Hmm. I just might hang out a baby starter shingle at this rate 
9 Likes
Dont tease me from across the country! 
2 Likes
You ought to. You can probably demand and receive premium pay. And set your preferred parameters for time commitment (ie could demand a 90 day commitment).
I really wanted to send my horse out to be started. Like I really did! Had a healthy budget to make it happen and realistic expectations of what could be accomplished in 90 days. But my choices were roughnecks or one good guy that was too far from home that had a care program at the time that wouldn’t have suited my horse (no real turn out). I had to start him myself. I’d never backed a horse before.
Baby trainers are thin on the ground.
3 Likes
For sure, every OTTB aged 4-7 is an UL prospect… according to literally every TB flipper ever. 
They’re all UL prospects until you put them through a chute.
The market for OTTBs is hot right now. On the one hand, I’m very glad to see my breed of choice finally commanding value above meat prices… On the other, track people wanting 10k for their so-so horse who will be nice with some quality retraining in another discipline but presently isn’t worth much more than 2k is making it tough for anyone who doesn’t have this as their full time business model.
For what it’s worth… If this was a KWPN, the Amish are heavily involved in quite a few Dutch Harness rings and they do pay top dollar for nice DHHs. Half the reason we (as in the States) have some really nice DHHs right now is because the Amish bought and imported several DHHs from Holland. I’m not sure if they are equally invested in Miniature Horses but there is some very real money involved with Amish and DHH.
4 Likes
We are in a real pickle when it comes to getting horses (correctly) started in this country & it’s only adding to the difficulties of producing quality young stock inhouse. Know a BO/trainer that’s looking for a full-time young horse trainer… some first rides but also a whole lot of 4-6 year olds that need to start showing the local Baby Green classes, like, yesterday. Opportunity to grow out your own local show team if you want, or otherwise tailor the position. Compensation lands in the mid 5s when housing is factored in, plus commissions I believe. Beautiful property with two lovely outdoors & an indoor. Legitimately nice horses. She’s getting no response, and those that do apply really have no idea how to put an education on one without slapping on the draw reins & rushing them to the show ring. Going on month 2 of the search, her former assistant had to move on, so she’s trying to ride something like 14 a day. Clients starting to feel neglected and the whole thing just snowballs with no solution in sight.
So yeah, it’s a major problem & I’m not really sure what the answer is. The writing’s been on the wall for well over a decade now, and yet no one’s made any real effort to change course. I’d certainly factor it into any future breeding plans.
4 Likes
I started horses as a younger trainer, but I also took alot of the bad ones. As I got older and more stove up, I had to stop starting the bad ones. I still know how–and can put the groundwork on them, but no longer train for the public. Any I am going to start I am going to own so I can take extra time if necessary (training for the public meant I had to produce a w/t/c horse in 30 days–and some horses that just does not work for at all. It was hard on the horses and me) Nowadays I have a good lesson program, and I teach right up through the higher levels. But, my students learn how to train–and they will help with starting, and I will be on the ground directing. I can make up a horse for the showring this way, and my students can start them in the showring, and by doing it the way I do, my horses end up rideable for the average ammy–because they will have several student riders throughout their time here, etc. And as a plus, my students, when they are ready for their own horse, can get something green or unbroke, and make it themselves, maybe with a little coaching from me. I typically do not have finished lesson horses for riders beyond the very beginners–because they need to learn to really ride and train. It is a program that works well for me, and my students are known for being able to ride anything. They have ended up with various opportunities because of their background here.
12 Likes
I don’t see why anyone would specialize in making up young horses for someone else, as the compensation simply doesn’t make it worthwhile. I enjoy making young horses and I always have one in the barn that I own, but that way I make my own timeline and I’m not pressured by an owner’s demands that may be in conflict with what the horse needs at that moment.
I make much more money teaching lessons than I could ever make riding a greenie, and to date I have yet to get injured while teaching someone to jump a crossrail on one of my made schoolies. Can’t say the same about teaching a baby horse to jump that same crossrail lol.
7 Likes
On the colt-starting topic. I hope you all will forgive me for being ignorant, but I have two questions.
-
Who is starting all these horses in Europe and why is that business model sustainable?
-
Do young, hungry EuroPros not want to come to the US to get a foothold and perhaps launch a business in a couple of years? If so, how come someone with a lot of green ones doesn’t import this trainer pay them fairly (because not doing that for anyone is the root of the problem) and have a competent trainer for that business?
I grew up in California and I rode hunters and jumpers (learning on TBs), so having a horse relaxed in his job was a goal. I always chose Western trainers to start mine and asked to have them “ranch broke.” I like the philosophy that (good) Western trainers have for their horses. So that’s my basis for being ignorant of what people who have their horses started by English pros want in a pro, or where they go get their young horse trainers.
1 Like
The problem is taking the time to properly make up a baby greener from when it’s never even been backed. Our culture is the faster the better. People don’t want to wait for quality started horses. They want all the bells and whistles on a 4 y/o to go start showing. Why do you think there are so many imports? It’s just to expensive in the grand scheme of things to have a horse here and quote unquote make a profit. Then there’s finding people who know how to train young horses and paying them their worth. We all know this is a problem in the industry. Gone are the days where people were slaves, I mean, “working students” and did it for virtually nothing. Here’s a shocker horse industry your employees need a decent livable salary too. 
7 Likes
-
In dressage at least, the big European breeders all have stables full of “young horse riders.” This is how they cut their teeth in the sport and essentially apprentice to trainers. The successful riders move up to showing the horses in the Young Horse classes and can become quite sought after. As they get given better and more established horses to bring along, they start to develop their own reputations as riders and trainers, creating the founding for their own business. But many stay with the same big-name breeders for years.
-
I can’t think of many reasons why a European pro would want to leave and set up a business in the US, but maybe that’s discipline specific? The sheer volume of horses, clients, facilities, and competitions in Europe, all within easy driving distance if one another, make it a much bigger market, I think.
14 Likes
Thank you all for educating me about the Amish horse industry! I had absolutely no idea some are so involved in competition. This is very interesting. When I posted about my friend and her aged unregistered mare I did not know how impressive the Amish market is. I still think she would have been scammed, lost her horse and gotten little to no money out of the deal, but I now know that expensive horses at Amish auctions are common.
We have another issue in the US that is not a problem in Europe - health care. In countries with universal health care a person could make a modest amount working up the levels for a breeder/trainer and not have to worry about health insurance. In the US health insurance is so expensive that many small employers can’t/won’t pay for it, and a modestly paid young rider can’t afford it.
24 Likes
This is how I’ve found my last three resale projects. They weren’t being advertised in their own right, but their sellers had mentioned them in the comments of someone else’s post.
3 Likes
Ugh, I know what job you’re referring too, and if I were seven or eight years younger and not fully established in a non-horse field now, I’d take it in a heartbeat. But yes, I agree that there is a real lack of young-ish riders who can fill those shoes.
1 Like
A number of eventing trainers have relocated their businesses from the U.K., probably more around 2015, about. Some were Aus/NZ 5* riders, previously located in the U.K.
One thing mentioned was the U.S. culture of seeking professional training & coaching, allowing pros to build a program of regular students. Apparently eventers in the U.K. seek professional instruction only occasionally. For BNT’s who like teaching and giving clinics, the U.S. may be greener pastures.
2 Likes
This is exactly how I found my new horse. As luck would have it, I was the second person to contact her based on her response to an ISO, and when the first buyers dropped out the day of the vet check, she texted me. We set a time to talk, then I texted back, can I just come see him?
There were some things about him that might have put me off trying him, had I actually talked to her about him. Good thing I didn’t because ten minutes into the ride, I announced I was vetting him. I couldn’t be happier.
2 Likes
I must be advertising in the wrong place. Or I am too north. Or they are too green? I have five young warmbloods for sale. Best place to advertise?
1 Like
Facebook is pretty huge, as is word of mouth. But if you are in an isolated area it can be hard to get buyers your way without firesale prices.
I can think of one good reason - Not having to deal with people.
Making up babies for someone else means you spend your days dealing with animals, not humans.
To some people, having to deal with the human aspect of teaching lessons makes it very unappealing.
14 Likes
Seriously. Can’t say I haven’t been tempted myself.
These aren’t rank babies either. Nor is it a 30-day magikal transformation program. She gives them 6 months & shows them All The Things. Trail rides, trailer trips, obstacle courses… the gamut. She sells mainly to amateurs and so she amateur-proofs them as much as she can & leaves the show ring polish to the show ring finessers.
FWIW, she has imported help before & that guy is now set up with his own program. She is absolutely looking across the pond at this point, which is very telling about the state of our up & coming professionals.
I honestly thought someone that has, perhaps, spent one too many seasons living in camper-land, toeing the moral prep line, and perpetually re-tuning Dobbin so owner can show up and throw a leg over, would be all over this. Apparently I was wrong.
2 Likes
