Remember these?
I loved that car. I think my sister learned to drive on it. Long as a freight car (our dad said), no AC, and three on the tree. We took it to Washington on vacation one August. I loved that car.
I hate to say it but I couldnāt use a computer 20 years ago, let alone navigate email . I have never texted and canāt even grasp how you do that with 3 letters assigned to each number on a pnone and how do you instant message???
Technology is mostly wasted on me and I am happy to still talk to people in person.
My phone has a drop down keyboard on the screen that you use to type.
With three letters for each number, for example, A is one tap, B is two (quick) taps and C is three taps. You get used to it pretty quickly.
Thereās a reason that the smart phone became a much better option. I didnāt know you could still get a phone that texted that way.
No wonder people who drive and text are such a hazard.
Iām pretty sure no one has texted like that in the pastā¦decade? That was how people texted originally on flip phones. Everyone has smartphones now and texting just typing on a tiny keyboard on the screen. Still dangerous and absolutely shouldnāt be done while driving.
Texting is great for shooting pics to the vet or farrier. Even my 75-year old barn manager texts me pics of my horse during the day if heās doing something cute or just to let me know heās doing well.
Lol no one texts like that anymore. Itās a keyboard, and while I donāt text and drive, I also donāt have to look at my screen to text either. One thumb + autocorrect can get the message 99% correct (and sent!) without me even looking at the screen. Also, voice to text.
Actually my sister still does. . Her phone is so ancient I canāt believe it still gets a signal.
Just an update:
I ended up speaking to the barn owner when I went out earlier this week. I asked her both about the paddock and hay situation.
BO said she gives hay in the AM and PM in both the feeder and shelter in the paddock. She said that she could switch my horse to the field with 2 horses, but that one of them was a bigger jerk than some of the others in the field. I stated that I was concerned about bullying and that he was getting quite a few marks and welts on him. She replied saying that because heās in a group, that itās going to happen. The day I went out, he was soaked through his blanket in a heavy rain storm and could not get access to the shelter because the dominant horses would chase him out.
Went out to see him today and heās out with the 2 horses and everyone seems quiet and that they get along. Bring him in and brush him and notice that his knee is swollen, has some heat and heās mildly lame. He has missing hair all down his leg. Heās starting to lose weight as well and he has more bites marks all over him. He is not happy and neither am I.
I have found a new boarding barn and will be leaving this one ASAP. I have nothing but a feeling of dread in my stomach that things are going to just get worse, and I donāt need the stress and vet bills.
I donāt begrudge the BO. This is her way of running her business and it works for herā¦it just doesnāt work for me.
I am glad you have found a new place, hopefully you and your horse will be happy there.
On the shelter topic - I just want you to know that some horses will always be outside the shelter. For so many reasons. They might just not want to be a horse. Or they might just be so passive that any horse above them flicking an ear means they do not try to go in.
If your horse is not getting in the shelter you need to either pay for solo turn out or dress your horse for the outside of shelter life.
If your horseās blanket was soaked thru, it was a blanket failure more than anything.
The new barn I am going to does individual turnout which I donāt have to pay extra for. I have offered to pay extra for individual when looking at boarding barns and was always met with a no.
Our old vet used to say that half his patients were hurt because their humans insisted they live with other horses when the situation was not one they could/would do so.
He said when we have horses living in small spaces, the smaller the space, the more the horses in there, the more injuries will happen, if on purpose, a horse having a grumpy moment and injuring another, or just in mere rough horse play.
We want to keep horses in smaller spaces, have them eat out of a smaller source, fight over resources like shelter, food and other horses to buddy with or run off, we just assume the risks horses will be injured, sooner or later.
We get by for so long mixing horses, until we donāt.
It took me decades to understand that because we have larger spaces and fairly congenial horses, but even then we eventually learned our lesson and quit āletting them sort it outā before we acted on what horses were telling us, that they love companionship, just not 24/7, they also love their alone, stress free time.
Glad you are trying another barn, seems prudent in your situation.
Hope that swollen knee is just a little bump.
It sounds like maybe the BM was right to try the horse with the 5 instead of the two.
I hope that you are happy with your next barn.
Why individual turnout? Heās only 2 years old, he needs to socialize with others.
Maybe because right now he is injured while trying to learn to live with others?
He may already know how, but being young was picked on anyway?
I think solo turnout right now may just be best, at least until he is ok and maybe has a suitable companion?
I have boarded for 20+ and I have never been to a barn that didnāt ask prior to making any changes. Did you word your post correctly? Because that would be a major issue for me.
For now until he heals, sure. But the OP said she had inquired about solo turnout at previous barns so I assumed she/he is looking for a more permanent arrangement.
I love that the OP did this! She was assessing the situation and not just taking 3 seconds to look and make a snap decision. The OP is a good owner.
OP, you are doing everything right. There are a couple here that just need to be on mute. I love that you watched for 2 hours to get a really good idea of dynamics. More horses could use an owner who cared this much about their horses well being. 1 large hay feeder is not enough for 6 horses to stand around with some dominant personalities in the herd. You have every right to ask why your horse is in a larger herd than discussed.