"Whistle-blowing on abusive trainers":

Caution! Warning! Strong Opinion!

From my Archives 2014

I also agree emphatically that 'name and shame' would...not have been a good idea.

Good morning Mark,

(Please note:  I did not see the video of, or read the article about the abusive trainer.  Perhaps, it was "over the top" abuse.

I don't know.  Still, I am extremely hesitant to ever name names, in a negative context.)

 Regardless:   As I, myself, have been a trainer and profound lover of horses for 40 years, I know that there are certain moments that any trainer is not proud of, agonizes over later, and absolutely  does not want witnessed by human eyes or their recording devices of any kind.

I, myself, am known for my love of horses and kind treatment and methods of training and teaching.

Even so, there have definitely been moments, "Oh Boy"!, that the s**t hits the fan, when working with these 1300 lbs fight or flight creatures.

Sometimes, fight can be stronger than flight, and that can be a real doozy.

I call it a "knock down, drag out", and it is just that.

Now, I have only had such instances as many times as I can count on my fingers, over a full time, 40 year training career.

But, I have often thought:  what if someone saw that, and it was taken out of context,or  perhaps the only time that they had ever seen my training methods or techniques.

EAKKK!

That would be very bad!

So, once again, I will continue to lead by example, and try my very best to never have to get to that 'forceful level' of training.

I will talk badly about trainers that I consider 'mean, aggressive or abusive', but I never mention their names.

Not a good idea to create 'smear campaigns'.

If asked directly about a specific bad trainer, I will keep my description generalized, and state that my opinion is what I have heard from others, or seen specifically by myself.

Thank you for allowing me to state my 'point of view', and I hope you have a wonderful day.