Barn etiquette for newbie owner (sort of long)

[Wellspotted]

[QUOTE=nashfad;6995287]
Personally, I do not allow “friends” of boarders to be at my farm without the boarder present. Everyone must sign liability waivers and children cannot run all over the place. Lord, one “friend” of a boarder pulled up to visit with her (she was not here) and had 6 kids jump from the car at a run (looked like a clown car). Can’t happen. Guess I am just a hard-ass.[/QUOTE]

Nope, just a very good barn owner!

And I just thought of one more bit of advice for the OP–

Barn Bathroom Rules for Guests:
LOCK the door! I get so tired of walking in on parents with little kids who seem ignorant of the fact that that door has a lock! This time it was me. Next time it might be someone of the opposite sex.
DO NOT allow your kids to play in the bathroom! It is not a playroom.
The bathroom is not a changing room–either for parents dressing little kids or for parents changing diapers. If you have to change diapers, throw away the used ones OUTSIDE. It may be a barn – but we try to keep it clean and sweet-smelling. Think hay, leather, horse manure!

[2horseygirls]

He’s ours!

http://s1319.photobucket.com/user/2horseygirls/slideshow/

Please excuse the ridiculous outgrown bridle path; that will be clipped this week.

Sat down with my awesome BM and asked all my questions and then some. We are so excited! Thank you for all the great advice!

[kathy_s]

He’s gorgeous!!Congrats and I look forward to hearing about your progress!

[sevensprings]

He’s gorgeous. I hope you have many happy years together!

[2horseygirls]

Soooooo… I got out to the barn last night, and was chatting with BM. She mentioned that Fluffy was getting his itch on, and managed to knock down one of the support poles of the lean-to in the turnout he is in. :eek:

I didn’t even question it, because he is a behemoth, but she confirmed that there was an abundance of black hair on said post (now on the ground).

I immediately said DH and I would go get whatever materials (posts, concrete, etc.) necessary to fix it and complete the repairs, and she said not to worry about it. I asked her if I can pay for the repairs, she said it’s covered.

But I feel awful. DH pointed out that she has known Fluffy as long as I have, and knows what drafts are like and capable of. (Her dad’s American Spotted Draft used to get “talked into” popping fence boards off by one of the more elderly geldings so Elderly could go exploring, which led to hotwiring all four turnouts (the horses are rotated through every two weeks)).

But he has been back at this barn for almost a year, and this is the first damage I have heard that he did.

What would you recommend? I don’t think a batch of her favorite cookies will make up for the additional expense/work involved.

[BuddyRoo]

It’s a cost of doing business. It was very appropriate and kind of you to offer to pay for the damage. But you may want to look into spending that money getting a fecal done…if he’s not normally prone to scratching like that, he may have pin worms or something.

Anyway…if she said not to worry about it, don’t. Sure, make her some cookies. That’s nice. But I wouldn’t get too freaked out.

It sounds like you’re at a nice low key barn with a BO who knows the business and knows what is reasonable/preventable and what just comes with the territory.

[Superminion]

Horses will be horses, and they break stuff. It’s part of running a boarding facility, IMO.

She sounds like a great BO (my mare got kicked out for rubbing her sweaty butt… she didn’t even break anything!) so cookies will always be appreciated, but I really wouldn’t sweat it.

[analise]

My drafty horse likes to itch on things too…of course his problem is that in the summer the gnats get to him something fierce so he’s on an antihistamine (which has him MILES better than he was the first summer we were here and didn’t realize it would be a problem until it was a problem) and gets liberal applications of fly spray and swat.

But there are still a couple of leaning fence posts in his field and he’s been caught itching on the run in. Like you, I was told I didn’t have to cover it (though if he did real damage, I would totally be doing so).

I did feel bad enough (and they’d done a few other nice things for me that they didn’t really have to so I felt like I owed them for the favors) that I put together a gift bag of various tasty food items (plus a couple of ‘kid’ things so the whole family was included since they have a young daughter) and a gift card to Tractor Supply. Then it’s just a ‘thank you for being so awesome’ gift and not like I’m explicitly whipping out the checkbook after being told I didn’t have to.

Anyway, if you wanted to do something nice in response, I’m sure it wouldn’t be taken amiss, but if they’ve told you you don’t have to cover it, like Superminion said…it’s the cost of doing business. Technically, replacing the odd fencepost ought to be covered in your board fee. Heck, I’m sure they appreciate that you’re even willing to accept the responsibility since some boarders would just automatically try to say they can’t be held responsible, etcetc.

[rcloisonne]

@2horseygirls;6996474

Thanks everyone! I would like to run a full workup on him to get a baseline reading + check and see where his anemia is (does he need PowerHorse again (have read the thread on RedCell on COTH and will stay away from it) or did he grow out of it)? What would that cost me (approximately, of course); what should it entail (physical external exam, blood draw for CBC, …?); and what should it tell me?

Given this a draft horse, you should read all you can about PSSM. Draft horse have special nutritional needs. Here’s a start:

http://www.equinews.com/article/nutritional-management-draft-horses

Also, please do not feed this horse a lot of treats. You aren’t doing him any favors. High sugar/starch treats for a horse like this is like giving candy to a diabetic child.

[Vesper_Sparrow]

He’s adorable!

[2horseygirls]

[QUOTE=Vesper Sparrow;7092261]
He’s adorable![/QUOTE]

Thanks, Vesper Sparrow! I do love him to bits - and even a little more when everyone tells me how he is much better behaved since we’ve owned him. They are chalking it up to us coming out at least 4-5 days a week, even if it’s 30 minutes to brush him and reapply fly salve/spray There were a few of us standing and chatting last night, and he was just blissed out to be in the middle of it, getting scratched occasionally.

rcloisonne, thank you for the link! Knock on wood, no dietary issues yet. He gets one or two of these (http://www.farmandfleet.com/products/551757-probios-digestion-support-horse-treats.html#.UfBO_VegKKI) or these (http://www.ruralking.com/apple-blasts-horse-treats-3-lb.html?utm_medium=google&utm_source=cse&CAWELAID=1624250771&catargetid=1708823525&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CLeyo-CRybgCFSJlMgod40EASQ) OR a carrot or two (if he was extra good) for a treat per day. That’s it.

[DHCarrotfeeder]

I would probably feel guilty too, but these things happen. Anything that is ever within reach of a horse is liable for damage, and depending on the nature of that thing, should be designed to absorb the damage graciously or be disposable.

That said, these are the responsibilities a horse owner and barn owner have:

• Identify if the damage could have the potential to injure a horse if it happens again. The horse will try. This is where being observant and making adjustments may not be adequate.
• Be observant. Dedicate a little time to just observing your horse.
• Make adjustments to address the root cause. If he’s very itchy, get that checked out for his own comfort. (All horses itch, but excessive itchy is not good)
• Consider moving things around. It takes time and observation to figure out which horses he’s best to be turned out with. There might be a particular pasture that is really good or bad for him.
• Consider that the other boarders will have some opinion too.

As both a boarder and a barn owner I can say it’s immensely helpful if you work together on this.

[Eggplant_Dressing]

Congratulations on the new steed.

It is a tough concept but horses can be destructive and BOs factor some (but not all) costs into board. It usually averages out in one way or the other but it’s alway good to offer to pay.

Maybe deep cleaning the bathroom, tack room, or buying a spa card or bottle of wine for the BO might make it all better. A barn is really a team and BO really value good boarders who value their hard and attentive work.

Again, Congratulations!