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Based on responses to another mask thread here, I think you will hear a variety of opinions. But I personally think you are right to be concerned, and the arrival of closed-window season (and the massive outbreaks around the country!) make this a totally appropriate time to raise this with management. Itâs possible the BO just doesnât care. But itâs also possible the folks in charge donât know this worries customers and would be open to having a conversation for setting up a new mask policy if asked.
FWIW: I ride at a barn that has a strict universal mask policy for anyone not mounted on a horse. I feel safe there. Iâm sure that customers differ somewhat on their masking preferences, and I know that there is a wide range of behavior outside the barn. But, in the barn, everyone complies without complaining. The rules are clear and fair, and there is a general sense of compassion that prevails.
If you scroll down the page a bit, there was a pretty long discussion on this topic within the last couple of weeks, with lots of good advice.
I would say in your shoes, I would certainly wear a mask myself. And I would bring up the subject to whoever is in charge of that barn. If people are close together, they should be wearing masks. And if they donât want to protect themselves, you should at least protect yourself.
If everyone is spread out, thatâs one thing. But in close quarters, better safe than sorry.
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My daughter and I are the only ones who wear masks at our semi-large barn. There are aisles and halls and tack rooms where you cannot be 6â apart. Also, itâs not unusual to have 10 people out at once.
The BO literally asked me, âWhy are you wearing your little mask?â
So thatâs why Iâm writing this from jail.
But no, seriously. I wish I had good advice, but I donât. Following in hopes of getting ideas for talking to said BO, who is clearly not pro-mask.
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Our barn has a mask on when not mounted policy, or if you are truly alone in your stall. Our lessons are roughly 3-5 people in a large semi open arena (covered, open one side). Everyone complies except for one woman, but even she has gotten the âmessageâ from all of us avoiding her, giving her side-eye, stepping away from her, etc. and sheâs finally wearing one in the aisle. I feel pretty confident at the barn with the folks I ride with-- all the kids, parents and adult riders wear theirs pretty faithfully. Iâll pull mine off when Iâm grooming, alone, in my stall, but thatâs it.
Stay strong! Wear your mask, avoid others, tell them âIâm wearing it for youâ when asked. (If youâre feeling friendlyâŠif not just nod and go about your business). Iâm sorry your fellow boarders and the BO are so uncaring. Good luck!
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Honestly, I feel like it was a huge strategic error from the health officials to take that line early on. If they said a mask would keep people from catching it, there were probably more people who would have worn masks to protect themselves.
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Of course you have a right to feel nervous. Donât waste energy feeling bad when youâre wearing a mask, but do bring up the issue with the BO (âIâm worried about the possibility of being exposed becasue Iâve got compromised folks at home who depend on meâ). Only an idiot hasnât noticed that cases are surging throught the country.
I have found times to be at my (small) barn when few others are there, and I made enough of a stink early on that folks understand that Iâm risk-averse (I, too, have compromised folks at home), so folks know to keep their distance. Itâs not pleasant for me to have them think whatever it is that they think, but it does mean that I can usually go out and deal with my horses without too much angst.
Perhaps you can do without groom services for awhile, and/or tack up somewhere where the grooms arenât? But youâre not alone, and youâre not over-reacting.
I think another error was issuing mask mandates in conjunction with shutting things down. If they had done the inverse - issued mask mandates in conjunction with carefully reopening - I suspect there would be much more compliance. More would see masks not as an additional restriction, but rather as a way to get closer to pre-pandemic life.
Legit. Americans wonât sacrifice squat for the sake of others. Wearing a mask is barely even a sacrifice at all. Iâm so angry over the whole thing. How incredibly selfish can people be?
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I edited your post for you.
Lots of good people are doing their best. Donât paint us all with the same brush.
That is fair and I concede your point! Thank you for the correction.
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Youâre not alone in your feelings on this subject, Itâs incredibly frustrating, and Iâm starting to feel posted signs are more about barns avoiding liability (âsee, we require masksâ) than something thatâs actually designed to be enforced. Obviously, continue to mask up yourself, but I think a judicious email to the barn owner, carefully worded, might not be a bad idea. But prepare yourself that the BO may be aware, but not care.
Yeah, but thatâs not what the evidence showed at that time. Even now, the evidence that cloth masks protect the wearer is pretty thin. Still seems like itâs better than nothing, but the fact is masks work much better for outgoing than incoming. If public health officials had made this argument and then it had become clear that people wearing masks could easily get sick, I think it would have undermined their credibility.
Also, I sort of disagree with the sentiment that Americans donât care about their neighbors. There is a noisy minority that complain about Covid restrictionsâand given how easily the disease spreads, they matter. But the reality is that the vast majority of Americans have undergone huge personal sacrifices to keep vulnerable people safe. Self-reported mask usage in surveys is higher in the US than nearly any European country.
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Well said!
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Thatâs whatâs so particularly galling about the argument âif youâre scared, wear a mask yourself, but donât make others wear one.â Itâs frustrating when Iâm the only person masked, protecting others, while others arenât taking similarly protective steps that would reduce my risk.
I donât know many people who are militantly anti-mask, thankfully, but I do know and see many people who use them inconsistently. Iâm sure if polled theyâd say they wear a mask, but quite often they have it half-on, half off, or only put it on now and then, taking it off mid-conversation.
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