Good and bad experiences finding trainers / board / services, etc, in your area? Tips for the search?

[danhelm441]

I’m curious what other people have experienced, especially with social media and their local equestrian bb’s. My experiences have been … mixed, at best.

This is coming off the heels of seeing an ISO post for a training program, where I was a little dismayed (if maybe unsurprised) that so many of the comments mentioned a trainer I stayed with way too long. I came across this trainer the same way—an ISO post, chorus of positive comments—and I put a lot of blind faith in those comments. The trainer turned out to be a bit crazy, frankly not very skilled and, on top of that, not consistent about working my horse, such that he regressed quite a bit under her care. Bad as it was, I’m not trying to torpedo her business, so I don’t have any intention of putting her on blast online. But seeing that most of the commenters replying to the post were the same ones who steered me in her direction, I realized it’s definitely buyer beware out there. One, you can’t even know for sure how many of those commenters are real people. And two, even crazy trainers can have crazy loyal clients who leap at the chance to sing their praises online. All that to say, you can’t trust what you read.

Anyway, the whole experience of shopping for board, training, farrier, hay supplier, etc, is giving me wedding planning flashbacks. It’s probably the only other time in my life I was thrown into the deep end needing to contract with vendors for goods and services I have no expertise in. That time around, midway through the process, a friend-of-a-friend hooked me up with a wedding planner, and as much as I insisted I didn’t need her, I can look back and see so clearly how all the vendors she found for me were way better deals than anyone I found on my own—more professional, more affordable, way less aggressively marketed online. She knew who to avoid, who was short on clients and would do it for less than the original quote, who was just getting started but had the bona fides to do quality work. It certainly makes me wish there were a wedding planning equivalent to getting set up in a new horse area!

All that aside, and since such things don’t exist outside the wedding industry, how else are you able to sort the good from the bad in the horse industry? What do you look for, where do you look, and what are the lines you can read between to know if you’re dealing with the real article, or someone who’s just happy to take your money and do a terrible job?

[drop_shot]

I don’t personally have any great insights for this. My methodology is pretty similar (asking friends/acquaintances for recommendations or trial and error). This does make me wish that there was a GlassDoor equivalent for the horse world though.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Honestly, you have to trust your gut as a horseperson and talk to serious horsepeople whose opinions you trust. Not your friends (who may be sweet and blindsided by a charismatic personality), certainly not sock puppets online (who may be part of a trainer’s teenage groupies who never rode anywhere else). Even then there are some horse people who say all the right things, have polished and professional appearances, and once you’re in the program, the crazy and mean starts seeping out.

What’s hardest is that often the very best people don’t need to advertise or solicit new clients. On my local FB page, usually the most aggressive people offering their services when people post an ISO ad are the shadiest.

[OfCourseItsAnAlter]

As far as finding trainers and lesson programs, years ago I read (can’t remember where) a suggestion that you should go to a local horse show. Look for trainers who are calm and professional with well-cared for and well-trained horses and students/clients who are having fun, supporting each other, and handling their horses in the way that you would want your horse handled. I always thought that was good advice, because horse shows often bring out the worst in people and if a trainer and his/her program are working well under those stressful conditions, it’s a good indicator that day-to-day life in that program is going to be a positive experience.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

This, right here.

Sit and get comfortable for the day, not ringside but within ear and eye shot of the warm up rings. Watch who can warm up horses (and humans) kindly and effectively. Who reassures? calms nerves? provides feedback that is manageable, effective and responsible?

That is who I want in my corner.

[Scribbler]

@danhelm441

I’m curious what other people have experienced, especially with social media and their local equestrian bb’s. My experiences have been … mixed, at best.

This is coming off the heels of seeing an ISO post for a training program, where I was a little dismayed (if maybe unsurprised) that so many of the comments mentioned a trainer I stayed with way too long. I came across this trainer the same way—an ISO post, chorus of positive comments—and I put a lot of blind faith in those comments. The trainer turned out to be a bit crazy, frankly not very skilled and, on top of that, not consistent about working my horse, such that he regressed quite a bit under her care. Bad as it was, I’m not trying to torpedo her business, so I don’t have any intention of putting her on blast online. But seeing that most of the commenters replying to the post were the same ones who steered me in her direction, I realized it’s definitely buyer beware out there. One, you can’t even know for sure how many of those commenters are real people. And two, even crazy trainers can have crazy loyal clients who leap at the chance to sing their praises online. All that to say, you can’t trust what you read.

Anyway, the whole experience of shopping for board, training, farrier, hay supplier, etc, is giving me wedding planning flashbacks. It’s probably the only other time in my life I was thrown into the deep end needing to contract with vendors for goods and services I have no expertise in. That time around, midway through the process, a friend-of-a-friend hooked me up with a wedding planner, and as much as I insisted I didn’t need her, I can look back and see so clearly how all the vendors she found for me were way better deals than anyone I found on my own—more professional, more affordable, way less aggressively marketed online. She knew who to avoid, who was short on clients and would do it for less than the original quote, who was just getting started but had the bona fides to do quality work. It certainly makes me wish there were a wedding planning equivalent to getting set up in a new horse area!

All that aside, and since such things don’t exist outside the wedding industry, how else are you able to sort the good from the bad in the horse industry? What do you look for, where do you look, and what are the lines you can read between to know if you’re dealing with the real article, or someone who’s just happy to take your money and do a terrible job?

You need to educate yourself and to find a mentor that you trust, and whose biases you understand and factor in. I had a horse as a kid, and did all the care, got the hay vet farrier. When I returned to riding as an adult, I used my horse sense from the past to educate myself in the things that had changed and the new kinds of knowledge.

If you know what good hay is and you know what good trimming and farriery looks like, then you can evaluate service providers and suppliers easily enough. There is so much information on line, it’s easy enough to self educate.

As far as trainers, you need to develop your own set of criteria for what you want a trainer to do and how they behave. Having a good eye for craycray is a very important life skill, not just for horses. Knowing what healthy happy horses look like. And not getting snowed by those who over promise or chase the shiny new thing.

I take online references with a grain of salt.

[r.matey]

This isn’t so helpful if you’re totally new to an area and building your network from scratch, but when I’ve moved barns I asked my vet for recommendations. She sees a lot of barns and how the horses are kept, and I thought shared good, honest perspective with me about those she liked and why, and a few she personally would avoid. After that I took tours and like others have said paid a lot of attention to how the staff and existing clients interacted with each other and the horses, looked at stalls, smelled the hay, etc.

[Bebe_Falcon1]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

What’s hardest is that often the very best people don’t need to advertise or solicit new clients. On my local FB page, usually the most aggressive people offering their services when people post an ISO ad are the shadiest.

Yup. The places that seem to be constantly advertising stalls available, those are the ones that are usually (not always) losing boarders for a reason.

[Limerick]

I think that social media has allowed sub par trainers to appear to know what they are doing.

Along with observing them at shows, I would also check out their social media. Avoid the ones who post things like “Could this day get any worse?” Who needs a trainer that vents online in such a vague way?! Also stay away from the ones whose clients seem to all have to gush about them on Facebook etc. Good horsemen utilize Facebook in a way that puts horses first like the young trainer who posted to remind us to observe everyday habits and worry if something was different (like a horse that did not slurp ALL of his dinner like usual)

Finally, find out who the really established, respected trainers are mentoring/recommending/using for their horses.

[Ponyplusaninch]

For evaluating boarding and/or barns with programs—I have found it very telling who has a price sheet ready to go with everything itemized and who doesn’t.

Indicative of the level or organization, care, and business-savviness you can expect to deal with month to month.

Do not be deceived by a simple round figure where they tell you it covers “everything” or is “full board.” “Full board” it turns out can encompass a number of different things depending on who you ask.

[trubandloki]

@danhelm441

even crazy trainers can have crazy loyal clients who leap at the chance to sing their praises online.

Sometimes I think the more crazy the trainer, the more loyal the core group of clients that rave about them are.

[Pokerface]

@trubandloki

@danhelm441

even crazy trainers can have crazy loyal clients who leap at the chance to sing their praises online.

Sometimes I think the more crazy the trainer, the more loyal the core group of clients that rave about them are.

Agreed, ESPECIALLY crazy/under-qualified trainers have the most loyal group of followers who take every opportunity to advertise their “trainer”. Watching the “misinformation” and drama on social media is one of my guilty pleasures haha.

OP, the reality is, you can only listen to the advise of people who you really trust and respect. When you go, look at EVERYTHING. The bedding, the hay, the horse’s feet. Watch a lesson or even just watch some people ride. How is their riding overall? Do the horses look sound, happy, and comfortable with their jobs? Is the turnout well maintained? What about the rings? Talk to customers, how long have they been there? What is their favorite thing about being at that barn? How do the trainers and horses interact? What does the tack room look like? What do they feed and why?

There are so many BS people out there, and social media has given them a platform. Use social to get names and general ideas, but then go and use what you already know. I have a friend who did exactly what @OfCourseItsAnAlter said about showing up at a horse show and watching. Which is how she ended up at my barn at the time. I remember thinking what a bright idea that was.

[danhelm441]

@Pokerface

OP, the reality is, you can only listen to the advise of people who you really trust and respect. When you go, look at EVERYTHING. The bedding, the hay, the horse’s feet. Watch a lesson or even just watch some people ride. How is their riding overall? Do the horses look sound, happy, and comfortable with their jobs? Is the turnout well maintained? What about the rings? Talk to customers, how long have they been there? What is their favorite thing about being at that barn? How do the trainers and horses interact? What does the tack room look like? What do they feed and why?

Like so many bad decisions, I made mine under pressure. I needed to move the horse, made a short list of prospective trainers online, then went with the first trainer I met with. I definitely had misgivings, but I remember repeatedly suppressing my skepticism by referring back to all the positive reviews online.

Also had a bad experience with a shipper who came highly, highly recommended online (my horse is a difficult loader, he got impatient and cracked the whip behind us as I was leading the horse up the ramp, and the horse spooked and nearly trampled me). The shipper was expressly recommended for being patient and skilled with difficult loaders

Common denominator in both those cases was a feeling of urgency/desperation. Wishful thinking overruled my better judgment.

[blue_heron]

Even better, volunteer in a position where you communicate with such people. Ring steward, run tests, or work in the show office. You’ll learn who is kind and who is not real quick. You kind of fade into the background as a volunteer and people are a little more loose-lipped. The things I have heard ringside…

[Rel6]

Having left a bad experience a few barns back, its so easy to recognize the red flags even in the social media presence: extreme focus on how high students are jumping in social media posts, major emphasis on trainer’s riding achievements at shows with little to no focus on student’s achievements, and one or two main clients dominating the entire business.

Had I gone to a show and scoped out this trainer as others advised, I would have known to avoid it like the plague. By contrast, the barn I ended up at after (based on word of mouth) I would have gone to in a heartbeat.

It really is just so difficult, and I wish there was a better system. I was lucky in my current barn and last barn that I had local people I trusted give me recommendations that worked out wonderfully. But if I were moving to a place with no connections, I would be terrified of having to do another barn search.

[Pokerface]

Boy do I understand that! I often wonder what I would think of some of these “professionals” if I only knew them by social media, and wasn’t painfully aware of the truth! I don’t let anyone load, or even help me load, my young horse right now. We have a system and I don’t want anyone scaring him or causing any kind of issues. So I can only imagine how frustrating that must be to have someone who was recommended as GOOD for this situation turn out to actually make it a worse situation.

Use your best judgement and maybe be a little more skeptical of the praises from some of these people.

[Halternatively]

@Rel6

Having left a bad experience a few barns back, its so easy to recognize the red flags even in the social media presence: extreme focus on how high students are jumping in social media posts, major emphasis on trainer’s riding achievements at shows with little to no focus on student’s achievements, and one or two main clients dominating the entire business.

YES to these three red flags! Trainer selfies, trainer results on social media is a no. Being asked how high you jumped in a lesson, at a show, also a no. A clear favorite, star client? Run.

[AmmyHunter]

@Rel6

Having left a bad experience a few barns back, its so easy to recognize the red flags even in the social media presence: extreme focus on how high students are jumping in social media posts, major emphasis on trainer’s riding achievements at shows with little to no focus on student’s achievements, and one or two main clients dominating the entire business.

Wow this is so true!! Whether you find an initial list through word of mouth, show results, observing at a show, or social media/forums, I think researching their online presence, talking to the trainer on the phone, and visiting the farm will almost always give you a gut feeling that you can trust. I had to find a new barn on short notice and it was amazing how much I could tell even in the shortest of visits to the farm in person for a scheduled appointment. Some were an automatic no (overcrowded or poor turnout etc), some would have been just fine but didn’t feel like the perfect fit, and two were just great. and I agonized over choosing between them. But one had an indoor and one didn’t even have a covered and that was a huge difference (and the one with the covered was less expensive)! So, go visit and trust your gut, it won’t steer you wrong! Then look at the objective differences when you get down to making final choices - I even made a spreadsheet to compare and it helped!

[paw]

And even if you do find that the barn you’ve chosen doesn’t fit your needs, that’s ok - just use it as a base while you keep looking (assuming the care isn’t substandard). Especially when coming into a new area cold, be prepared to expect that you might not have found the best barn for you at first.

[endlessclimb]

I would talk to people in the area.

There is a barn nearby that on the surface looks great. Decent turnout areas, huge indoor, horses are well cared for. But… the barn rules and procedures are XYZ, until they’re ABC because the owner has a wild hair up her butt.

For example, this past winter, she refused boarders access to the indoor arena and turnout because opening the doors, even for a moment, “let heat out of the barn.” So, people were walking their horses up and down the aisles for “exercise”. This is one of many examples I could give of this woman being totally insane.

You need lots of first hand accounts from people, both current clients and former ones. Know there are three sides to every story though, and don’t ignore your gut instinct.

ETA: If I were boarding there, BO and I would have had a looooong discussion about discounted board if she wanted to restrict access to the arena for weeks at a time.