I was at a barn that I go to frequently that has a new trainer. Uses abusive training techniques. (tying horses overnight - which the barn owner stopped was a big one). There are things that I have seen done in the name of “training” that I don’t agree with, but what this guy does rises above that. I know I need to document; I did not that last time I was there, was just completely unprepared for the level of nastiness occurring. As best as I can tell you have to be at a show to get AQHA involved, & they have food & shelter, so their basic needs are met, which seems to be the bar for animal control… What do you do?
There is nothing you can do that will let you keep frequenting this barn. Once you complain you burn your bridges.
If you want to act, be prepared to be shut out. I would suggest getting substantial video footage which may or may not be possible. Cell phones are nice and sneaky for this, but if you attract attention from a violent person you could be in danger.
Once you have that footage in reserve, you could talk to the barn owner or manager and see if they know what’s going on. I have to assume that if the owners hired this dude they are OK with his methods, and it’s possible the methods are common enough in whatever discipline. I gather it’s QH Western Pleasure or similar? There is rough stuff in reining too but they don’t tie horses overnight to exhaust their necks.
In every discipline there is a spectrum of quality training to crap training to abusive short cuts, and some disciplines are based on a degree of abuse (stacked feet in saddle seat as an obvious one).
In the end, as a customer, you can only vote with your feet. People do leave abusive barns, and even.disciplines.
Once you have video, once you have ascertained the barn owner does not mind the abuse and won’t act, and once you are safely out of the barn you could try reporting it to your local SPCA, you could try the breed association see what they say, and then you could go to local media or social media and share your videos. It will be hard to maintain anonymity even if you post anonymously because by logic of deduction the barn folks will know it had to be you.
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here it fairly easy as my city has an Animal Control office that is directly under the police, the advise here is to report any animal cruelty to them
The City Animal Services Center has many wonderful pets available for adoption to loving homes. In addition to providing and promoting the humane treatment of animals, Animal Services also protects the public by managing the animal population.
Animal bites and reports of cruelty to animals should be reported to Animal Services
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It is a rather odd situation. The barn owner is considering kicking the person out, he was unware of some of the things the trainer did prior to allowing him in. He is is trying not to get a reputation as a bad barn owner, either with respect to kicking people out, but also from the other side of allowing that kind of crap on his property. I am not so worried about anonymity if I can get enough proof to act on it, I just don’t know where to turn since this is stuff that occurs at home, not at the shows where a steward could get involved
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If the breed association (as most do) only has jurisdiction at shows, then that’s not going to be useful. Many breed associations and honestly the FEI even, ignore what goes on at home.
The best thing your community can do is refuse to allow room for this abusive trainer. Does the trainer own/compete/sell horses or have client horses or are they training the barn owners horses? What’s the setup, trainer is renting a certain number of stalls?
Anyhow as long as the abusive trainer is allowed to carry out business at this barn, them the barn owner is complicit in the abuse. The most effective way a horse community can self police is to not allow space and aid to abusive trainers.
If your barn owner doesn’t evict him then the barn owner is condoning it.
As far as getting a bad reputation, guaranteed 75 per cent of horse folks in the area already know this trainer is abusive. He’s been kicked out of other barns. He’s an open secret. This current barn already is getting a bad reputation from his presence
Sounds like barn owner is naive and conflict averse.
But the presence of a known bad actor will drag down their business.
Your barn owner should kick him.out. Then you can find the local FB horse classifieds or Bad Barns and Boarders page and post what you know as “anonymous user.”
You don’t want to identify yourself to the trainer because right now they don’t know who.you are just another random lesson student or something. Don’t identify yourself because they may be violent, malicious or bsc, and may become violent towards you in future.
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Yep. Good people, but he tries so hard to make everyone happy that he tends to get into “unforseen consequences” territory. It is just unfathomable to him that anyone would bully, abuse, or even take advantage of other people.
Ugh. I’ve seen and heard of some pretty bad stuff from the AQHA/APHA/ApHC breed show world. Personally I’ve seen horses left in round pens or stalls with their faces tied around to the saddle for an hour or more. I’ve seen bloody mouths, one nearly cut his tongue out when the “trainer” tied his head between his front legs with a shanked bit. I’ve seen a big named trainer riding one out behind the trailer parking with a longe whip in his hand smacking the horse between the ears each time it raised its head. I’ve HEARD about a local wannabe trainer who would lay horses down and then tie tarps over them and leave them there in the hot sun for an hour or so to “take their mind” from them. Sickening.
But because these horses are all fat and slick and shiny and have top-quality feed and hay and are by all outward appearances very well-cared for, it’s hard to get much done unless there is video proof of abuse in action. Even tying horses overnight, as long as the horse isn’t tied high and can reach hay and water, isn’t really that unheard of, and not going to be thought of as abuse. Heck, I had a horse that severed a hind extensor tendon as a two-year-old and when he finally came home from the vet school after two surgeries, he had to stay cross-tied in his stall 24/7 for a week to let the skin grafts on his leg set. He was taken out and hand-walked and had his leg cleaned and dressed, but otherwise, it was cross-ties in the stall for him. I hated it for him, but it had to be done.
People who don’t know better often get duped by these so-called trainers. It’s sad to see. I once watched the OWNER of a nice Appy gelding stand and watch the “trainer” working her horse on the lunge with a horrible screw bit in his mouth (not a twisted wire…the mouth of this thing was like a literally screw, it was sharp). The horse had bloody froth running out of its mouth (head tied down of course). She stood there crying while the “trainer” told her to get over it. And she shut up and let it keep happening. I was appalled. But there you have it. People who don’t know better think it’s normal to do stuff like that to horses and that it’s no big deal. They think it’s what has to happen. So sad.
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In a lot of cases, this would be a standing stall. Unless the stabling has changed a lot since I was last there, the RCMP Musical Ride horses are in standing stalls when they are home. Of course they also have nice turnout and are ridden almost every day too.
ETA even tied (not high) in a box stall would be more comfortable than a regular standing stall I’d think.
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Spca with your video. Have camera set on date stamp. Get his name and contact information and home address. If you can
SPCA will take it from there
I wouldn’t turn a blind eye. The barn owner/ manager can’t charge him. So don’t go there
The barn owner/ manager should have researched him better.
Too many horse people accept horse abuse. The arena near me hired a convicted horse abuser. So did the arena across town. Please don’t turn a blind eye to this abuse.
Be discreet.
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I have a couple stories too. Some 30 yrs ago I was over at Congress in the stalls area and saw a horse in a stall tied down between it’s legs with a bit in its mouth and knew it was deliberate. I ran to the stall office in Gilligan and announced what I’d just seen and they all looked at me like, “yeah. and?” I walked out there stunned and knew I wanted nothing to do with AQHA any longer. And that was the last time I went to that event.
Also know someone in Columbus who had a horse in training with Rusty Dare and she pulled up one day and saw him hitting her horse between the ears with a big piece of wood. She didn’t end the training relationship and considered herself an animal lover. Maybe that’s being brainwashed?
Her former QH show horse at 12 was crippled. Big fat knee. Could only walk.
And the idea people would leave a horse tied around to its side brings up in me such anger.
What I’m struggling with lately is feeling if I don’t get more involved in changing things - I don’t know how exactly, then how am I not part of the problem? People have such issues with PETA but wow my thoughts are all the abuse to all horses in so many disciplines is just as radically crazy. So, yeah I’m with PETA. And I fully believe I could convince a PETA person who was against riding let’s say that it’s so important for horses to exercise, that if they are happy and willing that it’s good for them and critical to their health to get out and experience the world and be ridden.
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