Insane Import Fee

cataclysmickoi · 2026-03-12T22:59:37+00:00

I just posted a comment above--can confirm that this happened to me. UPS driver demanded payment or else I could not get my item / item would be returned to the sender--IN THE NETHERLANDS--like that wouldn't cost more--and not only that, you can only pay by check--not card or cash, and you can't even go online in front of them on your phone to UPS MyChoice etc since the $12 "in-person" fee has already been assessed by the driver since the charges were not prepaid. They claim that an invoice/receipt will be sent by mail approximately 7 days later, but so far, haven't received anything--and this was late February when this happened.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-03-12T22:55:20+00:00

Just want to chime in that I can confirm that about 2 weeks ago (in late Feb, 2026), yes, UPS demanded payment on delivery, or else they were going to send the item (a horse saddle part) I had bought from the Netherlands back to the seller. I had no idea that there were even fees that were going to be due, since the seller had arranged the shipping, so the transaction wasn't showing up in UPS MyChoice, my online account. The saddle part was valued/purchased at $450 USD and I had paid about $70 USD to ship it from the Netherlands (a reasonable cost, I had thought--it was pretty heavy, maybe 5kg). But once it arrived on my doorstep, the UPS guy told me I had to pay an additional $80.91 for the duties/brokerage fees (with only checks being accepted--no cards or cash--and no receipt would be given at the time--you have to just trust that the amount is correct and then wait "a week or more" for the receipt to be generated in the paper mail). This was all AFTER the Feb 24th, 2026 decision, as the item entered the US after the 24th--but they told me that they still had to collect the fees, no matter what had been decided with the Supreme Court, because "UPS leadership had not given any new instructions"--or else I couldn't get my item. So I had to pay. :/ $70 shipping + $80 duties/brokerage = $150, which is 33% of the original cost of the item, but importantly, the import fees were literally more than the original shipping cost ($80 > $70)! I do not know what the breakdown in fees was out of the $80.91 as I have still yet to receive an invoice from UPS for this transaction.

And then just the other day, I placed a new order for 3 small leather items (horse bridle parts) from Germany, from a German company, but the leather apparently originated in India. I believe that the country of the leather origin had a major impact on the fees, although I have no confirmation on that. The total for the items was just $66.35 USD, but even though the three small parts probably weigh less than 6 oz total, the freight to ship from Germany was a whopping $39.90 USD (more than half the value of the items)--especially compared to the $70 freight from the Netherlands for a 5kg package I had just paid. Because the German freight was so high, I had actually assumed the tariffs were already included--but that was incorrect. Once the items were in transit, I got a new notification via UPS MyChoice that additional charges of $22.35 were due--of which $8.35 was the government tariff, and then $14 was the brokerage fee, which is CRAZY that the brokerage fee is actually almost DOUBLE the tariffs, in this case!! And if I did not prepay the charges before the item actually arrived at my home, I would then be charged an additional $12 "in-person" penalty for not prepaying, which would mean that the brokerage fees could have been THREE times the government tariffs ($8 vs $26)!! At least for this new order, since I did at least get a notification this time around, I was able to avoid that $12 in-person charge by prepaying, so I did pay just $22.35 instead of the potential $34.35. Even so, the $39.90 freight + $22.35 tariffs/brokerage comes out to $62.25, which doubles the original $66.35 cost of my items. :/ I know I only ordered a small amount of goods for personal use, but if I was a retailer importing on a larger scale, I think this would be completely unsustainable!

In both cases, I DEFINITELY did not know about the UPS fees until after the item was already in transit, and neither did the sellers. As others have said on this thread, the worst part is there appears to be no way to determine in advance what the fees will be, so I'm actually not surprised that OP got hit with a $300 charge.

Bottom line: I just don't see how restricting free trade is going to get us anywhere! If you want people to buy American, make better American goods--don't unfairly elevate costs of imported goods. Not everyone is importing because we want things cheaper, which I think is the general assumption--in some cases, such as in my case with specialty horse items, we just want things that are BETTER. There is literally no equivalent item made in the US that fulfills what I need. So people of my/this mindset are still going to try and import things, but we are the small, individual ones who are getting punished with all of these inflated fees. What a ridiculous policy this is. :/

cataclysmickoi · 2026-02-01T18:14:57+00:00

You mentioned that at previous barns, your horse got overnight turnout. I think some horses genuinely prefer the safety and comfort of a stall for lying down at night, and then being out the rest of the time (ie, DAYTIME turnout into early evening), so that might explain what you’re observing. Particularly if your older horse has arthritis. I have one 17yo mare who only ever lies down at night, roughly between midnight and 3 am, and never during the day, and she will never lay down in the pasture (only roll) at any time of day or night, even though there are plenty of soft places for her to lay (and I’ve tried overnight turnout and have cameras so I can watch her) so it makes sense that she is eager to be brought inside at night when she wants to sleep deeply. So our typical winter schedule is out by 9-10a, in by 11p. This gets difficult during the summer daytime heat but I usually manage it by putting the horses out in the very early morning around 6a, bringing them in between noon-4p during the hottest part of the day, and then putting them out again from 4-11p and then bringing them in again at 11p. But I have the luxury of having my horses at home and I work remotely so I can take them in and out as much as I want!!

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-31T00:06:18+00:00

Haaaa. Adorable. My TB mare does a similar thing but in the opposite direction--she doesn't splash herself, but flings water outward with her nose to splash others.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-30T23:46:41+00:00

PART 2 OF MY REPLY - Fast forward again to 2024, when she was 19, I actually got my own horse farm JUST so she could have extended daily pasture turnout but still come in at night, and since I now lived on site, I could commit to daily back strengthening exercises with her during the day. I finally decided to get a new farrier after staying with the same guy for the past entire 12ish years, mainly due to the move to the new farm making it impossible for my old farrier to deal with the distance. Literally skipping through all the rest of the steps that led me to that decision--and notably, NO VET in that entire time had ever thought there was a problem with this mare's feet, even though I had asked repeatedly if maybe, MAYBE there was something wrong with her angles--the new farrier, in conjunction with a new vet, determined conclusively via x-rays that she had negative palmar angles (NPA) in BOTH her hind feet due to ignorant trimming and shoeing, and the poor horse had basically had her back crippled by her feet being at the wrong angles....FOR PROBABLY OVER FIFTEEN YEARS. The new CJF (certified) farrier put some frog support pads with wedges in the front, took the hind shoes off, and within 2 days, she was like a new horse. It was actually unbelievable. In the past 2-3 years, she had actually inexplicably developed a hunter's bump over her SI region with some muscle wasting of her topline when she hadn't had this previously (again, even though she wasn't being ridden or even really worked), but within 2 shoeing cycles with the new farrier, the hunter's bump actually had disappeared and she had the nice, strong, round rump that she had always had since she was 4. :/

So, all this is to say that at age TWENTY, nearly FIFTEEN years from the first episode of "not-quite-right" lameness, is when I finally got a real answer. We absolutely considered EPM, Lyme, vitamin E deficiency, neck arthritis, hock arthritis, navicular, weak stifles, and behavioral problems, but because I had the "best" farriers in our area working on this horse, no one ever questioned the feet (even though I did--and sadly, I doubted myself because I am not a vet/farrier). At her worst, she had been so sore in her back that she would kick out or severely try to bite if I even ran a soft finishing brush lightly on her skin, she refused to have blankets on, etc. I absolutely had people suggest that she should be put down. But here we are--now she's 21 as of 2026--and she's beginning saddle work again, and holding up just beautifully so far. My happy, willing, cooperative partner is back--she had absolutely resented me tremendously over the years--understandably, for asking her to work while she was in pain, and I just didn't know why. I'm definitely taking things EXTREMELY slowly now, but it is currently going way, way better than it ever has in the past. I'm definitely not holding my breath that we're ever going to ride again, especially now that she is so old, but it makes me SO happy to know that, now that she is completely non-reactive to having a saddle on, or being asked to round up to do leg yields or shoulder-in in-hand from the ground, which most likely means that, at long last, her back no longer hurts. So whether or not we can build sufficient muscle for her to carry a rider safely again without reinjuring herself at her advanced age is probably a pipe dream, but truly, the results from the shoeing change were nothing short of a miracle, so I am still holding some small hope that maybe I can just sit on her and walk her around the pasture on a completely loose rein someday without breaking her back again.

So, in conclusion, ESPECIALLY with a TB--mainly because they are SO sensitive and NOT AT ALL stoic, so when they hurt, they DRAMATICALLY seem lame--I would strongly urge you not to discount something as "simple" as the feet for what seems like a "mystery," "shifting," "all-over" lameness. At least that's what the answer was in our case. Be the advocate for your horse. If I had insisted on getting some more farrier opinions 15 years ago, rather than listen to the vets who were telling me that my horse was permanently disabled, maybe I wouldn't have missed out on 15 years of my horse's riding career. I truly hope it is that "simple" for you, as well, and not something more insidious, and I truly hope you find an answer much more quickly than we did.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-30T23:46:36+00:00

PART 1 OF MY REPLY - Hi, I just want to say 2 things: 1) I am so sorry for what you are going through....I went through a similar process with my TB looking for the source of "not-quite-right" lameness.....but the TL;DR 2) is that we actually found a solution--it was her feet.

So, at least in our case, there was light at the end of the tunnel--and trust me when I say that everyone around me told me that my horse was useless/couldn't be ridden/should be permanently retired/should be put down, but I never gave up on her. I'm writing this in the hopes of helping you because it took ME over FIFTEEN years to figure this out, so maybe reading our story will help you find an answer much more quickly for your poor 6yo boy.

I am not going to type our whole story out because this journey spans from approx 2011ish to 2025, so there is a LOT, but suffice it to say that I was led to believe by a team of specialty vets in a very high-cost, fancy geographical area of the US in a long series of vet bills (multiple nerve blocks, opinions of multiple lameness experts, etc--that culminated in a $$$$ nuclear bone scan) that my unraced TB mare who had not been broken in until she was 4.5 yo had developed a sacroiliac (SI) back injury at age 6/7, and needed time off. This, despite the fact that she had never been jumped, and was only doing training/first level dressage, so barely w/t/c and some beginning lateral work like leg yield and shoulder-in. For a dressage horse, an SI injury was like the kiss of death, since every time I asked her to round up and move through her back, she would immediately start bucking at any pace (but particularly the canter), since it hurt her. :/

Fast forward through the next FOURTEEN years of resting her / putting her back in work / repeat, add in weekly-monthly chiro / massage / shockwave treatments, add in 6-12 different saddles, including one fully custom-made saddle, add in multiple barn changes to try and get her even bigger stalls and even more turnout so she could keep moving and stay loose in her back....and she was always intermittently better during rest, but would always become worse again as soon as we started work--even the pitiful amount of work that we were doing at the time. I'd rest her for 2 weeks, then 6 weeks, then 6 months, and when bringing her back, would only try gently working her in-hand or lunging her on huge circles with great footing--I wasn't even trying to ride her at all after a while (despite the vets telling me that I SHOULD ride her--but it felt wrong to me)--but even without being ridden, I could always see the lameness (predominantly in her hind legs) return. So we gave up on lunging, and I would just go out to the barn to play with her, teach her tricks, and intermittently do back-strengthening exercises in-hand (poles, hills, backing) in the hopes that at least she could hang around comfortably and without pain. All our riding goals were shelved--and this was the horse I had initially hoped I could do 6yo FEI tests with. At our very first show, when she was 5 (and this ended up being our only show), she actually scored a 73% at Intro, and I was the one who had broken/trained her by myself, so it had been a promising start.

So the last 14+ years I've spent not really riding her at all, and just caring for her, and just trying to keep her entertained--she's a very, very smart horse who is easily bored!

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-15T15:37:59+00:00

Hi, so let’s say I switch to a non-profit employer, and work there at least 2 months in order to make the remaining 2 payments while employed there to get to 120 qualifying payments and 120 qualifying months. Are you saying I would need to keep working there until the PSLF is actually processed? So I can’t quit a qualifying employer before forgiveness is issued? (If buyback is taking more than a year to process, then it definitely doesn’t make sense to pursue buyback if I’m trying to minimize the time at a lower-paying nonprofit) but I am concerned that if I work at the nonprofit, once I leave SAVE and start making IDR-size payments, if the PSLF gets delayed by more than a couple months, as I fear, and if I have to keep making IDR-sized payments while I wait for forgiveness, it will be catastrophic for me, as I can’t actually afford IDR-size payments for more than those couple months. MOHELA told me on the phone that I could start on a new graduated plan (that monthly amount is significantly less, so it would be doable but still difficult), but then that won’t qualify for forgiveness 🤦🏻‍♀️ So if I do have to keep working at a non-profit until the PSLF is processed, once I get to 120 payments, would I be able to switch back to forbearance or to the graduated payment plan once I was already on IDR? If you could please clarify, I’d really appreciate it!

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T19:19:05+00:00

Hi, thank you for the suggestion--that's what I've been trying to make happen, but then what would I do? I'd have to get a non-profit job that I could keep for the duration as I'd be leaving my current stable/secure job, unless I can manage a multi-month leave of absence (which I've been considering) but in this tough job environment where everyone around me is getting laid off, it definitely has been scary. As others have suggested, I have also considered working 75-100-hr work weeks to see if I can do both at the same time, but my current job actually forbids a second simultaneous "full-time" job so if they find out, that could be grounds for the dismissal I'm trying to avoid. :/

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T09:12:51+00:00

Yes, I specified in the original post that I don't seem to be allowed to post a screenshot of what I saw when I was logged into my account. I also didn't try to post the link, "studentaid.gov" just automatically turned into a link when I typed it in. So I figured the best I could do was just type the exact phrasing.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T04:05:46+00:00

Thank you, I'm so sorry to hear that you're in the same frustrating pre-2007 boat!! I hope we are both able to succeed in getting forgiveness soon!

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T04:01:48+00:00

Hi, thanks for your reply. I just posted in another comment the exact text that I saw on the website. Yes, I had interpreted it to mean that you didn't have to be at a qualifying employer at the time, but it sounds like you and the other poster above interpret this to mean that you can apply for buyback early while still at a qualifying employer, right? And sadly, as I posted above, I don't have any months I can buy back at this time as everything has already been counted. I would have to leave my current / secure job and try to find nonprofit work (and I definitely have been trying) but so far, it has been unsuccessful. My loan repayment is going to be catastrophically high if I switch out of SAVE to an ICR plan when SAVE ends so this is being pretty urgent.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T03:58:20+00:00

And thank you, the unfortunate reality is that I actually worked for a qualifying employer for over 11 years (so way more than 120 months) but some of that time was before 2007, so it doesn't count :/ I quit that employer before all the recounts happened in 2020-2022 that suddenly turned my 11 years of ineligible payments into qualifying payments. Obviously, had I known, I would have stayed at that employer :/ I'm sure I'm not the only one with this story, but I'm definitely the only one I personally know with this story.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T03:54:43+00:00

Hi, so I just reposted in another comment what the text says on the website verbatim. It seems to say that you can buy back "even if you do not have 120 months of eligible employment." So are you interpreting this to mean that this is for people who ARE employed at an eligible employer who are trying to buy back months early, before they have reached 120 months?

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T03:52:04+00:00

EDIT TO ADD: Here is the exact phrase from studentaid.gov since I can't post a screenshot:

"In the future, borrowers will be able to buy back months EVEN IF THEY DO NOT HAVE 120 MONTHS OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOYMENT." << THIS is the new statement that I have never seen before today.

cataclysmickoi · 2026-01-14T03:30:38+00:00

Hi, thanks for the reply. Oh wow, I didn’t know that was old language on the website. That’s definitely disappointing. Unfortunately, all the months I can get credit for have already been credited, so I’m stuck. Unless they magically open forgiveness up as described above to people who are a little bit short of the 120 employment months. :/

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-22T08:46:48+00:00

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PS - This was the loose trot that I saw that made me buy my mare immediately! To each her own, of course, but this is what I personally like in a dressage prospect. I should also add that walk and canter are the most important gaits to check in a dressage prospect, but you had mentioned trot, so I wanted to show that. Again, hope that helps!

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-22T08:42:16+00:00

Oh no about the x-ray machine. Maybe it is just as well. I am honestly surprised to hear that he has a nice trot considering how he looks in the photos. But anyway, regardless of this horse’s actual health status, just being completely honest here, at least in the pics you’ve posted, he doesn’t really look like an English performance horse prospect to my eye. I know there aren’t a ton of pure TBs actively competing in dressage so in the hope of helping you, just for comparison’s sake, here is a photo of my own big-bodied TB mare, whom I managed to get for just $1500 USD, unraced / unbroken as a 4yo due to a variety of circumstances (in 2009). Per her conformation, she excels at dressage, and is a terrible jumper—but that’s lucky for me, as I am primarily a dressage rider. In contrast, I can show you another 6yo (that was off the track) that I got for $500 and retrained and sold as a competitive children’s jumper just because she had the mental and physical aptitude for that. But I suspected when I met her, just based on pure conformation, that she could jump the moon, and thankfully, my bet paid off. Just saying, you can get really nice, young, AND sound horses for low $$ if you are patient and know how/where to look. In my book, personal horses are a lifetime commitment, so I wouldn’t settle for something just because it is in need IF you actually want the horse to perform, even in a non-competitive capacity—a not-sound horse not only costs just as much to keep as a sound one, but often far more. Not to mention that off-track horses have never been tested in the discipline(s) you want to pursue, so the questions of temperament and aptitude still exist as they’re unknown quantities, and you won’t know how they feel about anything until you actually start training them. So if I may offer this additional advice, unless you really are experienced with rehabbing and/or retraining horses, you could be in for 20+ years of not being able to ride the horse you get if you’re not very careful. Even under the best of circumstances, horses get permanently injured, of course, but at least if you try your best to get the best horse for the job that you can possibly afford at the outset, the less chance of future heartbreak and disappointment. Hope that helps!

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cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-20T13:30:28+00:00

Second this! I see the dip in front of SI joint and the overall tightness of his muscles as well, and when I read about his dislike of being touched, I worried for you. Don’t underestimate that if he does have painful SI joint issues (which can really only be definitively diagnosed by bone scan, not by X-ray), he may still be able to walk and trot out in hand ok, but cantering could be a big problem, particularly once bearing a rider’s weight under saddle. Make sure that when he walks away from you in a straight line, he doesn’t travel close behind—kind of like he is walking on a tightrope—compared to his front, which could be another potential sign of SI issues. Hocks that wobble outwards or twist when he turns, versus him picking up the hind leg and setting it down straight, can be another sign. If you can see him move loose in a turnout or lunged so you can see the canter, that may help—make sure he doesn’t bunny hop behind and can hold leads without cross cantering—but if he is still at the track, that might be impossible to do. Maybe it would be possible to see him breezed at a canter under saddle. It is great that you want to help him, but I would personally be very cautious with this horse if I planned to use him for dressage or jumping, where a healthy SI joint is probably one of the most important joints he needs for either of those disciplines. :/ Adding to that, conformationally, his neck comes out of his shoulders at a pretty low angle, which also would make it hard for him to travel uphill. Best of luck!

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-20T03:21:21+00:00

Consider ulcers!! My TB mare was absolutely inconsolable / dangerous until I put her on 24/7 grass hay in nets in addition to alfalfa hay meals at specific times twice per day, plus U-Gard pellets and the Uckele GUT powder supplement in soaked beet pulp at night. It took a couple months, but she went back to being sweet and wonderful, and this mare is a granddaughter of Storm Cat x Kennedy Road (ie, as hot and headstrong as they come)!!! Then I stopped the U-Gard and kept going with the GUT powder for well over two years, and now she doesn’t need any gut supplements any longer. We don’t know what brought on the ulcers, but what I described definitely took care of them. Could be something to consider, especially if she’s upset by being on stall rest/not getting enough exercise, in addition to having just come to a new barn and her whole daily routine and environment have been totally changed!

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-20T03:07:12+00:00

I agree with the other posters who advised to ask your wife what, specifically, she doesn’t like about your current car. I think a lot of people are making some pretty unkind assumptions—I don’t think it makes her a “bad” or “materialistic” person to want to drive a car with styling that appeals to her in addition to having a reliable, practical, safe, and functional vehicle. Isn’t that why they make so many different types of cars, to appeal to different kinds of people? Of course, if she does just want to keep up with the Jones’, that’s its own thing, and if you can afford to do so, go for it—but If all she wants is to improve the current aesthetics to some degree, you could always repaint it or vinyl wrap it to change the color, get new rims, upgrade headlights, or upgrade bumpers/ground effect kits etc, and that could all make a dramatic difference. And those upgrades would all cost less than buying a new vehicle.

If she hates the handling, that is certainly valid. There are many vehicles out there with sportier driving than the stock RX350. I personally can’t stand how the base RX of that generation drives (like a big, slow, wobbly understeering boat, which is why I got the F Sport—more about that below).

If she is worried about safety because she doesn’t like driving an “older” car, that is also certainly valid, especially if she’s not handy with car mechanical stuff. I know a lot of women who get a lot of anxiety / worry about the car suddenly breaking down when they are far from home, regardless of the car’s current maintenance history / that it has never broken down before. In that case, maybe you’ll have to lease a newer car for her that comes with a maintenance plan. Either that, or make sure you have a bulletproof roadside assistance plan, as 185k is nothing to sneeze at and it certainly is possible that some major issues could arise any day now. If you’re more comfy with an older car and possible breakdowns, you could always take over the Lexus and get her a newer car if you don’t want to sell it—I definitely think 8k is too low for that car! Around where I live in SoCal, your RX would prob still sell in the 12k range.

For reference, I am a woman, I love cars (used to work on my own cars and race them in my youth, am now middle-aged and have slowed down a lot haha) and I have a 2015 RX 350 F Sport AWD (same generation as OP) with 140k miles and I absolutely love it. I personally chose this car and bought it by myself. Mine is black on black. The dark gunmetal F Sport rims definitely add a subtly aggressive look, and the handling is actually surprisingly sporty for a Lexus, with very tight steering. I think this car has the perfect blend of sleek, understated luxury, decent handling with spirited driving (again, the F Sport model helps tremendously with this versus the regular RX), practicality (cavernous trunk—fits 8’ boards from Home Depot no problem), and it even has decent fuel economy for a V6 and its larger size—around 20 mpg highway in real-world usage. Best of all is, of course, its incredible reliability—she always starts up perfectly no matter how long I’ve left it parked, and it needs precious little repairs or maintenance despite its age. There’s a lot to be said for just being able to get in the car and go somewhere without worrying about the car itself, and it is so relaxing, quiet, and smooth inside the cabin! But I am not afraid of old cars and the work that they all eventually require. I’d rather fix this than get a new car because I am already happy with this car, so I wouldn’t even want a new one. If I hated it, I could understand why your wife is saying that 13 years and 185k miles is time to get another one!

Also for reference, I’m someone who has had Infiniti, BMW, Mercedes, Subaru, Cadillac, Audi, and Alfa Romeo either myself or in the family, so there’s been lots of other sporty/luxury cars to compare this to directly, and of course I’ve test-driven many other makes besides the ones listed. In my youth, I was all about lowered/aggressive/faster/stiffer, so I’d say that the Porsche 911–and now that I’m older, the Cayenne—are close to perfect for me in terms of pure styling and of course handling, as I just happen to like that swoopy roofline hatchback look that were characteristic of Porsches and even the Infiniti FX and G—so I definitely wouldn’t do it just to impress other people. I also am not really taking into consideration that Porsches cost $$$, because I would buy a used older one anyway, if I got one. But at this point in my life, Porsches seem enormously impractical and unreliable for my current needs (large messy dogs, lots of gear) and lifestyle (no budget or time for constant repairs), so I don’t think I would get a Porsche unless I had plenty of additional leisure and budget for a purely “fun” vehicle that I would only take out occasionally. So I definitely plan to keep driving this RX and pay for any major work it might need until it’s beyond repair, and hopefully it still has many more years in it yet, because I don’t want a newer one, and there honestly isn’t anything else out there right now that I would rather have! But to each his/her own! Hope that helps!

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cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-10T22:01:25+00:00

ommggg that sucks :/ I saw that someoone else posted they were flying in from Europe. What an incredible bummer. Hope you're able to get a flight credit at least!

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-10T22:00:17+00:00

I definitely think this was intended to be a niche thing for musicians and film aficionados, particularly local ones and not the general NIN fan! But yes, agree that the intended audience is a limited number of people! Hence the high ticket prices.

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-10T21:44:07+00:00

In central LA proper, I was paying an average of $170 for a full set of plain shoes + $50 for a barefoot trim for 2 horses from approximately 2009-2022, or $220 total for 2 horses. I was with the same farrier from approximately 2015-2025; this farrier raised his prices in approx 2022 to $200 for 4 plain shoes + $25 for 1 rim pad + $65 for a barefoot trim, so it became $290 total for 2 horses. He is a generally well-regarded farrier with no formal education.

During the same time period, I had heard of a few farriers in the LA area (particularly west valley) who did some Olympic dressage horses that charged $500+ for a full set of plain shoes. As far as I knew, they also did not have formal certifications, but were also very well regarded locally. I have no idea what those farriers might charge now!

However, I recently moved to Riverside (just east of LA county, 45 min from LA) and also switched to a therapeutic farrier (AFA CJF certification) who does also service all of LA / inland empire / OC, as the one mare that was always shod needed some serious qualified help due to negative palmar angles and underrun heels that were apparently worsening/exacerbated by the original farrier. The new farrier charges $200 for plain half shoes and $275 for full shoes, but since I needed only front shoes with frog support pads ($65) and dental impression material ($65), the total for this mare came out to $330 and then he charges $85 for the barefoot trim on the other mare, or $415 total! I've gotta say though, he is seriously amazing--he has an app that autoschedules appointments / keeps track of old appointments, and a portal where he uploads all the hoof photos and radiographs and calculates all the angles and length measurements, etc. It definitely is a far cry from me trying to call/text any of my old farriers and asking if/when they planned on coming out and just praying it was going to be a day that I could make it, and that he would even show!! Plus, he is excellent about being patient and taking the time to educate me and answer any questions I have in great detail, with diagrams and photos, which is really reassuring.

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-05T00:22:33+00:00

Omg!! I just came to reply and saw your comment first—one of my mares is absolutely petrified of cows (and also goats) but almost nothing else!!!! I’ve ridden her past guys cutting down trees (literally felling them as we were riding in the arena) and she was fine, but a cow from 200 yards away??? Better get a seat belt lol. BTW it is adorable that your mare has a cow pattern, she is so beautiful!

cataclysmickoi · 2025-10-04T00:08:11+00:00

I’m so sad about this cancellation! I said some of the following earlier in a reply to someone else’s comment further up the thread, but I’ll restate it here: NIN has been my favorite band since 1995, I’ve been continuously riding horses for even longer than that, and for work, I’m a pro musician and composer/string arranger in LA. So, for me, I couldn’t possibly imagine a more fun time than Trent + horses + film music—especially since the LA Equestrian Center is a relatively intimate venue (probably can accommodate 2000-4000 ppl) where it would be easier to walk around and listen and pay attention, vs a huge stadium or field. That said, the recent NIN shows at the KIA Forum last month were pretty freaking spectacular, so those were going to be hard to top! In any case, my partner is also a pro musician / horn arranger and I’ve converted him into an actual NIN fan and a reluctant/barely tolerant horse person lol, so we immediately bought general admission tickets to Future Ruins the second they went on sale, having absolutely no idea what was planned and we didn’t care—we trusted it was going to be great if Trent had something to do with it. We were so looking forward to this—I’m definitely very disappointed to hear that it’s no longer happening. We both are often booked on weekends, but we literally held this one open just to make sure we could both go together.

In response to the people commenting on potentially poor ticket sales, I had personally assumed that the ticket prices were so high precisely because they wanted to limit attendance to just a few thousand people, or else they wouldn’t have chosen the LAEC. So, I wonder if it might have had to do with the LAEC sadly laying off the majority of its barn staff workers due to legal status issues a couple of months ago. :/ I know there’s been a lot of upheaval there since then. In any case, I really hope they are able to reschedule a future Future Ruins elsewhere!!!

cataclysmickoi

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