BF, you are exactly right. She told everyone in her barn that he was "crazy and dangerous" and that he "could never be trusted". She had everyone in the barn afraid of my beautiful baby! And when we went to pick him up, she said "I couldn't fix your horse, I'm sorry, he's worthless, I can give you the number to someone who can humanely destroy him for you." Almost like we had given her a broken horse and asked her to fix him. I assure you, this was NOT the case. Booker was sent to her after having preliminary groundwork done by a previous trainer. She was to break him to saddle and harness, and get him comfortable with different environments (riding outdoors and indoors, riding in the rain, etc. etc.) so that he would be well-rounded. And most of all, SHE WAS TO GET HIM READY TO SHOW. He was not broken until she came back from his place, but anyone who saw him there in the barn would tell us our horse was insane and crazy, and that Erin did "what she had to do" to get the results that we were "demanding" from her.
Drugging a horse to ride isn't really frowned upon, actually
Lots of trainers do it to the youngsters when they first put leather on them, to help them adjust to it without hurting themselves. I personally don't condone it, but it certainly wouldn't hold up in court. Also, while Dan will say that Booker doesn't need to be lead around in chains, unfortunately there are horses that DO need to be led around in chains, so this also wouldn't hold up. The judge would have to know the character of our horse prior to being sent there, which would be how we (the people who paid all of this money) described it to be. My lawyer said if he had broken bones, bruises, etc. we could go to court, but not on anything else.
The bright side to all of this is that we've been in the morgan community for quite some time and are quite well networked. I assure you, everyone that matters knows of the treatment of Booker, and whenever we are asked to recommend a trainer, we tell them to STEER CLEAR of her barn. That's about all we can do She's a terrible trainer, her own shortcomings will end her career. I just hope its for good and she doesn't resurface in some other breed or something.
Drugging a horse to ride isn't really frowned upon, actually
Lots of trainers do it to the youngsters when they first put leather on them, to help them adjust to it without hurting themselves. I personally don't condone it, but it certainly wouldn't hold up in court. Also, while Dan will say that Booker doesn't need to be lead around in chains, unfortunately there are horses that DO need to be led around in chains, so this also wouldn't hold up. The judge would have to know the character of our horse prior to being sent there, which would be how we (the people who paid all of this money) described it to be. My lawyer said if he had broken bones, bruises, etc. we could go to court, but not on anything else.The bright side to all of this is that we've been in the morgan community for quite some time and are quite well networked. I assure you, everyone that matters knows of the treatment of Booker, and whenever we are asked to recommend a trainer, we tell them to STEER CLEAR of her barn. That's about all we can do
She's a terrible trainer, her own shortcomings will end her career. I just hope its for good and she doesn't resurface in some other breed or something.
). They are still workable! Yes it can take weeks, months and YEARS to get them to the point of "normal-ness" (and yet they may never be the same animal as when they did not go through the abuse and neglect) but I am always someone to believe in the animal. Believe in your horse. Love him, touch him, and let him feel your spirit energy.
