In the four months I’ve now had Knight, I’ve learned something about communicating with my trainer: texts equal good or neutral news and voicemails equal bad news. Is it just me or is this pretty much true?

communicating with my trainer

“Naps are something I take very seriously.”  Knight, ex-racehorse

You see, last night Mark and I were at a tango class and when I picked up my phone afterward, I noticed a missed call and voicemail from my trainer. Her message started something to the effect: I rode Knight and afterward, it seemed he wasn’t himself. When you can, please call me.

Dum dum dum. . .

I called and she explained how he wasn’t his normal fall-asleep-while-being-groomed self. He kept turning around to look at his belly. He had pawed the ground a little.

He was a bit lazy when she rode him, but it had been a hot day and all the horses were a little lazy.  She added that he had pooped once during their ride. (His record is four times for the duration of one afternoon with me–it’s impressive, I know).

She said she had given him Banamine and had already called the vet to let her know what was going on. She was at the barn just hanging out with him, walking and would call the vet again (and me) if he got any worse. I should continue on with my dinner plans.

I received a text toward the end of our quick meal that Knight seemed back to normal and she had pulled his hay and was going to put him back in his stall. I texted back a big thank you, that I believed her, but that I wanted to see him with my own eyes.

communicating with my trainer

Great for dancing, but not remotely barn-appropriate!

I had on dance shoes and did not want to waste time and miles to return home to put on barn-appropriate gear, so I asked Mark if he had anything in his car I could borrow (we had driven separately as he is on a performance dance team and was at the studio for several hours that afternoon).

He produced a pair of used dance practice socks and his light blue Converse. The socks were still damp, but I put them on anyway, thinking, “Must see Knight. Must see Knight.”

I forged ahead into the darkness and hoped I wouldn’t see Knight on the ground. When my eyes adjusted and I drew close enough to his stall, I could see him standing on one side. I approached the gate and he walked over to me and began sniffing my jeans, the way my dog sniffs my clothing when I come back from the barn.

We chatted for a moment and then I thought I should brush his tail. I led him to my tack locker and he seemed completely normal. I sprayed his black tail with conditioner and then meticulously sectioned off little pieces to brush through. A proper tail brushing is something I rarely seem to have time for.

During the 20 minutes he had zero colic symptoms, but just to be sure, I hand walked him for a while. When I left I was confident that Knight was fine and he’d still be there waiting for me in the morning.

And this was the glorious and welcome message I received to start my Presidents Day.

communicating with my trainer

Your turn to share: What’s your view on texts v. voicemails? Are voicemails generally more ominous?

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22 Comments

  1. nbohl February 16, 2015 at 3:57 pm - Reply

    Agreed… when I see a missed call from my trainer my heart stops!

    • Susan Friedland-Smith February 16, 2015 at 4:03 pm - Reply

      I have that same feeling when I’m on vacation and I see a text from the dogsitter or my next door neighbor. “Oh no! The dogs ran away!” Something like that.

  2. Karley February 16, 2015 at 4:34 pm - Reply

    Totally agree.. Tho sometimes my trainer calls if she’s not going to make it out to my lesson.

    • Susan Friedland-Smith February 16, 2015 at 7:09 pm - Reply

      I think a canceled lesson is bad news. But one I can certainly live with. Thanks for stopping by and lending your voice. 🙂

  3. FromtheHorsesMouth February 16, 2015 at 4:43 pm - Reply

    That’s so comforting that she keeps such a good eye on him! Hope it was just a fluke and he continues to feel fine 🙂

    • Susan Friedland-Smith February 16, 2015 at 7:10 pm - Reply

      Thanks! I thought about that too. She is very hands-on. I’m so grateful I found her. I seriously think she loves him as much as though he were her own horse.

  4. Nicole Sharpe February 16, 2015 at 5:12 pm - Reply

    Neither my BM nor trainer (or even the assistant trainer) do phone calls, so when you get a call from them (or are asked to call them) you KNOW it’s serious. So yeah, definitely more ominous for me!

    • Susan Friedland-Smith February 16, 2015 at 7:10 pm - Reply

      See, I knew I wasn’t the only one who thought that way. Thanks, Nicole!

  5. barnraised February 16, 2015 at 7:05 pm - Reply

    Funny, as a trainer and caretaker of a the boarding facility, I have to deliver news (good and bad) all the time…especially night time calls about colicing. Never really thought about it but now that you mention it I do call If serious otherwise I text!

  6. Elinor February 16, 2015 at 7:54 pm - Reply

    Oh he sure keeps you on your toes, your Knight. Glad he didn’t have a serious case of colic. Great that you have such a nice relationship with your trainer and that she’s looking out for you both! Now lets hope his hoof will get better after this week too 🙂

    • Susan Friedland-Smith February 16, 2015 at 8:02 pm - Reply

      Thanks, Elinor! Hey, I tried to comment on your blog today, but I couldn’t find where to do that. I was going to say you really rocked the sneakers and breeches look. I try that too but I don’t know if I’m brave like you to put that on my blog! Anyway, I LOVE my trainer and am so happy I found her. And his hoof is all better! 🙂

  7. heccateisis February 17, 2015 at 3:24 am - Reply

    My barn manager always starts voice mails and text with “don’t worry, Jigs is ok unless there is a problem.

  8. Karen M February 17, 2015 at 7:27 am - Reply

    Yep, call = bad, text = good or no big deal. I basically think my horse is dying if my trainer leaves a voice message. Glad Knight is doing well!

  9. emma February 17, 2015 at 7:57 am - Reply

    glad Knight’s ok!! i fortunately haven’t had to receive much in terms of bad news about my leased mare, but it does usually come through phone calls, and the texts are just regular barn stuff

  10. Holly February 17, 2015 at 10:16 am - Reply

    Having the horses at home, we never had to worry so much about the dreaded middle-of-the-night call, but I will never ever forget getting the text from my mom asking me if I was alone and to call her when Coorina got sick this fall. THAT’s an ominous text message.

  11. kalinann February 17, 2015 at 11:28 am - Reply

    I always got so nervous about calls from my barn manager!! Every time I saw her call or saw a text, my heart skipped a beat. Moving them home was such a relief, even though I trusted my BM 100%. Thankfully my horse is good about staying healthy and not hurting himself, but I was on vacation once 12 hours away, when I got a voicemail from her telling me that my horse was extremely stiff and she was calling the vet. I freaked out, texted her every single day even after the vet said he was fine, arthritis just was acting up because of freezing weather. We got home from Florida at 1am…so naturally I went to check on him, lol.

  12. Erin Wheeler February 17, 2015 at 11:57 am - Reply

    I’m glad he’s better!…That’s the same for me! I once had a voicemail after a morning class in college from the barn manager just let me know that my horse had escaped in the middle of the night and was found by campus police! haha

    • Susan Friedland-Smith February 17, 2015 at 12:10 pm - Reply

      That’s pretty terrifying. How did he get out?

  13. Lauren February 17, 2015 at 1:03 pm - Reply

    Completely agree. Voicemails = bad. I’m glad he’s feeling better!

  14. Olivia February 17, 2015 at 8:36 pm - Reply

    Getting any message from my dog or horse sitters always makes my stomach clench. I’m glad your boy is doing better.

  15. Tracy February 20, 2015 at 1:08 pm - Reply

    My trainer is big on texting — we’ve probably only actually talked on the phone twice. Ever.

  16. sarahczspots March 12, 2015 at 7:27 pm - Reply

    My trainer refuses to text. He’ll read them, but he doesn’t reply. A phone call would be ominous though because I was down there twice a week before I brought Copper home for winter…what would he need to say that he didn’t mention either time I’d been there?

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Photo of Susan with her horse Knight

I'm Susan and this is my horse Knight. We have been a blogging team since 2015 and we're glad you're here. Tally ho!

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