I rode at Silver Horseshoe Stables for around 8 years.Throughout my experience, I noticed more and more that the care for the horses there was almost non existent. My last winter there, the horses were turned out in extremely deep mud that had frozen over and created very uneven and hard ground. The horses would refuse to even walk over to us for treats. None of the lesson horses had blankets, and the weather here in the winter is almost constantly below freezing.
There are only 4 paddocks for over 30 horses, so they were always overcrowded. I cannot remember a time where the horses weren't fighting. Some horses would be rearing, biting, kicking, and grabbing each others halters.
I've been there long enough to know around 6 horses that have died, one was due to colic that he got from his water freezing over and nothing being done about it. The owner, Rich, buries the dead horses in the arenas and they are forgotten about.
The horses hardly got hay, and were fed cheap grain. Animal services were called many times while I was at the barn. Rich sent a horse to auction because it was in terrible condition, and he didn't want animal services to see it and shut them down.
The horses were forced to jump ridiculous heights beyond their abilities. There was a 30+ year old horse, Rusty, who still jumped 3+ feet in lessons when it was obvious he wasn't of the condition. Horses were also used in lessons back to back up to 4 or 5 times, even if they had injuries. I can't remember a lesson horse that was sweet. All of the horses were vicious and angry all the time, I don't blame them. Definitely not safe for children. They were very skinny, and their hooves were overgrown. Everytime a new horse arrived, within a week, it would look like skin and bones to match the rest of them. He buys untrained and young horses simply because they are cheap and sends them away after they throw riders off. When I was there, the lesson horses didn't even have bedding and stood on slabs of wood.
I could go on and on about the horrendous horse care, but I have to bring up the awful community of people as well. I was constantly looked down upon by riders on the show team and the instructors had little patience, some of the riders in my lesson were yelled at when they were scared to do something. Rich was always drinking and I hear from people that very recently left, he would teach lessons while drunk. I do not know if this is true, but I would not be surprised.
Besides the bad care, the lessons just aren't great quality. The instruction is lacking. When I switched barns, I almost had to start over because everything I had been taught was incorrect. When I first started, my goal was to jump and do jumping shows. However, I was not allowed to ride english my first 4 years there. They force new riders to ride western until they are "good enough" to "advance" to english. I don't agree with this method. No discipline is easier than the other, they are two completely different things and it should be up to the rider which style they begin in. They would make horses in a western saddle jump, which is not safe or comfortable for them. The lessons are also very overpriced. For example, a 1 hour private is over $100, which is terrible considering the self-taught training. At my new barn, my instructor was trained by and worked under olympic level and grand prix riders for years and I had an hour long private session for $55. Because of how expensive, private sessions were rare, which lead to every rider being crammed into a group lesson. My group lesson sometimes had up to 9 riders, which is too crowded for their size arenas and the amount of horses they have.
I know some of the people who left 5 star reviews. And in my opinion, their opinion is tainted. There isn't many affordable barns in CT, so there isn't many options for some people. Because of this, and how long they've been there, they don't want to admit to themselves how bad of a place it truly is. I know this because the same thing happened to me. I had been there for so long, that I was making up excuses for the bad care because I was a kid and didn't want to believe it. Now that I am gone and am an adult, I can say with confidence how terrible it was. I am ashamed to say that I rode there.
Long story short, if you're looking for lessons, go somewhere else, a 20+ min drive is beyond worth it. If you're looking for somewhere to put your horse, definitely find another place. I DO NOT RECOMMEND. read more
