OMG,.. devastated...

Ani

Ani

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This follows on from my post "how much to visit/ get involved/ interfere" 28/02/09 sorry it's long. I took my gelding to a yard last saturday to finish the backing process. already well used to full tack, being lunged, long reined and leaned over whilst being led around, though he is not very trusting of other people.
I left him on saturday and did not go and see him until Tuesday as I wanted to give him time to settle and get to know the two people at the yard. I rang on Tuesday and the two people from the yard were out in the lorry with there horses, when i went up later, the yard was just being finished. My gelding was in his stable wet & muddy, no rug on (i had left a T/O and stable rug with them) and feet not picked out with his headcollar still on. I asked the owner how he was doing and he said all they had done was bring him in and turn him out (for 4 days!), but might lunge him the next day. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and thought they just wanted him settled.
I've left them alone for the last two days and had said I would go up on Saturday, however I called this afternoon and again they were out in the lorry, the YO said they couldn't even get a saddle on my gelding, he said, they lunged him then tried to put a saddle on and he went balistic (this is not like my gelding, he has never bucked).
I came off the phone and had that sick feeling in my stomach. I finished work early and went to the yard, again there was no one around and the lorry was out. I went to my gelding's stable he was covered in dry sweat, no rug and feet no picked out. he was more nervy than i have ever seen him, really twitchy to touch. The YO came back when I was there. he said "I lunged him for 40 mins just in his bridle then tried to put the saddle on in the school (surely 40 mins is too long for a young horse, especially then with the plan to do more) and he went balistic, we couldn't even get the girth fastened". at that point I said "this is not working, I will take him home. he is now a nervous wreck.
This yard has at least four horses in for backing and only two people, they always seem to be out in the lorry, how do they get time to do these horses properly.
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I am sorry to say ut this was why I ended up not sending my baby away for backing as you just never know.... sounds to me like these people are just a couple fo cow boys (not in a nice sense!) who are out for a quick buck. I hink you are right taking him home. give him some time off, let him settle down again and then start from basics again and make it all a positive experience that would be my advice....

Goodluck and hugs - must be a horrible experience!
 
clearly they don't...how did you come to send him to them in the first place?! i'd get him back ASAP and start again with the lungeing and leaning etc and then send him to someone more trustworthy...whereabouts are you?
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ps- i really can sympathise as my baby is away being backed atm..i'm picking him up tomorrow and am very excited. he's been there for 2 weeks and i haven't been to see him but a friend of mine saw him as she went to the place for a lunge lesson (its also an EC) and she said he looked fab and going really well...
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Can I ask please, because this really does not make sense to me, and goes against my own training principles; why would you not visit your horses when they are away for training? I encourage all of the owners of horses who come here, to visit as often as possible.
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sunny 08 thanks. I did want to do the backing myself but do not have the time and trusted person who is insured to assist me, and at the backing point you do need two people.
diggerbez, a lady at my yard and my farriers apprentice suggested him. i'm near Reading in Berkshire. my geldings behaviour is so odd, he has always been so quiet. I feel like the YO thinks i lied about him.
 
because i know the person who is doing the backing very well, he's done several horses for me and friends of mine and always been happy with the results...if i didn't know this then i'd be checking up... simple!
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Tia, i did not go up to see him for the first few days because this was suggested to me by the YO and people on this forum because they thought it would be better for him to get a bond with the new people and i have backed horses before myself and may have interfeared to early(now i know i should have trusted my instinct) if i have to send him away again i will be visiting all the time.
 
Poor you and poor horse, get him back home , were you recommended to these people, they don't seem to have much idea and lunging puts a great deal of strain on joints so needs to be doen well. I am surprised they didn't put the saddle on indoors in a large stable as you said he has had full tack and rugs on.
Live and learn and hope your horse will soon get over this experience, some people have a starnge idea about backing I have seen some very sore mouths in my days
 
Marinita - this is exactly what i wanted to do in the first place but could not find anyone experienced and insured to come to me...
 
Im sorry to say I have heard Jiggys story on many occasions. This seems to happen more often than we would like to believe.

Jiggy get your horse out of there and get someone to come to YOU to help you do the next few stages.
 
I wasn't really so much getting at not trusting people, it was more a case of the horse feeling abandoned by you. Yes I can understand if you get a bit too involved, however if you were at my yard, I'd just tell you to step aside and keep quiet please
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. I think it is far better for the horses if something remains constant with them ie. the owner still comes to see them.

Going back to the not trusting people though; I don't care, if I sent any of my horses away to be backed, I would be there to see what was being done and how they were being cared for ... and to be that constant in my horse's life at a potentially stressful period for it.
 
(((hugs)))

Hopefully he will be fine when he is back home where he obviously feels safe. Could you pay someone to come assist you instead?
 
I have certainly learned my lesson. i will trust my first instinct and stay involved if i have to send him away. I just feel i've let my gelding down. poor boy...
 
Whenever we have horses come in for backing or for re-education or to have little naughtiness sorted out we actively encourage people to come and watch and understand our processes and what we are doing. After all, if you move a youngster to a new yard, seeing a friendly face HAS to be re-assuring for them!!??

Also, why were they attempting to put the saddle on in the school?? surely if they are professionals they should be doing this in the stable or somewhere more confined.

Our babies are always left tacked up in the comfort of their own surrounds to get used to it all before even attempting to lunge them.

These people don't sound very professional but unfortunately, I think I know who you are talking about, and it wouldn't be the first time.
 
It makes me really cross when people like behave. All they seem to be interested in is the money and they don't want to put the work in, or rush it. Youngsters need to be started off correctly and properly. I worked at a yard near Reading for a while and they used to do some breaking and I did not like the way some of the youngsters were done. Hope for your sake its not the same place! When I had my youngster broken in last year I sent him to a fantastic place and they spent lots of time with him and they did a brilliant job and I trusted them totally. Good luck with your boy hope you get him home soon.
 
Sorry u didnt have a good experiance. I do a fair bit of breaking and riding for people and unfortunatly they come to me after going somewhere else and not had a particularly good time...
Some horses do seem to take longer to settle in than others but i do think some times they settle in sooner if the do a little bit of work the first day they arrive. Just a little lunging or something depending on what stage they are at. I do this just so they can get in the menage and have a look around before you start to improve them and move on to new things. Its okay saying that they have let him settle in for four days but now they must go through the whole process again in the menage if you know what i mean. Also im sure you are paying livery and 4 days breaking cost is much more than 4 days turn out costs!!
However some horses do regress a little when they go to a new yard, i currently have a beautiful 5 year old in to ride and get going a bit more. The owner told me she had had no probs with her and i do belive her, but the first day I rode her she was very naughty! She is now improving and we are all singing off the same hymn sheet!
I do also think that anyone who has horses in for schooling from clients should have an open doors policy I actually encourage people to just drop by without ringing me as at the end of the day they own the horse(s)!
I hope he settles back down when you get him home , proberly hasnt been there long enough to do any long term damage hopefully
Good luck.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Can I ask please, because this really does not make sense to me, and goes against my own training principles; why would you not visit your horses when they are away for training? I encourage all of the owners of horses who come here, to visit as often as possible.
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[/ QUOTE ]

This was my first thought; I'm afraid I can't understand at all why you would send a horse to a strange place and not check up on how it was being managed. And then, when you did and found the circumstances unsatisfactory (and I can only assume you were paying for the privilege!), to not immediately take the horse back?

I do sincerely hope he settles down again soon and is none the worse for wear.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Can I ask please, because this really does not make sense to me, and goes against my own training principles; why would you not visit your horses when they are away for training? I encourage all of the owners of horses who come here, to visit as often as possible.
confused.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

This was my first thought; I'm afraid I can't understand at all why you would send a horse to a strange place and not check up on how it was being managed. And then, when you did and found the circumstances unsatisfactory (and I can only assume you were paying for the privilege!), to not immediately take the horse back?

I do sincerely hope he settles down again soon and is none the worse for wear.

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember the post the OP did, asking forum members for their opinions on how often to visit the horse. The majority said not to visit to much, and to not visit within the first few days. She asked, she followed advice.
 
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I remember the post the OP did, asking forum members for their opinions on how often to visit the horse. The majority said not to visit to much, and to not visit within the first few days. She asked, she followed advice.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am honestly lost for words.
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Oh poor you that is truly gutting, I'm so glad you are getting him back.

My suggestion would be to pay someone to come to your yard (instructor, freelancer, whatever) and do it yourself. It will probably cost less to pay someone to help you (who will already have insurance) than sending him away.

Just take it slow and I am sure he will get over his horrible experience
 
I am sorry to hear this.
We back horses and would never lunge a young horse for more than 10 mins at a time when in the early stages of backing. The fitter they are the harder they are to back as my boss always says.
There are only 2 of us that do the backing (me and my boss but 3 people at the yard). Even if we have a really busy day we will always find 10mins to do a baby.
For example we have a big baby who hasn't has anything done with him, in at the moment. He arrived on Weds afternoon. We left him to settle. Put a bridle on in the stable for a bit on the Thurs. Then today took him to the round pen and let his have a trot about on his own, caught him up and put a roller on, not fuss at all. Let him go for a buck and he just calmly trotted about, not even an ear flicker. Caught him up again and put him back in his stable, leaving the roller on a for a few more minutes. The whole thing was no more than 10mins. Tomorrow we will do the same thing. He will go in the field all day on Sun for a chill out. Then on Monday the roller will be swapped for the saddle.
If we had your horse we would of put some tack on him in the pen, given him a quick lunge to make sure he was happy. Then the next day I would jump up and down next to him until he was happy and in his own time, slowly be legged higher next to him until I was leaning on and take it as they go from then on.
We've had horse that I have been sat on and walking round in less then 5 days and some that have taken 5 weeks+.
 
Jiggy_with_it I have tried to pm you re this post but my messages wont send for some reason rrrrr!!! I just have a quick question so if you could msg me that would be great. Thanks
 
Jiggy, please get him home tomorrow if you haven't already. and i would pay them the minimum, tbh. the standard of care sounds very wanting, to put it mildy. i would not lunge a young horse for 40 mins!
he may settle back down quickly in your routine at home, comfortable surroundings, etc, so don't panic, just get him home and give him tons of fuss and time and get back to where you were with him.
fwiw if you want a recommendation, one of my 4 yr olds is at Volatis' (poster on here) yard at the moment, been there a week, going beautifully. i've been a few times to watch and get on, and the filly is, if anything, more relaxed there than at my place (e.g. her friends aren't running around upsetting her, she's worked in an indoor school so no distractions!) Sacha is doing a lovely job, i couldn't be more pleased.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I remember the post the OP did, asking forum members for their opinions on how often to visit the horse. The majority said not to visit to much, and to not visit within the first few days.

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm sorry Helen, you will have to forgive me here for having a weird sense of humour ... but only 2 people answered that thread ... they both agreed with one another! Sorry the "majority" comment made me chuckle
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