Up Jumped the Devil - Integrity & Horse Trainers

I'm sorry to take a break from the story about Lucy's filly but sometimes life just jumps up and smacks me right in the face. In those times I just have to go with what's foremost in my mind. Writing seems to be the only way I can find to make sense out of those life experiences so here goes.

When I began in this industry I heard over and over how you couldn't succeed unless you bought a $50,000 horse (that's a 20 year old price), paid huge bucks for training, advertising and whatever else that big trainer told you you needed. I've also heard that a small breeder like me can't break out and get the prices my horses are worth either for the very same reasons. I don't have enough money to play the game and I'll never be able to compete with wealthy clients.

I've posted about this attitude before. It just isn't true. But I'm beginning to get a clearer picture of why people believe that might be the case. Some of the practices of the horse industry have certainly exploited the little person with the big dream to the point they've totally given up and become cynical.

A talented trainer isn't all that it takes to get a young horse to realize it's potential. Many a great young horse has been ruined or even sabotaged by supposedly great trainers in the horse industry. Human nature being what it is, a trainer having talent doesn't guarantee that they will be honest or ethical. Sometimes money motivates their actions and they really don't give a rip about people or the horses they have in their care. Those kinds of trainers go for the big money and chew up and spit out the little guy in the process.

I have seen trainers convince clients to sell great horses because they say they don't have it. A friend of mine actually had such a horse. It was a half-Arabian black and white pinto who had won a top ten at Nationals in the western pleasure futurities.

The trainer initially trained the horse and took it to nationals retired. The new trainer convinced my friends that their horse just wasn't going to cut it. The argument was he didn't have what it took to be a great bridle horse.

The horse was put on the market for practically nothing ($15,000) and advertised in a national magazine. Within hours of the ad coming out, the horse was sold to someone who recognized the horse as the one they'd seen at Nationals. My friends received over 18 calls from that ad.....all willing to buy this horse the trainer said was no good. Many didn't even want to come look at him, just knowing he was the horse they'd seen at nationals was enough for them to purchase right over the phone.

My friends had to pay the trainer a commission on that sale. Then they paid the trainer another commission on the purchase of a replacement horse. My friends have never since had a horse as great as the one they let the trainer talk them into "giving away" for $15,000. And that horse the trainer said couldn't cut it has gone on to be a National Champion western pleasure amateur horse. My friends no longer even show horses. Their dreams were crushed.

What's the deal you say? Well, this particular trainer has a habit of blaming the horse whenever she can't get the job done. Her clients are always buying and selling horses while she makes commissions on those purchases. There's always something wrong with the next horse and the next so the process continues. The pockets of the trainer get lined and the little guy suffers.

Training fees are not what make this trainer her money........sales are. Not to mention she never has to be responsible for not getting the horse to it's potential because it's always the horse's fault. There's no accountability for the trainer's practices because owners buy into it believing everything the trainer's say because, after all, the trainer knows horses. Right????

There's also the scenario of the client with all the money who the trainer wants to keep happy. An unethical trainer will get a great horse in the barn but the owner is just a little guy. No wanting to cause a problem with the rich client, the trainer will make sure the new horse never lives up to his potential, blaming that too on the horse. That way he can make sure the great horse never jeopardizes his relationship with the rich client.

This practice of blaming the horse is huge in the horse industry. If the horse isn't going right, it can't be the trainer it must be the horse. It's one of the reasons I started this blog was to talk about such practices.

Trainers who don't do the work but blame the horse are everywhere in every aspect of the horse industry. Trainers who are motivated by money instead of hard work are everywhere from the little know trainers on up to the very top. No level of expertise is exempt from the takers of the world.

Again, most clients believe what the trainer says. They trust the knowledge of the trainer over their own. Unfortunately such clients are at the mercy of unscrupulous trainers. Such practices as selling a horse you can't get trained or putting out of competition one that might beat the money client contribute to the fact that little known people have trouble making it to the top.

If you are an owner you can't put all you faith in a horse trainer just because they have bronzes in their office and beautiful championship neck garlands on the wall. If you're going to make it you have to know what' you're looking at. You have to know what's a good horse and what isn't. And what you get to that place that the trainer is telling you it's your horse, you have to trust yourself. You can't let the "big name" of a trainer cause you to not listen to your gut. If you can't trust the trainer when it comes to ethics, why would you trust what they tell you about your horse.

I have other stories about the ethics of the particular trainer with my friends horse but this one is what's important to how life smacked me today. You all know that a horse I raised went to a show this last weekend. I'm not going to go into the details now other than to say that the horse was not doing his job the way he should be. I'm also going to tell you how business was conducted at the show.

It's been my experience that trainers who take amateur riders and their horses to horse shows school those horses and work with the clients. I mean what reputable trainer takes a young show horse to it's first show under saddle and expects the amateur owner to do all the schooling? None that are ethical, if the client is paying, they should be getting the service.

Most of the time you will see trainers riding the clients horses at the breaks getting them schooled in the ring. Then they put the amateur riders on the horse in the arena as well and give them a thorough lesson. That way the horse and rider have experience in the arena before they ride their class in that session. After the chaos of schooling at the break, the class should be a breeze for the horse and rider.

In addition before the actual class, the trainer will again school the horse and get it going right. Then the client will get on the horse in the warm-up to get a brief feel (a bit of walk, jog, lope each direction) before they head in to their class. The trainer will be there coaching that client on the rail. Sometimes I stand next to trainers on the rail and listen to them coaching ALL of their clients in the ring. That's how it should go anyway. That's what the client pays those show fees for, the trainer's extra time and effort at the horse show.

That's not what happened with the owners of the horse from here, although it is what happened with the rich client in the barn who rides the same class as my guy. While the other person got undivided attention, my horse's owner was pretty much on her own. That might be ok in my book if the client wasn't paying the very same rates that the other client pays.

Because the horse was only schooled by the trainer for one brief lesson the day before the show started, the owner was left on her own to deal with a young horse who was nervous. The result was the horse was a bit faster and he was high headed in the bridle, a sign of his nervousness.

To my way of thinking the owners sure didn't get what they paid for in this situation. While they got plenty of positive feedback from an assortment of people at the show about how awesome the horse and rider pair look and how tough they are going to beat once the horse is going right, that's not what this trip to the show was supposed to be about. The horse did get qualified but it's clear that he's not going well enough to be going to the regional championships.

I've had several conversations with the owners about this issue. The fact that they didn't get what they paid for is huge in my book. They have concerns that maybe the horse should be ridden by the trainer and not the assistant. When the owner broached that subject to the trainer, the trainer's response was that the horse was not good enough. The problem wasn't the training at his barn, it is the horse's confirmation.

Despite the fact that back in Sept, he told them the horse had what it takes to be competitive at the national level, now he's saying the horse isn't capable of doing the job at all. He recommended they take the horse to the next horse show and offer him for sale at a fraction of what they have into him. The trainer's reasoning is the horse just isn't going to be competitive.

So who do the owners believe? Do they believe in their horse and me or do they believe in the trainer with the big name. Being awestruck by trainer has caused grief to more owners than anything I can think of in this industry. It's so easy to sucked into believing everything the trainer says because after all, they're the trainer, and not just any trainer but the really big name............. The problem is that too many trainers have their own agenda that has nothing to do with what's good for the little guy.

If the trainer manages to convince the owners that it's the horse and not the fact the trainer didn't do his job, this horse will not be the first great horse to never realize his potential because of an unscrupulous trainer. And, unfortunately, he won't be the last.

Fortunately for my friend's former horse, he made it to nationals as a junior horse before all this happened. Because so many different people saw him in the ring, he didn't end up as a 4-H horse somewhere. (Yes, believe it or not, some do pay well over $15,000 for great horses for 4-H mounts.) Smart people cashed in on my friend's ingorance and got themselves a great horse for very little money. Other great horses that haven't been so lucky to get to nationals first end up lost altogether, sold outside the nationals circuit or retired to back yards with the owners dreams crushed and bank accounts empty.

Until owners are educated enough to know what they're looking at and willing to stand up for themselves, unethical trainers will continue to exploit them. The every day joe of a client with big dreams can easily be replaced by another one in the trainers barn next fall. They are expendable. It's the big clients the unethical trainer will work to hold. Small breeders like me will be caught in the crossfire with great horses lost because of poor training or worse ethics on the part of trainers.

If this horse ends up sold and down the road it will be unfortunate for my business that's for sure. You can bet I will never sell another great horse before I get the job done first. I have too much to lose. But the setback will only be for the short term. I have other great horses here and I will get them into the ring and to nationals.

What bothers me here is the dream of the owners. I know how bad they need this dream, I've been there myself I also know how fragile dreams can be right in the beginning, before a person has had the time to build faith in themselves and this unbelievable path they are trying to journey. I'd hate to see that they get swallowed up whole because unfortunately I sent them to a trainer I thought would do the job.

I hadn't seen personally this side of trainers that would take a great horse and destroy it's credibility because it suited the trainers covert purposes. I would hate to see that happen to these people. They don't deserve any of the treatment they have received from this trainer and I sure hope they realize what he's doing to them before it's too late.




Please: I would ask that in the comments you please not name names. I think it's appropriate that this post remain "generic" in that regard. If you have something you must say with names, please email me.......risingrainbow at comcast.net