Bashing Horse Trainers

This is for all you shyster Horse Trainers out there who make a living ripping-off your clients instead of working for your paychecks.
Line up... it's time to take your medicine.

But first, I have a question.
If you don't love horses, WHY do you choose to work with them?

The obvious answer of course is "for the money", but excepting the highest levels of race or show training, I know for a fact as a career trainer myself that there's no real money in working with hobby/pleasure horses... so there must be another reason.
Lack of other job skills maybe? 
I dunno... it seems to me like a trainer needs to be a horse lover to be good at their job though.

And what's with the dishonesty towards your clients?
Are you so lacking in common decency and ethics that you deliberately rip-off people who come to you for help with their horses? 
Or are you simply a compulsive liar?

How can you sleep at night knowing you prey on the inexperienced and gullible? 

I recently had a boarder mare come back from "training" whom I had known in the past as a gorgeous, dappled beauty with a sparkling eye and zest for life.  She was well-trained and rode great, a little forward at times, but always easily controlled and well behaved.

Her novice owner had approached me about training before sending her off to a "friend recommended" trainer, but after riding the nice mare a few times myself, I told her the animal was already excellently trained, and the only problem was that she was simply overmounted, and needed a less sensitive horse with considerably less "spirit"... this was a mis-match that was never going to work, given the rider's limited skills and timid personality.

Since this was an expensive horse, and summertime in Florida is no time to sell a horse at a decent price, I suggested that she simply wait until Fall, sell the mare, and purchase a more suitable horse for our next riding season.
Not liking my honest evaluation and answer, she insisted that the mare get unneeded TRAINING in an attempt to force the mismatch to work.

This is a common mode of thinking amongst the novice hobbyist crowd, but one which rarely works because a trainer cannot change a horse's basic personality or temperament... they can only modify or teach good behaviors.
A sensitive mount (regardless of how impeccably trained it is) cannot be transformed into a dull, semi-comatose horse unless they are starved or overworked into it... otherwise known as "breaking their spirit".  Just a fact.

Sooooo... the gist is that the mare's owner sent her to a "trainer" (ahem) up North in the mountains for the summer, hoping that the mare could be "calmed down" enough to be suitable for her.

Well, the horse returned home to board at my farm a few days ago after her 2 month course of (ahem again) training, bearing little resemblance to her former self.

Gaunt, dehydrated, covered in saddle sores, sore-backed, and LAME, she is a mere shadow of the gorgeous, healthy animal that left here just a couple of months ago. 
Her coat is not only dull, but falling out due to sweat-burned (and peeling) dry skin, and she has untreated saddle sores on both sides and down the length of her back.
She has pressure sores on her hocks from being kept on hard ground with no bedding. 
When you look into her eye, there's nothing there... she just blankly stares back.
She is so lame, she can barely walk, and has swelling/heat in 3 of 4 legs. 
She is painfully lean, and will take months of specialized feeding to get her healthy again.

This "horse trainer" should be HORSE WHIPPED!

I'm not letting the owner off the hook though... a little research done beforehand rather than blindly following advice given by a well meaning friend would have served her well.
Asking the right questions would have revealed the true nature of this "trainer" and her facility beforehand.

Turns out the friend who recommended this miserable excuse of a trainer was just old college pals with her... she had no real knowledge of whether the woman was actually a horseman or not... just knew she was in the horse business.
In reality, the stable was a hack barn and horse trader operation with about 40 rental/sales horses, not a bona fide training facility; and it's pretty obvious to anyone who didn't just fall off the turnip truck that this lovely, high quality, well trained mare spent the summer working as a hire-a-pony to any tourist in flip-flops and shorts who wanted to pay up to ride her. 
The saddle sores are fresh over old in layers... the poor mare wore an ill-fitting saddle all summer while toting (probably overweight) Joe Blow up and down the mountain. 
She's dog-lame... absolutely unrideable, and can barely walk without massive doses of Bute. 
She was obviously used hard on a rental hack-line, barely fed, and neglected.
Her "I'm already dead, so just shoot me now" expression tells the rest of the story... her spirit is all but broken, and she's "used-up".

I don't tolerate this very well... neither the trainer's dishonesty and disregard for the mare, nor the owner's lack of attention to detail before handing over her horse to someone she didn't personally know.

People... Research your trainers!
Even those who come on recommendation of a friend.
This shyster "trainer" charged the mare's owner for training board, and also made money renting her out to tourists.
Then when she was thin, crippled, and had lost her zest for life, she was returned to her owner as "trained". 
whatta racket.

But it's not just the hillbilly operations you need to keep an eye on, the other side of the coin is just as tarnished.

I had a trainer pal in the open jumper show world a few years ago, but had to dump him as a friend when we bashed heads over his dishonesty towards his clients.
For years, I had admired this man as an icon amongst the most elite show jumpers, and he was highly sought after by jumping enthusiasts from Canada to Florida.
His impressive farm and stables reeked of money, the horses were all healthy and impeccably groomed, and on the surface, the entire operation appeared to be based upon flawless horsemanship.

In reality, things were much different than they appeared.
Because of his popularity and show record, he took in far too many horses for training, and spent his days entertaining visiting clients while his student riders attempted to train the horses... often during their riding lessons.
He sold top-dollar horses ($50,000 to $200,000 range) to unsuspecting people knowing very well that the horse was nearing the end of its show career due to age or unsoundness... held them together for a few months with Bute, then while pretending that the arthritis (or whatever unsoundness) was a "new" condition or injury, advised the owners to buy a new horse (from him of course).
His training fees were sky-high, yet he never actually took an active part in any of the training.
I watched as he strung along one client for well over 6 months, collecting fees when he knew good and well that her horse lacked talent for jumping... but he never told her.
Basically, he wrung money out of his clients, and leaned on his previous fame while they recieved very little in return for the large checks they were writing.

Once again though, I can't let the owners completely off the hook, and in this case it seemed that some of this guy's clients really didn't care about the quality of his work, or the fact that they were getting ripped-off... all they cared about was the prestige of having their horse in the barn of this famous jump RIDER.
Yes, in reality, the guy had no talent for training... he was a champion jump-rider, but that's all he was... he lacked a "feel" for horses, and a trainer needs that.
He falsely billed himself as a trainer, when riding packers in the show ring was his true talent.

At any rate, the lesson here is to always scratch below the surface when hiring a trainer... even one recommmended by a friend, or one that has great success in his discipline.
What one person may be OK with, another might consider as poor horsemanship or even abusive treatment.

There ARE plenty of hardworking, honest trainers out there, but you must do your homework to find them... it's a shame, and it sux for sure... but you can separate the wheat from the chaff if you ask the right questions, and can see through the "trainer speak" to the truth.

We'll discuss specific questions you might ask a prospective trainer (and what answers you should expect) within a few days... as well as some tell-tale signs of dishonesty to watch for.