When ever I am boarding I always offer to do morning chores for the BO/BM on Christmas morning. this is my gift to the barn be it BO/BM, stable help or so on. I will come and feed, turn out and clean stalls. I love early mornings at the barn when no one is around, it is so peaceful.
My question is if one of your boarders offered this for you what would your reaction be?
I will post what has been the reactions later.
Not a BO but it would depend on the boarder. A good border who knew the horses well and the routine would be welcome. A casual border would be appreciated also but I would assume I would have to double check after they were done as I am anal about care.
Assuming it was a boarder I believed could handle all the horses (and any special needs) involved, I’d be all over it!
This happened to me when I was a BO. Two of my lovely (knowledgeable) boarders offered to feed Christmas morning as they were celebrating the holiday on other days. It was a wonderful gift and I really appreciated it as I had a full house of company.
While I would be touched that a boarder would make such an offer, I could never accept it (in my own situation).
First of all, I am contractually obligated to provide a certain level of care for the horses in my barn, which means care by trained and supervised workers, not by a random boarder/ person who doesn’t usually provide that care. How would you feel if your horse colicked (or got loose and injured) on Christmas night and you found out later that another boarder who didn’t usually do the chores had fed them and it looked like the wrong food had been fed or water had been forgotten (or a gate left open)–it would be unacceptable.
Of course, it would also create a very awkward situation with the client trying to be helpful if they made a mistake that caused harm. People who try to help out with farm work but aren’t used to it often make mistakes like leaving water running (creating a big ice slick in the middle of winter), leaving an appliance on that could cause a fire, leaving pitchforks or rakes in stalls, forgetting to close the latch to the feed room door, etc.
Also, my workers are properly insured and if they were injured on the job there are proper channels to handle it. If a client were injured while doing chores, there is a liability issue for me.
If a client were injured by someone else’s horse it could also create a liability issue for the owner of the horse that caused the injury. Many owners specifically do NOT want random people / other clients handling their horses because of the liability exposure.
Anyhow, it’s very generous to offer, but I think that a better choice for handling the holidays is a small gift to the BO, and generous tips/treats plus small gifts to barn workers.
[QUOTE=BeeHoney;8899644]
While I would be touched that a boarder would make such an offer, I could never accept it (in my own situation).
First of all, I am contractually obligated to provide a certain level of care for the horses in my barn, which means care by trained and supervised workers, not by a random boarder/ person who doesn’t usually provide that care. How would you feel if your horse colicked (or got loose and injured) on Christmas night and you found out later that another boarder who didn’t usually do the chores had fed them and it looked like the wrong food had been fed or water had been forgotten (or a gate left open)–it would be unacceptable.
Of course, it would also create a very awkward situation with the client trying to be helpful if they made a mistake that caused harm. People who try to help out with farm work but aren’t used to it often make mistakes like leaving water running (creating a big ice slick in the middle of winter), leaving an appliance on that could cause a fire, leaving pitchforks or rakes in stalls, forgetting to close the latch to the feed room door, etc.
Also, my workers are properly insured and if they were injured on the job there are proper channels to handle it. If a client were injured while doing chores, there is a liability issue for me.
If a client were injured by someone else’s horse it could also create a liability issue for the owner of the horse that caused the injury. Many owners specifically do NOT want random people / other clients handling their horses because of the liability exposure.
Anyhow, it’s very generous to offer, but I think that a better choice for handling the holidays is a small gift to the BO, and generous tips/treats plus small gifts to barn workers.[/QUOTE]
You are right about everything you have said. I guess I should have said that I was extra barn help already and filled in for staff when needed just not a regular barn worker. ie: someone was going on holidays and they needed someone to work their shift.
The reason I asked is that of the 4 barns that I have done this for over the years, I have only had one BO tell me how much they appreciate having someone they could trust to do morning chores so they could sleep in and spend the morning with their kids. I was just wondering if it was something that other BO’s would appreciate. The last BO acted like they where doing me a favour by letting me do it. I did hear from one of their family members how nice it was that the BO could stay out last Christmas eve as they had someone to look after the horses the next morning.
I have always felt that the gift of time was what everyone wanted. Time to spend with family and friends or just to relax. I enjoy spending time with the horses in the early mornings. It is one of the things I miss most about not having my boarding barn anymore. The sound of them all eating or when they call to you when you walk into the barn in the morning.
I will take you in a split second! 
Wow, you must have come across some ungrateful BOs. I try my hardest to thank all my boarders whenever they do anything to help, whether it be a regular day or Christmas Day! My boarders are awesome about offering to help bring in horses at the end of the day, check water troughs, or fill water buckets if they see we are busy or they have spare time, and I always gratefully accept.
I don’t know if I would be 100% okay with both myself and my business partner not laying eyes on the farm/horses for a full 24 hours, not because we don’t have competent boarders but just because I am anal like that, haha. I have had a boarder come and help me do chores on Christmas so I could get back home faster, which was greatly appreciated!
The joy of giving is in the act itself, not in the assessment of whether the recipient’s expression of gratitude is sufficient.
This is the best gift you can give to a BO/BM.
If you don’t know the routine, but are willing to meet me at the barn bright and early so we can power through chores in 1/2 the time, I will be very grateful!
If you’re an occasional employee who I trust to care for the barn so I can have a holiday morning with my family… that’s priceless.
[QUOTE=Eleanor;8898335]
When ever I am boarding I always offer to do morning chores for the BO/BM on Christmas morning. this is my gift to the barn be it BO/BM, stable help or so on. I will come and feed, turn out and clean stalls. I love early mornings at the barn when no one is around, it is so peaceful.
My question is if one of your boarders offered this for you what would your reaction be?
I will post what has been the reactions later.[/QUOTE]
Well, I have a rule that for insurance & workmen’s comp. reasons boarders are not allowed to do “barn work.” There is also a learning curve for training on the feeding/turnout etc. and that would make it more trouble than it was worth.
But I can tell you one thing–CASH TIPS are ALWAYS appreciated!
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