I dropped my 5-year old ,17 hand, Fresian cross gelding at Dan's facility on May 30th for a one-month training session. My gelding had been under-saddle less than 10 times and I needed help getting him safe to ride. I picked him up on June 30th and am very pleased with how he is doing. He is very relaxed under-saddle and responds well to leg and rein queues. Dan was very open with me regarding expectations for a more mature horse and a one-month training regiment. He delivered on his commitments and I am enjoying riding Sundance. Thanks Dan, I appreciate the help. read more

He is great at starting young horses or rehabilitating badly behaved horses with any sort of issues. he has had several of my horses over the years read more

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I just love this place, the horses, the PEOPLE! DAN and his cowboys are the best. Coming back from years of not riding and then an injury Dan had me feeling like a new rider in the first lesson! Can't miss Black Betty the goat, and all the gorgeous horses there for training. Professional, NEXT LEVEL Clean, Kind, Knowledgeable and Safe. I'm so stinking happy with this place!! And I'm a much more confident and comfortable rider for my horse. read more

Highly recommend. Dan has changed my horses life. He she was afraid of any and everything and was mean as a snake to boot. Definitely was not something that was fixable in a week. Nothing is. Definitely not my own bad habits. Now, my horse is happy, well mannered and sweet as a puppy. read more

Dan Keen is a horse abuser. I dropped my OTTB off in January 2021 and when I went out to visit 5 weeks later, he had lost a massive amount of weight. I asked Dan Keen if he could feed my horse more and he told me he "it doesn't matter what I feed him, he's a hard keeper and will always be skinny." The below pictures are my horse on the day I dropped him off at Dan's and the above are 5 weeks later. I ate my money and went and picked him up immediately. No amount of money is worth someone neglecting my horse. Dan Keen was unpleasant, uncommunicative, and disrespectful to me and abusive to my horse. Not only had he lost a ton of weight but he was covered in bruises and welts. The only "training" he came away with was being so starving he had low energy. read more

Dan Keen Horsemanship - Horseback Riding Near Me - Spicewood, Texas

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I sent my 4 year old warmblood gelding to Dan to have him backed. We had already done groundwork with this horse, driven him, stood in the saddle, etc but wanted someone that markets themselves as a colt starter/problem horse trainer to put the first rides on him. As a bit of background, I am a veterinarian, young horse trainer and I run a boarding/training operation with my mom. My mom has been a veterinarian for 35 years and raised young horses for the last 35 years as well. When I first sent the horse to Dan, he sent me a video of them riding him the next day, he said the horse bucked a bit but ended well. During the first week he said the horse did great. About 2-3 weeks into the month he said that the horse still wanted to buck "out of the blue" but was still doing ok. I let Dan know I would be out the first week of the new month to check on my horse, with the hope of picking him up to bring him home. The week before I was supposed to come Dan said my horse was lame with a hoof abscess and sent me a video. He did not appear "abscess lame" but I trusted Dan and let him treat the horse. I reconfirmed with Dan a few days before I was going to come to Texas (10 hour drive from our place) and he had every excuse about why I should not come see the horse. The horse was still lame, he was still bucking even worse than he had during the first week, he just wasn't ready and Dan would not be in town,. Dan seemed too insistent that I not come see my horse, which made me suspicious, and I told him I was coming to check on the horse anyways. When I arrived, Dan was out of town but said we could come see the horse. I was shocked to see the condition of my horse. In the span of 30 days, he had dropped about 200 lbs, he had the worst girth itch I have seen, an old 1inch circular girth gall, as well as a 3in ulcerated, swollen, girth gall on the other side. On top of this the horse's back feet had been cut so short that he could barely walk, let alone trot. When Dan showed up a couple days later, he had no explanation for what had happened to the horse. I let him know that I thought the horse had probably started bucking when the girth gall's had developed and no one noticed. He had nothing to say to this. I told him I wasn't happy with the condition my horse was in and I would be taking him home, he agreed that was fine. When I came to pick my horse up the next morning, I was met by his wife who I have never spoken to and have only briefly met. She proceeded to try to convince my mom and I that all western riding horses develop severe girth galls, girth itch and become lame with hard riding. When I let her know, my horse wasn't eating and no one had noticed his weight loss she said this was because he was in "boot camp". She continued to argue that nothing was wrong with the condition of the horse and their large property was evidence of her and Dans "success" as horse trainers. She also yelled at my mom and I multiple times that we owed her money. I had already paid Dan for the training and never received another bill from him. She followed me to my trailer as I led my crippled, thin horse demanding money for "training and medical treatment". I let her know I did not know her and as soon as Dan sent me a receipt, I would pay her, and that I just wanted to get my horse safely home to recover. My mom and I have both dedicated our lives to caring for, raising, and training horses and I have never been treated in such an unprofessional manner in my veterinary or training career. I did pay the bill although I think claiming the horse was in training and receiving medical care over the last week or two would be a stretch. At the end of the day Dan was at least respectful, he did a terrible job with the horse and his horsemanship was lacking but his wife made the experience downright unpleasant and unprofessional. I was shocked by every aspect of my interaction with someone who specializes in horsemanship and colt starting. I would never recommend sending your horse to these people. read more

Dan Keen Horsemanship - Horseback Riding Near Me - Spicewood, Texas

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I sent a 3yr old colt for a month of training to gain some life experience off the property. He had already been sat on and walked around; I was looking for someone to help him build some confidence. My primary was request was just that he be comfortable in the trot and canter and he remain in show shape because he had a busy inhand show schedule booked for the fall. I brought him feed and offered to do anything necessary to keep his condition in top shape. Two weeks into his stay I started asking for an update and it took several requests before I received a response. The response I received was that he was going well but had abscessed. One week after that conversation, he was supposedly sound so I booked to come see how it was going. The day before my scheduled arrival I was told he re abscessed and it was serious so I drove immediately up there to come see him. With out my permission or a vet consultation the abscess was opened up removing about a quarter size piece of sole and revealing all of the soft tissue. He had lost a substantial amount of weight, had a broken splint bone, his feet had been done with ought discussion and were extremely short and noticeably uneven, and he was exhibiting symptoms in his hind end of being tied up. None of this was communicated with me. Since returning home he has been on stall rest and had to have two surgeries: one to remove the splint bone and one to remove coffin bone infection that entered through the abscess. It was a very expensive mistake emotionally, physically, and financially. read more

I called today just an fyi other yelpers he is a horse trainer & helps people learn with their own horses. Just in case you were looking for somewhere to "rent" LOL a horse He was really nice over the phone only put 1 star because of the fact that yelp shouldn't have him under horseback riding. He is a trainer. read more

I had heard about Dan Keen from a friend a mine who had a horse in training with him a couple years ago. After back surgery, I sent a horse to him to "finish," the horse is hot but very talented and well started. I visited once when I could and although the horse went terribly it was a cold and nasty day, so I gave Dan the benefit of the doubt. However, when I was there with one of my daughters he spent quite a bit of time gossiping about other clients and their horses in a negative way which I thought was unprofessional. The second and last time Dan was visited by us was with my daughter and our ranch manager who is a fire fighter. The horse went terribly, his mouth was bleeding, he was bucking, full of dried sweat and salt and to top it off all Dan wanted to do was say awful things about me and my expectations (I met him once), how terrible the horse is (if he felt that way he should have let me know and NOT continued to take my money) and make rude comments about my ranch manager's riding (the horse went calmly for him). In addition, when we said we were taking the horse home, he charged us $200 PLUS a $40 transaction fee for a shoeing he said he did himself because the horse needed it. The horse was shod three weeks before HIS shoeing and he never asked my permission to shoe my horse himself. If the horse needed shoes, I would have sent my farrier out there which was the agreement. I plan to file a complaint with the attorney general's office for the $40 transaction fee which I consider outrageous and a fraudulent charge. In addition, our ranch manager wants to file cruelty charges for the condition of the horse and his treatment. People say that Dan used to be a good horseman, but has changed. For his base charge of $1500 per month, a horse and his owner should not be abused. read more

Dan is hands down the best trainer I have ever studied under. I've been riding nearly 25 years and I have learned more from him in the past 5 months than I have in the last 5-10 years combined. His impressive methods turn problem horses into willing, educated partners. If you have a horse who misbehaves in any way, Dan is the best person to fix the problem. He's also great at teaching riders how to be more effective partners with their horses. His focus on teaching riders how to help their horses prevents problem behaviors from developing or recurring. I can't recommend him more highly. read more

I've had for years experience with horses in central Texas. Dan made it enjoyable finally.