Something I thought of when writing last week’s editorial was the subject of trainer hopping. Trainer hopping is one of those things that can really become a negative in many people’s eyes.

Trainer hopping is the term given to people who switch from trainer to trainer (or from coach to coach), simply because they aren’t getting the results they want. A trainer hopper may have a horse in training for six months, and when the trainer tells the owner that the horse won’t make the grade for the chosen discipline (or chosen level of competition), the owner simply switches the horse to another trainer, in the hopes of hearing what they want to hear.

Sometimes changing trainers can work in your favour - as I mentioned last week, sometimes a different approach to a horse (or a rider!) may be the key to success. By simply using an alternate method, a new trainer may do very well with a horse that didn’t work well under another.

Yet you have to beware - it can be very confusing to the horse and/or the rider to keep changing methods! Also to consider is that the trainer may have lower standards than you were expecting, and their glowing progress reports are actually based on those lower standards.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

People who have a tendency to switch trainers on a regular basis tend to get a bad name for themselves in the industry as well. Horse people do talk to each other, and if someone has a habit of changing trainers often, pretty soon the trainers will start to avoid that person as a client. After all, who wants to put out a lot of effort training a horse only to have someone else take over and claim the credit? Or worse yet - have someone take over, undo the good work they have done, and blame them when the horse gets messed up?

It’s all food for thought, but what you need to really keep first and foremost in your mind is that your choices be based on what is best for your horse and yourself.

I decided that having a clinic with a different clinician was better for both me and my horse than not having any help at all! With J.P. being so far away, and not having any clinics planned with him in this area since April of last year, I’m simply doing what I can to survive and hopefully keep learning something!

‘Til next week,
~ Kristi :)

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Is your horse a fusser when tied? When you tie him, which you seldom do, he chews on his leadrope, pulls back, paws the ground, strikes the fence in front of him, chews on the fence rail, and generally fidgets so much you worry about his safety and so you untie him and just hold him - if he hasn’t already untied himself and is wandering around the yard! This horse is in serious need of retraining!

There is a cure for this horse, but it takes patience more than anything. If your horse has no patience, then you need to teach him that no matter what happens, the day just continues. You’ll see this lesson being taught at many trainer’s barns across the world.

Go to any professional trainer’s facility, and chances are you’ll see several horses tied up in various states of readiness for riding. Some may be fresh out of the field and haven’t been groomed yet, while others may be tacked up and ready to ride, while still others may be obviously cooling out after a workout. Every one of them is actually in training at this point as they are being conditioned to stand still while the trainer works with other horses in the string.

This is a lesson that an amateur owned horse seldom learns. Most of us only have one or two horses, and so that horse receives all of our attention, one hundred per cent of the time. While it is nice to be able to focus on our horse like this, it can also create some nasty habits!

This horse becomes used to being actively involved in whatever you are doing, and so is unable to handle standing tied quietly. It is also not in a horse’s nature to stand restrained like that anyway, so it is a learned behaviour. If your horse doesn’t stand quietly, it is up to you to teach him!

Outfit your horse in a strong nylon halter and a good leadrope with a strong snap. Choose a tie place that is safe - not near a wire fence, with a good stout post of properly built hitching rail. Pick a spot with good footing and preferably a fenced area around it just in case he does get loose. Once you have found as safe a spot as you can, tie him with a quick release knot (unless he knows how to untie himself, more on that in a minute) and walk away.

Never leave a poorly-tying horse completely unattended, however, you are better off to stand just out of sight somewhere so that he doesn’t know you are watching. Then basically just let him work it out of his system until he eventually learn that no matter what he does, it won’t get him out of there.

Like I said, it takes patience, and lots of it! You have to have the time and willingness to just sit and watch the horse (for safety’s sake) until he gets this lesson. If possible, you can repeat this lesson day in and day out for weeks on end, as it needs to be reinforced over and over until the horse becomes resigned to it.

If you have comments or suggestions along the way, please share with me at kristi@hiway16.com

I first printed this in September and received absolutely zero response, which really surprised me. I was so sure that most people would help out in a pinch, when someone else they hadn’t ever met actually really needed a helping hand. With the 2003 season coming up ahead of us, I’d like to get this helpful section of Northern BC Horse well stocked with emergency contacts, before people hit the highways and side roads of our rural and sometimes remote northern region.

On September 17, I wrote:
“Have you ever been travelling and had truck trouble resulting in needing a place to stay for your horses? Or maybe you haven’t, but you have worried about it. I recently received a suggestion to compile a list of people available on short notice to haul horses, board horses, or even put up people overnight in case of an emergency.

If you are in a position where you can offer a spot to a traveller with horses who is in need, please contact me and we’ll begin to compile a list. We’ll need your name, phone number, and general location (ie, 10 minutes east of Prince George on the highway, 20 minutes west of Vanderhoof and 5 minutes off the highway, etc ).

If you have access to a trailer and can haul someone’s horses on short notice, we would also appreciate hearing from you.”

A couple of general examples of this could be (these are examples only!):
Name: Kristi McCrindle - Three Cedars Farm - Boarding, Training and Sales
Contact info: kristi@hiway16.com - 250-694-5555 or 250-694-2222 (work)
Location: Southbank (south side of Francois Lake)
What’s offered: Have space for several horses outside on short notice, also have gooseneck stock trailer for emergency transportation. Can also find room on the couch or floor for several people.

Name: Joan Smith - Grade A Ranch - Breeding and Sales
Contact info: joansmith@hotmail.com - 250-555-1234 or 250-555-5555 (cell)
Location: 15 minutes west of Vanderhoof, 10 minutes off the highway
What’s offered: Have space for several horses inside or outside on short notice, also have four horse angle trailer for emergency transportation. Have safe stallion pens. Also have 2 guest bedrooms.

Please email me at kristi@hiway16.com if you can help us compile this list. I’m sure the horse owning travellers of this area will thank you for it!

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Baerental Ranch
• Burns Lake Building Supplies
• Griffin Crick Ranch
• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Ridennoure Paint Horses
• The Tack Store

Do you have a horse or equipment to sell? Want to buy a horse or equipment? Check the Free Classified Ads