I know I’m rethinking my affection for dutch doors.
The former still sees you as a human that You Should Not Step On, but the latter is willing to hurt itself and others to escape whatever is happening.
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ETA: And either scenario, a slippery-a** concrete aisle is wildly unhelpful. I love, love, love those rubbery, spongy, phony bricks you often see at the track, in the paddock areas.
I just now saw the pictures. This poor horse suffered so much because he wouldn’t load. How can any human being do this and LEAVE the property to go to a “show”. He suffered. Period. The “trainer” hid the reason and disposed of his body. Lies upon lies, but this POS lied over and over. I pray to God, somebody that took the pictures owns up. The fact that this trainer moves on like it is nothing is beyond disgusting. sickening. Hoping Karma comes visiting soon. It will! Her FB page sickens me.
Couldn’t look at the pics, but the descriptions are so vivid I can see it anyway. I can’t stop thinking about this poor horse and his owners. You would think anyone who boards, trains, or otherwise engages with the sociopath who did this would pull their horse immediately from their program, it’s terribly depressing to see her FB page up and running with zero accountability, and people somehow defending them?! I find it truly hard to believe that anyone who has spent any time handling horses would tie a horse like that out of anything but anger. The lies/cover up about what happened as a result seem to draw a clear line to a person with no remorse, no lessons learned, and a complete disregard for others (owners and horses). I sincerely hope the owners sue her into oblivion. Gave my ISH all the love tonight, I just can’t stomach people anymore.
It does come back to the question of “if you’re going to leave the horse that won’t load behind in a stall, why tie it?”.
Nope. Don’t lump BO’s or legitimate trainers in with shady people. Having a license will require government, fees and other things that won’t do anything to fix the problem.
The owners have to step up and make sure their horses are being cared for to the highest standards. That’s what I do with my horse who’s at my trainer’s place.
It’s a cruel and disgusting way of that person. She was determined to make that horse pay with his life. Who know what else she got away with all these years too.
Who looks out for the Newbs?
The I’ve Always Wanted Horse & Now I Have One well-intentioned peeps.
Many of whom end up posting here when some numnutz claiming to be a Pro lures them into a boarding/training situation that smells like Accident Waiting to anyone with experience.
Some sort of BHS-type requirement that would assure anyone offering their service had at least a minimal knowledge of horses.
It is still not the horse owners fault when the trainer does something wrong. Period.
Not to mention, the horse could have been getting 10/10 care, but the trainer is still an abusive idiot and it only takes one time of that and here we are.
Yes it is. It’s your horse, you are responsible too. In this day you can do a lot of prevention such a cameras, check ups etc.
This is why it’s very important to vet out trainers, facilities, shows etc. We to this day ask here on the forum. We also give a heads up for any shady practices that goes on in the horse world.
I’m very intuned with my horse’s care. I speak to his vet if I he’s seen when I’m at work and can’t make it so I’m in the loop. I speak to my farrier to make sure his feet are ok. Anything preventative is discussed as a team. Plus I learn new things and I enjoy conversation.
It’s a team effort but it must be done.
That’s not 10/10 care imo. That’s -10/10. Any abuse is not to be tolerated.
Who? Well they have learn by asking questions. We were all newbs and we asked questions. I’m still learning new things.
Having the government step in with fees and licenses is not the answer. My barn had a full inspection and passed. That’s all that is needed. If you want to go to a trainer, vet him/her. Ask questions and look out for red flags.
Lastly, this community is fantastic. We can all come here, ask questions and get fantastic advice.
I am not responsible for the intentional wrong acts of someone else.
A person can be part of every step of the care of their horse and be part of the team regarding care and the trainer can still turn around and do something like tie your horse in a stall and leave it there to break its neck.
That is not the fault of the owner. Period.
It is some what disgusting that you are choosing to blame that on the owner.
You’re right! This community has all the answers & more - always someone who’s BTDT 
It took me more than 30yrs owning horses to find this BB.
But, for whatever reason, too many new to horses put implicit trust in self-proclaimed “Pros” & don’t bother educating themselves.
Even if it meant State/Local licensing & fees, at least it could weed out some chaff.
I pay a fee to keep my vehicles - including the horse trailer - licensed & insured. Doesn’t eliminate unlicensed/uninsured drivers, but if they’re caught it’s harder for them to repeat the offense.
The owner is not guilty, but you still need to check on your horses. If abuse is happening, you get out and make the trainer responsible. Can’t blindly trust anyone. That’s how I got burned.
Government getting their nose in the situation is not a good thing. Government oversight is the least productive thing in the universe. They will take advantage of every aspect, charge horrendous fees, and make it so restrictive that nobody would want to board horses. Then, when you make said improvements that the government wants, the county tax man comes by and taxes your land, raising it’s so high that you can barely afford the property Taxes or mortage.
Plus, all these fees will get passed on to the borders so everybody loses.
Thank you so much, as I am another one who does not want to look at the photos.
When the rope is as taught as that rope would have been, a knife cuts through a rope like butter, and yes if you can do it from outside the aisle, always think safety first.
If you can not undo it from the other side of the fence you can use the knife anywhere on the rope if it cuts it like butter you can stand off to the side. Do not go in front of the horse. They will pull and pull and pull and then suddenly jump forward onto you.
My horses are taught to stand still with nothing touching the ground, taught to come when I call and only ever tied to baling twine. I never tie with a rope halter. If I have to leave them at a float they are left with feed, water and hay and only if they are quietly munching. If they do break the baling twine, I just call them back, there is no big deal.
Lucky- thanks for posting your thoughts. You are correct that there have been multiple calls to code enforcement (AC operates out of this division) about issues with this property and animals.
I am probably more involved than at least 95% of boarders given that I am at the farm 3-6 hours a day, 4-6 days a week, and even though I am on premises 3-6 hours a day, most days, I am not there 24/7. So you are saying that if something messed up happens when I am not present, and there was no indication prior that anything might happen, I am culpable? Please. I pay good money to ensure my horse’s safety and happiness. If something happens not on my watch, and I reasonably expect good care? That isn’t on me.
Also, cameras? What barn that you know of has live camera feeds in stalls, barn aisles, etc? None that I am aware of!
A rope halter was not the problem here. Hard tieing was not the problem here. Poor horsemanship was the problem, if this happened as reported.
In light of all the “I’d never hard tie a horse” comments, I’m going to tell a story of a moment I’m not proud of that illustrates exactly why horses should be taught to hard tie, even if you never plan to actually do so.
I don’t generally hard tie my horses at home (because I don’t really need to - they ground tie), but it’s a skill I make sure to teach young horses very early. And I only use rope halters for everyday using. Mostly because I don’t have to worry about them getting wet, and I can make one halter fit every horse I own. The nice leather halters are reserved for shows and other extended road trips.
Two weeks ago, I hauled my broodmare to the vet for an ultrasound. When we got home, I unloaded her as I always do with my riding horse. Which means I pulled into my front yard (the barn isn’t accessible with a trailer), partially opened the escape door on my stock trailer to unclip her trailer tie and swap it for a - long, NH style - lead rope, and then walked to the back door to open it. I hopped in the trailer with her and asked her to back out, and she complied. Only AFTER she was fully unloaded did either of us realize that the tail of her lead rope was caught in the escape door of the trailer… 
She was fully out of the trailer at this point. She started to sit back but quickly realized she was stuck. Between that and my quiet “whoa”, she stopped and stood still instead. Her good training and mind allowed me to remove the trailer tie from the trailer, walk to her, and replace her stuck lead rope with the trailer tie, which I used to lead her down the driveway to the barn.
Had she panicked, with the rope being so low, she’d have seriously injured herself. Had her lead rope been shorter, instead of the 12’ I use, she’d have hit the end of it while she was halfway out of the trailer and probably injured BOTH of us before we realized what was happening. Had she been wearing a breakaway halter, her initial yank would have resulted in a loose horse running panicked down a busy road.
This is why tie training is essential.
Disclaimer: I am in no way defending the subject of this post. But the error here had nothing to do with (properly) hard tieing a horse.
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