Equine Suites & Concierge

Choosing a Trainer 

Ok, you’re ready to hire a trainer.  But where do you start?  Your dream is to be able to ride your horse and not have to worry about him being jittery on the trail, or not performing at a show.  Your frustration level has reached the point that you’re now ready to get professional help.

What are your goals and expectations?  Before you choose a trainer, do some soul searching as to what your goals with your horse are.  Is it that your horse needs basic or advanced training?  Or, do you need to learn how to ride better?  Or, is it both? 

After you have thought about your goals, write them down. Separate the goals related to your horse and you.  Example:  Goals for your horse, 1) teach him showmanship maneuvers. 2) Calm him down on trail.  Goals for you: 1) Learn efficiently all showmanship rules and how to executive patterns expertly within X (number of months).  2) Learn what makes my horse nervous and how to keep him calm on trail.  

After you identify all of your goals, you will have a better understanding of the type of trainer you need. Start your research about trainers in your area.  Go to local horseshows and observe the trainers techniques and how their students perform. Ask your veterinarian if he/she can recommend someone.  Listen to those around you.  Check local listings in newspapers and the internet. Ask around, who is the best trainer that can help you and your horse achieve your goals?

Once you have identified two or three trainers that you believe will meet your needs.  Interview them.  Be specific about what your goals and expectations are.  Be realistic.  If your horse needs specific training such as proper ground manners, ask how long this normally takes.  Most trainers will tell you, “It takes as long as it takes”.  Yes this is true.  However, set a realistic time frame in your mind to start seeing significant progress.  Don’t get trapped into an open ended training program without real progress and benchmarks that you have laid out with your trainer. 

Engaging a trainer is costly and time consuming.  Be committed.  Most importantly, find a trainer you can trust and develop a working relationship with.  Don’t expect to become their friends and start doing social activities with them outside of your scheduled training sessions.  I realize this is tempting but is not typically compatible with an ongoing working relationship with them.  You’ve hired them to do a specific job for you. You and your horse will be happier maintaining the training/student relationship, goals and expectations will be met, and you will have a much better experience in the long run.

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A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of a horse’s hoof.  Finding a good farrier is one of the most important professionals you need to ensure the soundness of your horse.

Following are some quidelines to follow when looking for a farrier.

Get References–Ask for referrals from horse friends, your veterinarian and other farriers.  Before you engage the farrier, check out their work and reputation.  How long have they been living in the area?  Ask for names of their customers and get their names and telephone numbers.  Contact them and ask if you can look at their horses’ feet.  If possible, pick up the hoof and examine the shape of the hoof and how the shoe fits on the hoof.  Ask them if their horse has suffered any soundness issues since being shod by this farrier.  Upon examining the hoof, check to see if the shoe is to small or too big for the hoof. Are the heels contracted?  Do they put their horse on an automatic schedule for six to eight weeks for shoeing, or do they have to track them down to schedule appointments?  Is the farrier professional, reliable and honest?

Questions to ask the prospective farrier–How many years have they been shoeing?  Where did they to to school?  Check out this school.  Is it a respected school recognized by the American Medical Veterinary Association?  Since the skill of horse shoeing is an unregulated practice, understanding the education and depth of the farrier’s knowledge will save your horse the experience of becoming lame.  Don’t rely on referrals from horse shoeing associations.  These groups are typically not accreditied and do not back any complaints or concerns a horse owner may have after encountering serious wrongdoing on the part of its associated farrier.  In my experience, this is important because there has been an introduction of new techniques that are proving to cause serious lameness in horses, i.e.; “new balance” and “four way shoeing”.  Talk to your veterinarian about this to avoid future problems with your horse.  Do they know how to properly measure the horse’s pastern with the shoe?  Do they understand the ideal hoof pastern axis is 55 degrees?  Note, all horses do not possess this angle naturally and not adjusting to proper pastern axis can lame the horse.  Do they focus on ensuring that the horse is balanced after the shoeing?  When the shoeing is completed, are the hooves even on all four feet?  What about the heel of the horse?  Is the weight of the horse evenly distributed, and is the sole making level contact with the ground?  Do they use a protractor? Or, do they just eyeball each hoof for even distribution?  How do they determine how much heal should be left on or off?  (Over-trimming the heels and dropping the heels puts strain on the sesamoids and may produce lameness.  Or, opening the heels and removing the wide part of the frog, or more of the frog than is normal for the horse, weakens the heels and may lead to contracted heels).  Do they do corrective shoeing?  What kind, and why is this needed?

Improper shoeing is one of the the main causes of lameness in a horse.  Do your homework before hiring a farrier.  You and your horse will be much happier because of it. 

Please send any experiences and comments regarding this article.

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