how much is too much to break in? money question...

[tuppence's fortune]

im thinking of sending one of my youngsters away to be broken in, in spring. ive never sent one away before i have always done it myself but just dont have time to do it this time around. she is just turned 4 and has had pretty much everything done with her from the ground you can think of. had bit rollers saddle bridle side rains ext on. i have looked into sending her away and have found it to cost between £300 and £650 plus abit more depending on how long she is there for. im just wondering how much is too much and would i get what i pay for ? if not i will just be sat thinking that i should have just done it myself.
if any one has any opinions on sending away and or there experience (good or bad) all welcome x

 

[JanetGeorge]

i have looked into sending her away and have found it to cost between £300 and £650 plus abit more depending on how long she is there for. im just wondering how much is too much and would i get what i pay for ?

That is the £1,000 question! And it depends entirely on where you send her and how 'easy' she is.

I have one here at present who was sent elsewhere last autumn - she was there for 9 weeks (at £120 a week) and - being quite a sharp filly who wouldn't count as 'easy' - she was totally screwed up! It's now going to take rather longer to put her right than if we'd started with her from scratch.

A straight-forward backing normally takes us 3-4 weeks - at the end of which the youngster will work in walk, trot and canter in the school, and hack out with a quiet companion - or sometimes solo. And it will cost you between £420 and £560.

But be warned - there are some totally ****** trainers out there - a friend visited one yard to find half-a-dozen youngsters standing in their stables in rollers, bridles and TIGHT side-reins - this was apparently the yard's idea of 'mouthing'. Check any potential trainer out carefully - and visit regularly and SEE your horse being worked. Any trainer who objects to this has something to hide!

 

[tuppence's fortune]

thank you i will keep that in mind. i plan on visiting whenever i can to check up on her. im just worried that if i am paying all that money and the results are going to be crap to say the least. she is fairly easy to do she does have her moments of "spirit" shall we say lol where she just gets a little too excited but she does have very good manners. she has been lunged by myself and long lined and responds to voice in walk trot and canter but have not done alot of road work with her. x

 

[kerilli]

the thing is, how long she will be there is a bit "how long is a piece of string", some take it all in their stride (I started one horse who was ready to go home and hack out alone within a couple of weeks, but he was pretty exceptionally phlegmatic), some are more reactive. Also, it depends how much you want her to do, how far along you want her to be trained.
I agree about only going to trainers who are happy to have you drop in at any time, and with good references.