| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| leiat8 |
Posted - 27 Mar 2013 : 5:09:45 PM
...if you are considering sending a horse or pony away for breaking/schooling/anything really.
we came to the decision of sending fargo away for some schooling as although I have broke him to walk/trot very happily out hacking I have no facilities to school him on. it had been a hard decision as we have had him from birth and done everything ourselves with him. he is six this time and although I have sat on him since he was a two year old we have done everything slowly with him as we want him to be a confident, stable boy as mum is not as young as she was and cant be pulled about.
I rang around countless yards to get a feel for people and settled for one fairly local that sounded just right. so 5 weeks ago we packed his bags and tidied him up(he lives out 24/7 so looked abit scruffy) ready to go off to school.
pictures of him a few days before he went
during the first week he was away he lost abit of weight but I put that down to being somewhere new, by the second week he had a rider off a couple of times but I was reassured that hes just trying it on and its because he is very childlike and a worrier ( fargo a worrier??? hes like a big dog and doesn't normally worry) but what do I know, these are professionals so i'll take there word for it.
by week three I see a vid of him being ridden, hes going forward off the leg but with a very high head carriage(not like him at all) so I get on the phone and ask if I should get a dentist to him but am reassured he is just evading the bit. I see him ridden the end of that week and hes rearing bucking etc so start to worry whats going on but a couple of days later I get a message saying hes being a very good boy now so not to worry. Over the last 2 weeks things have really not felt right so on Sunday I turned up pretty much out of the blue to pick him up.his rugs/bridel etc were nowhere to be seen or have been used on other horses. his front feet are flat along the front as though he has been constantly pawing and he looks a mess!!. he is frightened of everything, jumps away from me in the stable and when I stoked his girth/stomach he tried to kick me!
he has apparently been having three feeds a day and as much hay as he can eat...... I struggle to believe that somehow!!
pics of him after 5 weeks away 'schooling'
so please guys think long and hard before you let your beloved neds go anywhere, I am just thankful to have him home as I think a few more weeks would have made a very different story. he is not a good doer as it is so its going to take a while to get him back looking well(let alone be strong enough for me to ride him!!!) which is what I have paid for him to come back like |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| barbara.gregory |
Posted - 17 Jun 2014 : 10:15:49 AM
How tragic for all those horses who had bad experiences. Unfortunately not everyone has the skills, time or facilities to back their own youngsters and have to put their trust in the "professionals". The best way to find a really good trainer is to speak to others who have sent their horses there. I sent a stallion away I was very pleased with how he came back and he was the same happy, healthy horse who went away.
Barbara |
| tamila |
Posted - 16 Jun 2014 : 05:50:41 AM
Let me just say that I have backed all mine and only sent one away to a friend as I did not have help. She did a wonderful job and sent him home within 2 weeks. I had done all the ground work. We went on together for 18 years and had a wonderful time. |
| faymouse |
Posted - 16 Jun 2014 : 12:06:55 AM
Thats truly appalling! I should report to WHW and RSPCA and show pictures as you have here. I had on loan unseen beforehand an Arab mare supposedly backed at a good yard but she was terrified as soon as I got on her..skittering about and shaking.. even terrified at a bit of mud she threw from her hoof in her panic. Goodness knows what had gone wrong there but I didnt persevere and got quietly off her.. ruined for life poor girl |
| Ari |
Posted - 14 Jun 2014 : 10:38:57 PM
My boy was long reined walked out and had never had a bad moment but he was very difficult even for my daughter who has backed many and I was at my whits end and was thinking only option was to to send him away to "professionals" as I couldn't risk injury to my daughter and at 50 I certainly wasn't going to even try. Sometimes we all need help and fate plays a part; a friends boyfriend was a National Hunt jockey from nearby racing yard who sorted him very kindly at home. He just did enough over 2 days to make sure Ari was safe for my daughter to take over.
I dread to think what could have happened in the wrong hands.
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| Fee |
Posted - 14 Jun 2014 : 9:49:24 PM
It's so sad and makes me mad what ppl will do. I'd never send any of mine away. I trust no-one, plain and simple. Backed both of mine myself and I'm just an ordinary average rider. I have two ponies right now that ppl have wrecked for life and I once send an unbacked horse away in my younger naive days when I thought ppl would be as kind as me to horses. That 'professional' trainer terrified him so much he was unsafe to ride.
Fee
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| gossy |
Posted - 14 Jun 2014 : 9:46:12 PM
This why myself and my daughter have done all of ours ourselves I wouldn't trust anyone with my horses heard too many horror stories and seen similar and worse than yours, I hope with time you can get your boy back to how he was! |
| tamila |
Posted - 14 Jun 2014 : 5:45:33 PM
I have a beautiful mare who was sent away to a very well known professional yard to be backed. She apparently came back scared with dreadful mud fever. I did not know this and attempted to back her. I have never seen a horse so petrified. She stood and shook, eyes on stalks and sweated when she saw the saddle. Unfortunately it was not worth carrying on as she was getting on. It breaks my heart when I am sure she would have been a brilliant ridden mare. |
| leiat8 |
Posted - 04 Apr 2013 : 4:39:36 PM
glad you found a good place for your boy hun, iv put a little update of fargo on seeing as hes been home 11 days now. |
| AshTay |
Posted - 01 Apr 2013 : 12:04:58 PM
Good grief, Leiat8! I know where he's been (because I asked you and you told me just after he went) and I'm shocked. So pleased you have him back now.
My gelding is away at schooling and I've been visiting him and he honestly looks better than he did when he went 3 weeks ago and is working twice a day 5 days a week (short sharp bursts of up to 20 minutes) so there are good places out there. |
| Pop |
Posted - 30 Mar 2013 : 07:18:12 AM
Yea, think you should, or at least write to them and/or the RSPCA. I do hope you have not been charged to have that done to your horse. If you have you should at least have your money refunded.
I'm sure there are lots of reasons why a horse could loose condition with the changes he experienced, but those pictures are heart stopping. If he was being cared for properly and professionally, that could not have happened; and they would have had to assume some illness and called a vet, before he got that bad.
The neck picture makes my heart ache for him.
How is he? Has coming home lifted his spirits? |
| Callisto |
Posted - 30 Mar 2013 : 01:21:53 AM
Frankly I would give the before and after photos to the RSPCA - they should know what happened and it might stop them using them. |
| Arabian Girl |
Posted - 29 Mar 2013 : 9:16:31 PM
I gasped out loud when I saw your last photo :-( hope hes on the way to recovery now ...
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| RUTHIE |
Posted - 29 Mar 2013 : 6:23:12 PM
Agree...take this further please...because I certainly would. So sad. |
| phoenixbruka |
Posted - 29 Mar 2013 : 12:42:59 PM
Thats TOTALLY disgusting!
Poor boy, I hope his recovery both mentally and physically is swift.
Name and shame!!
susie |
| proctorclaire |
Posted - 29 Mar 2013 : 12:25:18 PM
That is really bad. I will never send my horse away for this reason and many other reasons. There are so many people offering backing and schooling services and they don't have a clue. Many of the yards make out that a very experienced rider or the owner of the buisness will be training the horse when in actual fact it is the volunteers and inexperienced people training them and then when owner comes to check on progress the experienced person comes out the woodworks to ride the horse and makes out she was doing the work. Horrendous. There are loads of people up my way doing it and you couldn't pay me to send my horse to them let alone pay them!
I know of very posh backing and schooling yards that have a very good reputation and I have no idea how they got the good reputation in the first place! |
| leiat8 |
Posted - 29 Mar 2013 : 11:27:56 AM
thank you for you kind words of encouragement. its going to be a long road to get him back to himself but he'll get there. forgot to add on the main post that at the beginning of week 4 i had a phone call stating he had red-worm so dropped a wormer off. he shouldn't have been wormy and surely if all the weight loss was down to that he would have been a mess when he went (personally i think they were just trying to cover there backs and shift the blame). also when i returned on the Monday to collect the rugs and bridle that they could find, the yard girl admitted she had not worked him for two weeks and was ashamed of the state he was in and couldn't apologize enough! it is quite a big company that he went to who regularly work with the rspca so as much as id like to take things further i cant see it going our way. am just so angry!! |
| jobo |
Posted - 29 Mar 2013 : 10:51:12 AM
thats terrible,well i hope your going to get a vet report and then report them to trading standards? as they have offered a service they clearly arent providing!! and who knows what else they got up to? atleast yoy followed your instincts and was right. glad hes back home safe. how you kept your cool? if you still had the adverts of where you saw there services advertised and your pictures good case there. hope he gets better soon. |
| Sharea |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 8:58:35 PM
So sorry to see your poor horse you must feel devastated, I don't understand how people who treat animals like that manage to stay in business quite honestly.
I have to say that there are some good, honest and compassionate trainers out there but it is best to have a personal recommendation.
I do hope you can give him back his former trust and confidence. |
| Quarabian |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 8:09:47 PM
Classic case of a trusting soul being misunderstood. I can't believe the difference in his body, but we can't take a snapshot of his mind. TLC in abundance is the best way forward from now on. |
| debs |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 2:28:25 PM
Poor boy! So pleased you found out sooner rather than later for the same of his physical and mental well being. They should go on the 'who not to use' list.
Good luck with your boy. |
| Silver |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 1:39:41 PM
Thank goodness you got him back when you did,I hope its not to long before he is back to normal and you can carry on with his education. |
| Pasch |
Posted - 28 Mar 2013 : 12:53:24 AM
 !!!!
Poor boy I hope he gets well to his old self,especially getting back his trust and peace of mind.....
I know a few self-proclaimed trainers who really know how to mess up a horse...
Vick there is no problem for a young horse to work 6 days a week as long as the work is varied,sessions not too long and lessons not stressful....and the trainer actually knows what he's doing! |
| martha615 |
Posted - 27 Mar 2013 : 11:48:37 PM
I'd have to be restrained. Thank God you have him back. |
| Pop |
Posted - 27 Mar 2013 : 8:24:20 PM
Speechless. I would be absolutely furious. So sorry for your boy. |
| Vik1 |
Posted - 27 Mar 2013 : 7:31:19 PM
Poor munchkin! Some people have no shame!
I was thinking about sending my boy away. Just to get him hacking out and used to other horses round about him but my yard has some new liveries. They all ride so getting him used to horses riding close/behind him etc shouldnt be a problem now. There is also the most bombproof horse Ive ever met. I think hes blind, deaf and lost all his senses, lol. The lady says shel happily hack with me to get mine used to traffic etc. So I think hel be staying at him now. Yard I was sending him to was on recommendation, altho I was a bit concerned that they work them 6 days a week. I think thats a bit much for something newly backed. |
