I felt a need to vent..

I felt a need to vent..

Post by S. J. Pric » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00


Hi Folks,

This is my first post to a news group.  Recently my wife and I were in Palm
Springs on vacation and decided to follow the advice of the hotel by joining
a trail ride at one of the two stables they recommended.  I should have
stopped the venture the minute I saw the stable and the way they treated
their horses but my wife was pretty e***d about getting to ride.  I am the
rider in our family and she only gets an opportunity to ride on rare
occasions.  These poor mounts were in pretty rough shape.  Most of them had
been saddled over caked on mud and a number of them were showing signs of
lameness.  The mount I received was prone to bucking and later after the
ride I believe I figured out why.  He had a sore front leg on his off side
that I did not see until we were well into the ride.  The mount my wife was
on seemed very gentle and cooperative until suddenly halfway through the
ride she bucked several times and threw my wife.  There were four or five
others of the 18 people on the ride who had problems with their horses.
Later I talked to a group of folks who took a ride at the other recommended
stable in the area and they had a very similar experience.  I blame myself
to a certain extent for agreeing to the ride after seeing the state of the
horses.  Later in the week I had an opportunity to take a couple of riding
lessons at a great ranch in the Palm Springs area from a great instructor.
During our conversation I mentioned the trail ride and she told of a call
she had received where they were willing to purchase a horse that was lame
for their trail rides.  She politely refused them.  It seems a shame that
the nonriding public gets exposed to riding at stables like the ones
mentioned here.  I have no idea what the answer is, but felt a need to vent
my feelings.  Thanks!

Regards,
Steve

If your horse could speak would he speak highly of your care?

 
 
 

I felt a need to vent..

Post by S. J. Pric » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00

Hi Folks,

This is my first post to a news group.  Recently my wife and I were in Palm
Springs on vacation and decided to follow the advice of the hotel by joining
a trail ride at one of the two stables they recommended.  I should have
stopped the venture the minute I saw the stable and the way they treated
their horses but my wife was pretty e***d about getting to ride.  I am the
rider in our family and she only gets an opportunity to ride on rare
occasions.  These poor mounts were in pretty rough shape.  Most of them had
been saddled over caked on mud and a number of them were showing signs of
lameness.  The mount I received was prone to bucking and later after the
ride I believe I figured out why.  He had a sore front leg on his off side
that I did not see until we were well into the ride.  The mount my wife was
on seemed very gentle and cooperative until suddenly halfway through the
ride she bucked several times and threw my wife.  There were four or five
others of the 18 people on the ride who had problems with their horses.
Later I talked to a group of folks who took a ride at the other recommended
stable in the area and they had a very similar experience.  I blame myself
to a certain extent for agreeing to the ride after seeing the state of the
horses.  Later in the week I had an opportunity to take a couple of riding
lessons at a great ranch in the Palm Springs area from a great instructor.
During our conversation I mentioned the trail ride and she told of a call
she had received where they were willing to purchase a horse that was lame
for their trail rides.  She politely refused them.  It seems a shame that
the nonriding public gets exposed to riding at stables like the ones
mentioned here.  I have no idea what the answer is, but felt a need to vent
my feelings.  Thanks!

Regards,
Steve

If your horse could speak would he speak highly of your care?

 
 
 

I felt a need to vent..

Post by Karen Sturtevan » Sat, 14 Feb 1998 04:00:00

I know places like this exist, not not *all* rental stables are bad.  For
years I've worked at ones where the horses look good and aren't lame.  
Perhaps you could report the use of the lame horses to a local MSPCA?

Karen
Seabrook, NH