Just want to thank everyone who answered my last few posts about a situation I was dealing with…
Yeah I’ve dealt with that before. Owner is just sure the horse who is visibly lame on the lunge is totally fine to ride, it’s just arthritis/lazy/they work out of it.
But of course, totally unrelated, the horse bucks/bolts/won’t turn left. There’s nothing you can do but politely decline working with them any further.
Also, the amount of people who purchase horses that are way too much horse for them and then expect results from one or two training rides a week is insane to me. No, your horse is not going to turn into a saintly citizen from me riding one time a week. No, you can’t hop on your horse, without lunging, after two weeks off and expect it to not explosively buck around the arena. What a surprise you fell off.
Disclaimer; I do have mostly great, very understanding clients who listen. But at least once a year I get someone who ‘knows better’ and I have the politely turn down training them because they have a lame horse with no documentation to show its fine to ride or think their 3 YO warmblood will magically turn into a unicorn with one ride from me a week, no rides from them.
There are some jobs a person just needs to walk away from especially one that compromises your core beliefs
From what you have written the horse’s owner is not going to follow your professional advise the only alternative is relinquish the horse back to the owner.
If you continue working with this horse other owners may question why
Agree with @clanter
This sounds like No Win for you.
In this country (US):
*Anyone can buy a horse - no license or test of ability/knowledge required.
*Anyone can call themselves Trainer.
If they take money, add Pro.
See above for requirements. ; /
This owner sounds like they are uninterested in learning how to ride this horse.
Worse: not interested in addressing any physical problems either.
If selling is their solution, probably better for the horse.
I’ve seen a lot of Stoopid in 40+yrs of horses.
While I was fortunate to have caring & interested Owners when I shareboarded horses for myself & DH, I witnessed a lot of cringeworthy stuff.
Examples:
-Guy who boarded a nice little QH at barn we were at. Rode horse into a lathery, sides-heaving, flared nostrils mess. Then threw horse into a stall to be fed (almost immediately) sweet feed ration. Somehow horse survived his care.
-At a different barn, guy who owned 16 Morgans. Kept broodmares & studs with 1 trainer, youngstock with another - at 2 different barns. Both places hours from his home, so he’d visit maybe monthly.
He kept a “reject” (ASB blood discovered) young gelding at our barn.
Who he rode into a sweat one wintry evening.
Then asked me if he should rub horse down with alcohol to relieve the sweat.
He had a Championship wool cooler hung on his stall.
I suggested that might be a better idea.
Sometimes you really cannot fix Stoopid.
Morgan guy sounds really similar to the paso fino people I knew in south Florida. Too many horses, and when they are ridden they are ridden too hard and then tied to a post for a while to ‘think about their ride’.
I don’t know about anyone else’s horses, but the only thing mine think about after their ride is what kind of cookie they are going to get.
What is an oscillation?
Also, forgot to say, that is SO much work for a 3 YO warmblood. 3 year old warmbloods still have a lot of growing to do. I’d kind of be like no wonder it looks off under saddle, that’s too much work even if it didn’t get kicked.
My 3 YO is going 3 days a week. I’d much rather not be ready for the 5 YO jumper classes but know the horse I’m training will still be competing at 25.
Sorry, autocorrect changed it! I meant ossification!
I fully understand
you are doing what you need to do