself or your horse any favors by behaving in that way. If you have to resort to these methods you are NOT a trainer - you're a rank amateur trying to fool the judge with a horse that only knows how to do tricks. It may not work this way in other disciplines but I can tell you that in dressage these types of riders and trainers will be beaten every single time in front knowledgeable judge by people who have actually spent time training their horses to go properly.

It is REALLY difficult for me to keep my cool when talking about this because nothing makes me angrier than faux-trainers trying to pass off their charades as the real thing and fooling SO many people with it!

 

[welsummerchicks]

I've been in many show barns that were not like that at all. I've been around wonderful competitive trainers and their horses were never, ever treated badly. Those folks seem to live their whole lives around those horses.

A good many show barns are a lot of fun to be in. The horses are treated like kings and queens. Firm treatment isn't unusual, but losses of temper and knocking horses around is unusual in these barns.

I don't feel horses must be turned out for many hours, but I think that if they are NOT turned out for many hours, there is a huge responsibility there to make up for those hours with something that gives them an awful lot of attention, exercise and socializing.

Whenever we've had to 'lay up' a horse for an injury, we've found that they think that we should stay home, pretty much full time and entertain them. Grooming, massage, hand grazing, that would be fine, just be sure not to stop. Even more horrifying, you can go out there at 10 o'clock at night or 4 am, and they are all ready to do it all over again.

I had my horse at a quarantine barn that was like a horsey heaven. Turnout was restricted for obvious reasons, but the horses got hand grazed, went on a Eurociser (some of them several times a day), got ridden, and got 6 little meals a day, just to keep them amused and constantly entertained. A nice grooming and massage, anything they needed.

Of course Guess Who footed the bill, but it was worth it.

In my experience, top sport horses seem to get really royal treatment. I was rather appalled to see one such horse march off dragging a groom after him as he sought out the nicest grass, but the groom told me, 'Oh, I have instructions - I'm to allow him to go where ever he likes!' The horse certainly seemed to be taking full advantage of it.

Celt - you're 'doing up' 5 horses - I did up TWO for a dressage rider and it took me a full eight hours a day. LOL.

I think the Eurociser is one of the most ingenious things that ever got invented. The Spanish Riding School has what is I think the biggest one in the world - it can take 12 horses at a time.

I'm not sure why but they seem to like it so much better than a hot walker, perhaps because of the longer straight sections and because they are not tied to anything, but also the fact that it can go faster is probably appealing.

The horses appear to think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I never got dragged so hard by a horse as out to the Eurociser. They seem to very much enjoy following each other.

Too bad they're so expensive. I have my own inexpensive alternative - ME. I'm the Eurociser at my house, LOL!

 

[Ashmeade]

I personally would not want to be involved with such a place too long unless I could make a difference to change the abuse. If not, I would recommend you get the heck out of there or you will soon be associated with that barn, as the horse community is very gossipy, etc. as I am sure you know...

If the abuse is extreme a call to local Animal Control or your local horse rescue might be in order...

 

[welsummerchicks]

Animal control can't take any action against an owner or custodian of an animal for any of the things Celtic listed.

Depending on their jurisdiction/authority, they may have to pay a call to the target of the complaint, but such actions are not illegal or actionable.

Animal Control only takes action on the worst extremes. The rest is up to us.

 

[babyblue]

wellsummer chicks is very wise.

my advice? spend a little more time there and really observe the horses and people around you. what seems extreme could very well have a reason. tossing heads could be full of themselves horses that you are a little too quick and abrupt in your movements. a slap or a punch to a horse in the body area is not honestly going to hurt them. its a horse ever see young horses play or their elder disipline them? its not always sweet and gentle. a rowdy 2yo that progresses from pawing to other stupid behaviors like shoving, nipping, even striking. yea well Id nip the naughty "how much can I get away with" attitude right away as well.