What to Look for with Outside Trainers

This week I want to get more serious and talk about getting an “outside trainer” for your horse.

First and foremost, I personally think that you are all your horse needs when it comes to training because it is all about the relationship you two have together.  That is what brings the two of you closer, what bonds you, and what develops the trust of your horse.

Without those, you shouldn’t be telling, or even asking, your horse to do anything.  It’s a recipe for trouble.  But when you have the connection and the trust, the communication between you becomes clearer and the willingness becomes stronger.

I have seen so many of my clients ask their horses to do things they would never have dreamt of and their horses have listened perfectly to their asks.  It was almost as if they could read each other’s minds.  But of course, they only asked once they had the connection and the trust established.

Connection = Communication = Cooperation

It has always worked for me and I see it work for others every single day!

But today I want to talk about what can happen if you send your horse out for training off-site or even have a trainer come out to your place and work your horse without you present.  At least if you are present during the training, you can spot things and stop them before your horse completely loses trust in you.

One of my readers sent me this message below …

“PLEASE strongly advise readers to do their DUE DILIGENCE and RESEARCH on so-called “trainers” prior to EVER sending their horses to any of them. So many of these so-called trainers are nothing but garbage and can/will ruin any animal for years to come, possibly ending their lives altogether, and should be charged with animal cruelty. Seen it first-hand again and again and have rescued and rehabbed my fair share. Nothing short of a disgusting tragedy. Thank you.”

I can’t agree strongly enough with what she says here.  I have seen this myself too and rescued horses in bad situations.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have seen other so-called “trainers” not only ruin the horse for the owner, but damage them physically, emotionally, and mentally.

I told you in a previous blog how my farrier told me a story about a trainer making a young horse more terrified about getting his feet touched by tying his foot up so he couldn’t put it down and then just leaving him like that for too long.

What I didn’t say was that in this particular instance – not only was this horse traumatized, but he was also physically damaged.

The purpose, according to the “trainer” was to teach the young horse to be more patient, to teach him to keep his foot up as long as asked, and to not fight when his foot was up.  But they walked away from this horse while he was tied up and yes, you can imagine the worst.

This horse freaked out, trying desperately to put his foot back down since he was off balance and scared, and he fell.  Not only did he damage his hock because of the rope tied to it, but he also hurt his stifle by falling and landing hard on the concrete.  Then he got more terrified because of the pain and he flailed around on the ground doing more damage.

He was also tied too tightly to the wall and this caused more damage to his head, neck, and front legs when he fell.  When the trainer heard the noise, she supposedly came right back in but the damage was already done, and trying to get the horse loose and calmed down was difficult.

According to the person witnessing this event, it all happened in an instant.  But it was long enough to traumatize this horse for life and do some irreputable damage!  Animal Control should have been called out because this could have all been easily avoided and I consider this practice cruel and unusual punishment.

This is just one story that I’ve been told and I’ve seen many more myself.  So please, please, check out anyone who is going to train your horse, and if you can possibly be there during the process that is even better.

I’m sure everyone reading this blog is telling themselves that they would never have allowed this to happen if they had seen the trainer doing it.  And if for some reason they went along with it to follow the trainer’s advice, they never would have left their horse alone for one second.

I know you’re probably just cringing thinking about this situation. 

I always tell every horse owner to trust their gut, to trust their instincts.  And if something doesn’t feel right, look right, or you can tell your horse isn’t comfortable with something…STOP right there and don’t do it.

Things to ask yourself when looking for a trainer for your horse:

1. How long have they been training horses?
2. Read all their testimonials and contact some of their students if possible.
3. Look at any videos they have up and watch how they treat their horses. Trainers can say one thing but do another.
4. Is how they treat their horses the way you want your horse treated?
5. Where did they get their training?
6. Read their background and any articles they’ve written to see if it matches your way of thinking.
7. Go out and watch them work another horse before allowing them to work your horse.
8. Look at their horses to see if they look scared, timid, or hurt. Do they have whip marks on their body? This is a good clue to run!
9. How many horses have they trained and look at their track record?
10. Are they an expert? Have they written books about horses?
11. Do you feel they have the horse’s best interest at heart?
12. Do you think they have ethical training practices?

These are just a few things to look for when vetting a trainer.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to do your homework.  The wrong trainer can truly damage your horse in so many ways.  And then instead of helping your training efforts and your relationship with your horse, they will be doing more damage and causing you a lot more work and time.

I’ve seen horses get really mad at their owners when they get back from training because they were put into traumatic situations with the trainer.  They blame their owners for allowing them to be taken away and abused.  They feel that their owner didn’t protect them.

This can damage the trust your horse had in you and do more damage than good.  I’ve seen it over and over.

But the good news is that you can avoid all this turmoil by working on the relationship first.  You can honestly do the training yourself and if you need help, just get a trainer to help you, not your horse.

A relationship-based training truly works best in my experience.  It’s really about you and your horse, and the trainer should be helping you work with your horse, not your horse working with the trainer.

That’s just my personal experience and my personal opinion.  And if you need help, I am here for you…to help you help your horse.  I want you to succeed with your horsemanship goals and dreams and reach them.

That’s why I do what I do.  To enable you to be the best owner/partner your horse could ever dream of.  And for you to have the best relationship with your horse that you could dream of.

I’ve been blessed to have this myself and to have helped hundreds of other horse owners achieve this themselves.  So I know it’s not only possible but should be expected.

Until next week, have a great weekend, and Happy Horses!