Jonie Lauria: I grew up in the heart of Amish country, Lancaster County Pennsylvania, so I've dealt with many Amish families and have handled many Amish horses, especially while I worked for an Equine vet that serviced much of the area. Like the rest of us, Amish people vary greatly in their individual personalities, their treatment of animals and their approach to horse training. I have seen Amish trained horses that were barely trained, and skittish, and clearly used and abused. I have also seen Amish trained horses that were well-cared for physically and emotionally and were as mannerly as champion pleasure horses. I think it's unfair to generalize about such a large group of people....Show more
Verena Koop: There are cruel trainers and awesome trainers that are Amish, not Amish, reiners, cutters, dressage, hunter/jumper, trail, etc...So what if they happen to be Amish or not? What their religion and community is doesn't mean they will automatically be one thing ! or the other. Good or bad. I'd rather meet the trainer in question, watch him or her work, and based on that, be able to say, well Mr. x or Ms. X seems to be... X.I've seen cruel results and I've seen good results from all types....Show more
Buster Buchko: Well. My moms friend who we bought my 7 year old from had a horrible experience with Amish training. She had this 3 and a half year old gelding named flash he is a QH. She sent him to this Amish couple who she had heard some good things about from her friend so she sent flash there. She'd go and look at him 2 times a week. Well about 2 weeks into his training she went to go see him. No one was home when she got there so she showed herself to him and.....He looked horrible he has sores all over his mouth his knees were all banged up. How they trained him was horrid. They yanked and pulled on his mouth and made it bleed and have sores all over it. When he would go to buck when the were on him. They had a rope that the! y would trip him with and make him whip out on his front knees! . She got the trailer and took him home that day. He will not except a bit anymore he is terrified of it. He has major scars on his front legs and knees. And sorta walks with a limp, its not a painful limp just a limp from how many times they pulled his legs out from under him. That is my story of how I have heard a Amish train. Now I am not saying I dis like Amish training it's just what I have heard. A lot of Amish I am sure are gentle and good with horses....Show more
Olin Hallin: I look at it this way, anyone can "train" a horse. Some people just do better. Just because he's Amish doesn't mean anything. It's just his way of life. Yeah, some Amish don't feed their horses as much as they should and some are a little behind on the times. But then there are some people who don't feed their horses and are behind on the times. Either way, the "Amish" label doesn't mean anything to me. The way the person actually handles and works with the horse means the most....Show mo! re
Bianca Lannier: As I understand things, the Amish do not, in general, see the horse as a pet. Their attitudes are probably more even-handed to the animals than was common 150 years ago when "everyone" used horses for transportation and work. What's a man to do, for example, when he absolutely must get somewhere before dark, and his carriage horse is refusing to move? Now the Amish, as I understand it, do not use whips, But I can see anyone, under duress, putting his horse under similar duress, with the knowledge that urging the horse beyond its personal limits may or may not work. Is the horse actually too tired to go on? Or has he learned that feigning triedness ends the day's work? I am reluctant to judge another horseman's use of his own horse based on casual observation. If I hear him say, "I always use a wire bit because it's the only way I've found to get a horse to move," THEN I'll feel justified in thinking him a cruel idiot. If I observe him flailing about! with the reins as the horse rears, I'll have a pretty good idea he lac! ks education or finesse. I've observed that the Amish are stern with their children, and I assume they no more would let a horse get away with something than they would a child. Most of us have horses that work one or two days a week and live in luxury, or would if we could afford to keep them that way. The Amishman's horse works for a living, six days a week, and if he cannot work is sold just as we might sell an old car. Our current civilisation is built on the work, over the centuries, of countless horses. 150 years ago WE WERE THERE. Some people had willing teams who could haul wagons all day, others had ill-trained wrecks of horses who were about to drop dead. Some folks had no horses at all but had aspirations: "If wishes were horses then beggers would ride." MORE Sometimes I think that painting the Amish as abusive to their horses is a trap into which certain people have fallen. It's convenient to blame your own failures on someone else, and it's easy to blame an e! ntire group. The next step. getting two groups to blame each other (called "Let's You And He Fight") is a tool of power seekers. Let's imagine a scenario. Developer D (let's call him "D") wants to develop land that's been Amish-owned for 300 years. D spreads the rumour that the Amish are dreadful people. He makes sure the local Aminal Rghits people get on board. Does it work? What will happen? Will the Amish stand and fight? Or will they give up? Well, neither, because the Amish do not fight, do not get into politics, and have some very supportive neighbours. D has spread ill will about the Amish, but the Amish still own the land and haven't sold any of it to D....Show more
Clinton Quant: Every time I have seen a friend's horse come back from an amish trainer,,, the horses are skinny, lethargic. But granted since they have been starved and worked, and are too tired to fight anyone, they come back trained as heck........ untill they start feeling better and gaining wei! ght back. then it's right back to the same horse. Now this is not to sa! y that their horses ( the amish) are mistreated, but the horses i have seen come back from there ( several diff amish communities ) that were from outside sources are always scary thin when they come back ....Show more
Patrick Bitsui: If you seriously want to know what the "general image" of Amish trainers, it is not a pretty picture. Sure, there are always exceptions to the rule, BUT these are few. In "general", Amish trainers are horrible abusers of horses. They use methods that are too dispicable to imagine that a human could treat a horse in the manner that they do. Baylen gave you a correct offering of how the Amish "train" horses. Horses that are owned by the Amish have a frightful life. They are run into the ground by being worked so hard and they do not give their horses enough feed to maintain their bodies in a proper manner. Basically, they starve their horses. They do not have any regard for giving them proper feed. They don't care about the horse! 's health and well being. Research has shown that Amish horses have a life span of approximately 6 years due to the abusive way they are treated. I lived in York, PA for several years so I had the opportunity to visit the Lancaster area quite a lot and seeing those horses trot along the paved roads wearing metal shoes and most of them were so skinny you could see every rib. It was obvious that they were in great distress. It was a true horror to witness these poor animals. It was heartbreaking. I saw that you said you wanted to get a positive description of the Amish and their horse training and as I said, there are always exceptions, but you have to accept that overall, the "general" opinions are not positive because there is just too much abject cruelty in the Amish training of horses when you look at the big picture. It is very sad but it is very true....Show more
Dedra Furguson: I went to the gentlman above in a clinic. A friend sent her mustang to him for ! a few months. We were amazed at the difference !!!!
Shemeka Laker! : For the record this guy is quite gentle and takes in rescue horses and gives them the care they need.
Piedad Bassiti: @ reiner, I am glad to see some folks aren't bias. I personally know a lot of amish folk and have a great respect for them. Of course they are much like us english when it comes to personallity. For the record, I do not imply anyone is bias, just glad to see an open minded answer.
Ruthe Real: I've seen both good and bad trainers, some Amish, some not. What I DO believe is that Amish trainers put the time into the horse. The only fault I've seen in 'English' trainers that doesn't seem to ever occur in Amish trainers is the habit of taking on a horse to train and then not putting any time into the horse. Perhaps there are Amish who take a horse to train and then lie about the fact that the horse has stood around for months, but so far I haven't found any. Beyond that, I've seen great Amish trainers whose horses were steady, gentle, and very ! broke, and I've seen some horses come back rather nutty or not really handled, in the sense that they've just been 'used', and not had ground work done like I prefer it to be done. I've never seen a horse come back from the Amish looking thin or beat up, but then again perhaps our Amish are more affluent and can take better care of their horses?...Show more
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