Just to interject on the subject of magnetic blankets. Please show me any studies that demonstrate efficacy. Its all anecdotal. So if your lease has charges for this…yes you’re being ripped off.
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Bemer isn’t magnetic, it’s PEMF. Which has a bit more data behind it.
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I just want to add, OP, please don’t beat yourself up about this. I see most of your posts add something to the effect of you being “stupid”. You’re not. This stuff happens, and sometimes we learn the hard way, but that’s not necessarily on you, exactly. Like a few have said, you don’t know that you even have to ask these questions until you run into an issue. So be kind to yourself, but learn from this. Good luck in your future ventures!
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No, it is not H/J specific. Can only speak to Reining, QH, Arab and Dressage as have seen their bills but betting the others are right up there too.
I always required itemized billing ( and no vague “meds” charges) from the barn and set up separate accounts with vets, farriers and Smart Pak. I won’t play in their sandbox otherwise. Much easier these days then it used to be with credit cards but you do need to review that itemized bill monthly.
I am somewhat surprised they can still get a needle in the hock joints twice a year on this 25 year old. Might want to see those invoices. If you move elsewhere, it would be something to ask to see to confirm those procedures are being done as billed.
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It’s stuff like this that’s just another piece of the “what’s killing our industry” pie.
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Well, there are no licensing or regulation, no required training, few places require any kind of permits to operate a teaching/training business. Plus that many who land in that business lack any business education so it is consumer beware. Like buying a used car on Craigslist.
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I agree with this (and have always done it that way.) Even if I trust everyone else involved, it’s my responsibility to keep good medical records, and the best way to do that is to make sure my invoice doesn’t get lost in the feed bill on the manager’s desk.
Will say for the OP that some barns will find this surprising or be resistant to a newer lessee paying the provider directly for non-nefarious reasons… they don’t want to be in the middle of a dispute between their care providers and their clients if the client doesn’t settle their bill promptly. Barns value the relationships they’ve built with vets and farriers and don’t want to compromise their ability to get the vet out in an emergency. Often this can be sorted by having a credit card on file with the vet’s billing office, if the vet has one, but my regular vet still bills in paper invoices and paper checks! Again, whole lotta “it depends” and worth approaching as a point of discussion as you look for your next barn.
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All in all, I don’t see clear evidence the OP is being fleeced. It was definitely a misstep on the trainer’s part not to be clear up front about costs and expenses, especially to someone new to the sport who might not have a clear idea of what maintenance for an older horse might look like.
Let’s go through the costs here:
-No lease fee on a 25 year old horse with no performance limitations (other than the lack of lead changes): This is an excellent deal. Also, the fact that the lease is shorter term is also a great deal as an older horse might be more prone to have an injury or need time off. Leases give a lot of flexibility to a new rider–if something happens to the horse, you can move on, but the owner is stuck caring for and retiring the horse.
-No insurance payment for the lease horse. Many leases include the cost to keep a horse insured, and I’m sure if you were leasing a younger horse you would need to pay insurance.
-Board and lessons, totally reasonable.
-Routine vet/farrier, dewormer, totally reasonable and traditional to pay for that when leasing a horse.
-Supplements, very reasonable
-Bemer blanket and treadmill/theraplate, ok, so I’d be annoyed to see these extras on a bill without having had them be mentioned. Still, I think if I were in your shoes I would consider that in lieu of paying a lease fee, I’m coughing up for some extras that might benefit the soundness and well-being of the older horse.
-Hock injections, adequan–these expenses are reasonable, BUT are 100% predictable and should 100% have been disclosed at the time of signing the lease.
-Clipping–there’s a lot more to it than owning the clippers. I clip my own horses and clipping includes owning several sets of clippers (small, large, and extra pair), paying for fresh blades/clipper oil/clipper parts/clipper service, bathing the horse ahead of time, and then several hours for the job, and then dealing with being coated with prickly bits of horse hair afterwards.
-Saddle-yes, the trainer makes an effective “commission” off of making sure all her clients purchase saddles from a certain maker because if she “sells” enough saddles to her clients she herself gets free saddles. I’m not sure it’s a rip off though, because if you kept your horse at home you’d probably have trouble getting a rep to come out and do a fitting for you, and the trainer has a vested interest in making sure you end up with a saddle that works for you. One of my saddles is a pro-panel saddle from another brand and it fits just about every horse I’ve ever put it on. FWIW, I’ve bought many custom saddles and it’s expensive and annoying and I always feel stressed out about saddle fit.
I think that you would feel a lot differently (better) about this situation if your trainer had said to you at the time of lease signing:
"Hey, I’m going to lease you this trustworthy and fun older horse that you can do a lot of learning on. As is traditional with horse leases, you will be responsible for board, routine vet/farrier, supplements, and deworming, and you have to pay for your lessons separately. As part of our routine program, clients are expected to pay monthly $X for use of the Bemer blanket/treadmill/theraplate.
Because the horse is older, and because you are new to the sport, we can limit the lease to a shorter period of time so you aren’t locked in. Also, because the horse is older and doesn’t have a lead change, I’m not going to charge you a lease fee. However, because this horse is older, he does require some extra maintenance. You will be responsible for one set of hock injections, adequan injections, and one dental checkup. Here are some estimated costs for those things: $X."
You’d feel good about that, right? Instead of a pricy lease fee (or the long term responsibility of ownership), you’re paying about $3000 that is all going towards the animal’s maintenance and “extras.” I think this is a pretty reasonable deal overall.
I want to be crystal clear here that you are not in the wrong to be questioning these things. It would really rub me the wrong way also to have a trainer make me feel like I’m a blank check to them. I think the place where your trainer went wrong was not disclosing costs up front and not bothering to discuss costs and manage financial expectations with a new client.
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I didn’t read the entire thread, but if OP has a signed (free) lease agreement then I would only pay what is specified in the agreement, none of the extras. Trainer is taking advantage of the client without disclosing all of the costs associated with the lease IMO. It’s impossible to know if the saddle will fit other horses that the OP may lease/buy in the future, so I do think they got ripped off on that purchase.
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Um I have zero professional experience clipping, have only every clipped my own occasionally, use regular Osters (not the big extra wide blade that helps save time), and a FULL clip takes me an hour, two at the absolute most if my blade isn’t new. 6-8 hours is insane. I’d have to assume anyone taking that long is taking a lot of breaks (which is great for them), or has a horse that needs some serious training to tolerate clippers.
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That may have included time to bathe the horse.
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That’s great for you. Takes me 4. Sorry?
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Honestly, for me it also depends on the size of the horse.
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Actually, the extra 2 hours is for my bath when all is said and done 
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And wiping the hair out of your eyes, ears, and nose. Blech. I hate body clipping.
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I need a whole new vocabulary when I clip. I can never get those tiny hairs out of my clothes, either!
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When I used to clip some, I had a designated pullover raincoat that I would use for the job with the hood pulled up and the zipper all the way up over my chin.
I might have looked like I was headed out into a monsoon, but it kept a lot of the hair off of me. Lol.
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This; I had a whole dedicated outfit.
I really don’t miss clipping. Back in the teen years, when I had a few horses and could make money, sure. I could cope with needing to take three showers to really get all of the horse hair off of me.
But now as an adult with just one horse to clip and limited time and a bad low back now–take my money.
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Clipping - that thing you are either good at or you are not good at. And if you are not good at it, it will be obvious for the whole season until that coat sheds out.
Signed,
A person who has clippers but would never body clip something that was showing.
I can get the hair off, I can not get the hair off and have them look wonderful.
Clipping is worth paying for.
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