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Bad experience with Amish horses...

69K views 96 replies 47 participants last post by  mbender 
#1 ·
Horses I primarily own/work with are rescues in need of serious repair (usually mentally as well as physically). I've worked with several horses that came from the Amish and have been absolutely terrified of people... Once, I was leaving an auction and I observed three or four Amish men attempting to load a weanling. It wouldn't get in, so they proceeded to beat the crap out of its behind with a stiff whip... I was disgusted.

All the Amish-broke horses I've worked with have the same eye, and the same attitude. They are reluctant, wary, and stressed the entire time I'm around them. A lot of the drafts that didn't make it as cart horses (I'm assuming) won't let you go anywhere near their rump, and God FORBID you swing anything back there (be it intentional or not). My experience is that they break their spirits, THEN they break them to ride. They may not all be this way, but the ones I've dealt with have been.

There's only one horse that wasn't like this: A big Belgian named Mac. He was pigeon-toed from pulling before he was fully grown, and he had terrible ground manners, but he was such a derp that he probably didn't care whether he was being mistreated or not.

I understand that horses are very important to the Amish way of life, and they are vital 'tools' to their lifestyle... but seriously, I'm sick of these abused horses with broken spirits (which take forever to mend, mind you, if they are fixable at all).

My question is this: has anyone had similar experiences?
 
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#70 ·
Well since this topic is "new" again I'll put in what I've witnessed with the Amish in my area, another rather rural area in Wisconsin.

We have an Amish village, group, what ever you would call it living right outside my town. The only bad thing that I've seen is how much they work their horses. They work and work and work. I drove by once and saw two men with horses and plows out in a field. It was morning. On my way home, about around 6:00 PM maybe they were still in the field, dripping sweat and looking like they were ready to drop. HOWEVER, it looked like the same men were still there, also dripping sweat and looking beat. They weren't asking the horses to do anymore they they did.

The owner of the first horse I rode on trails alone send his horse to be trained by the Amish. He was a young horse with too much attitude, that would bite really bad. He came back from the Amish and hasn't bit since. Granted he was a little head shy when he first got home, maybe they treated him bad, but honestly, think of what would have happened if he stayed such a bad biter...

My girl Spirit was an Amish horse, used for driving. I have no idea if they trained her or not, or how long they had her. I only know the lady who gave her to the rescue bought her from the Amish. Spirit has scars on her face and white hair forming a halter shape, she also has a bit of a sway back, and some missing hair where a harness would have rubbed. BUT, she's also the best horse I've ever worked with. I can 100% trust her to take everything I throw at her in stride. She has zest and fire, the name Spirit really fits her. She has a ton of get up and go, and at 30 she's shown no signs of arthritis. She had issues at first, but it seems that the harder I work her, the more happy and content she gets. I've never harnessed her, but I think she would do awesome, and I dont think she was ever beat. Maybe overworked, but never beat.

I dont really have a point to my post lol, just wanted to share my expirience.
 
#74 ·
:lol: maybe not the Amish, but the menanites. I skipped a lot of the posts on here but I will tell you, I live in the heart of Amish country. They do take care of their horses. This has been mentioned before but, horses are their only way of transportation and field work. Yes, they ride bikes but needing to get somewhere fast or with the family, the horse is completely relied upon. Most of the horses they own are bred for the work that is required of them. Its all these horses know. They usually have more than one so they can give breaks to them.
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#75 · (Edited)
My farrier is Amish; he's the only one who could shoe my problem horse Sundance when we had him. Most farriers here won't trim drafts, especially drafts that bite and kick. Our guy is phenomenal, though; the horse stood there docile as ever while he trimmed. He knew how to get respect from these animals without appearing pushy or over-the-top. I have a high respect for the Amish. I also went to look at a Percheron once from him; his son rode her all around the property bridleless. No horse would willingly do that cooperatively if they were abused or roughly handled.

ETA: It irks me when people see Amish horses and immediately say they're "backyard breeders." How would breeding more than they could use help them? A system that relies on useful horses so much is not likely to breed horses that won't be useful, or more than they can afford to feed.
 
#76 ·
i have a horse and he got HIT with a PIPE and was TIED IN A STALL NO FOOD OR WATER AND STOOD IN POOP UP TO HIS CHEST!! when I was riding the other day i found out he got hit by a cone, my instructer was moving the cone and he jumped
 
#77 ·
You are saying that because the horse jumped when your trainer moved a cone that he must have been hit by it?

I am sorry but I have to laugh at that.

A horse being afraid of a strange thing does not in any stretch of the imagination mean it was previously abused by said thing.


Or maybe I should go home and assume that BF has been abused by just about everything; trees that move in the wind, her hay bag when hung in a new spot, a jolly ball when not where she left it, etc.
 
#79 ·
I've never had a bad experience with any Amish, or Amish broke horse. I used to work at a Standardbred Racing setup before I moved. 80% of the yearlings there were sent off to Amish to cart train. They all came back Healthy, and Sane. I've never met Amish so crule as a lot of you describe.

I'm sorry that some of you have see some bad apples, but personally The Amish broke racers did 90% better on and off the track than the owner broke horses. If I were to Read a horse ad and it said "Amish Broke" I'd probably be more interested.
 
#81 ·
I've bought and owned several Amish work horses. All of them were hard workers, good to be around, and not at all spooky or distraught. I also recently sold a belgian mare to an Amish man. His work horses were getting old so he was looking to replace them. The mare was in foal so he got a two in one deal. He absolutely fell in love with her. He's going to be working her with one of his old work horses, and when her foal is old enough to train, he's going to use her and her foal together and sell the older ones. He and his family don't actually break/train their horses til they are 4, the colts/fillies are out to pasture to grow before they train them. I'm very comfortable with him owning her and her foal.

Also, to the girl who said she sent her 2 year old to be trained by the Amish, why were you in such a rush to have him trained at 2 years old? Maybe he wasn't treated like a prince, but you put him in the situation and left him there for almost a month. Just saying.
 
#82 ·
Assuming abuse has occurred is a bad habit to get into. Horses are reactionary animals that--well--react.


Froggy was Amish owned and trained to ride. He may not have all the bells and whistles of a well trained horse but considering he never got a 'let down' off the track and was put right to work with the Amish, I'd say he does pretty good. No signs of abuse at all.
 
#83 ·
It makes me sad to see a group of people so judged... we have Mennonites around here and they do have some wonderful horses. The best draft horses we get almost always come from Mennonite farms, and they hardly looked beaten or sour - in fact the one became sour after having a reduced work load and thus we had to find stuff for him to do to keep him happy.

There is a rescue farm where I live who also swears that the Mennonites mistreats the majority of their horses.. but the horses I've seen her come in with behave more like horses that no one has really played with or touched versus horses that are abused.

She came back with a little hackney-Percheron-mutt of a horse who was extremely nervous around people. she claimed this horse was abused and that these Mennonites were at fault for the horse's mistrust of people. I spent a day working with the horse - which isn't long enough to 100% confirm anything - but found that there were no scarring on this horse and that while his feet were longer than I would have like to see he was far from neglected looking. He WAS nervous of people, but if you were to bring a mustang off the range home and stick him in with people would he not be nervous too? Is a mustang 'mistreated' because it isn't handled? The little mutt-horse was a gental fellow and willing to learn, just weary of new things. After about an hour of playing with him in a little round pen, I could run my hands up and down his body easily and with minimal stink eyes directed at me.

My only complaint with some of these Mennonite horses is the need for stocks on many of the drafts and the "go attitude". The horses we've gotten have all needed to be retaught to stand and wait, as most of them hear those chain clink and start walking off.

But it's an understandable reaction and it's easy enough to fix with patience.
 
#94 ·
There is a rescue farm where I live who also swears that the Mennonites mistreats the majority of their horses.. but the horses I've seen her come in with behave more like horses that no one has really played with or touched versus horses that are abused.

PK, I think you have a wonderful point here. None of the Amish folks that I know would ever dream of mistreating their horses; however, they don't take the time to pet and scratch them like most of us do either. The horses are caught, harnessed, and put to work. After work, they are unharnessed and either put back into a stall or their paddock. There is no real affection, no time spent together as companions. While horses are well cared for, they are not coddled.

They are treated much the same way we treat our vehicles: put gas in them, replace the tires when they need to, drive them to go get your groceries or plow your field, and then park them in the garage when you get back. That, IMHO, does not qualify as abuse and many of those horses, while well broke, might not seek out affection like an English broke horse will. Some people might see that as stand-off-ishness or fear, when it is nothing more than lack of affection.

This is the type of horse that is fairly typical to see from the Amish around these parts. Very well broke, healthy, gentle pair of mares that were willing to do whatever you could possibly want or need. If I had had the money, I would so have brought this team home.
 
#84 ·
I actually got Froggy through a dealer who works almost exclusively with the Amish. They have all drafts and occasionally have a light horse for sale because they take trade ins. There were probably 100 various breeds of Draft there and not one of them looked bad. And this was at a *dealers* place. The dealer said he rarely gets them in looking bad because while the light horses are their 'cars', the work horses are their 'tractors' and without tractors, you don't have a farm.
 
#87 ·
WE HAVE HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE!!!!! we have had several horses that are just terrified of people! one we bought was a big beautiful belgian (prettiest horse ive ever seen!) but the problem was....it was too afraid to come to us! It got a little better, but it was just soooo sad to see how mean they are and how a horse can be sooo afraid of people like that! I would try to gain their trust and let them know you mean good! :)
 
#92 ·
Could this also have been a horse that was simply not socialized with humans? How do you detect meanness from someone simply just not doing things the way you do them. Different isn't wrong.

Unhandled horses of any variety (amish trained or not) haven't been mistreated. Quite the opposite. They just haven't been handled.
 
#90 ·
Well yes, I realize that part. I have BF who feels the same way about noise making things that have the gall to move with out her permission.

What I do not get is how one can actually beat a horse with one. Going along with the 'they are scared of it so they must have been beat by it' theory...how does one beat/injure a horse with a wind breaker?
 
#91 ·
Just now going through the thickness of Amish country. Every horse and buggy I have seen are shod, and the Amish properties are pastured with acres and acres of good pasture. Passed a place where the buggy horses are tied and have blankets on. Most of them really care about the health and welfare of their horses.

To enhance what Speed is saying "fight or flight animals", I believe any horse that is said to be "bomb proof" or has been exposed to everything, still has that instinct to run from danger if he feels threatened. Its nature and survival of the fittest.
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#95 ·
It's completely wrong to judge the entire Amish/Mennonite population just on the "bad apples", but at the same time it's just as wrong to say that all of them are miracle horsemen.

I personally have nothing but praises to say for the Mennonites I've met. I like the way they handle horses and the way they train them. I haven't met a "bad" one yet, but I'm more than willing to believe others when they say they have had bad experiences with Mennonite-trained horses. As with everything in life, it's just a matter of perspective and your past experiences/how you were raised.
 
#96 ·
Wow! that's one wicked team up there! I'd have brought them home too!

On another note, the Percheron gelding we got from the Mennonites had super training - like better than ANY horse I've seen trained by non-Mennonites. He was being a brat to catch one day in the field. He had gotten his halter off and wouldn't let me near him, so after getting fed up with trying to catch him, I walked along at a steady pace behind him and literally "drove" him into the barn with my voice. The only cues we used were "Gee" "Haw" and "Whoa"

I don't know any other horses who would be THAT good with their voice commands, but I guess when you work all day, every day with your horse they learn what is expected and they get just as good at the routine as the people do.
 
#97 ·
No matter who you are or what your background is, there are good and bad trainers/owners all over. And like pintophile said "it's completely wrong to judge the entire Amish/Mennonite population just on the "bad apples"." There is good and bad all over.
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