Real Meredith Manor Reviews

[Kidashi]

Ok, so I’ve read every bit of research I could find about Meredith Manor, but I still can’t get a solid idea of the riding program specifics. To start things off let me say first up that I’m a 26 year old adult with a lucrative career as a welder, and because of that, I’m not interested in the “college” aspect or the potential(or lack there of) employment opportunities. I travel constantly for work so I’m unable to consistently take lessons, but I have weeks off at a time.

So with that in mind Meredith Manor appeals to me because while it’s expensive, it’s royghly equal the amount of lesson time and expense just condensed in 12week increments. So while a lot of reviews are negative, they’re also focused on other aspects or are from heresay and not actual former students. I’m not expecting a career in horses but I love them and want to own my own small ranch someday. I couldn’t afford it as a child or teen but now I’ve been lucky enough to have a high paying career that allows me options. In my mind even if the program is terrible there’s few places you can get that amount of saddle time in that relatively short time frame. My whole goal is to be able to safely show/work my own horses as ideally fix riding problems on my own.

If you made it through all of that thank you! I guess the main short question I have is what the riding program is like?
I’m interested in jumping and dressage and have been taking a few lessons but sporadically. Was the riding aspect worth the time? Did you get quality instruction? Could a beginner go in and be an advanced rider provided they were determined and relatively intuitive?

If you had gone there, any info on the training elective?
Did you feel comfortable starting your own unbroken horse after the program?

If you do feel the need to say the same “save your money and go to a quality school” can you please suggest another horse program that isn’t a college? I have zero interest in General college courses and am solely looking for an intensive riding program since I can’t spread my lessons consistently over years.

[ladyj79]

Just take lessons from an excellent trainer.

[LSMarnell]

Go visit the place and then decide. It’s a hot mess. The school sits in a deep valley that floods, regularly. All the barns and arenas are in disrepair, the stalls are disgusting (the one the sale horse I had come to look at was in had over a FOOT of built up manure in it.) The student “dorms” are in old shipping containers. Yes, like the metal containers carried by semi trucks. With no ventilation or insulation.
When I was there they were only feeding the horses straight corn. Every horse was sour and miserable.
Spend your money finding the highest quality instruction you can afford by a true professional trainer. You will not find quality anything at Meredith Manor.

[ladyj79]

To be more clear, the average estimated annual cost at Meredith Manor is close to forty thousand, which means it’s over forty k when you throw in eating and doing anything ever.

You and a horse could be in full training with some phenomenal trainers, rent an apartment, and eat for less than this.

if you have that kind of money to spend, that would absolutely be the road I would go down.

[BigMama1]

We had one working student who graduated from MM thinking she knew EVERYTHING because she had this very expensive education. Unfortunately she completely lacked the basic skills in terms of doing the work, managing her time, handling horses, training or riding horses. Now she could be an outlier but if that is the type of students they are graduating I would not be impressed. She learned far more practical skills as a working student with us for a year, skills which actually led to a full time position in the equine industry. She would not have been ready for that type of job when she graduated.

If you are serious about an equestrian career, find a working student position for reputable trainer and work your ass off. You might not get paid other than room and board, but what you learn in lessons is priceless, plus you’d save $100k in tuition

[Kidashi]

Ladyj79: As I clearly explained in the Original post, I travel too much to consistently do that. And this told me nothing about Meredith Manor.

LSMarnell: I don’t care about the dorms, and I understand about the corn, but were the horses unhealthy? I intend on going to see for myself this spring, but I don’t see that telling me about the riding, so I’m trying to find reviews

[jump_pony]

i think you would get a lot more for your money by finding a good trainer to give you ton’s of saddle time for that same 12 weeks.
I am sure you could find somebody to give you quality instruction on an off the horse for far less money.
As far as going from beginner to expert in 12 weeks, that would seem more than impossible.
However you could learn a lot.

[Denali6298]

@Kidashi

Ladyj79: As I clearly explained in the Original post, I travel too much to consistently do that. And this told me nothing about Meredith Manor.

LSMarnell: I don’t care about the dorms, and I understand about the corn, but were the horses unhealthy? I intend on going to see for myself this spring, but I don’t see that telling me about the riding, so I’m trying to find reviews

Just get a trainer if your just interested in riding. You’re clearly not interested horsemanship since you understand about the corn then ask if the horses were healthy. I travel a lot for work, so if you can carve out 12 week blocks, which is more than I can do, you’d be better spent on hiring a good trainer.

If your hell bent on MM then by all means go see it and waste your money.

I just saw you are a beginner. Just go get lessons.

[ladyj79]

Meredith Manor = gigantic waste of money where you gain no useful or respected experience.

hope that helped.

[LSMarnell]

Yes, I would say sour, ulcery, horses sick from standing in mounds of manure all day and eating corn are “unhealthy.”
You asked for reviews. I doubt you will find many good ones from people who have actually been to the place and seen the program first hand. I’m not going to sugar coat it.

[PhoenixFarm]

There would be many trainers who would be happy to create a customized, intense program for you in whatever time frame you have available. We have clients who come from out of state for a few weeks or months in the winter and we set them up with whatever lessons or experiences they need/want for the period of time they are here. And we don’t charge $40K. If you have a three week or or 12 week or whatever time period, and you have nothing tying you down to a certain geographical area, pick a few possibilites, shoot them an email saying exactly what you are looking for (two lessons a day, plus two hours of unmounted instruction to learn x, y, z, or whatever) and see what they say and ask for a cost breakdown. I promise you its a much better choice.

I have no personal experience with MM but its been known as a hellhole for people and animals for at least a decade. When I was running a barn in the general area we never had a successful graduate–most were either know-it-alls who could barely tell a head from a tail or had completely unacceptable views on horse health, treatment and care.

[Denali6298]

@LSMarnell

Yes, I would say sour, ulcery, horses sick from standing in mounds of manure all day and eating corn are “unhealthy.”
You asked for reviews. I doubt you will find many good ones from people who have actually been to the place and seen the program first hand. I’m not going to sugar coat it.

You still haven’t talked about the riiidddding! :lol: Because clearly how people keep horses has NO reflection on their ability to teach and ride:rolleyes::no:

[Simkie]

I’m confused how you travel too much to take lessons with a regular trainer, but can dedicate huge chunks of time to something like Meredith Manor?

A top notch trainer will accommodate your work schedule better than a school. When you’re in town, lesson as much as you’d like. You could potentially have multiple lessons in a day. Why doesn’t that work for you?

[gottagrey]

I’m throwing my hat in and also saying - find a good trainer. If you have the time, tell them you want to do sort of an "adult camp"or so a search for “adult riding camp” though some of these may be geared towards those with more experience, but certainly sign up for some lessons to get more accomplished in the saddle for a riding camp.

[BigMama1]

@PhoenixFarm

There would be many trainers who would be happy to create a customized, intense program for you in whatever time frame you have available. We have clients who come from out of state for a few weeks or months in the winter and we set them up with whatever lessons or experiences they need/want for the period of time they are here. And we don’t charge $40K. If you have a three week or or 12 week or whatever time period, and you have nothing tying you down to a certain geographical area, pick a few possibilites, shoot them an email saying exactly what you are looking for (two lessons a day, plus two hours of unmounted instruction to learn x, y, z, or whatever) and see what they say and ask for a cost breakdown. I promise you its a much better choice.

I have no personal experience with MM but its been known as a hellhole for people and animals for at least a decade. When I was running a barn in the general area we never had a successful graduate–most were either know-it-alls who could barely tell a head from a tail or had completely unacceptable views on horse health, treatment and care.

That was our experience in a nutshell.

[equiniphile]

It should tell you something when alumni of the school return to give lectures and tell the students they would never hire a MM graduate. All I can say is…visit in person. Their videographer is excellent. The place looks nothing like the video. I’ve shown IDA there. Their horses are sour, overworked and not well cared-for. There’s no turnout (as in zilch…zero…nada); just the indoor arenas for quick group “turnout” in the mornings. The amount of drama on their Facebook reviews alone would be enough to drive any sane person away; the back-and-forth banter about stalls not being cleaned while students are away on vacation, bed bug infestations in the shipping container dorms, and students stealing horses by galloping away bareback in the middle of the night while high on narcotics…well, it would be enough to make me run for the hills.

[Bellathemustang]

For $40k I’d go to Europe and do equine vacation packages in Ireland, Iceland, and Spain.

[merrygoround]

Kidashi–Shi, you gott be kidin me when you said the first five posts didn’t answer your question.

What part of a time wasting dump do you not understand?

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Like others, I’m not sure what you’re looking for.

To answer one of your questions - no. You cannot go into a 12-week program a beginner and come out an advanced rider. Not possible. A good instructor, however, can take you from beginner to competent in 12 consistent weeks; however, if you have no background in riding or training, that’s not going to enable you to ‘fix riding problems on my own.’

Is this a program you can even enroll in without actually applying to the school and being required to take other college courses? I don’t know if it is or not, but that is something to consider.

As others have pointed out, however, you can sit down with a good instructor, who runs their own farm and manages their own horses, and create a good horsemanship and riding program with them, probably for less than the tuition at Meredith Manor. Or, since you want to do dressage, go find your local USDF GMO and see if they offer programs like this, or know anyone who does. Mine used to offer week-long adult dressage camps that covered lunge lessons, riding lessons, biomechanics, etc.

[ladyj79]

https://youtu.be/x54Jr-NPDCc

why does this thread remind me of this?