Hey HEY~~ Wowzer it has been a busy few months EEP!! Showing like a mad woman, moved to a fancy pants new 
barn, getting ready for POA Regionals... YEAHHHHHHH!!! So On Craigslist, OF COURSE, there was a girl who posted and ad for training and this was her picture (Although I think that's actual a Dude in that pic). I'm sorry but this makes me laugh and want to scream at the same exact time... Um... First of all what exactly does this picture prove? Well, by looking at it, it tells me that your horse really isn't that impressed and that I should change the name of my blog, from I Hate Your Horse, to Your Horse Hates YOU!!!! Hmmmmm That may be a sweet idea for a new blog... Anywho... here is another picture f
rom her ad. Cute horse... Cute little girl... OH WAIT A MINUTE!! She's not wearing a helmet, or even SHOES!! Awesome!!
barn, getting ready for POA Regionals... YEAHHHHHHH!!! So On Craigslist, OF COURSE, there was a girl who posted and ad for training and this was her picture (Although I think that's actual a Dude in that pic). I'm sorry but this makes me laugh and want to scream at the same exact time... Um... First of all what exactly does this picture prove? Well, by looking at it, it tells me that your horse really isn't that impressed and that I should change the name of my blog, from I Hate Your Horse, to Your Horse Hates YOU!!!! Hmmmmm That may be a sweet idea for a new blog... Anywho... here is another picture f
rom her ad. Cute horse... Cute little girl... OH WAIT A MINUTE!! She's not wearing a helmet, or even SHOES!! Awesome!! OK, now look. I have many pictures of me standing on horses backs and doing silly things as well. BELIEVE me. But, that isn't something that I would use as an advertising picture, and it's typically at the owner's request. Why is that? Well, because some people want to know just how far you can push their horse.
Beside the point... *sigh* She's only charging $35 an hour, which is a middle of the road price out here in Seattle, but people like this really take away from up and coming TALENTED trainers who are trying to make a name for themselves. From what I've seen She has ZERO talent. and less common sense. So here's the scenario... Someone calls her and she comes out to "train" their horse and OOOP! Big shocker, she's a complete TOOL!! And screws up the horse or as will most likely happen accomplish JACK SHIT! So Client is unhappy and possibly soured by young, up and coming trainers and then another trainer comes in and says "Oh I can fix that that, but it'll be 70 billion dollars,. Will that be cash or CASH???" ICKE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Moral of the Story is PLEASE, I'm all for young, talented people who want to train to follow their dreams, but for crying out loud, apprentice with a trainer for awhile, or be an Asst. Trainer to a credited Trainer. I was an apprentice for a long time and for many different trainers. I earned my stripes and put in my time so to speak. I did the grunt work, rode the rank horses, busted my hinney everyday from morning to night and I loved every minute of it! It makes me a much better trainer and gives me TONS of references!! Just because you've been around horses for X many years does NOT make you a CREDIBLE TRAINER!!!
Anywho, I found humor and headdesking in it all at the same time and figured you'd appreciate it too. So what's been happening for you guys this summer???? Let's hear it Oh and I have the comments on moderation approval, which I hate, but have no choice cause Doucher's can't seem to keep their lame porn off my blog. All of your comments will be approved so don't worry about that... Happy Horsing to ALL!!
9 comments:
here in germany you are not allowed to give riding lessons unless you are certified as a riding instructor, at various levels. students pay a particular rate per hour based on the level of certification of the riding instructor.
then again you cannot get any job in germany without a certification of some sort.
~lytha
Lytha, thats pretty much how it is here in Britain as well but we are talking about horse trainers rather than Riding instructors for people. As yet however, I havn't seen any courses that qualify you to be a trainer for horses. Usually in this country, trainers are expensive to come by and usually have their own livery/stud yard so its more an extension of their job. If I was in the position I needed a horse trained I think I would rather take advice, choose the best advice from a selection and do it myself than let someone else fuck it up.
Also, I wondered how much experience you have with foal training? I am considering breeding Nell next year to replace one of the oldies when they go but I would like to know from a sensible trainers point of view what gets done when. Perhaps you could do a post on ideal ages that certain things should be achieved eg. when is it safe to start lunging, what age, and how long after breaking can small crossrails be introduced for jumping etc. all with regards to keeping a horse sound in later years. Would greatly appreciate it.
FRICKIN THANK YOU!!!! One of these young "trainers" gave us some bad advice and almost got my husband killed! As it is he'll live with some amount of pain and problems for the rest of his life!
Now we're having to learn how to train our horses on our own and it's a tough road. I'd love to be able to go learn from someone to help us do it right and share some proper training with others but it seems everyone either wants to charge you an arm and a leg or you have to leave home for quite awhile which is impossible for me. Am I not looking in the right places?
Stacy Westfall, ooohhhhmmmm. She has a very good program for beginners and experts alike, reasonably priced, and she tells newby's WHEN TO LOOK FOR AN EXPERT!!!! It takes years and hundreds of horses to develop the muscle memory to correct misbehavior without dying or ruining the horse.
When looking for a trainer, check out the horses they have trained. The horses will tell you whether they're good or not. Do horses they have trained do their job cheerfully and well? Are the horses matched to the owner's skill level? Are the owners comfortable with their horse? Does the trainer give the owners enough information to ride their own horse?
Training is an art, so I don't think age has as much weight as success does.
I just thought about how that sounded trainer X, I think you are a stupendously good trainer! I meant that she trains with the same principles both you and I and all the other trainers we respect keep saying...it's not magic, it's patience and observation. Learn all you can, and make sure your horse's behavior is safe. All the basic important stuff that frequently gets overlooked.
My mare got back to serious work today after taking a month to teach me how to post bareback and trail ridng, basically poking around with little to NO cantering... we were cantering in the arena on her right lead, which is her bad lead, and she was doing GREAT, until she decided she didn't FEEL like cantering anymore, and threw a big gigantic hissy fit where she stopped dead from a canter, reared, and turned to try to bite me! Then continued on bucking, crowhopping, and stopping like a reiner.
Do you know what happened to me? I hung in there, booted her around, and made her work until she thought she was gonna die... because I have a very talented trainer who has helped me ride SO much better... there in the center talking me through the whole thing. When you have a good trainer to help you, two things happen. a) You realize JUST how little you know and b)you sit things out CALMLY that would have made you panic before! She is worth her weight in gold and if I had that much gold I would glaldy pay her that much!
Congratulations AMY! Wow. Good riding, and I bet your trainer is thrilled.
That's the thing Trainer X keeps teaching, there's a time and a place to make the horse realize that behavior like that is NOT acceptable, and to get after them enough that they'll never do anything that disrespectful and dangerous again. Some horses are just like that, it's born into them. A 'come to jesus meeting' saves both of your lives! It can be accomplished in several ways, but the only "right" way is the one that works. Some horses never think of it, others think of nothing else.
Thanks Kestrel! I was a green rider and she was a green horse when I bought her... so she has intimidated me in the past. My trainer has helped me so much, she and I still have a way to go- mare knows she's in trouble when the trainer gets on to remind her to behave.
We took her to her (and my) second horse show ever today and placed in all 4 of our classes... mind you, a small local show and walk/jog classes... but the fact that we have come this far as a team I attribute to having a wonderful trainer who is every bit as dedicated to me and my horse as I am!
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