Two weeks of cloudy days, but why won't it rain! Ok, it rained a little this week, but not nearly enough. The geldings are getting restless and want back out on their grass pasture! I hope we get that rain they are forecasting for tonight so the grass can grow and be less crunchy under foot.
...
I have been helping Wendy in her pony search, and she found a lovely gelding that I am quite excited about. Hopefully one day he will come here to learn to jump!
Along the search though, we found another pony, and in doing a search to find info on that pony's owners I found their website. It was the same not so great people that tried to buy Bugsy a few years ago. So I perused their website. It makes me think our industry needs some regulations...or at the very least parameters that allow non-horsey parents to know what is safe and what isn't.
For example: lesson kids (beginners based on the rubber boots) riding in a hard packed dirt paddock with a barn OPEN to the area. I could just imagine an unwilling pony deciding to quit early and head back to the barn. And the risk of getting hurt falling on hard packed earth? Ouch... But there is more....they list their horses....they seem to have three lesson horses only, yet run camps. So what happens if one goes lame? Are they going to ride double? Oh, and one of the horses is only 4. For insurance purposes you can't use horses that young for obvious reasons, but they are.
Oh, and they also show a LOOSE horse in the ring during an obviously beginner lesson. The horse has a halter and something on its back...but no handler.
And then there are their lesson prospects. The unhandled/unstarted horses (as of mid May) that they plan to start using in lessons in the summer or fall. What??!?? Seriously?!? I don't care how good of trainers they are (and they must be great considering they only charge $350.00-400.00 per month for training including board...you guys are suckers for bringing your horses here apparently) But you CANNOT make a horse lesson safe in two months when it is barely halter trained! But a non-horsey parent or Disney addicted kid wouldn't know that.
And then there is the TWO year old that they bred for a 2010 foal. Sad sad sad. She will then be trained to join the lesson program apparently. Nice. A three year old lesson pony that already had a foal.
Lessons at this place are CHEAP, so I imagine they won't have trouble getting business, but at what potential risk and cost to the kids and the horses?
So...what can be done? it would be hard to push regulation onto an industry like this, but perhaps a check list parents can go through to help them judge if a lesson program or camp is safe? Education of parents of the risks inherent to horseback riding?
I fear as the cost of horses goes up, good programs won't be able to keep offering lessons at a cost that average people will want to pay, so people will go places just because that is all there is. I don't know the solution to that. I don't want to see riding lessons to be only available to the elite, but nor do I want these poorly run pony hells to flourish.
Karen
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4 comments:
Where did you find the website? I was looking myself. We are countin' down the days that Renegade comes home. He will be in your training barn next April I think. Thanks again Karen for all your help. I sure appreciate it the work you put into Pete as well. Hopefully we can work on enough to get me to my first show next year. Dressage 101 is looking more and more like a reality as opposed to a running joke.
Wendy
I just googled their email address to find their website. Oddly enough, Amanda and I had just been talking about where they had got to, so it was interesting timing!
Karen
Hi Karen,
Wow, I must admit I never thought about it that way. It is interesting the difference of opinions that people, especially the horse community can have, and how quickly people choose to (and want to!) judge other people and their horses. As a whole, those of us that are equine enthusiasts come with a lot of rather firm opinions and feelings. Generally, people tend to treat our community as a competition; my horse is better than your horse, my barn is better than your barn. It becomes even worse when money is a factor. Or when you are “competing” for lesson students.
But this is not a competition. The lessons that we offer and the lessons that you offer vary drastically; to be honest, we live in a rural community, and most of our students have their own ponies in their backyard that they ride bareback down the ditch.
I realize that the Internet is a public forum and free speech is a luxury I truly appreciate, but a few qualifiers would have been appreciated; “I don’t have any personal experience with them, but . . .” or “I’ve never seen their lessons or their horses but. . .” or “The only information I have comes from this website which. . .”
I’ve made it a personal policy not to be negative. Professionally, the worst thing I say is “I wouldn’t recommend that program for your situation.” In this day and age, even a personal blog is a professional forum. I honestly feel that the horse community needs more from me than any other community.
I like you, I like your program, and I hope to someday have a program like yours. Of course, at this point our facilities reflect what we can afford but we hope to relocate within the year. I don’t agree with everything you do but I respect your enthusiasm and dedication. I even appreciate your critiques, although I wish they had come in a more positive form. I’ve never even thought about the barn door – we had that issue a couple times, worked through it, and it’s never came up again. I definitely missed the fact that I caught my horse in a shot after I dismounted to take pictures before we stepped to the middle of the riding area. I have thought a great deal about the other issues you’ve raised, and have some ideas and opinions as well as information you are not aware of.
I welcome you next time, after “googling” our email address, drop us a line. Tell us what you think, ask questions! Let’s open communication in our community rather than spread rumours.
Sincerely,
Page
Hi, I purposely didn't name your facility, or your names in my blog nor did I link to it. I am suprised you decided to sign your name. I also decided to leave out my previous experience with you and your partner, and the fact I saw your lessons and horses when you were at a previous location.
This isn't about competition, this isn't about being "better than", it is about basic safety and humane treatment of horses. It is also about trying to raise the standards of the industry to help protect it and help it to grow.
If you are insured with Capri insurance you should have a list of safe practices for running a lesson and training program that would outline commonly accepted safety practices. That would be a good way to start.
I know that it is hard to get into this industry (in particular financially), and I also know how much we NEED barns willing to teach beginners, however basic safety should not be an afterthought, it should be at the forefront of the program; seasoned horses, safe riding area, and so on. Remeber you are being intrusted with the safety of someones kids as well as the well being of the horses in your care. If you can't afford to offer even the most basic safety, then maybe you should consider holding off until you can.
Good Luck,
Karen
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