Complaint Review: Twyla C Armstrong

This is my opinion and reference for Hootin howl farm, specifically Twyla Armstrong, and their boarding facility in North Spokane.

The horses in her care are left outside during the heat of the summer, the coldest winter days, and the wettest spring and fall. Only a few pastures have any shelter at all, and the horses are rarely in the ones that do. Promises were made to add extra shelters to the pastures that were without any, but in a year of boarding there, not one extra shelter materialized. As a boarder, I paid good money for basic care. I often had to fill water tanks myself because the horses were without water for long periods of time, the worst of which was in the heat of the summer. My horse lost an extreme amount of weight while living there, and was beat up by the other horses frequently. No consideration was given to finding him a more appropriate pasture with horses that matched him in their nutritional needs nor temperament.

She advertises choice of alfalfa or grass. The boarders have no say in this choice however, and she isnt consistent in her choices. A herd of horses including one with past founder issues, were moved from a basically dry lot to an alfalfa field, and left there for weeks. In my opinion, this is poor horse management, and could lead to severe health problems.

Horses are allowed freely to roam her farm, although they could easily get caught up in barbed wire that is coiled on the ground behind her barn. They could also get out on the road, and I witnessed them eating moldy hay left in a burn pile.

Horses eat off the ground even though she does have feeders available, often they are not used. In rainy weather, the hay gets trampled into the mud and manure and the horses are still expected to eat it.

Twyla advertises that her place is kept well, but a rail on the roundpen was broken for months making it unavailable. That was one of the things I was paying for and unable to use.

My horse stocked up in all four legs so badly that he couldnt even walk to his food or water. Twyla did not notice anything wrong, and if I hadnt come out that day, he would have been in trouble. In my opinion, Twyla was negligent. Basic care includes checking each horse daily. Even from a distance, it was clearly evident that his legs were swollen. His demeanor was one of a sick horse. A knowledgeable horse person could not miss the fact that he was in trouble.

When my notice was given, Twyla sent me several nasty e-mails. Although his board was paid, it was extremely uncomfortable to visit my horse. My belongings in the tack room were gone through, although I cant say if anything was missing or not.

Twylas children are often unsupervised around the horses, often barefoot or in flip flops. They are wonderful kids, but I was paying to board and ride my horse, not babysit.

Arrangements were made over the phone between Twyla and myself for an extra 7 days of board until my horse was sold. She later sent me an e-mail stating that because of my attitude she wanted my horse gone immediately.

Whether I had a bad attitude or not, this is supposed to be a business. I was paying her a lot of money to care for my horse, and to be able to ride. I never broke any rules and was considerate to everyone there. I was upset that she gave my horse less than adequate care, but I never voiced it, or wrote it in any correspondence to her until my horse was actually removed from her place. I couldnt help it if she interpreted what I did say or how I acted in a negative way.

Twyla put a picture of my horse on her website and refused to remove it when asked. The picture was posted after my horse left and we had quite a bit of tension between us. There is no reason a business owner should be so antagonistic toward their clients whether they are current or past clients. She has plenty of pictures of her own horses. Would it really hurt her to replace the picture of my horse with one of her own?

I have since sold the horse, but if she cares for her business, shouldnt she at least do the minimum amount to keep her customers happy? I always had the feeling that she felt like she was doing me a favor by caring for my horse. Not that I was pleased with the care, but I was paying HER!!!! She should have been trying to make ME happy, not the other way around. I think she felt insulted that I wanted to move my horse, and she became extremely nasty to me. I have the e-mails she sent me saved, as I have the picture she has of my horse on my memory card.

I tried to find her business on the BBB, to make a complaint, but couldnt find it. I have suspicions that she doesnt even have a business license. I could be wrong, but I couldnt find any evidence of it.