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Being nickeled and dimed at boarding barn

That seems high to me but of course it depends on where you are even within the same state.

I would not have a problem with hosing a horse off if they were in the shade but to hose off and put back in the sun would not be good as that can actually cause them to overheat.

No on treats and I would really question everything if she does not know how to put on a halter.

What area is this in? I cannot imagine them being able to ask for that kind of money for those “services”.

The barn owner, sans contract, is making up charges after the fact and on the fly after feeding treats and grooming and bathing horses she doesn’t even know how to freaking put a halter on. She can fly to the moon and back and attempt to claim that an election was stolen that wasn’t … all day long. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, she ain’t getting one additional thin dime out of this carcass :slight_smile:

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I believe this has been proven to be not true.

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Yes, untrue. The water will evaporate from the skin (like sweat) and will facilitate cooling. Does not matter if horse is exposed to sun or sweat scraped as evaporation will still take place.

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Whatever the heck you just said does not negate the fact that they had a verbal contract for boarding including a months notice. As long as the barn owner feeds, waters, beds, turns out the horse as agreed, she can dress as a muppet and sing i feel pretty as far as the law is concerned. She cannot collect on additional services not agreed upon. The horse owner is legally and morally obligated to fulfill her terms. By the same terms, the barn owner cant kick her out tomorrow without cause.

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Up until very recently I also thought “not sweat scraping heats the horse back up” but I was pointed to research and, indeed, that’s a myth. I learned that as a kid and was really surprised to find out it wasn’t true!

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I don’t blame people for still believing it. Pony Club still teaches it even.

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I think with some horses it might encourage skin issues though. Some horses can’t tolerate damp skin without having a medical melt down

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I believe that. And some horse are just plain irritated by having dripping water on them. But it doesn’t “heat them back up” the way we were taught.

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My young mare is like that, for the dripping. She thinks it’s flies. If you quickly wet her completely so it doesn’t bead and drip off, she’s much better.

Pony Club teaches a LOT of things that are counter to science and some that run counter to safety (requiring halters on horses in stalls at rallies, for example).

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I 100% agree with you!

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Learned something new today. :slight_smile:

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Me too.

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That is likely because it makes catching a pony/horse that gets out of it’s stall a bit easier to catch.

The same rule applies at most backstretches at tracks where they have stabling for horses. Security can get a hold of an escapee easier if they have a halter on. We were thankful for this rule a couple of times when one of our dim bulbs decided he was an escape artist one summer. I’m sure security was too. That issue was taken care of quite quickly after we realized the first time wasn’t a fluke.

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Which is fine, until a horse catches a shoe, hoof, or door latch in the halter and breaks its neck. And, having seen that happen (the getting stuck/tangled, not so much the neck breaking, because my horses, unlike those who live in breakaway halters, know how to give to pressure) MULTIPLE times, I can assure you that “breakaway” halters do not necessarily break under such pressure. Catching a loose horse, provided said horse is broke and sane, is easy. Repairing a broken leg or neck? Not so much.

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I guess I am permanently scarred from an event at a boarding stable when I was a teen. The rule was halters always on. I dont remember breakaway halters being a thing back then - those who worried used cheap leather halters. A lovely 4 year old filly got a hoof caught. She was found dead in the morning in a bloody stall. Fortunately I didnt see it as boarders were not allowed in during that time.

So I try not to have a halter on the unattended horse. When it is necessary I make sure it is very breakable.

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Which is why a leather halter should be used, nylon will not break. In my experience, break away halters are very breakable. Sometimes too much so (IE. A horse has learned to test and pull back on a break away to break it, or if I’m handling a stallion at a public event - I’ll go with a leather halter). I think it’s a good point not to turn out in a halter, especially, like you said, a horse who hasn’t learned to give to pressure. I really think teaching horses to hobble is an underutilized training opportunity. It can save a horse’s life and/or prevent a broken limb. John O’Leary from Australia has an online course on hobble training if anyone is interested.

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Not in all situations. And not AT ALL consistently enough for me to be comfortable leaving a horse unattended in one unless I absolutely must - i.e. a horse that needs a grazing muzzle.

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