Okay, so without getting into the drama of the situation, a boarder at the facility I board my horses at was asked by the BO to leave. The BO gave the boarder 2 days to get out and find a new place. The boarder paid on time, violated no contractual agreement etc. There is a lot of back story, but legally the boarder had not done anything to warrant the sudden eviction. My question is, how do I protect my horses? I am suddenly very aware that the BO could, at a moments notice tell me to move my horse! and its very hard to find a place to move, get the equipment etc everything together in time! There is a 30 day written clause in the boarding contract, so does this mean that I have to up hold it but legally the BO doesnât? even though in the contract it states both parties must give written notice 30 days prior to departure or being asked to leave?
Your contract states 30-day written notice. It means 30 days. The other boarder must have done something to violate the lease. If not, they can demand the BO comply or sue them. If you want to post that pertinent clause of your contract here - Iâm sure there are a few with legal experience that will give you comments.
I was once evicted from a boarding stable. I got 3 days notice and the owner locked my two mules in the round pen (without food or water until I got there to provide it) until I got them out.
His reason was that my mules were eating his special âsugar bushâ trees. He had planted the trees in the pasture. The trees were not surrounded by any kind of protective fencing. Let me repeat that. The guy planted some soft barked hardwoods inside a horse pasture and then got upset when some of the equines in that pasture chewed on them.
So, yeah, boarders do get evicted from boarding stables on ridiculously short notice (despite the terms of the contract) for reasons that may make no sense to you (they always make sense to the person doing the evicting).
Yes, OP, the barn owner/manager CAN just kick people out. Sure, it violates the contract, but thatâs a civil dispute so your only recourse is to then sue the owner/manager for violating the contract and attempt to collect damages.
Do you need to be concerned? It depends. In the situation I described above, the boarder whose horse was not chewing on the ownerâs sugar bush trees had nothing to worry about and could stay without worry. On the other hand, if someone gets evicted for some crazy, truly random reason, then yes, you need to be concerned because if the rules are changing in unpredictable ways, you may well run afoul of them without realizing and be the next to get the boot.
I was once evicted from a boarding stable. I got 3 days notice and the owner locked my two mules in the round pen (without food or water until I got there to provide it) until I got them out.
His reason was that my mules were eating his special âsugar bushâ trees. He had planted the trees in the pasture. The trees were not surrounded by any kind of protective fencing. Let me repeat that. The guy planted some soft barked hardwoods inside a horse pasture and then got upset when some of the equines in that pasture chewed on them.
So, yeah, boarders do get evicted from boarding stables on ridiculously short notice (despite the terms of the contract) for reasons that may make no sense to you (they always make sense to the person doing the evicting).
Yes, OP, the barn owner/manager CAN just kick people out. Sure, it violates the contract, but thatâs a civil dispute so your only recourse is to then sue the owner/manager for violating the contract and attempt to collect damages.
Do you need to be concerned? It depends. In the situation I described above, the boarder whose horse was not chewing on the ownerâs sugar bush trees had nothing to worry about and could stay without worry. On the other hand, if someone gets evicted for some crazy, truly random reason, then yes, you need to be concerned because if the rules are changing in unpredictable ways, you may well run afoul of them without realizing and be the next to get the boot.
I have no legal input but I think the concern is what to do if BO decides you need to go and stops taking care of your horse. (let them loose, throw your stuff on the lawn etc). They are violating the lease, but what are you, the responsible horse owner, to do in the meantime while the wheels of justice determine that they had no right to starve Dobbin and leave his paddock gates open.
I was once evicted from a boarding facility with 3 days notice and the owner put my 2 mules in the round pen and said they had to stay there. I thought it was for a ridiculous reason: the BO had planted some kind of tree that he called âsugar bushâ in the pasture - yes, IN the pasture - and then freaked out when the mules started chewing on them.
But, most boarding contracts contain language that allows the owner to evict people. For example, my contract says that the BO can terminate the boarding agreement for any reason, including, but not limited to (insert list of bad behaviors) and the horse(s) must be removed within 10 days. I bet if you check your boarding contract you will find something like that in it.
Do you need to worry? It depends. In my situation with the sugar bush trees, there were two other horses in the same field that didnât bother the trees so their owners probably didnât need to worry. If, on the other hand, the BO is evicting people for reasons that seem to be random and unpredictable, then you probably do need to worry because you might be the next to run afoul of the BO.
If you have reason to believe your barn manager is nuts, move before you are forced to.
What reason did the BO give this person, not what is this person agreeing they did?
I have to agree with Scribbler. If you think your barn owner is crazy then leave and find a new place.
As, you admit, youâve left out a lot of backstory, and that probably holds the answer to what is going on here. From your perspective, the boarder may have done nothing to deserve this, but it is entirely possible that there is more to the story that you are not aware of. Your fellow boarder likely wouldnât admit it to you, and the BO likely wouldnât tell you since it was none of your business and because gossiping about other customers is unprofessional. Things like bad checks and theft happen at boarding barns and it would be very reasonable to insist that a person pay up and leave immediately in those circumstances. Dangerous behavior by a horse (or by the horse owner) would be another legitimate reason to insist that the horse be moved ASAP. Again, thatâs not something a horse owner is necessarily going to tell fellow boarders about.
Ultimately, if you believe that your BO is an unstable person who might kick you out at a moments notice for no reason, I think you would do well to find another boarding situation now. If there is a lot of backstory, I think that it might be reasonable to wonder if there is more to the story than what you know. If you have a question it also might be very reasonable to approach your BO and ask. Let them know that you donât need to know the details about person Xâs departure, but that you would like to know under what circumstances a client might be asked to leave from their facility in this manner.
You are entitled to 30 days notice before being kicked out per your contract, but the BO can choose to risk consequences in civil court and tell you to get out right now. You can also do the same, you could choose to leave tomorrow instead of giving 30 days notice and the BO canât stop you from taking your horses and leaving. They could, however, sue you in civil court for breaching the contract and probably win a monthâs worth of board fees. Basically, while you both are entitled to 30 days notice from the other party, your only recourse is through civil court after the fact and doesnât really do a whole lot to prevent either party from failing to give 30 days notice.
You know way more about this situation than we do, so my advice would be the same as everyone elseâs here - if you think your BO has gone off her rocker and is likely to kick you out too with little notice, Iâd start looking for a new barn ASAP so hopefully you find a new place before you need a new place.
Lots of things could be the reason for eviction that you are not privy to. The evicted person is unlikely to share she has not paid board in months, was seen selling drugs in the driveway, has stolen from the facility, has a horse that is so ill mannered that staff is unable to deal with it - though that would have me saying âyour horse kicks, or bites, or attacks staff and we cannot handle him. In order to clean his stall, you must be present to lead him and you must remove within 30 daysâ. I recently had to give notice to a boarder whose horse was rearing up over the tops of the stalls and had stood in both his feed tub and waterer breaking them. I am sure she did not share that with her next barn owner.
I re- read our contract and sure enough there isnât a clause pertaining to the time the BO can give to evict. So technically she was in her legal rights, I do think I will be moving, because the reason she snapped was very public and personal, which technically is in her right. I donât know, I just feel as a boarder who pays on time, helps when needed, never complains about adding my own money to pay for extra hay or shavings or repairs to the facilities my horses break, I should be entitled to fair treatment. I just am afraid this is common and other than buying my own stables I wont be able to protect my horses!
Be a good person, follow the rules, and do your homework to try to avoid the craziest of crazies.
If you do that, youâll probably be fine.
Being a BO is not an easy job. That being said, some take offense easily, chew people out in public, etc. One year we had 14 horses leave a barn that held 50. Way too much in my opinion. While I miss the company a lot, I really like having my own place.
It is always wise to have a plan B available when you board. Even non-crazy situations can become problematic in ways you cannot anticipate - divorce, tax issues, etc can all create situations where you might have to find new accommodations on short notice. It is just a fact of boarding life, unfortunately. And even if a contract provides for more notice (30 days is pretty standard,) you have to consider how comfortable you would be keeping your horse in a situation where the owner has asked you to leave/doesnât want you there.
I think there is a lot of confusion hereâŠ
The term EVICTION should not be used in a boarding situation.
In most states horse boarding is a SERVICE not a RENTAL. Evictions can only be used in rentals.
The contract was terminated short notice and the boarder asked to leave immediately. The termination of a service agreement. Few states have specific protection laws when terminating a SERVICE agreement.
In this situation, there must have been some reason for BO to ask boarder to leave immediately. And itâs hard to say what contract was in effect, if any. You have your contract with a thirty day clause, but would you REALLY want to stay for thirty days if BO wanted you our right now? That sounds like an awkward situation, and I would be concerned about the care my horse was being given.
Have a Plan B. And if this BO did in fact terminate contract without cause, I would probably want to find a more stable environment.
If not a formal âplan B,â at least a general awareness of your options.
Iâve had the boarding farm sell and have to be off the property in less than 30 days.
Iâve had the boarding farm unexpectedly lose their lease and have to be off the property in less than 30 days.
Iâve had the barn owner turn out to be batcrap crazy and be hauled off in handcuffs.
And, another angle: what if a barn owner needs to get rid of a boarder who provides a really unsafe environment for others â a pedophile at a childrenâs lesson barn, someone whoâs selling drugs on the property, etc. I know those are extreme examples but if a barn owner needed to get someone off the property immediately, 30 days is too long.
I believe that most professional barns with a good reputation will hold to the 30 day notice except in extreme circumstances (dangerous horse, etc). Only you can judge if your current situation seems professional and reasonable or not. Remember that a professional barn will likely not disclose their reasons for terminating the boarding contract to anyone other than the owner.
@betsyk is right, there are sometimes extreme situations where a 30 day notice period is not appropriate. Another option when the issue is behavior of the horse owner is for a boarding barn to give the 30 day notice for the horse, but only allow the owner on the premises at scheduled supervised times, or not allow them at all but allow instead a family member or other representative. This is extreme, but as a fellow boarder you would not want a dangerous or mentally unstable fellow client putting you or your horse at risk. Nor should anyone expect a BO to keep their premises open to a known criminal or a person who has demonstrated their inability to function safely in a barn environment.
Long time BO with a small number of boarders over the last 18 years. I have found that when a situation is not working out, that sugar works better than vinegar to resolve the situation. Specifically, be willing to refund unused board and even to haul the horse to another location if need be. I realize that there are situations where being nice will not work, but Iâve found it helpful to encourage people to move on by being professional and reasonable.
Whenever I see posts about horses being starved, neglected or mistreated at the end of a boarding relationship, I just shake my head. I may not care for the owner, but being mean to an animal is just plain evil. I want the horse to have a good outcome. I also think that my opinion is shared by the vast majority of BOs.
