# breaking and schooling issue. paid £2800 and not seen horse ridden.



## shellinch (Apr 2, 2009)

I have had my horse broken in and during the process my partner didn't get paid from a job as he worked for the council and they took over a month to pay so we went two months without payment in total and it involved our horse being up the yard longer than planned as they wouldn't let her leave until the payment had been made which is fair enough.

the payment was £170 to start but they dropped it to £150 to help us out which was lovely. in total we have spent around £2800 on my horse as we had to catch up which is our fault as we had to pay it back in like £300 week payments. during this process she stopped riding her for 2 weeks and still charged us for full amount of the £150 per week.

during the process I kept asking to see my mare being ridden and no response or ignored message or il sort it. then asked about 5 times to take photos and videos and they promised. I asked what tack she needed yet again no response or yeah il get back to you and then nothing until they wanted payment. it got to end of payment and she moved yards with the lady and we owed £100 as paid new yard rent and her for riding separate. I also asked for my head collar back which is a leather diamante one and not cheap and she then messaged to say will drop stuff down but head collar is snapped. when they stuff came back the head collar was snapped in 3 places but no explanation to how it was broke and she had ago at me for asking saying it wasn't her fault. we told her as we still hadn't ridden her or seen her being ridden or had any explanation to how she goes, did she buck, does she go strait etc... and after 4 months and £2800 you would assume she was going lovely.

we have paid the whole lot as the lady got the yard to ask for the remaining £100 and its been 2 months and still not seen her being ridden or had videos or pictures as promised. I have complained to the lady in which she has got nasty and blocked contact from me and told all her customers that I didn't pay her and expected her to ride and I owe livery etc... this lady is well know dressage rider so everyone is now believing her sob story and im a non payer. I haven't told anyone anything and don't know what to do. yes I appreciate we messed up like 4 months ago and we made massive lump sums to pay it back and was open and honest with her. all im asking for is to see the finished result and the pictures and videos she promised. what would you guys do?


----------



## RachJeremy (Sep 14, 2012)

Any trainer who cares about the horse, would be genuine and keep you updated about the horse... £150 a week is a reasonable thing. But i know some people who train horses ask for a deposit to secure them for a good few weeks and even if you have trouble paying they will continue the horse as long as you pay them. If you struggle to pay continuously, then they will ask you to take your horse back and wait until you can afford to have someone else train your horse. 
Now just in my opinion if i had someone training my horse, i would rather pay them to come to my yard and do it there. Or find a local one where i can visit as often as i please. Now me as a person if i was to back a horse, i would be doing it myself. However i do question people who send their horses miles away to a trainer who they have trouble contacting and have no idea how their horse is doing. 
Is the yard local and can you get to see your mare? As for all you know, they've kept her in a field and will return her to you "broken" and ready to ride, and you'll throw a saddle on her and she'll have no idea what's going on because she's been in a field. Granted if she is so far away she should be providing you videos or photos of her process. And from the sounds of what you're saying you've picked the wrong person. Even if she is well known, these people can still rip you off. 
If i were you, i'd go and pay a visit to the yard as surely you know where it is? And legally it's your horse, you have every right to be there and show up whenever you like, unannounced to see your horse. And i would be taking a trailer with me, ready to load the horse and get it out of there ASAP if you find she's not had anything done with her. 
If she hasn't done anything with the horse and you have a contract see if you can get your money back. And then find a trainer who is local and genuine. Trust me there are plenty of them, and most of them aren't "pro" or "well known" by everyone, they're genuine people, with fair prices and most of the time they want you to be involved in the backing of the horse. 
From the sounds of it, this lady is not genuine.


----------



## shellinch (Apr 2, 2009)

RachJeremy said:


> Any trainer who cares about the horse, would be genuine and keep you updated about the horse... £150 a week is a reasonable thing. But i know some people who train horses ask for a deposit to secure them for a good few weeks and even if you have trouble paying they will continue the horse as long as you pay them. If you struggle to pay continuously, then they will ask you to take your horse back and wait until you can afford to have someone else train your horse.
> Now just in my opinion if i had someone training my horse, i would rather pay them to come to my yard and do it there. Or find a local one where i can visit as often as i please. Now me as a person if i was to back a horse, i would be doing it myself. However i do question people who send their horses miles away to a trainer who they have trouble contacting and have no idea how their horse is doing.
> Is the yard local and can you get to see your mare? As for all you know, they've kept her in a field and will return her to you "broken" and ready to ride, and you'll throw a saddle on her and she'll have no idea what's going on because she's been in a field. Granted if she is so far away she should be providing you videos or photos of her process. And from the sounds of what you're saying you've picked the wrong person. Even if she is well known, these people can still rip you off.
> If i were you, i'd go and pay a visit to the yard as surely you know where it is? And legally it's your horse, you have every right to be there and show up whenever you like, unannounced to see your horse. And i would be taking a trailer with me, ready to load the horse and get it out of there ASAP if you find she's not had anything done with her.
> ...


thank you for your comment I really appreciate it. the lady is a grand prix dressage rider so was good as far as I know. also to get onto the yard you need to be buzzed in as gates are 7 ft tall to stop anyone getting on yard. we would ring to make appointment and she wouldn't get back to us or if we turned up no1 would answer buzzer. its been really difficult as she is well known so I wouldn't assume she would be like this.


----------



## RachJeremy (Sep 14, 2012)

shellinch said:


> thank you for your comment I really appreciate it. the lady is a grand prix dressage rider so was good as far as I know. also to get onto the yard you need to be buzzed in as gates are 7 ft tall to stop anyone getting on yard. we would ring to make appointment and she wouldn't get back to us or if we turned up no1 would answer buzzer. its been really difficult as she is well known so I wouldn't assume she would be like this.


Well try and get in. And if that fails, call the police. She has something, an animal which is rightly yours. And holding it like that and not allowing you to see her and taking money off you when she is potentially doing nothing with her, is a good reason to call the police. Have them accompany or meet you at the yard if you cannot get onto it yourself. They may not answer to you, but they sure will answer if they have policemen show up. 
And if she's a Grand Prix dressage rider then shame on her to be that much of a bitch. She would be furious if she was in your situation. And if she hasn't got the time to take on a horse for someone else then she shouldn't be bringing on or training someone else's horses. 
And i will ask if it does come out that she's been taking money and not doing anything with your horse, please shame her. There are sites on facebook with loads of horsey people who would appreciate hearing about a bad experience with someone and warning people of the dangers of sending a horse off to someone. As it's proof in itself that even professionals can scam people.


----------



## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

Anyone can make themselves look good and professional, but the reality can be different as you're unfortunately finding out.


----------



## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

I take it you have your mare back now?

Unfortunately, I don't think there's a lot you can do. You will know when you ride her whether or not she has been produced properly and whether your money was well spent.

If not, proving it could be a nightmare. You may just have to chalk this up to experience.

I feel sorry for you though. You never know who you can trust.


----------



## Elles (Aug 15, 2011)

It's a difficult one as, if someone sent a horse to me for schooling, but then didn't pay me for 2 months, the horse would have received basic care in that time, but not been ridden or schooled. It would be my legal as well as moral obligation to care for the horse, but I personally wouldn't go beyond that in that situation. I charge about £150 for full livery, which includes exercise, but wouldn't include breaking and schooling and I'm not a GP rider. 

I'm surprised the professional kept your horse tbh, I would have asked you to take her home until you were in a better position, but then I couldn't afford to keep someone else's horse for free for two months, even if they did eventually pay me in instalments, nor would I want an unpaid livery taking the space I would need for other business.

Did you not get a written contract and pay a deposit? It all sounds a bit unprofessional and disorganised to me, from both sides if I'm totally honest.

From what you say it does sound as though the professional dropped the price, maybe to her usual full livery cost, rather than breaking livery cost and didn't ride your mare, as you hadn't paid, but she should have communicated that to you more clearly at the time I think.

eta: If you'd been sending the horse to me, you would have paid a month deposit and a month in advance, so your two months would have been paid for up front anyway. I think that would be more usual. At least 2 weeks to a month deposit, then a weekly or monthly payment in advance from thereon. Your professional GP lady doesn't sound as though she's going about her business in a very professional manner anyway, regardless of whether your horse was ridden or not sadly. So I agree that unless there's a lot more to this, you're going to have to chalk it down to experience and start again.


----------

