Long story short: the barn manager waited almost a month to tell me my horse wasn’t eating right, refused to soak her food, and refused to administer medication. This is on top of her rude/snarky attitude I’ve put up with for months. I can’t get in contact with the barn owner and I have a contract that requires 30 days notice before leaving. Is there anything I can do?
Ouch, that’s a really long paragraph.
It sounds like you aren’t considering trying to work with your current situation to see if you can come up with some compromise in care that will be to your satisfaction, so basically all you can do is give your 30 day notice tomorrow and move your horse within those 30 days. You have options within these options, of course, including paying 30 days and moving your horse sooner, or not, as you wish. It sounds like your lawyer is indisposed at this time, but that’s ok. Those are still your options.
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You can give 30 days notice, pay, and move to a new stable. You’ll have to pay double board for a month, but in my experience as someone that did it once and has witnessed various departures from boarding barns, it is usually worth it.
What I have done at stables in the past when my horse needs AM and PM medication is have the stable give the meds in the morning, and I give them every evening when I am at the stable. However, I am there every day so this is no problem for me. Or I bag/container his feed with the meds mixed in and they just dump directly in the feed bucket. It depends on what the medication is, but I try to make it as easy as possible. So maybe you can come to some sort of compromise in the meantime.
It also depends on what the contract says, because if there is something in the contract and you have proof that they are not doing x, y, or z, then the contract is broken, but the burden of proof is on you and this can burn bridges even faster.
I am more for keeping things as calm as possible, so I give notice, pay, and leave, or I give notice and quietly survive through the final 30 days. Fortunately, I’ve never been in that bad of a situation, so my personal experience is limited.
I know moving can be difficult as some areas are extremely limited in their offerings, but I’d start looking if it really is not working out for you. Best of luck.
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From lurking and reading other similar threads, one thing to consider with 30 day notice is how the BM will treat your horse. It doesn’t sound like it will be good. I’ve read about tack going missing, things messed with, horse not taken care of. It sounds lioe this BM might be cut of similar cloth so I’d start barn shopping with oit saying anything. Once I got a new place lined up I’d start taking all my stuff home or leave it in my car then give my 30 day notice and pay the board for that month (in check or some other format that you can trace/ have evidence of) onpy when I’m putting Dobbin on thw trailer to move to new barn. But take the high road and stay classy. “Thankz ever so much for taking such wonderful care of Dobbin. Tootles!”
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What does your contract say? If the contract has been breached by barn management in some aspect of care you can get their attention by sending them any vet. bills. Better you should go in a way that complies with the contract, but if they are a continuing to fail to comply with their contractual requirements then you can move now to preserve the value of your property. If they sue you then your defense is their failure to meet their obligations and that this failure was damaging your property. And counterclaim for the costs to mitigate what they failed to do.
By the way, take photos, lots of them, showing the condition of your horse and the general condition of the barn. If that last item is bad it will get the attention of the judge.
Better you work this out but you have every right to protect your property.
G.
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Not anymore!
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30 day notice is not worth worrying about. If you have a place to take the horse, just move. You will lose your month’s board, no big deal if the care is terrible.
If an agreed-upon contract has been violated by demonstrable lack of providing proper care, you may be technically in the right. But you’re not going to get any refunds, I guarantee it.
If there is no agreement to be made, just move your horse to another barn. Don’t worry about losing a few weeks’ worth of board $, it’s not worth it and you’re never going to get it back.
There is nothing about a 30 day notice that prevents you from taking your horse away, any time.
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30 days notice means you have to pay for 30 days after you give notice. Your horse doesn’t have to be there during that time. Yes, you’ll end up paying double board for one month - but it’s usually worth it in these sorts of problematic care situations.
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Move the horse now and pay double board for a month. Since it is May 31 you would need to give notice today and then scramble to find a new barn. I would myself prefer to find the new barn, move all my gear, then give notice when I move my horse. So you might need to pay June and July double.
When you shop for a new barn, some pointers.
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Make sure to ask if they can accomodate your horses needs, perhaps at extra charge
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Don’t complain about the old barn or you will look like a perennial problem client and good barns won’t accept you
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Take it upon yourself to solve the care problems at your current barn which might include daily visits for meds.
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Do a deep soul search as to how relations at current barn deteriorated so far and fast. Did you miss early warning signs that the BM was loonie tunes? Or are you part of the problem? Did you make your needs known in a clear courteous manner? Are your requests backed up by vet orders? Or does BM have reason to believe your requests are whimsical and unnecessary?
You don’t need to share the soul searching part with us. But in any interpersonal train wreck there are always two parties.
The point of the soul searching is to make sure it doesn’t happen in your new barn too.
”‹”‹”‹To avoid that, sharpen your spidey senses for incompetent BM offering low prices, and also sharpen your own ability to present as a clear concise knowledgeable hands on owner with reasonable requests.
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I’ve never experienced a boarding facility refusing to give meds as required. Tomorrow is the 1st. Move the horse today. If you can’t - you may have to pay for June - but, move the horse asap. They can come after you for the lack of 30-day notice. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth fighting it. I’d send the BM and the BO certified letters telling them they are in breach of the contract and it is having a negative impact on the health of your horse.
Snarkiness is just a power play. Unless your contract specifically excludes administering meds, treatments, etc. it sounds like they are in breach. You don’t have to raise your voice to make your point. I have found, on just a few occasions, that some BMs only hear ‘top of the lungs’ responses. They may try to stop you from moving the horse if you aren’t paid up. Have the check ready with the notation “Paid Under Protest” on it. Move the horse. Decide later if you want to sue them.
Good luck!
If I moved my horse for poor care/breach of contract I wouldn’t offer to pay any more board, contract or no. Let them come after me.
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TCA Arabians- count yourself lucky. At my last barn, BO disagreed with vet diagnosis, did not give meds as prescribed with the excuse they weren’t necessary and administering them was dangerous. I was not allowed to come to the barn before work to give meds myself (“outside if barn hours”) and was told to leave because I insisted. There ARE loony toon barns and BOs out there!
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Deltawave, it’s SO wonderful to hear from you!
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I would move now. What does your contract state? Does it state standard of care, administering meds etc? If so, they have breached it. I would move. Now.
You don’t have to wait 30 days to physically move your horse, you can do that today but you will have to pay for 30 days additional boarding cost. Were you paying extra for soaking hay, I ask because that is a bit of an extra chore for a BO/BM, medication, some might charge more for that also.
Move your horse.
Have you anything at all in writing, e mails or texts where you have have complained about specifics and given the barn a chance to rectify the situation? Are you sure the BO is aware of the actions of the BM? If you have written proof you have complained to the person you signed the contract with and they refused to correct the situation, they are probably in breach of the contract.
Start putting everything in writing, keep texts and e mails to prove BM is acting deliberately and BO is fully aware and refuses to correct it.
Review your contract too is barn required to soak hay and give the meds? It’s nice if the barn keeps you advised regularly but if they are underpaid and understaffed, it might not happen or might not be included in your board rate. Not disbelieving you but there’s two sides, sometimes three with the truth somewhere in the middle. What is in that contract? And no offense but are you legally an adult or did a parent review and sign for you?
If barn is not contractually required and/ or BO does not know why you are unhappy so has no way to correct it? You would likely be in breach if you left without abiding by the contract.
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Oh boy, are there ever! Went to pick up a horse at a barn and he wouldn’t load so owner and I planned to come back later to work with him, but the barn owner told us we couldn’t try to load him unless she was there, but she worked at another job so couldn’t be there when we could. So the owner had her load and haul the horse, and then after soaking the owner for that, bo also sent her a bill for 2 months board because she said the owner was required to give 30 days notice, and the 30 days didn’t start until the first of the month after she finished up the current month.
Last I heard the horse owner wasn’t planning to pay because she’d never signed any kind of a contract because she’s bought the horse from the previous owner, who may or may not have signed that kind of a contract.
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right with you …if it isnt eating and she not notice or telling you then it not worth that kinda rent for having it there in the 1st place take you horse and go to somewhere else whereby they will provideyour horses needs
Nice to see you back stink. Been awhile.
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