Horse people are nuts. (Except you and me, of course.)
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Stories like these are what makes me happy I have mine at home.
The worry and stress is worth it for the freedom from BS
GOOD LUCK!
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[quote=“IdahoRider, post:19, topic:758780”]
So what if a trainer is bringing in more lessons than the BO?[/quote]
As this is the 1st mention of the Reason your trainer was tossed out, it sorta makes sense in the Horsepeople is Nutz division.
Brouhaha & Banishment over a single student?
Are you sure that is all there is to the story?
Or just your trainer’s side?
Not that it matters, as you have made your choices.
Hope it works out for you,
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Same. I know there can be some possessive sand-kicking between an owner who teaches and a resident trainer who teaches, been there before. But generally it comes to a head over something else. Regardless, sounds like OP has a good plan moving forward.
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I am sure there is more to it. The thing is, when I asked the BO she was very vague. Which is strange because when she has banned people before she has clearly stated the reason (no insurance, not keeping the lesson calendar current, etc.).
This time she just said there were multiple issues. No detail, even though I was on the list of boarders she e-mailed (the e-mail went out to all the boarders who took lessons with trainer). The e-mail just said that trainer was no longer welcome to teach or board there and her clients who wanted to leave with her would not be held to the 30 day notice of leaving.
Sheilah
Yep. There has never been any mention or hint that there was a problem. Or any issue, let alone one big enough to kick her out.
Sheilah
Even when one side or the other tells you what happened, I think there’s always a bit more to the story, personally. Sometimes I think it’s just difficult because everyone has a different philosophy and it can get to be like a bad roommate situation.
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Then assume that from the BP’s viewpoint there are multiple issues that they don’t want to discuss publicly.
Going forward, keep an eye on your trainer. She may have been totally innocent. Or not. There are many people who are lovely trainers and treat their students well but who don’t have it together on the business end of things. Also BO may have thought she was poaching students. Sometimes just a “helpful chat” can be interpreted as poaching.
Are there other boarders who will still be trailering out to her for lessons? Maybe you can catch a ride with them?
A basic " no frills" used horse trailer ( stock type or 2 horse) aren’t that expensive.
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The trailer isn’t that expensive but not everyone already has a nice big truck to pull it. Most of the folks I know who board in the suburbs have compact cars. I had to buy insure and maintain a second vehicle F250 to have a trailer. I can’t take the truck into the city, into an underground parking lot, or commute in it as gas is crazy expensive.
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Have you shopped for a trailer like this lately? Because I’ve been looking for over a year, and prices are INSANE right now. Most people are asking 1.5-2 times what they PAID for said trailer (often 15-20 years ago!) and getting that in less than a week. New trailers actually cost about HALF what used ones do…but, due to supply chain issues, there are long waiting periods (6 months at one dealership I visited!) to actually get one in after ordering it.
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I just looked on my local CL and there weren’t many on there but while they seemed a bit higher in price it wasn’t too bad. There was a nice aluminum 2 horse w/ tack room for $ 5500.
I did see a few really old ones who were way overpriced but that is normal.
Holy smokes. I bought my trailer a year ago and haven’t watched the market much since then. I just looked on FB marketplace 1. There is little to no inventory 2. Prices are double/triple what they were when I purchased.
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Yep, prices are crazy. A friend has been looking, she found one that is just like mine only OLDER (like about 15 years older than mine) and it was for sale for about $5k more than I paid for mine in 2014 and she sold it in like a day. My friend found a rear and side ramp load trailer (dreamy) that is old and one ramp needs new hinges, and she was able to snatch it up in time. The seller was definitely unhappy that she hadn’t priced it higher (IIRC it was $3k for a 30ish yr old trailer with cosmetic rust and that ramp issue) but honored the price to my friend who was first in line. She said her PMs got blown up from people all over.
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I will third (fourth?) that trailer prices are crazy right now. I follow several multi-state trailer sales groups on facebook (I am casually looking for a new to me trailer) and things are selling quickly for what seems like a crazy price.
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Back to the original question, when this happened to me a few times, the experience taught me to wait awhile before doing anything. Usually there is more to the story as was suggested upthread. You don’t live at the barn or with BO or trainer so things may have been going on you are not aware of and neither side cares to publicly discuss.
Once followed a trainer who was asked to leave suddenly with no explanation and ended up back at the original barn in about 3 months when promises made by trainer were quickly broken. Like rates at new place went up substantially at that 90 day point and she sold the part lease horse Id been using and promised I could keep leasing, she didn’t have extra horses unless I full leased for a year or purchased. Original barn hired a decent enough trainer and had lots of horses so returned. Turned out first trainer was asked to leave when she got behind in board for her horses and was not abiding by her contract terms in splitting lesson and training income with BO as she had agreed to. She moved out of state later that year, never did get that whole story, she sure went off the rails.
Another time stayed after trainer was asked to leave with no notice or explanation. About 3 months later became aware BO was running a drug ring. That was my famous midnite move a few days before ATF raided and seized everything on the property, very messy for boarders still there. Trainer who left later said they knew about the drugs but were threatened and scared of retribution.
Moral of both stories is WAIT it out. Give it about 3 months. No matter how flat the pancake, its got 2 sides and you likely are not going to get the whole story from either side, certainly if its personal, nobody else’s business anyway, even uf caught in the middle.
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I’ll tell you, if there’s one consistent thing I’ve found in the horse world, it’s that barn owners and trainers frequently have conflicts, and clients (of both) end up right smack in the middle of it. The only places I’ve ever boarded that this was not the case were barns where either the trainer was the owner, or where you could “bring in your own trainer” but it was on a case by case basis and they had to pay a ring fee.
I’m sorry that you’re in this situation, and I concur with the “I hate it” sentiment. I hope you find a peaceful place to land and that things work out in the end.
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I don’t think I can wait it out for three months. I need my lessons. I I am going to stay for a month and then move to the barn where I had boarded my old gelding. It is a known quality and my instructor has been teaching there since I was a boarder, so almost ten years.
I know my instructor. The BO of the current barn? Not so much.
Sheilah
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Your BO bans people. She’s now banned another one, if one with a higher status than usual. But this is a repeating pattern and it will continue.
It doesn’t matter why, really. Just what you want to do with your riding, going forward. If you don’t know what the issues are, then they probably don’t affect you anyway.
Don’t spend any energy on some messy business that is between the BO & T, nothing to do with you. Just decide what is best for you going forward.
Sounds like you have your plan. Good luck with a happy outcome. 
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