Over the many years I’ve owned, trained and ridden horses, or worked with other trainers, I’ve seen many horse boarding and horse training facilities. They have run the gamut from super high-end public facilities to small, family owned and operated stables. When it comes to a horse boarding establishment, I have an expectation of it being a clean, safe and fun-environment. It doesn’t have to be fancy or state-of-the-art, I just want a place where my horse and I can be happy, people are friendly, the arena is in decent shape and the owners/managers seem like sane, horse savvy people. I know everybody takes care of their horse differently so I don’t expect to see every boarded horse looking like a show horse ready to hit the ring the next day. Of course if I see neglected or sick horses or horses kept in dark stuffy stalls I won’t bring my horses to these places.
When I go to a horse trainer’s facility I tend to have higher expectations because I’m considering leaving my dearly-loved horse in the hands of this particular individual for some length of time. Not all trainers can afford their own facilities so again I’m not expecting some fancy barn and arena. What I look for is clean, safe stalls and barns, functional facilities for training (i.e. round pen, wash rack, arena), turnout or pasture areas and horses that seem content.
But my expectations don’t stop there and neither should yours! With a horse trainer, unlike a boarding stable where horse care is dependent upon each individual, I expect the trainer’s horses to be well-cared for. They should look like they get groomed regularly, they’re clipped and clean, their feet are in tip-top shape (with or without shoes) and most important, they should be in very GOOD physical shape considering they’re in “training”, which typically means they are being ridden 4-6 days a week. A trainer’s horses are a reflection of the kind of horse training they do and the kind of business they operate!
A few months back I had the opportunity to visit a certain training facility. The impression I had for this training facility came from their online presence. Based on what I read and the pictures that were shown, it sounded like these trainers were of “high” professional caliber and their horses would be a stunning reflection of this. Unfortunately I was disappointed! And actually I felt quite “duped” because the talk these trainers put out there did not match what I saw.
If I walk into a trainer’s barn at any time after 10am I expect to see clean stalls and filled, clean water buckets. And come on, it just makes good business sense if the horses that are in training are well groomed and clean, even if they’re not clipped.
The horses I saw at this training facility were extremely shaggy coated and dirty. The long coat was in part due to winter conditions but in part was due to malnourishment. These horses were underweight, not excessively so, but there were noticeable hip bones and sunken areas. It seems that when a horse is underweight or malnourished their coats tend to grow thicker, coarser and longer in compensation for the lack of body fat. The horse’s feet were long and rough looking, the stalls were filthy and bedded down with straw (which gets dirty and smelly if not cleaned daily), water was either dirty or empty and they had no muscle tone to speak of. They were a sad, scruffy looking bunch.
Compare this to when I had Hershey with Jason Nagel for jumping training. Hershey spent about 3 months with Jason in training. After the first couple of weeks, Jason body shaved him, pulled his mane and kept a blanket on him due to winter weather. Of course I was asked permission before the clipping took place. After the first month, Hershey looked like a horse right off the track. It’s the best physical shape I’ve ever seen my horse in! He was lean, athletic and strongly muscled. He was kept in a roomy stall with a window that opened outside for fresh air and sunshine and on his days off he was turned out to pasture. When I’d come out to ride him, I could easily feel his improvement. He was a shining example of Jason’s horsemanship skills and business savvy.
The same goes for two another trainers I know – Jeff Evenson of Evenson Performance Horses and Stacey Payne of Payneless Performance Horses. The horses they have in training always look glossy, well-muscled and well-kept. Their manners and behavior are also a testament to the hours of honest training that has gone into them.
There are people out there who have talent for training horses but don’t know the first thing about running a horse business. Sadly, there are also people out there that call themselves horse trainers and due to circumstance, greed, bad choices, ignorance or just plain mean-spirit they neglect and abuse the horses in their care. So if you’re in the market for a horse trainer, do your research! Carefully check out the trainer’s facility, the horses in their care and talk to past clients. If you’re a horse trainer, consider carefully how your horses and facilities reflect your business. Don’t take on more training horses than you can afford to support and invest time and attention toward. Reputations take a long time to build but are easy to destroy. In the horse world, happy clients and well-trained, good-looking horses assures you of lasting business.