sending horse to trainer

[Waikato Valuta]

Ok my horse started bucking last week and just being a general pig. I dident hadle it very well and lost a lot of confidenc with the falls. Now I have found out that he was doing all this because of a sore back but I have had that fixed.

So lack of confidence a young ex race horse and learning to buck realy dont mix so my instructor has recomended i send him to a trainer for 1-2 weeks and i can have lessons there as well to gain my confidence.

Well my instructor is someone I very much respect with horses and she has recomended some one a few of you may have heard of Andrew Maclean if you are in australia (spelling). Now his son would be the one doing the training as andrew only takes on the realy bad cases.

So my predicament is that the massuse i got to fix his back said that i should not send my horse there because there idea of punishment is to tie a horses head to it's chest for 5hours :eek: .

But she has never seen any of this happen just a horse she was treating that had been broken in there by the son had some seriuos mental and fhysical problems after coming back to her.

My instructor ashores me that he is very qently with the horse that he would never do that. HE would never loose his temper and she alwasy asks for there help when she has a horse she dose not know what to do with (she is a breaker and trainer to).

I realy trust both of these people and Andrew is considered a great trainer around this area.

what would you do

[Waikato Valuta]

Please reply

My perents are preshering me to sell him????????

Dont ask me why i always told them ridding was a dangerios sport.

[julietcw]

It sounds to me like the masseure has heard idle gossip which may well be exaggerated and if other people are saying how much they recommend this person, then trust your instincts.

If you are able to have lessons with this person also whilst your horse is there, then the chances that they are likely to mistreat your horse are really limited because you would be able to tell immediately if your horse was suffering when you went out to ride. He would look unhappy and unwilling and if that was the case, then you could take him away immediately.

It seems unlikely that a trainer who appears to be highly respected and well known would really tie a horses head for 5 hours because the horse would be traumatised and he would lose his reputation.

I would hesitate to believe someone who hasn't actually witnessed an incident like that and an incident that sounds so extreme.

I hope that helps and good luck to you and your horse...

[mikka]

It seems very unprofessional for your masseuse to make such a slanderous comment unless she's actually witnessed the head tying first-hand.

Could you ask to speak with other horse owners who've used this trainer? Could you ask to observe your horse's retraining sessions or have a friend/family member observe? Could you simply ask the trainer what methods he'll be using to accomplish his goals?

[CityGirl]

Can you go out & have a consultation w/the trainer before you send your horse to him if you're really nervous? And if you are going to be taking lessons w/him - I'm sure you would pick up any negative vibes very quickly.
It's never a bad idea to take a training class w/an expert. And I would listen to your instructor, she knows you best & it sounds like she feels this would be beneficial for both you & your horse.
Good luck!

[IrisSilverMoon]

Any trainer who is any good will let you watch.

so try to do that before you make your decision, see if you can spend a day out there or something so you get to see more than one horse being worked, then you get a real idea of what they are like.

Even after you send your horses there i would try to get out a couple of times to see him worked and see how he's going, that way, if you don't like it you can pull him out.

:)

[ros]

Your horse only started bucking recently, and he's only had one treatment so far by the sound of it. These things just don't get sorted overnight, and I think you're rushing things if you're already contemplating sending your horse off to someone else for any sort of training. Whether he's bruised, or strained, or whatever the injury was, it will take time to heal and for him to realise that it isn't hurting any more. And when it IS healed, then you have to try to make sure you know what caused it in the first place so you can stop it happening again. Otherwise you could be shelling out a lot of money for absolutely nothing :(