OP, I’ve “fired” coaches or even vets for less outrageous unauthorised bills than what you’ve paid, but then again I’m a terrible client because I refuse to pay more than necessary and I DIY a lot. What has worked for me over time and I keep coming back to is basically a boarding facility where you’re free to bring your own coach and do most of the car outside of turnout, feeding, blanketing and mucking on your own terms. I’d tolerate as much as a barn-wide farrier/vet assuming they are reasonable people. But FWIW I’ve once had to change vets too because the clinic was bought out by private equity and you can imagine how that affected both their rate card as well as the list of treatments they deemed necessary. So as always - stay vigilant and follow the incentives. As a result, for a monthly all in budget less than yours I’m able to keep two horses, not just one in a decent HCOL area boarding facility. To me that is frankly a great trade-off.
Yes, you end up “managing” a lot more, but you also learn so much and none of it is rocket science. One thing I don’t skimp on is coaching - it runs 3 figs per lesson but I bring them in as necessary. Sometimes they have opinions on what might help a certain horse maintenance wise but I’m also more inclined to trust them because they’re just sharing their professional opinion and it’s take it or leave it. When they’ve come to evaluate a horse for me locally they charge the same lesson fees and they don’t even care how much the horse costs. So in the end the cheaper option in terms of boarding/coaching very well may end up far more expensive once you consider all the commissions and extras you pay. Of course this DIY set up may not be an option for a less advanced rider but the sooner you can get independent and substitute quantity for quality the better.
I’ve experimented with bodywork, bemer etc. and if I’m completely honest I’ve not noticed any significant difference in their way of going so, again, I refuse to pay and waste my time and money at least for the current two that I own. I’m always open to trying new things and there are things that have made a big difference and saddle fitter is one of them. Just looking around most “pros” do the same - weigh the cost of something vs. the benefit and piece together a maintenance routine that delivers the best bang for buck. FYI for my horses which are admittedly much younger that routine is extremely minimal or as most would describe “no maintenance”.
In fact, I’d be surprised to see that your coach actually religiously used a theraplate/bemer/adequan on your oldie and paid these things out of pocket prior to the lease. At 25 y.o. and with no lead change the cost is almost guaranteed to offset any monetary benefit of keeping the horse jumping sound. I also think it’s not very fair to the horse even with the best care in the world.
But truth be told if you want to board at the “right facilities” or go to the “right shows” it appears to me as part of the price. But from what I’ve seen this stuff just has no limits! Next you know for you to reach “your goals” you need a 5 fig lease and/or 6 fig purchase, bought from of course a friend of a coach / contact in Europe etc. That horse will need to be tuned up, need regular maintenance treatments (conveniently administered by your coach or their osteopath) and so on.
Don’t even get me started on tack “you need”.
I liked the analogy of a broker vs. a fiduciary, but to take it even further… It sounds like you are with a very expensive but not independent wealth advisor that not only charges you a management fee but also possibly pads it by getting commsions from the mutual funds she sells and other fees. You can absolutely do it cheaper - get someone to rebalance your portfolio every once in a while you have all your portfolio in an index fund. But for you to be able to do that it takes a lot of self initiative, ability to stomach some risk and early mistakes, as well as dedication to learning.
FWIW I think H/J culture is the worst in terms of this learned dependence on programs and professionals. If you are into jumping but are looking for value for money I recommend you look into eventing barns - they seem a lot more scrappy, independent and (no offense) better horsemen overall.
