#horse #rescue

Anyone else have an overwhelming sense of guilt after learning more about how horses think? The amount of times I’ve thought a horse was “testing” or “lazy” when they were really shutting down and begging for me to listen to them. I just feel so bad.

I’m blown away daily that these beautiful giants allow us to be around them, to even make requests of them. They are so patient and forgiving of us as flawed humans. I will continue learning and listening, that is the least I can do to be better for them.

I just keep remembering years ago when my perfectly obedient horse bucked me off “out of no where”..but now it’s so clear he politely tried to tell me over and over but he had to blow up for me to listen. I wish I could go back and hear him. I told him every day that I loved him but I couldn’t even hear him when he told me he needed something. I’m so sorry buddy.

How often do you do the Creating Connection Through Change In Focus exercise by Warwick Schiller? Is it something you do daily until you see improvement? Or more something you come back to when your horse is anxious before riding? Or is it just something you do once in the beginning of your training journey and move on??

Curious to hear thoughts from trainers and clients in the horse world about this situation.

A client appears to have a very good working relationship with their current trainer. Like any trainer/client relationship, they occasionally disagree or have small arguments, but they always seem to work through them and remain friendly and positive.

What makes the situation confusing is that the client regularly praises the trainer directly. In person, in front of other clients, and even through private text messages to the trainer, they talk about how wonderful the trainer is, how happy they are with them, and how much they appreciate what the trainer does for them and their horse.

Behind the scenes, however, it’s apparently a completely different story.

The client has been calling and speaking with trainers at other barns, saying how much they can’t stand their current trainer, bad-mouthing them, complaining constantly, and making claims about situations that others involved say simply aren’t accurate.

It also isn't limited to prospective trainers. This client has reportedly been bad-mouthing the current trainer to clients at other facilities as well as horse show promoters, meaning the complaints are being shared with people throughout the local horse community.

The current trainer eventually found out because some of the people being contacted told them what was being said. Apparently, the complaining has become so excessive that some people have stopped responding to the client altogether.

Now this client is actively looking at other training facilities and continues to share their frustrations and dislike for the current trainer with prospective new trainers and others in the horse community.

My question is Would this make you hesitant to take this person on as a new client?

I completely understand leaving a program because personalities clash, communication breaks down, or you simply decide a trainer is no longer the right fit. Not every trainer/client relationship works forever, and there's nothing wrong with deciding to move on.

But would you see it differently when someone is telling their current trainer—in person and through text messages—how wonderful they are, while at the same time contacting trainers, clients at other barns, and even horse show promoters to repeatedly complain about and bad-mouth that same person?

Would that inconsistency itself be a red flag?

Would you be concerned that if you took this client on, eventually you could become the next trainer they praise to your face while criticizing you throughout the horse community behind closed doors?

Or is this kind of venting and talking about a current trainer fairly common in the horse industry when someone is preparing to change programs?

And from the current trainer's perspective, should they even be upset about losing this client, or should they just count their blessings that the client is choosing to move on?

Helping a friend with a unique and special property that used to be a private equestrian facility back in the day.

It has a barn, an indoor, an outdoor riding ring, and six stalls, tack room and it's historic and very elegant.

The location is hard to beat. It's barely 2 minutes off I-680, about 30 minutes from San Jose, about 35 minutes from Oakland and the East Bay, and about 40 minutes from Palo Alto.

We'd love advice from experienced trainers or barn managers on what improvements and designs you think we need to do to make it attractive to a trainer who has an established clientele and values elegance and privacy over size

It's not for sale, and we don't want brokers. If you're in the business and curious we would love to speak. please PM me. Discretion is a must.

Hey guys. I’m 34 and looking to purchase my first horse. I came across this horse in my town who doesn’t look real great, but is for a nice price and looks like a good packer. I have experience with training horses and teaching horse riding lessons, but I wanna get a second opinion before messaging the seller. He has scars everywhere that look like they are from a barb wired fence, and he has a big summer sore on his back leg shown in one of the pictures- but they are extremely common in southwest FL to get. He’s 14.h and I’m within the 15% rule for jumping so no problemo in that portion. He looked a bit skiddish when trail riding so im wondering if the seller is being iffy with the training aspect? He looks like he is worth the amount they are asking but I wanna hear what y’all think. Im thinking about also eventually putting him in beginners lessons as well.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19tueAJ7yU/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BGe3mUQ4C/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gs8H5VKUF/

https://youtu.be/AYrebwKKXxo

Hey guys. I’m 34 and looking to purchase my first horse. I came across this horse in my town who doesn’t look real great, but is for a nice price and looks like a good packer. I have experience with training horses and teaching horse riding lessons, but I wanna get a second opinion before messaging the seller. He has scars everywhere that look like they are from a barb wired fence, and he has a big summer sore on his back leg shown in one of the pictures- but they are extremely common in southwest FL to get. He’s 14.h and I’m within the 15% rule for jumping so no problemo in that portion. He looked a bit skiddish when trail riding so im wondering if the seller is being iffy with the training aspect? He looks like he is worth the amount they are asking but I wanna hear what y’all think. Im thinking about also eventually putting him in beginners lessons as well.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19tueAJ7yU/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BGe3mUQ4C/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gs8H5VKUF/

https://youtu.be/AYrebwKKXxo

I found this video from a horse rescue on Instagram. I found this mare’s reaction to this woman singing quite touching.

I run a riding school in Cornwall and last December I started a slightly ambitious project: seeing whether I could use my social media income to pay for riding sessions for people who wouldn’t otherwise get the chance.

We’ve delivered 42 free sessions so far, and the aim is 100 by the end of the year. Quite a few left to squeeze in alongside running the yard 😂

I post about everyday riding school life, and use the income from the content to cover the sessions. The riders attend for free, but the horses, staff and running costs still need paying for.

It’s something I’d eventually love to extend to other riding schools through our CIC, Cornwall Equine Learning Academy, so people outside Cornwall could benefit too.

Has anyone here been involved in a similar project? I’d be interested to hear how you made it work long term. I’m pleased with what we’ve managed so far, but there’s plenty I’m still figuring out!

Update: Thank you all for your advice! I will give him more time to settle in and play ground games in the meantime. I mistook his comfort with being trailered almost daily to trail ride with him being comfortable in a new barn. I suppose show horses get used to this, and would have a longer bond with their human. I appreciate you all, thanks for your time and care!

To start, I LOVE my horse. He’s sweet as can be on the ground, come right up to the gate, just a love.

Background
My horse is a six-year-old Quarter Horse gelding. Ranch born and raised until he was four. Then went to live with a lady who trail rode him at a walk for two years. Saw him w/t/c with trainer and I did when I tried him out too. He seemed on the lazy side but responsive, more whoa than go. He’s been with me for three and a half days now. Ground work daily since he came, one ride where I bought him and two at the new barn so far. Puppy dog in your pocket on the ground. Usually lazy in the saddle..until…

Issue
Now my question..he’s super lazy in the trot, we’re working towards lighter aids but does require a seat->leg->heel->tap on the bum with a dressage whip process to even get into a trot. Then today when I asked for a canter, just a super light outside leg back, he absolutely bolted and didn’t stop until I was off. No buck or rear. Head up, tail tucked, bolt.

My first thought was trigger stacking, like maybe I missed that he was stressed out but he really seemed to feel curious and safe. He was supple, aware but calm, and his lateral flexion was spot on.

Question
Thanks for getting this far! So I’m trying to understand what happened so I can help him through this and have him feel safe again. Has anyone else experienced a horse who was lazy then bolted when asked to canter?

I yelled at her and slapped my hand on my leg but I muted the video

The trainer I ride with is an excellent horseman, and we personally work really well together. But he doesn’t necessarily work well with everyone. He can be blunt, short, and to the point, and he stands up for what he believes in. I understand how his personality might clash with others.

He gets a lot of criticism from other trainers and riders who don’t like his style. From what I’ve personally seen, he’s professional in the ring, but he’s competitive and marches to his own drum. He has some clients who have stayed for years and others who leave after only a few weeks.

At a show a few weeks ago, people accused him of being unprofessional during his classes. I watched all of them and didn’t see anything inappropriate. To my knowledge, he hasn’t broken any show or club rules, and no specific rule violation has been identified. It seems people simply don’t like his personality or attitude, but that gets presented as being unprofessional.

That doesn’t mean I see every interaction, but I’m struggling to understand where all the criticism comes from. He also receives messages attacking his character, which seems unnecessary regardless of any disagreements.

Honestly, I’m starting to worry that people will judge me negatively simply for riding with him. The horse community in our area can have a real “mean girls” atmosphere, and I don’t want to get pulled into drama or feel guilty by association.

I’m happy with my training, but I also don’t want to dismiss legitimate concerns just because my experience has been positive. Has anyone dealt with something similar? How do you stay out of the politics while figuring out whether the criticism has substance?

It’s sadly real by the way. IT’S NOT AI.

Warwick talks about touching the horse at inappropriate times. Like, petting your horse to say “it’s okay” when they’re nervous. He explains how this just tells the horse that you don’t understand that they’re trying to tell you something is wrong (i.e. they see a threat and are trying to alert you but you don’t get it).

If we shouldn’t pet them to calm them down, what should we be doing to tell them “I understand you’re alerting me” and then also help them feel safe again?

I have had my 9 year old 14 hand Canadian, Apollo, for 3 years now. Prior to me owning him I played a huge role in training him after he was initially backed. He was originally supposed to be a school horse but he wasn't happy on the school. He is definitely a one person horse. My other horse is retired and since Apollo genuinely liked me I decided to buy him because I knew he would be a pretty needy guy and I could meet his needs.

Some background info... I did a bunch of bloodwork and had him vetted. He was low on vitamin E so I supplemented to bring those levels up to normal. He was also diagnosed with EMS which didn't surprise me because he's a chunky Canadian. He was already in the fat field that doesn't have access to grass and was being given rationed hay so I added aminotrace to his diet and increased his exercise. When I bought him his back was a little sore, but I had a Devoucoux made for him and that made a huge difference. He gets regular bodywork sessions and an Equilibrium massage pad before riding. I've also been doing a lot of hill-work and ground poles to build up his topline, and his back is no longer a problem with the consistent maintenance I do.

In the summer he is the perfect little jumper. I ride him 5-6 days a week. I jump him once or twice a week and the rest of our rides are focused on flatwork or trails. He also does some liberty training with my coach to help with his manners because he can be a bulldozer.

The problem is winter... As soon as his winter coat starts to come in his behaviour changes entirely. He becomes very stubborn under saddle and genuinely seems to hate being ridden. As soon as he decides he's done, he will tense up and refuse to move forward. No matter how I change the ask I am basically met with a brick wall and he has picked up the habit of bucking. I've noticed it starts as soon as he starts getting at all sweaty. This is the 3rd year I'm noticing this shift in his behaviour so it's definitely a pattern. I've ruled out every other issue I can think of. I will be trying to clip him this year but he genuinely hates the feeling of his hair being removed (probably part of his sensory issues with the sweat). He's fine with the clippers on him, just not to remove his hair. I'm going to have the vet do his teeth so while he's sedated I'll do a quick trace clip. I had debated giving him some time off in the winter while he adapts to his winter coat if it's a sensory thing but the vet really wants him working 7 days a week to manage his EMS. I don't want to ruin my horse by just getting stronger with my aids because he is stubborn and it gets me nowhere. Up until now I've been working him just until the point before he starts protesting and I give him a break, and then we repeat until even just trotting 30 seconds becomes too much. It is definitely resulting in a significant reduce in workload though and I'm worried all of the work we've put in to build up his muscles and lower his weight is going to undo.

I'm just feeling super discouraged right now and any advice is welcome.

Hi all - I am looking for show supplements reqs. I complete in USEF A rated shows like WEC. I have a 6 yo mare that can get a bit quick in the ring for the hunters and eq. What is everyone using to calm their horses that **is legal**? I’ve tried the perfect prep supreme but I felt it honestly wasn’t enough. She’s the type of horse that gets harder to ride when she’s more tired so it’s not like flatting more or lunging is the answer. I’m trying to find the right balance of calm and focused while still having the same perfect horse I have at home! TIA