Everything was going great; sure our previous trail ride reservation was post-poned due to the cold weather but that's understandable, we rescheduled and drove out all the way out to Crandall. Getting there was kind of confusing, the gate was slightly shut so my friend had to get out and prop it open while I drove through, there was no signage and the GPS told us we had arrived but the ranch was actually at the very end of the street. Upon arriving, we were greeted by a few friendly dogs and we met David who seemed just as friendly. At this point everything was still going fantastic, he told us to get to know the friendly horses in the corral, so we wandered over and met them. They were friendly, but that's not exactly the word I would use, they were more comatose. Bits of mud were caked on their bodies, their manes were super tangled and the spikey ends of plants were stuck in them. Their hooves were all chipped and cracked, like they were starting to splay. I got 3 burrs out of one of the brown horses mane by it's eyes and realized these horses made me want to cry.
One of the other horses kept adjusting in a stumbling motion, so Erin T went to voice her concerns to David, who in reply told her to walk the horse to prove that it was alright. That definitely didn't comfort me any, I thought it was doing a weird stretch too at first but the woman in a family that came for a trail ride as well mentioned it was more extreme than a stretch. That same horse looked like it had a gash scar & a swollen joint on the bothersome leg. I started getting a weird feeling about the whole experience and consulted my friends about it, turns out I wasn't the only one who had second thoughts about this. We waited until David finished his phone call while saddling up a couple of other horses to tell him we wouldn't be joining this trail ride. In reply, he got defensive about it. That solidified my feelings in our decision to leave.
David's reaction bewildered me; I felt like I had lost as much as the ranch did with my sudden trail ride cancelation, I had been the one to take the time and effort to drive all the way out to the ranch for this to end up empty handed. Neither of us got what we wanted and for him to be borderline rude? I don't get it.
I feel the need to say: sure, I'm not a professional, going to horse camp 10+ years ago doesn't make me a pro in the slightest bit, but IMO, these horses didn't look healthy and as the events progressed, I did not feel good about the trail ride. You know, that sinking feeling in your gut when your intuition tells you to be careful & tread lightly? I don't want to make any accusations so this review is purely based on what I observed and how I felt about it. Had the horses looked like photos others have posted, we would have gone on the trail ride. read more