@McGurk PM sent.
I evented him at Novice, in Maine & New Hampshire. His name was Will but I don’t remember his registered name. Love those Morgans!
There is a Facebook post going around my area now for a stolen two year old horse, who was “bought for our kids to have.” Then there are three pictures of three different kids on the horse, and of course, none are wearing a helmet. And the horse is grazing in all three pictures. I’m just hoping they have the age wrong,
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Ended up riding someone else’s horse last night. Horse had learned that rearing meant the rider gets off and quits. I have watched this behavior progress the last month or so, so I know it isn’t a sudden physical issue.
I hate rearers. But I had a bad day and didn’t really care what happened, so I went with it anyways. Got her going forward relatively quickly because I was not scared to use the whip and spur when needed. I probably sounded like a crazy gremlin up there, growling and carrying on. Once she realized her tricks didn’t work on me, she went forward promptly when asked.
At any rate, I will not be riding her again - the unbalance I saw when I watched her go a couple times definitely feels neurological when I was on her back. Thanks, no thanks, not again. How do I tell the owner the horse needs a) a vet, and b) 60 days of pro training?
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“You know, something is NQR with Dobbinette, and I don’t think its you. Maybe a vet work up is in order.”
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Oh but the attitude issues totally are due to the rider. I watched it progress, she is the biggest push over with a mare who is whip smart and young.
I think I’ll just say she looks funny behind, have the vet take a look before you push her any harder.
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How ironic would it be if they turned out to be the people @Mulligan314’s loopy high school classmate was trying to get her to steal the horse from? 
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Remembered another one from my days as a working student:
A client had a teenage daughter (about 14, IIRC) and she’d had a lovely little mare that they had to retire. So they went out and bought her a green-broke, 17-hand warmblood to event. Needless to say, he scared the crap out of her, so I rode him to get the kinks out.
He. Was. A. Handful. Knew nothing, questioned everything (including my right to be alive), and good lord, could that horse pull! The rubber reins ripped my palms open one day, and I went through 2 pairs of gloves with that horse. Easily the most exhausting horse I’ve ever been on. Riding him burned enough calories to last a week.
One day, after I’d struggled with him for the allotted 45 minutes - doing 20-meter circles, serpentines, tons of transitions, cavaletti, ANYTHING to keep him listening and get him lighter - I was worn out and I think it was the first time HE was ever worn out as well. I got off him, and the girl’s dad got on to cool him out. Five minutes later, I overhead him telling my instructor, “I don’t know why she (me) has so many problems with him. Look how quiet he is.”
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Discretion is the better part of valor…
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Indeed. I feel bad for the horse though, if she gets sent off for training without the physical issues being addressed or at least being mentioned.
Perhaps I’ll keep my nose on my face. That sounds like a better idea.
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I would tell them what you think and if they ignore or protest or whatever - then that’s on them. You did what you could and can walk away. Maybe some small grain of it may penetrate her brain.
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Maybe I have been relatively lucky to live in horsey areas with good training programs and pretty rigorous client stipulations (granted I pay through the nose for it), but where in the f*ck do you board?
I would lose my everloving sh*t - I don’t think I could keep my mouth shut for ANY price.
You must teach me your patience with morons… I don’t think I could deal… 
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It’s admittedly a “backyard-y” type place. They pick stalls 2x a week. I consider it partial care.
I have tried a different barn here or there, paying through the nose, and it turns out that I prefer a quiet barn without a dedicated lesson program - even if it’s not my lesson, having someone instructing all the time when I’m riding is not what I like, and having to ride around said lesson is also not what I like. Land in this area is increasingly expensive, with most barns offering little to no turnout, or not allowing XYZ sport or what have you.
That barn has made me the “happiest”. It’s also 2 minutes from the house I bought in June, so I can get there in a jiff if something is awry. I do say though, that all my young horses get broke here in a HURRY, because of all the dumb stuff going on all the time lol
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I’m not @endlessclimb, but I will say that it wasn’t until I joined a few FB groups for re- riders/anxious riders that it truly sank in for me how low the general knowledge level is among horse owners. Especially in countries where horse ownership & riding are predominately a DYI affair.
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excellent desensitization training. I get the freedom aspect, benefits definitely outweigh the negatives for you!
Show grounds sound like quite the quiet holiday compared to some of the mayhem!
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We get alooooot of it here, formal lesson programs etc are few and far between so most people sorta just learn by hopping on.
The family friend I posted about earlier is driving me batty…anytime I post on my fb about my youngster, she’s there commenting, giving her opinion on the progression of training, offering little bits of “advice” etc. She truly hasn’t a clue and I don’t know what is possessing her to think she can give advice with regards to a barely broken baby.
When I was searching for a farrier for said baby, it came up I trim my older mare myself as her manners are impeccable and she is an easy trim, but baby needed alot of work on both manners and neglected feet. She straight up said after a year of ownership, her horse has terrible manners with his feet and then proceeded to offer some pointers 
Took me all of 6 weeks to have my horse go from refusing to pick her feet up to reliably allowing it on the first ask. She’s not perfect yet but she’s good. Still trying to figure out how to tell this woman to eff off haha
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A bright cheery thank you if in person and then go right on doing what you’re doing.
On Facebook - ignore her.
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On this note, maybe you can adjust your settings where she can’t see what you’re posting
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I tried to do that once, to an acquaintance/friend on facebook. She was someone I would trail ride with occasionally as her horse lives just down the road from my place, and I don’t have a lot of people to ride with in my area (my horses are at home). So it was just nice to have company sometimes. But her comments on FB sometimes just rubbed me the wrong way, so I ended up blocking her by accident, and hurting her feelings by doing so. She no longer texts, speaks to me or rides with me. It’s not the end of the world, but I really didn’t mean to block her, I was just trying to no longer see her comments, or have her see mine.
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Of course it should be the product of correct riding. BUT- not every horse was started, or maintained, in a correct way. SOmetimes, getting the head down is the FIRST STEP to correct learning.
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