give away for a tune up? why?

Hey,
I was looking through the threads and one thing seemed to be happening pretty often, your horse needs a tune up and they are giving to a trainer...

I am a little puzzeled by that.

For those who did that, can you tell me about the advantages and how you go about it, ist the horse just gong and then returns, do you go with the horse, do you take a course at the end...????
Or is really just the horse going?

This apprears to be a normal thing to do, to give your horse away for training. But to me it just makes sense to degree, like for starting a horse, but for a generall tune up?
I am not wanting to critizise, but know why you give up the horses for a tune up.
Is it that you don't have a trainer in reach or where you can go together or no trainer can come out to your place?

I am just curious of the reasons.

Thank you!

Some horses need to go to a professional trainer (not like an instructor trainer, but like a serious, only works with horses, kind of thing. Like an obedience trainer for dogs.) This can happen when:

A) Young horse, needs a good start and the owner can work on polishing things up later, instead of risking the foundation work.

B) Problem horse that really needs to be whipped into shape, and the owner either doesn't have time or the knowledge on how to do it properly.

C) No time, owner fed up, miscellaneous reasons.

In my area, not too many horses go out for training. Usually owners will work with an "instructor trainer" to fix problems, and maybe once a week the "instructor trainer" will hop on to get the horse focused and minding its manners. Going out for training is a bit more serious business, and usually deals with severe problems like rearing, bucking, and just being plain hard to handle. This also happens sometimes when owners buy green or young horses (and thankfully) don't want to risk messing up on teaching the horse foundation work, and will send it out to a professional to get the basics down pat.

If I am wrong, someone please correct me, but that is why I have seen horses go out for professional training.

Oh and to answer your other questions - no, the owner typically does not go with the horse if it goes out for professional training, and there isn't a course at the end (as far as I know.) If you're working with an "instructor trainer" than you work right along with your horse, and the trainer teaches more to the whole partnership rather than just the horse.

Hope this helps!

For some things they have to go to a trainer, some trainers even will send there horses to a trainer. But I think your talking about people sending there horses for a tune up every 6 months or so, people do that because they don't go to get training, if you horse goes to a trainer and the trainer fixes whatever you sent him to fix, and then you get it back and don't change what you are doing you will un train what the trainer trained your horse. Every trainer has people that will do this because the rider thinks they are to good to go get training, they say "I am not a trainer, I am just a rider I can't train" people forget how easy it is to train a horse for good or bad. If you are around horses then you are a trainer you may not be a good trainer but you are still a trainer.

People don't exactly "give away" their horses for a tune up. Many times, grown adults with horses have full time jobs, families, etc. In other words, they have many other responsibilities, and don't always have the time to prepare their horses for show season, train young or green horses, or overcome training issues on their own. To overcome this, they send the horses to trainer. They pay for the training so that the little time they have to devote to riding can be spent showing a finished horse that is mentally and physically prepared to enter the show ring. After all, the saying goes that "time is money."

I've sent horses to my trainer, whom I trust very well and who is also a good friend. I had a 4 year old gelding who I was working hunter under saddle, and preparing/training for his first IAHA show. I was shown a mare for sale during the time period and couldn't pass up the deal. The owners clearly did not know what they had. She had excellent breeding and was gorgeous. Her only trouble (as I found out later), was that she had a habit of rearing over backwards. This is a huge, dangerous problem, and I just didn't have the time to work with her as much as she needed to overcome it while training on my gelding and doing other things I needed to do. So I sent her to get "tuned up", I.E. For training. Everyone has different reasons but most are inability to handle the situation or inexperience at training horses, or constraints on time.

Haflinger, I'm kinda with you. I've never understood it, really. But then, I'm not in the jumping world, so perhaps things are done differently?

I think a lot of folks send their horses out because they don't have the skill to deal with whatever the issues are. I also think some people buy into the thought that they can't train their horse, and that they need someone who's a professional to do the job for them.

Then there's the folks who've got the money to burn, who think it's quite hi-brow to send their horse out for a tune up (rather than do the grunt labor themselves.)

To me, if I've got a problem, I'd just find a better trainer who could help me fix it in a lesson situation. But, that's me.

Hey thanks for the answeres, in severe cases it does make sense if you need someone to help you fix a problem that an be dangerous for you and the gorse if you do feel it is too much for you.

I was just wondering about the more or less "tune ups".

There is an old saying a horse is just as good as its rider...

So fir the tune up or any other reason where you give up the horse, shouldn't there be atleast some lessons at the end so you can see and feel what the trainer has done and how he rides? So you can follow along that line?

I understand that teaching something new to a horse can be difficult and hard, and sometimes it might be a good idea to give a horse to a trainer, but you take your horse there and get it back, with the task done, but how do you know what to do?

@desperate housewife : this is why I asked! I wanted to know the motivaton to do that! Why give a horse up to train?

Like firelight said, you have no time to do it, but on the other hand, why do I have a horse then, time is money...
I I am devoted to something I will strive to get there, of course it is easyer to have your horse trained by someone else, but I think the important part goes missing, that the owner of that horse learns the new things... I mean ok, if you have enough money you just keep sending the horse back and forth from the trainer to you!


For me, I would want to take the long route and learn what is needed to present a horse in a show. Well I rarely go to competitions becuase the atmosphere is not my thing, but still I want to learn all that good stuff and teach my horse...

But shoulnd' I be able to master these things so I can actually ride my horse???

Haflinger, I agree that it is much more rewarding to work with a horse yourself. But if you do decide to send your horse to a trainer because of time constraints, etc. I firmly believe it is important you have a good relationship with the trainer, know how she rides, and have taken lessons from her so you know her techniques (so you don't reverse everything she taught your horse).

Some people just really love horses and have to find a way to fit them into their busy lifes. That's why they have horses even though they don't have time to train. They still have time to ride now and then, and they need that time to keep them sane and happy. Most horse insane people would go well...insane... without regular contact with horses. At least they provide good homes to these horses and most spend all their free time they can with them.


(On a side note, thought this has nothing to do with this... I was trying to post this and spilled soda on my laptop keyboard. Now it is completely ruined and types gobbldeygook whenever I push the buttons! GAH! Two months ago I dropped it and broke the screen and had that fixed, now my keyboard is gone! Someone should report me for cruelty to laptops. Lol. I'm using my boyfriends lappy.)

...

I would rather see someone send their horse to a trainer who knows what they are doing (hopefully) than have an inexperienced owner teaching badly or getting hurt. Not every horse owner is a trainer (although some think they are). If everyone who owned a horse knew everything there was to know about horses than a lot of other people would be out of a job.
When we had a young horse that needed a "tune-up" , we went with her for the training.

Just wanted to add that even professionals often do this. Its the whole "fresh set of eyes" thing...or fresh set of legs/butt/hands, if you like:P Its easy to get stuck in a rut when you deal with a horse daily, for you and the horse. A little working vacation often gives you back a lighter, more responsive horse.