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RE: [RC] Need quick advice... - RaeI've also sent my horses off to a fellow who specializes in "30 day turnovers," and he says a lot of people seem to think that means a fully finished horse. He puts on the basics - mounting, dismounting, right left, walk, trot, canter and whoa. What I get back is a horse I can start training, with all the initial "I'm being ridden!!" goobers out of their system. That said, I've had two geldings that took longer than 30 days. One, he said he needed another month and at the end of that month, he still wouldn't let me ride the horse. This gelding was too unpredictable and the trainer's suggestion was to give up and take him to an auction and cut my losses. I threw the gelding back into the pasture for a couple more years to let him grow up mentally and then we tried again last year and he's doing VERY well. With the other gelding, we got hit with rain for 18 of his 30 days (trainer has an outdoor arena), then the gelding got sick, so I had to take him home until he got well, then back to the trainer. There were a lot of interruptions with the training, so it took him 3 months to finally get his "30 days." He was still green, as I expected, and after several months of more training (trail riding, arena lessons, etc) he's gone on to become a steady 100 miler who recently passed his 1,000 mile mark. I'd definitely talk to the trainer. Find out what her evaluation is of your boy. Some horses just mentally have a difficult time grasping that it's time to work. It doesn't mean that they're bad, or that the trainer is bad, just that this particular horse needs more time. Rae Tall C Arabians - Central Region Photos: http://community.webshots.com/user/niepe -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 11:15 PM To: Burnett,Elly Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: [RC] Need quick advice... I dropped him off on September 1st for 60 days training, and signed a contract that said he'd be doing X, Y and Z at the end of 60 days. I called once a week for an update, and six weeks into the deal the trainer still hadn't ridden him (she'd been doing "extensive" groundwork with him). I was more than a little frustrated, since I'd be getting him back in two weeks with only a short amount of time under saddle. I understand the need for a good groundwork base, but it seemed like this was a little excessive. I finally got fed up and told her I needed to see what he was doing, and went down and was thoroughly impressed with his groundwork and attitude change. She wanted to keep him for another month, and we negotiated back and forth and I agreed I'd only pay board at the facility so she wouldn't lose any money and she would finish him in another 30 days. Although I can see your frustration with the recent delays, keep in mind that all horses have their own timetable in training, and there are no guarantees that come with magic numbers like "30 days," "60 days," or whatever. What one horse will accomplish in a week another might take a month, even with a skilled trainer. If this situation is not the norm for this trainer (and you said she came highly recommended) I would be hesitant to suggest that you are getting a run-around. I'd suggest going back to the people who recommended her to you and asking them for more details of their experiences before you get in a hurry. And if the horse is making progress, you might want to persist... If, on the other hand, this kind of thing turns out to be the norm, then I'd agree that you need to look elsewhere. That said, no horse is "finished" in the time frame you mention--they are "started." You will spend lots of miles and hours and wet saddle blankets "finishing" him... :-) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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