If your breaking yard didn't "do" your horse....what would you expect to happen?

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Patches

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On the 14th June I sent a horse away for backing. The horse had been long reined almost daily for 7 weeks, I'd leant over the saddle, patted the horse about all over and wiggled weight in stirrups. The ONLY thing I never took the plunge to do myself was physically sit myself up there. Too chicken.

At the end of week one I was told the horse had been sat on, by the end of week two there had been a setback as horse had shot off forwards when asked to move on, so things had gone back to just long reining for a week.

After this all I tended to get out of the yard was that she was "going well", "being a good girl" etc. By week four I was told she was going well in walk and trot and I started asking if I could see her being worked. Times were arranged and then I was cancelled etc.

By the end of the 6th week I was much more insistent as I was being told that she was still being worked under saddle on the lunge, yet was being a doddle...so why no further along?

I arranged to go with my friend to see her and was pleased not to be cancelled. However, when we turned up the yard acted like I'd turned up unannounced, were very sharp with me and I was told the rider wouldn't be getting on her that day as they had no help on the ground (and refused our offers to assist) but they would lunge her if I was desperate to see her being worked. I declined as I had seen her on the long reins for 7 weeks before I sent her away and said I was disappointed. They told me to go back in a week or so as the rider was busy with eventing and offered to give me two weeks free breaking livery (I'd been paying weekly in advance, as per the arrangement) to make up for her having some time off.

To cut a long story short, a few days I contacted the yard and asked if Tilly not being any further along was due to anything she was doing or their lack of time? I was told the latter so I picked her up. When I went to collect her she was in a stable, the tack over the stable door next to her....the yard was empty.

This was the 8th August. Fast forward three weeks and a new lad has been breaking her, with my help at home. She now walks, trots, canters, hacks and pops a fence. She hasn't been difficult to back at all...very genuine and calm...although she was initially somewhat shocked by having any leg aids which may/may not suggest she did less than the breaking yard claimed they'd done with her.

Breaking yards only offer to me for the lack of service was to do her for free after the eventing season, which I declined. No offer of a refund as "she has been backed, but did have time off due to lack of time after the groom left". However I never saw her sat on at all by them in the seven weeks she was there.

I was considering the Small Claims Court but I have no receipts for livery and no contract...therefore no proof that he was offering me the service I paid for.

I am disappointed for the mare really. She came back a little nervous of being bridled (but we're over that now) and is scared of my husband...something she wasn't before she left. He can no longer catch or approach her.

Not sure why I'm posting this....but it still bugs me that he appears to have gotten away with it.
 
I would be wary of leaving my horse ANYWHERE I was not allowed to visit without giving notice (within reason) to watch its progress, check-up on it.

There's enough horror stories.

Sorry that you wasted your money/ they did nothing with your mare ... they clearly weren't honest people, so be glad nothing else happened to her!!
 
god, what a nightmare. I don't really know what to suggest.

Sometimes I feel that many people will get away with whatever they can if they are left to their own devices....
 
I did visit unannounced just to see her or pay the livery and could see her from the road when I hacked past or rode past on my bike. I wasn't remotely concerned for her well being. She was happy and settled. The only problem I encountered was when I was asking to see her physically being worked.
 
She's turned out ok, just cost a bit more than I anticipated. I would thoroughly recommend the lad, Jamie, that has broken her for us though. He's been amazing.

Here she is this week.
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The highlight being that my daughter sat on her yesterday for the first time. :D
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She's turning out wonderfully, especially for such a cheapie. The plan now is to hack her for most of Autumn/Winter before starting to up the workload/schooling next Spring when she turns 5.
 
A friend of mine also had problems with her young stallion, she'd also done all the ground work and only wanted him sat on and moving forward and she would take it on from there, 4 weeks later at the yard and they were still having bridling issues, not been sat on or anything, alot of mummo-jumbo quoted, thankfully my friend know's her stuff and basically just went and picked him up, there seems to be alot of this goes on. As you said you may not be able to do anything with the small claims court as nothing was in writing, you could try your local trading standards if they failed to provide a service that you were paying for, but again, I think you'd be on thin ice to have anything official done.
 
God, I'd be very cross if this happened to me. Not sure what your best move is but it might be worth phoning consumer direct and having a chat with them about your situation. They provide trading standards advice and are experts on vending law etc. and they will be able to advise you and whether you have a leg to stand on bearing in mind you didn't have a specific contract. Good luck!
 
I know it's annoying but at least they didn't do anything to ruin her, my poor friend sent her horse away to be backed and it was basically totally ****ed up to the point where it couldn't even be mounted without broncking her off.
In the end she had to send the horse to someone else to be properly schooled but not before it put her in hospital :(
 
This yard also claimed they couldn't work her for TEN DAYS because she was in season. Jamie has been riding her when she's clearly shown signs of being in season without any problem. Perhaps it was an excuse to have not done anything for ten days....yet I was still charged breaking and not grass livery for that time.

I guess the fact he offered to do her for free after eventing season goes to show he felt I was "owed" something. However, having her broken in October was no use to me as I wanted her hacking out before the weather turned...not to mention I had no intention of returning her to be sat in a field again!

Jamie has broken her at home with me there every step of the way. It's been lovely being involved.
 
Patches said:
That's how we've looked at it.....although it was a costly learning experience after spending out on 7 weeks of breaking livery.
Click to expand...

How often did you visit for updates?

Weekly?
Fortnightly?
How come she was there 7 weeks if you were dissatisfied with the service offered?
Why was it expensive?
Surely you paid when she was brought home? So only paid for what was/wasn't achieved?
 
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As I already explained, I paid weekly in advance. I keep my horses at home but know that most livery yards charge weekly in advance, so I had no qualms about paying that way.

I visited at least once a week, but saw her more than that from the road as her field was by the roadside. I would stop on my bike to give her a fuss.

I spoke to the man at the yard once a week minimum too. Each time he told me she was going well. Having never sent a horse away before, and being aware that breaking yards are busy I didn't want to seem a pest and felt there was no point in seeing her being worked until she'd hit a milestone.

I considered bringing her home sooner, when I was cancelled from viewing him working her, but felt I needed to see what stage she was/wasn't at before I could complain about the situation....after all I had no reason to doubt what he was saying as the yard was recommended to me by several people.

I didn't know I was dissatisfied with the service until it was blatantly apparent that he'd done little with her after he refused to even sit on her when I finally pinned him down. I then arranged to collect her a couple of days later over the phone and this was when he'd told me he'd been unable to work her for 10 days at some point due to her being in season. I was all set to have it out with him but he was conveniently not at home and the yard was empty when we arrived (at a preset time) to collect.
 
Indeed we do. Had she not been so happy and settled I'd have gotten her home before now.

Interestingly, I may have mentioned what happened to me and my mare on several occasions, to local horsey peeps, in the same sentence as the name of person she went to. :D
 
Difficult one as sometimes when the horse is moved you get more issues esp. with breakers as they settle in and find boundaries etc. I had one recently from a friend who was a massive TB, he was actually quite sweet, she too had been long reining him about and sent him to be backed with me (she had purchased as cheap and unbroken from ascot) So I started him on long reins, because he didn't know me and we are a much busier and bigger yard we had quite a few hiccups, he became very nappy and insecure, and would turn and strike out at his handler on long reins and not go forwards. But it took another two weeks of long reining and lunging before you would say he was "ready to back again" despite having this done before he arrived. We did back him, and rode him away and he was fine, but then sadly went lame shortly afterwards quite badly so he had to go back (always moved a bit funny and obv. couldn't cope with the workload). I think people do take breakers on when they can't put the time in, but owners also have to realise that there may be hiccups in moving the horse (there normally are with ours as we have about 70 horses and are very busy, so those coming in from small private yards have a lot to get used to, but eventually it works in their favour as they get to see everything). I also think that as an owner you should be given the chance to come and help at the breakers with your horse, as then you will know the process involved and see fist hand what you might have to sort out when you get it home!
 
I know what you're saying but this mare did, according to the yard, settle like she'd always lived there. They had no issues introducing her to their indoor arena, she was perfectly settled.

According to what was said to me, the mare had been a doddle and was calm, good and straightforward...yet seven weeks down the line they weren't even willing to sit on her when I asked to see her worked.

She came home to me on the Wednesday. Bearing in mind I'd not owned her for long before I sent her away (I'd had her 8 weeks before she went away for 7 weeks) she came back here and settled straight back in. I long reined her in tack the next day, leaning over the saddle etc. The lad who has now broken her came and got on her at the first time of trying...albeit in stages. She hasn't put a foot wrong at all and has proved herself to be genuine and calm/sane.

Had she been difficult I'd have understood the issues but I'd rather have been asked to take her back when they realised he didn't have time, rather than being strung along for another month. The wasted time is almost as annoying as the wasted money.

It's all water under the bridge now as the mare is going sweetly. However, I almost sold her to cut my losses, given how much money I'd already spent on breaking.
 
My mare went to stud last year a stud where i worked but there were moments where ovisouly due to me working i wasnt there or wasnt handling her, my mare can be a ltitle food orintated and is bucekt mad, doesnt bother me she isnt nasty with it but will get a bit pushy and rude around feed time the rest of the time she is fine,

i went in the stable with her one day and she shot off to the back of the box terrifeied of me which she has never ever done before or since and ive had her since she was six months old, not sure what happend to her i can only specualte but the people that were there were all collegaues and friends and to think that thye would of done anything to my little horse made me quite upset, its a tiny thing but i would never send a horse away ever again unless i was able to be onsite and care for it

one of our stallions from work was also sent away recently to have some semen frozen as we dont have the facilities and i dont know how to yet this stallion hasnt had the best start so has some interesting quirks but is genuileny sweet and willing to please, he was left in a stable with minimal bedding and mouldy hay he came back all bones and with more issues than he left with my boss was in tears over it and we paid £500 for the priviledge and they in the end still could freeze his semen, so now he is going somewhere else to have semen frozen and i am going as his own personal groom
 
This kind of thing happens all too often, Patches I think you will have to put this one down to experience, and am surprised that you have been caught out, after all the storys you hear on here, with not getting a contract ect.
I know of one breaking yard, (not aimed at anyone on here) that takes horses in for breaking and show production, the woman who is responsible and who takes the money! for doing the job, gets the minions and the hangers on to do the job of breaking ect, and she gets all the glory, and for the life of me I can't understand why people cant see, that she has mugged! them.
 
In my defence buying an unbacked horse was an impulsive purchase and I didn't think anything of no official livery contract as the yard in question was highly recommended. Livery contracts of any description aren't familiar to me as I keep my horses at home on our farm.

IF I ever did it again, I would prefer to do what I've since done. The lad that's broken this mare has been travelling to us so we've been involved daily and have seen where the money has been spent.

Wish we'd found him three months ago....but that's how the cookie crumbles. Given that my mare was somewhat headshy when she returned it probably didn't do her any harm that the yard had left her in a field and done nothing with her for a few weeks. The only harm was to my bank balance. :rolleyes:

I was initially a little "darned mare" when she came back. I soon put my dummy back in though and realised that it wasn't her fault I'd wasted hundreds of pounds. I am quite smitten with her actually. She's no world beater but is such a genuine poppet that she'll be pretty useful as a step up to horses for my daughter.
 
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