# Update on my "Oppertunity of a Lifetime", not what I expected



## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Im warning you now that this will likely be VERY long and very rambly, as there is a ridiculous amount to write. I waited a while to post this so that it wouldnt be a crazy, angry rant, but actually something worth reading. Please excuse any typing issues, my keyboard is being a jerk. 

Many of you may know that I was working for as the trainer assistant for a top reining, cowhorse and cutting trainer. These horses were the best money could buy. Sons and daughters of horses like Bet on Me, Hollywood Dun It, Nu Chex to Cash, Dual Rey you get it. One yearling was bought for 100k. This place is VERY well known and respected, and because of that I am not going to mention any names or facts that might give away who they are, as I don’t want to slander or accidentally black list myself in the industry. I have not reported them anywhere, as it really wouldn’t get me anywhere. There is WAY too much money involved and Id just be shooting myself in the foot. After these horses are done showing they will live plush, happy lives & beyond their training they get the best possible care. I know this is hard to understand for people who haven’t seen the industry from the inside, but please don’t flame me.

First things first, I quit. I will explain everything as follows!

Before I took this job I first visited and then worked a full 12 hour day to be sure it was what I wanted as I was moving on site and quitting my other job for it. The job was supposed to be $400 a week, live on site, board for one horse and rent included, 6 days a week with Sundays off hat I didnt realize when I took the job was that it was a minimum of 12 hours every day, with barely even a lunch break. Basically I was working constantly and when it was time for lunch he would hand me his horse and go inside to eat. I would have to care of that horse and whatever other horses that had been tied in their stalls drying before I got to go in and eat, and then I would have to beat him out there. This was the only break I got. What I also didnt know was that if we finished up working at 6 I would still have to stay on site to un tie the horses that were drying and switch out their blankets, and then turn off the lights at 9:30. I previously lived an hour and a half away and I thought if I was willing to suck it up and drive I would be able to leave after I was off and then come back in time to start at 6. Not possible with turning the lights off at 9:30. If we finished at 6, I would be done with putting the horse up by 6:15 but would need to un tie whoever else a bit later, even if someone wanted to drive the hour and a half to meet me I wouldnt have any time before being back to get the lights. Christmas Eve I didnt get out of their till 7:30pmven though he knew I needed to drive an hour and a half to see my family. Mind you HE got to walk the whole 5 feet into his house and party it up immediaty while I handled the last horses. Beautiful. 

When I took the job I intended to bring my dog and my horse with me, I quickly realized I would have zero time for my mare and why have her sit in a stall all day or a turn out when she can be at home, in a pasture with daily care and exercise from my family. Not to mention some snotty nosed thing was going around with the horses and I refuse to give it to my mare, so no horsey. I didnt bring my dog either because I quickly realized that the trainer would think he was in the way (hes a velcro puppy, very well behaved and horse savvy) and my dog was gonna get hurt by his foot connecting to his face, thats how this guy was. 

Now down to the actual horse things. 

I did not learn a single thing. The majority of the reason that I took this job was so that I could learn and improve not only my riding, but my training skills. I quickly realized that although he was a phenomenal rider, he didn’t know jack about training. He had recently taken over, due to illness, this established business from a world class trainer he worked under for many years. It was very sudden. The day he hired me he had just gotten back from a competition and did not do well, I think he really realized how much he had on his plate and started going HARD on the horses because of it. I realized right away he used constant rollkur, but I figured I could learn everything, but only use what I wanted. Everyone has their own way. However, when your standing in the stirrups ripping on their faces and their as bent in half as possible, you’re out of line. The second he would drop the reins many would stretch out their necks and just breathe. Hearing them gasping while he was riding them was quite horrifying. 

He didn’t know the first thing about how horses think, or pressure and release. If he was teaching a horse to back up for example he wouldn’t ask them for a step and then reward and work from there he would ask them to back up 15 ft and when they didn’t get what he was saying he would yank on their faces and kick their feet and legs harshly(if he was on the ground) till they went the 15 ft. Mind you the entire time the horse would be in panic mode, head in the air trying to figure out WTF this crazy person was asking. 

There was a particular well known stud in training there who the trainer absolutely despised for reasons I couldn’t understand. You wernt allowed to pet the horses but this boy was the sweetest horse, let alone stud I had ever met. He was the easiest to blanket, stood quietly for everything and would rest his head on me and fall asleep while I would braid his mane. I have never come across a sweeter soul. But the trainer HATED him. Nothing he could do was good enough. He was constantly putting harsher and harsher bits on him, and he always wore a very thin twisted wire tie down, which I repeatedly witnessed the trainer ripping his face UP INTO to punish him. More than once I was handed back the stud and he would be coated in blood from the shoulders down from being ripped into with spurs. You roll spurs dangit! They are not supposed to be a torture device! His splint boots would be absolutely saturated along with the girth and the stirrups would be coated. When the trainer would decide he wouldn’t deal with whatever imaginary issue he was having He would tie the stud (and other horses) with their heads between their knees and leave them in their stall, hot and still tacked up, for hours. With their heads between their knees, gasping the entire time. Mind you, the stud was in a cathedral bit with 7+ shanks and the cathedral was HUGE. Other horses were ridden in bike chain bits and would come back with their lips bleeding after every ride. I cried almost every time I had to clean him up, it was horrible to basically be preparing him for his doom knowingly. 

I understand that babies need to be started so they can go to their futurities and what not, but having a long YEARLING being ridden and lunged heavily everyday by a 6ft 4’ man is NOT acceptable. They should not be cantering circles in a round pen period, let alone with a RIDER. Despicable. 

 I was completely miserable and after 2 weeks I quit. I couldn’t handle it. I was done there after 4 days but like I said I quit my job and moved to go there, I needed to save some money because I was going to have to be unemployed while I looked for a new job. Im now moved back and working a solid job at a feed store and will be going to school for something like equine nutrition in the future.

Maybe I’ll post more about it in the future, but that’s plenty for now. Cookies to anyone who suffered through that!


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## demonwolfmoon (Oct 31, 2011)

Sounds awful 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Been there, done that. Good luck with your future endeavors. I won't say anymore, as I will be blasted on here.


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Thanks waresbear. & definitely not worth getting blasted for! Touchy touchy.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

That sounds like a total hell hole. Thank God you are gone, but I feel for the poor show ponies under his hand.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Good lord! I feel so bad not just for you, because you can make a decision based on what's best for yourself, but for those horses at his mercy.

I have no words of wisdom , but I'm sure other will . So sorry on so many levels.


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Thank goodness you didn't jump on the band wagon. Good for you for sticking to your instincts and knowing when to get out.

Absolutely horrible.

Karma. That's all I have to say. He'll run his "business" into the ground because he doesn't know what he's doing, his horses will be miserable and won't be willing to perform for him. He'll fall off the map.

Poor horses though.


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Speaking of band wagon, that's what was really scary. Between the time that I decided to quit and actually quitting I became so desensitized to the cruelty it was insane. It was scary knowing how terrible these things were and not being phased by them anymore because you had been gritting your teeth and dealing. I did NOT want to be that person.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

waresbear said:


> Been there, done that. Good luck with your future endeavors. I won't say anymore, as I will be blasted on here.


Blasted with a hose maybe! But nah, you're allowed to vent.

As for the OP... my goodness. They were working you and the horses so hard! Who the hecklefish RIDES, even lunges, a yearling?!


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Everyone who wins a two year old futurity.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

Ok, please explain further. I don't show, so dont' know much about "futurity". What exactly is a futurity? Just assume I know nothing about it.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

There is futurities in most horse events. Horse racing, western pleasure, reining to name a few. The stallion owners offer a incentive to breed to their horse. Any offspring can enter these shows (prize money can be very good, title is even better for the owner of sire). You decide to enter your foal, you start making payments until the show, so kind of a jackpot type thing too I believe. Horses in a snaffle bit western pleasure futurity look dead broke to me, wanna bet they were started as yearlings?


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

What? you are paying into a jackpot? Can you only enter if your horse is get of that certain sire? What kind of money? Why must they be so young?


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

If all that you are describing is true, then it is animal abuse punishable by the association. Think Cleve Wells. You can anonymously report what is going on--document with photos, if possible, and send them to the governing body of the association, or file a cruelty complaint with local law enforcement or animal control. Bloodying horses up with spurs, I'm pretty sure, falls under the legal definition of abuse.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Not really a jackpot Tiny. Only the offspring of nominated stallions. Could be many, many stallions. The more stallions nominated, the higher the payout I think. To enter, your foal has to be out of an incentive fund stallion, then you make futurity payments well in advance of the show, which would be the late fall of the horse's two year old year. I was hope someone else would jump in & help me out here, like NHreiner, they have 2 yr old reing futuries.


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Basically they want the horses to show as young as possible, so that they can win as much money and titles as possible, which is why they start them so young. That's how they have 2 and 3 year olds that are dead broke and can perform advanced moves, they've been doing them a longtime. It's also possible because of their breeding, these horses really do the moves on their own he just refines their movement and puts a cue with it. If he had to deal with a REAL horse that wasn't literally born for it it would be a whole different ball game.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Bubba, I did document as much as I could. I have pictures and a few videos. I will definitely look into reporting him, I just didn't know how to go about it. It's not that I don't want to report him in the least, just didn't know how and such. Most people flip out and want me to call the humane society *eye roll*.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

Triple post! 
I don't have any videos of him riding like that though (no opportunity, no cell service so no good excuse for being caught with my phone...) maybe I could either post the pictures on here or send them to you to see if they would be enough?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## CCH (Jan 23, 2011)

All other issues aside, a 12-16 hour day (more if you're at a show) is 100% common throughout this industry. In the summer, you get to find out what it's like to have all the riding done between midnight & 6am, then you do as many chores as possible before you die of heatstroke, sleep the afternoon and get up in the evening to do it all over again.

I think you just got a hard lesson on the difference between an assistant trainer and a trainer's assistant. I hope it didn't sour you on the cow-horse business as a whole. Remember there are always bad apples. There are quite a few cutters looking for lopers, so you could attempt that avenue instead, but the hours will suck just as much.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SorrelHorse (Apr 9, 2009)

I'm not against doing lungeing groundwork and respect work on baby horses and yearlings. But for christ's sake you don't lunge them into the ground. You teach them to yield and give you their attention, desensitize, start teaching them to move off of pressure, etc. I've shown two year olds before, won some ribbons, and never once had to get on their back before they were of riding age and I never worked them into the ground either. You can accomplish SOOO much just going slow, without even breaking into a trot with young'ns. You could be teaching them softness, and how to move off gentle pressure and become responsive. There is never a reason to ride a young horse into the ground.

I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I hope you find a better situation than that soon...With a good trainer who actually knows how to train.


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

CCH: I am well aware and had absolutely no problem with the hours, it was everything else combined with no breaks that I had the problem with. I had no problem with my duties as trainers assistant, it was the actual training going on that was the problem. It hasnt soured me on the industry in the least, he's just a bad egg. However it has made me realize that I don't want to work in the horse training industry, it's much to personal. Which is why I'm going towards something more like equine nutrition.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## loveduffy (Dec 22, 2011)

report the person before somebody else dose and your name will be with that forever this happen to a person I know and now I would not hire him because he did nothing to help the horses at the farm he worked


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Your best bet would be if you know the owners of any of the horses in training (and know for a fact that they would not appreciate his "techniques"). Contact them and have them check it out. If their horse is at all injuried, or if his methods are not living up to their expectations, _they_ can be the ones to file a suit against him or report him for cruelty--that way, it's not coming from a disgruntled former employee. I totally get not wanting to stick your neck out....I've been there. So you have to be careful and make sure that there actually is a clear, documented, provable case against him, so as not to fall into a libel/slander trap. I might even anonymously contact the association and explain what is going on without naming names. See if they will take the report seriously--I sure hope they will.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

OP You obviously learned a lot from your experience it just wasn't what you had hoped it would be.


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

The majority of the horses are owned by one owner, who has invested hundreds of thousands if not millions in these horses. He has about 4 or 5 privately owned horses in training. While I was there one of the owners made a visit. He knowingly rode this horse very hard before hand, bloodied him up and then tied him in his stall before he eventually cleaned him up for presentation. The woman didn't say a word about how obvious the makeup on the horse was, or the hole in his face caused by the tie down. I was amazed. She went on and on about how much she loved him, but completely ignored the obvious signs of it being covered up.

Eta when I say tied I mean tied his head between his legs, which happened often with this particular horse. For whatever warped reason he seemed to think that doing such things would punish the horse, and teach him to respect the bit. In all reality I'm sure it did dead opposite. 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I agree with CCH...when first starting out..it sucks...it is your life. And the thing is, is that there is 100 other people who want your spot. I have worked for some crappy trainers and I feel for you, because it sucks that your there for 16 hrs dealing with it...its not 8hrs, go home and forget about it. At shows I was lucky to get any sleep at all. But you have to stick it out and work your way up the food chain. It does get better and finally you will get to ride with someone that will teach you and is a real good trainer.

That sucks you had to see the crappy side of training, people who don't know what to do when problems arise just get mad at the horse and punish. And that is what you witnessed. He cant teach you anything when he doesn't even know what to do.

Good luck with what you decide to do!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## IquitosARG10 (Aug 27, 2011)

Um, might I say this guy should be tied up for life with his head between his knees with barbed wire across his face? I'm in. Oh, and let's put him on a treadmill for hours before hand.


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## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

TKButtermilk said:


> First things first, I quit. I will explain everything as follows!
> 
> Before I took this job I first visited and then worked a full 12 hour day to be sure it was what I wanted as I was moving on site and quitting my other job for it. The job was supposed to be $400 a week, live on site, board for one horse and rent included, 6 days a week with Sundays off hat I didnt realize when I took the job was that it was a minimum of 12 hours every day, with barely even a lunch break. Basically I was working constantly and when it was time for lunch he would hand me his horse and go inside to eat. I would have to care of that horse and whatever other horses that had been tied in their stalls drying before I got to go in and eat, and then I would have to beat him out there. This was the only break I got. What I also didnt know was that if we finished up working at 6 I would still have to stay on site to un tie the horses that were drying and switch out their blankets, and then turn off the lights at 9:30. I previously lived an hour and a half away and I thought if I was willing to suck it up and drive I would be able to leave after I was off and then come back in time to start at 6. Not possible with turning the lights off at 9:30. If we finished at 6, I would be done with putting the horse up by 6:15 but would need to un tie whoever else a bit later, even if someone wanted to drive the hour and a half to meet me I wouldnt have any time before being back to get the lights. Christmas Eve I didnt get out of their till 7:30pmven though he knew I needed to drive an hour and a half to see my family. Mind you HE got to walk the whole 5 feet into his house and party it up immediaty while I handled the last horses. Beautiful.
> 
> When I took the job I intended to bring my dog and my horse with me, I quickly realized I would have zero time for my mare and why have her sit in a stall all day or a turn out when she can be at home, in a pasture with daily care and exercise from my family. Not to mention some snotty nosed thing was going around with the horses and I refuse to give it to my mare, so no horsey. I didnt bring my dog either because I quickly realized that the trainer would think he was in the way (hes a velcro puppy, very well behaved and horse savvy) and my dog was gonna get hurt by his foot connecting to his face, thats how this guy was.


 
This is not as uncommon as you may think. There are a lot of positions like this and you may or may not work your way up through the ranks. There are, however, horse jobs that do understand you may have a life outside of the barn. They are hard to find, but they are out there. Good luck to you!


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## TKButtermilk (May 20, 2010)

wetrain17 said:


> This is not as uncommon as you may think. There are a lot of positions like this and you may or may not work your way up through the ranks. There are, however, horse jobs that do understand you may have a life outside of the barn. They are hard to find, but they are out there. Good luck to you!


Agreed, I just was not committed enough for a job like that. I realized right away that I don't want to work in the training side of things, it's not for me.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## wetrain17 (May 25, 2011)

^^^ It takes a certain kind of person to work that type of job. I am not one of those people; I know this from experience. I was very lucky to find a barn manager position that was 5 days a week, benefits (VERY IMPORTANT, but harder to find), paid vacation, and rotated holidays, and free room and board.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

This story is very common in training barns. It becomes paid slavery.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Saddlebag said:


> This story is very common in training barns. It becomes paid slavery.


Yep it is hard work, but no one is forced to do it. 
A trainer can figure out who wants to be there bad enough and who has a good work ethic. It weeds out the ones that aren't really looking to put in the time. Some places do take advantage of that drive of young people to want to make it and treat their assistants/lopers like crap. I am by no means saying that the OP is lazy or didn't want it bad enough, there were other circumstances causing her to leave which is very unfortunate. I hope she doesn't give up.

Trainers like she worked for are not good trainers if they have to resort to "gimmicks" to make up for a lack knowledge. I am sure it won't be long before his horses will be going downhill and so will his clientele.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

The thing that got me was not the hours worked, she knew that was all a part of it, but the way that the horse's were handled.

I am not a fan of riding horses that are barely 2, but I know it's the industry standard for futurities. The thing is, there are ways to do it with as little damage to the horse as possible. Hell, my Dad did it for years and years and most of the horses he showed in futurities went on to have very long and successful riding careers with no lameness issues. BUT, it was a very rare thing to see him get even slightly harsh with a horse that young, let alone bloodying them up just to get a fast turn or a hard stop.

OP, I am really sorry that you ended up in that position. It must have been terrible. If it was me, I would really look into ways to report him anonymously. I understand that most people would be quick to scream "OMG, report it to anyone and everyone who will listen!!!" and that is my first reaction too, but at the same time, I understand how the industry works and doing something like that _publicly _can absolutely ruin your chances of _ever_ getting a good job with anyone because you will always be labeled a "tattletale".

I hope it all works out for you and I am glad you were able to find another job.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

Maybe I'm just stubborn and ignorant but I surely wouldn't work to keep this guys good name. If I were in the OP's situation I would go ahead and name him and if anyone asked I'd tell them I didn't want to watch the idiot bloody horse for 14 hour a day. You might get labeled a tattletale or you might catch the attention of someone that doesn't agree with that kind of crap as well. Take this for what it's worth coming from an out-of-work cowboy.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

smrobs said:


> I am not a fan of riding horses that are barely 2, but I know it's the industry standard for futurities. The thing is, there are ways to do it with as little damage to the horse as possible. Hell, my Dad did it for years and years and most of the horses he showed in futurities went on to have very long and successful riding careers with no lameness issues. BUT, it was a very rare thing to see him get even slightly harsh with a horse that young, let alone bloodying them up just to get a fast turn or a hard stop.


I totally agree there are ways to do it with out damaging a young horse physically and mentally. The last guy I worked for had a barn full of futurity colts, I did the colt starting and I didn't ride them very long maybe 15 minutes as soon as that colt made some improvement, just the slightest, I got off. That is all it takes. If he improves just a little bit everyday your making progress. There is no reason to drill and drill and drill a horse into the ground or fight with him and make him bloody. Not only did the futurity colts get rode that way but the aged horses as well, they all loved their job.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Most every field has jerks that take advantage of people. Working someone else 12 hours a day is stupid. Working for someone 12 hours a day is unnecessary. There is nothing to be learned from this so called trainer except for that he is a jerk.

To the OP: you learned a lot. I am sorry that the lesson sucked.
I hope you find a real job.


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## Hollywood (Aug 3, 2011)

Welcome to the horse industry!


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## Bellasmom (Jun 22, 2011)

Celeste, many fields have people that are routinely expected to work 12-16 hrs a day, nurses, doctors, firefighters, etc. training/show/breeding farms fall into that category as well....you are NOT going to find a 9-5 job there. That does not make it "stupid" or "unnecessary", it just is what it is.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

kevinshorses said:


> Maybe I'm just stubborn and ignorant but I surely wouldn't work to keep this guys good name. If I were in the OP's situation I would go ahead and name him


I would go to the owner of the facility. The foundation that this trainer is trying to build on is his/hers.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

Nurses, doctors, etc. work 12 hour shifts; however, they work 3 of them a week and they are very well paid.

You are right though, it is what it is. You either work a job or you don't. We each have to decide what we will and will not do in this world.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

I work 12 hours+ 7 days per week when I'm lucky enough to get a cowboyin job and I love every minute of it. I've had jobs where I worked 8 hour per day and got every weekend off, had vacation, 401K, and health insurance and it felt like I was in prison every day. My point is that if you love what you're doing you'll never work a day in your life and if you hate what you're doing the hours and pay will never be right.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

^^Exactly, Kevin.

Even a set schedule doesn't guarantee a limited number of hours to work. There was a time when I was working 12-16 hour days for 7 days out of every 8. My printed work schedule said I was supposed to work 12 hour shifts, 4 days on and 4 days off. Well, guess what, due to staffing, that just didn't happen. It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd actually liked the job but I hated it to begin with and being there for that amount of time made me hate it worse.

Now, I work for myself and in the summertime, I work 12+ hours every day and love it.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

And you actually WERE in a prison!!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Yep, working for the state where they _should_ have been able to monitor and control the hours each person was required to work. I guess someone should also tell the ER docs and nurses around here that they are only supposed to work 36 hours a week:lol:.


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## aqharyder (Jan 25, 2009)

The treatment of the horses makes me so sad, but what really makes me mad/sad is the owner saying how much she "loves" her horse, and yet obviously knows what is happening to him and lets it continue by staying there. I have shown horses for over 25 years, and I have seen some of these practices (tying the head to tail, etc.), and I just cannot understand the mentality of wanting to win at any cost. My horse's well-being is everything to me, the trophy is way down on the list. 

I've been lucky and have been with some amazing trainers that use their talent and patience to get the horses trained. Sorry you had to experience all of that; it must have been heartbreaking.


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## nannigans (Jan 18, 2012)

Wow!! I have to tell you, I "almost" started down that path once years ago. Hearing the first part about the long hours and selfishness on his part almost sounded like the same trainer. I was supposed to clean stalls and do grunt work, in exchange for a little money and a crappy trailer. If I got all my work done I would learn to train. I realized that I would NEVER get all my work done and it would be a waste of time and effort on my part.


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## Back2Horseback (Mar 21, 2012)

Worked a job like this in the aspect that it was 12h days, 6d/week minimum, very fast and heavy work, minimal breaks, minimal pay, pretty cruddy treatment by the trainers despite my doing every single thing I was asked and with a great attitude; I was titled an "apprentice trainer", though never got to really "train" at anything other than basic stable management, which was awesome, just not what I thought I'd be doing. No matter, I did learn a lot, and especially, I learned that I was CAPABLE of a lot more than I'd ever realized. This all helped me tremendously when I got into nursing and began working 12 hour nights, but only 4 nights/week at that time (now it's 5, but 8h shifts)...

That said, had I seen ANY of what was described by the OP being done to the horses where I was apprenticing (in my situation, it was the exact opposite, and I was often jealous of these beautiful animals and how happy their lives were, even though they were working hard, as was I, they were being treated like kings and queens!) 

Anyhow, as I began to say, HAD I SEEN ANYTHING like that which the OP saw regarding the outright abuse, I doubt I, at that young and impetuous age, would've had the foresight not to alert anyone and everyone to what was going on. I am NOT BLAMING OR FLAMING OP FOR NOT DOING SO. I can only pray that somehow this idiot of a "trainer" whom the OP was working for will get caught doing this to these horses, and FAST, because every day this goes on, animals with no option to leave or fight back (tied in stalls like that? Makes me LITERALLY want to puke. Rollkur? More puking...bloodied and hurt and the HORSE OWNER NOT CARING? Ain't ENOUGH puke for me to express my feelings on that one!)

I'm very glad you dissociated yourself from this *********, OP. This person will suffer, it's just hopefully going to be sooner than later...Best of luck to you and God Bless you...


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## Azale1 (Jul 5, 2010)

I have worked many horse jobs. Some of them better, as bad, or even worse than what you have mentioned. I am a type of person who is hard working and will even volunteer my time to be around the horses. But I think my last horse job was my last.

I don't see an issue with the long hours. That is almost a given in the horse business. And in my personal opinion do think you are being a bit on the whiney side in that aspect.

But as far as the treatment of the horses. I don't blame you for leaving. And honestly I would have reported him for it. I've done it myself. Before leaving a place I took video and photos and reported the evidence to animal control.

I was once an assistant farm manager, started off pretty well, but slowly turned horrible. And had to deal with some very horrific things. From warning and begging the head manager to remove a mare from a particular pasture, then ultimately watching her get her leg get completely kicked off and then having to stand with her in the pasture for over an hour waiting for him to drive back to double check that she actually needed to be put down, to getting put down on a daily basis and having my knowledge judged, and ultimately in the end getting sextually molested by one of the other workers and nothing being done about it because there was no proof. And that is only scraping the surface.

Good luck on your future job.


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