Carla Carlough

Signed up for private lesson but they were full of weekly campers. The "lesson" became 45 unsupervised minutes of brushing a horse ... other than walking past to say "you missed a spot". I would not recommend this stable

Horrible atmosphere. All they do is scream at people, employees, customers, horses, the owner seems like a psycho. Sorry I wasted our money on the horrible experience. Couldn't wait to get out of there. Sorry we didn't do a proper research and see the other negative reviews. Don't make our mistake, don't go!!

My nieces spent a week here last summer and had a blast! They love all the animals and riding the horses! They are back again this year and love it just as much! My nephew also joined them yesterday and had a blast!

Mom and daughter are rude. Not customer friendly. I dont trust their horses. Be careful.

I have ridden many a horse, few as poorly trained as the one at Dead Broke Farm. I have never been treated as rudely, so consistently, in a pervasively negative atmosphere as at Dead Broke Farm. The horses were so poorly trained, we were indeed grateful to be only broke, but not dead, after our ride at Dead Broke Farm. With so many wonderful places to go horseback riding, don't waste a minute of your life at this one.



I was appalled at the rude staff, untrained horses, and unprofessionalism and negativity that defined Dead Broke Farm. The staff was rude throughout, from the reservations, paperwork, to the very last moment we were on the horse. They snapped and YELLED at the customers very inappropriately throughout. A cloud of negativity seemed to emanate from the owners and seep into everyone and every horse on that farm.



For an hour after our reservation was supposed to start, the staff readied the horses. They did not fit us to our horses, however, as inexperienced riders were put on wild horses and vice versa. Also, they did not fit the stirrups to all of the riders, as one new rider complained mid-ride that her feet did not reach the stirrup. She was YELLED at for this, although it was the staff's fault for misfitting her.



From the get-go, the trail guides (the owners) callously ignored our concerns that the horses were fighting with each other and not listening to simple commands. (I am an experienced rider and the horse I was on reared its head at the slightest command.) The horses were obstinate and unruly, which is a sign of either poor training, not being able to roam freely on a regular basis, mistreatment, or all of the above. (Many of the horses seemed to be accustomed to being tethered, having to stand in mud all day.)



The trail guide (owner) went far ahead of the pack and did not check on the customers, many of whom were beginners. When customers shared concerns with the trail guide (when they were finally within speaking distance and she was not talking on her CELL PHONE), the owner either completely trivialized our concern or blamed us. When the horses did not listen to our commands, the owner rudely yelled at us to control them, although most of the riders were beginners and the horses were not responsive due to their being not well trained by the owner. Also, the trail guides gave contradictory information on how to handle the horses.



The owner chose to ride as the trail leader a horse she'd only had for a week, whose temperament and social hierarchy were unknown/unestablished. The horse reared into the air several times, making the other horses and customers even more anxious.



The owners of this farm just don't seem to know the appropriate way to treat other human beings. I feel sorry for them for this, and we tried to demonstrate to them how one should treat others. Please do not subject yourself or your children to these people.

When we arrived for our trail ride, scheduled for 11am, we were excited! We were only 10 mins early. This was our first ride together as a family. However, as we began to walk up to the area where the horses were, no one greeted us. It felt very cold. We stood there for several mins wondering where to go and who to talk to. There were many people getting horses ready, but most were school age kids. I finally asked a young girl (middle school age) where I needed to check in, she directed me to a lady named Carla. Well, as I approached her, she quickly snapped and yelled loudly at me to hold on since she has a sick horse . Her tone was far from appropriate. Obviously, I was more of an annoyance than a customer. From that point on, after taking care of the horse, she was on the phone yelling and cussing while ignoring the customers (my family) waiting for a ride. We were finally approached by a older woman, who was quite sweet, despite her lack of proper attire. We will just say her shirt was white/see through and she was lacking proper support. This is obviously an issue for parents who have children. At this point we were told we needed larger horses due to my and my husband s size . When I scheduled the appointment, I already discussed this with Carla over the phone. They had to bring those horses from another area, which delayed our ride even longer. We waited almost an hour and a half for them to get 8 horses ready.



Finally the same girl I spoke with earlier came and got us for a demonstration on how to ride the horse. She was difficult to understand due to all the um s and this horse is stubborn and doesn t listen and the circles she kept going into. Then we got on our horses and began our trip. The trail ride itself wasn t too bad. There was my family of 4 and 2 other children riders along with two staffers. The trail is quite narrow in some places and my horse (as well as others) slammed our legs into some sizeable trees. My son got the stubborn horse from the demonstration and had several issues controlling her. Then while we were going downhill, my husband s saddle gave way resulting in my husband falling of a Belgium horse who easily stands over 7 feet tall. The volunteer next to him was unable to help due to his height and size (he is a soldier), since she was all of maybe 14 years old. Needless-to-say, we were forced to stop the trip 4 times for loose saddles.



Once we arrived back to the farm, the staff did help us down from the horses, but failed to thank us or ask if we needed anything. We then took our carrots and apples we brought from home to feed the horses when my daughter wanted to play on the merry-go-round next to the playground. This was broken beyond repair and quite dangerous. At this point we left. It was a fun trail ride, minus all the bumps and bruises, but the staff is extremely cold and have no idea how to show good customer service. For the amount of money families and groups spend on these outings, you would expect some clear cut guidance and responsible, respectful behavior from the management. I would not recommend this farm for families with children. The language and obvious lack of concern for people was quite alarming.



Since posting my reviews on other sites, the owner has responded by attacking my opinion in a derogatory way which only confirms my statement. I would suggest you look up other reviews on these other site to see the manner in which this business owner responds to customers who are not satisfied.

We purchased a week of camp through Living Social. My daughter has been going to the same horse camp for years and wanted to try Western this year so we gave this camp a try. She had a great time and they seemed to follow all the safety measures for the children. Their horses are in good shape and seem happy. The only draw back she has was some of the other campers were telling her that she was not allowed to take her bridle off unless she has been going to the camp multiple times. My daughter has been riding for 8 years so this did not make her very happy. All in all, this has been a great experience for her to learn more about different types of riding. Daughters quote "Lots of fun but maybe not the best place for advanced riders."

Hi. I m Tucker, one of the campers at Dead Broke farm. Dead Broke farm is one of the best camps in the world in my opinion. I usually come here for trackout or summer camp. It is an entertaining and athletic camp. The most entertaining thing to do at DBF is ride horses. So far I have ridden about ten or fifteen over the last three years. Other things I like to do at DBF are play foosball, swing or climb on the swingset, or walk around feeding the horses. Miss Kim, who runs the camp, takes good care of us and makes sure everyone is safe. To all mothers, I hope you let your children come here because they will have lots of fun.



Tucker

My 2 daughters have been attending the horse camp at Dead Broke Farm for the past week and LOVE it!!! Both of my daughters have been riding horses since they were 4 years old and are familiar with horses. They love that they get to ride 2x a day for an hour each time on shaded trails and that they get to go on wagon rides daily. This is a true farm experience with chickens, miniture horses and dogs to play with throughout the day. When they are not riding they are playing on the playground, brushing or playing with the farm animals and learning how to care for the horses. Yesterday, a horse farrier came and showed them how to take off horse shoes and put new ones on. Each child got to take home their very own horse shoe.



It is apparent that the owner of this farm truly loves her animals by her huge heart to take in so many rescue horses. Having been around horses for a while through my daughters, these horses are well fed and taken care of. Today when I dropped my kids off for the last day of camp, they were begging to return next week. This camp has been a rewarding experience for them by having lots fun, but also to gain confidence in themselves by being independent throughout the day and choosing their own activities for the day, plus they get to learn the ins and outs of a true farm.My girls love the staff and I have nothing but positive things to say about them! They have been a pleasure to work with!



If your child loves horses and does not mind getting her hands dirty on a working horse farm, then you will love Dead Broke Farm! I highly recommend it and plan to send them back next year!

This was the first time my children ages 7 and 9 had attended a horse back riding camp. The camp is full day for 5 days. They are assigned a horse in the morning. The campers take care of their horse, brushing them and feeding them treats. The campers ride the horses twice a day on shaded trails. My 9 year old son has loved every minute of it. He has developed quite the love for horses. He wants to attend again next summer. The loose structure of the camp has allowed him to gain confidence with the horses. There are also many others animals at the farm. Sweet little dogs, chickens, rabbits and even a miniature pony. My 7 year daughter, despite being thrown from a horse on her first day wanted to go back and ride again. The staff encouraged her to not let one negative experience make her fearful of horses. I was quite proud of her. My suggestion for improvement would be better communication with parents.

It was so much fun, and its the complete farm experience. You get to learn how to be independent horse owner by saddling them up and controling the horse yourself, it's tons of fun.

My two children (5 and 8) had been asking about horse camp for years and we finally had the opportunity; I couldn't be more pleased with the experience at Dead Broke Farm. The kids learn about horse and other animal care, ride for at least 2 1-hour sessions each day and come home dirty, sweaty and absolutely enchanted by the experience. Camp is m-f, 9-5 with an hour on each end for dropoff and pickup. They are active the whole time and have come away with a fantastic new outlook. I have promised to make this an annual camp.

This is the first time my two daughters have attended a summer horse camp. They were both very excited but nervous because they do not have experience in riding horses. I would say that my older daughter jumped into it easier than the younger one. It seemed that there is little riding instruction and they are put on the horse expected to ride independently of help on the first day. For some children this might be exciting, but for others terrifying. My younger daughter was not ready for this. She didn't feel ready to handle this large animal without confidence in handling it with a skilled person to teach her what to do. It took some coaching to get her to go back to the camp and get back on the horse, but after much convincing she did get back on the horse. I love the independence of the horse farm for the children to choose what to do and to get involved as little or more as they want, but more instruction and teaching about the horses would make the inexperienced rider much more confident once they are put out on the trails.

My granddaughter Summer, is attending a week of camp at Dead Broke Farm. She is having so much fun. She is a novice at horseback riding and was a little frighted at first. After her first day she couldn't wait to go back. They have a little pony named summer. She just loved petting her. She really enjoyed learning how to groom her horse. Would definitely recommend Dead Broke.

My granddaughter loves this camp. She said the trail rides were great and the staff are really nice. There are lots of animals to play with. There is a miniature pony named Summer to play with. So far she has learned a different way to saddle a horse than how she was doing it. Parants are also allowed to ride one day with their children. They have a photographer to take pictures of their ride and other activities and I can't wait to get a copy of the pictures and CD so she will always have this great experience to look back at. Thank you dead broke horse farm for providing this great time and experience to my granddaughter.

My daughter is at camp here this past week and had a great time. No complaints about the staff or the business which is saying alot. She loved to ride Dolly the horse and grooming Summer the minature horse. She loved the 2x a day riding and the option if she didn't feel like riding. The instructions were sufficient and made her feel confident. She had more freedom/less restriction in riding than a previous horse camp which she really appreciated. Hope to be back soon.

Two of my children are at camp this week(June 11-15, 2012) at Dead Broke Farm, and they are having a great week! They get in the car with new things to tell me every night and tonight they both asked if they could go back for another week! Can't ask for more then that! Thanks for making their week with you a good one! One of them will be back in two week's with a different sibling and if that goes well maybe we can get them back another week this year, but next year for sure!

I have to say I am very confused by the good ratings this place is receiving. However, I did read some where people experienced similar problems that I had. For one, the owner is very rude, unfriendly and short tempered. I witnessed her screaming on the phone at someone. I also witnessed a staff member yelling and arguing with a customer; I'm a firm believer in good customer service so that shocked me. You should never yell at a customer! Also the place is very gross and I feel bad for the animals. If you like a scenic view of sewage filled pastures, go there. I volunteered there and was yelled at, talked and cussed about, there was little instruction given, I had several safety concerns and THEY DIDN'T LET THE OTHER VOLUNTEERS AND I EAT LUNCH! We were there for at least 6 hours and were never given a break and when we tried to eat lunch we got yelled at. However, the staff was eating Wendy's and making macaroni and cheese! The place is basically run by teenage girls. So if you like a farm in terrible condition, unfriendly and rude staff, being talked about when they think you can't hear, not being fed, given no break, being bossed around by 14 year old girls and having no one concerned about your safety, then go here! And if you like being treated terribly even though you are working for free, then you should volunteer! When I went, I was kind of surprised that there were no returning volunteers; it was everyone's first time. But now i know why, no one in their right mind would go back there. The only reason they have volunteers is because the farm is beyond understaffed. It was by far the worst experience of my life and I can't stress how terrible it was. I've heard several stories of customers falling off a horse and breaking bones. I'm surprised this place hasn't been shut down. Please save your time and money and go somewhere else; any place is better than here.

Dead Broke Farm is a wonderful ranch with an amazing atmosphere, beautiful horses and great customer service. Ms. Carla Carlough is absolutely incredible and was truly fantastic during our trail ride with my family. The trails were stunning and very well maintained. The horses were trained and obedient. We had a magnificent time and I highly recommend visiting the farm for an enjoyable, fun and family friendly experience. We had a spectacular time and can't wait to visit the farm again soon.

Provided us with the appropriate information for first time riders like myself. The trails were beautiful.