My contact with Menomin came from the time I worked there as one of thier 'working students'. I first thought it would be a great oppurtunity. Thier website looks really professional. I loved horses and wanted to understand them better so I jumped at the chance to be a working student. What I didn't know what the farm was really like. I worked 6 days a week from 6-7am until 6-7pm. With only a brief break and had very little work with the horses that I had been promised. I was told that I would assist in training, learn to ride, learn health care, grooming and nutrition for horses. I didn't. I spent most of my days feeding, watering, fixing fences, scrubbing floors, decob webbing barns, sweeping, mucking and haying. All the time. I don't mind the work, but I do mind that they didn't give me what they had promised in exchange for the work. I was verbally abused, yelled at for not using my time wisely while working for them. Mitch Michaud made me cry and scared me. I was afraid to ask for the few dollars a day that I made and my days off. Sometimes I never even got my days off. When i did get them off, i was yelled at for not being there to have fun with the horses. I knew that meant you know muck stalls.
The worst of it was the condition of the horses. When i got back from my days off (please remember this is only one day), the stalls were not clean, the water buckets empty and horses were going crazy in stalls from not being able a chance to exercise.
When I went to visit after I didn't return to work for them. I was disgusted the horses were in stalls with manure up to thier knees. There was no clean bedding anywhere. Thier hooves were often over grown and some cracked. The water pails were green and filled duck crap. I found dead cats and ducks just lying there in a pile. Some of them decayed and other just bones. The horses were VERY emaciated. I saw ribs and spines sticking out. It was heartbreaking.
The main reason i left was the abuse I saw happen while I was there. I was told to feed boarder horses last if I HAD TIME, because he didn't give a shit what happened to them. I saw him kick horses in ribs. I saw him leave horses outside without shelter during horrible storms that lasted for days. Horses would stand in manure in a dark stall for days.
Do not work with this farm, Do not board at this farm, Do not ride at this farm, DO NOT GO NEAR THIS FARM. There are too many horses that are already left in this horrible situation, don't add more. They lie to people, they steal thier money and they hurt the animals.
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