Boarder has dumped their horse

I’m curious, has anyone else ever seen an 11 page boarding contract, board due the 1st, late fees assessed on the 2nd?

Yes, I’ve boarded at two barns like this. Actually, one had a 15 page contract that covered everything under the sun with about a million places to initial. I set up automatic payments at one so that I never had to think about it.

I didn’t consider it odd. Business is business and some BOs run a tighter ship than others.

Why do people think a horse business should never be treated as any other business? If you go to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread, do expect them to give you a “grace period” during which you don’t have to pay for it?

I was injured this year and not only couldn’t ride, but couldn’t work part time at the barn as usual to cover some of my board. But my horse didn’t eat any less because I was hurt. Just like I wouldn’t expect the grocery store to sell me $1 loaf of bread for 50 cents because I couldn’t work, I wouldn’t ask my BO for a discount as she still had her own bills to pay. I paid full board for the three months and if I couldn’t have, would have found a part boarder, moved somewhere cheaper or found another option that didn’t include expecting the BO to carry my horse’s costs out of her own pocket.

[QUOTE=csaper58;9004985]
I disagree with your supposition and prefer reality.[/QUOTE]

???

I am answering because I am pretending you just do not know what you are saying, not that you are just being difficult.

For some people, none of the forum functions are working. That means they can not use the forum to quote, edit or delete (which is part of edit).

For those people, quoting has to be done manually. You copy and paste the text you want to quote and you type the stuff to get a quote.

[ quote = whateverposter ] stuff you copy and pasted [ / quote ]

With out the spaces that will show up correctly as a quote, like this.

So… what you said earlier is not true, just because someone can quote does not mean they can edit/delete.

No one was hospitalized. That’s the end of it.

[QUOTE=vxf111;9005107]
That was sarcastic, hence the smileys. I was giving Casper her own nutty “logic” back. Typos/errors don’t mean anything except a mistake in typing and I make plenty on my phone[/QUOTE]

Mine to. Just trying to lighten things up.

Other than “Not too smart either having tried to make my living with horses.”

[QUOTE=gumtree;9005439]
Mine to. Just trying to lighten things up.

Other than “Not too smart either having tried to make my living with horses.”[/QUOTE]

I missed that! I guess people with imperfect grammar (myself included) can also miss tone fairly easily

Back to the actual topic though, and the point I was trying to make about whether a contract is unconscionable and how one party’s condition plays into that issue… that issue has to do with circumstances present at the time the bargain is made. It is not retrospective. So assuming for the sake of argument that a bargaining party’s illness matters (and I am not conceding that it does here), that illness would have to be present when the contract was agreed to. A contract does not become unconscionable when made under one set of circumstances simply because circumstances for one of the two parties later changes.

Whoa, so off track.

OP, I’m curious, because I think you have some experience to pass on to other BM/BOs.

Why did you stop pursuing the move after they didn’t leave this weekend? You said you’ll wait until they don’t pay again in February. But if you gave notice, and they didn’t comply, why not stay on that train? Genuinely curious.

Wonders: Very simply for the best interest of the horse.

After a lot of back and forth, and trying to make this work, the owner (girlfriend) refuses to give up ownership of her horse. I just received a message that the horse will be off my property by the 31st.

I just hope whatever they do will be in the best interest of this poor horse. I’m sad the situation has come down to this.

I imagine the owners will keep me out of the arrangements with the new farm.

Will keep you all posted.

[QUOTE=scrbear11;8993670]
I’m in a pickle. I’m sure I will have to consult an attorney, but hoping for some potential guidance from you all before I have to spend $$$ on legal advice.

I have a small farm in Virginia. I like to cater to high maintenance retirees, so I do have a few owners who are absentee, and it’s not uncommon to receive retirement inquiries from people out of state.

In mid-October I received an inquiry from a man, looking for retirement board for his girlfriend’s horse. He lives in Maryland, the horse is in Northern Virginia (close to the MD/VA line) but with a trainer. The girlfriend is not going to be able to ride for some time due to an accident, and due to the horse’s age they would like to move horse into a retirement facility where he special needs can be catered to. OK that’s fine. I get in touch with training facility, ask the normal questions, included “Does he pay on time.” “Yep, pays on time.” Stories match up. Trainer needs to move horse to make room for a new training horse. Horse moves to my farm on October 31st. Man pays me with a credit card (authorized for one use). No issues.

On November 20th, I send out December 1 invoices. He confirms receipt via email. And says that girlfriend’s health has taken a downward turn. Riding is not in the forseeable future. He wants to find someone to lease the horse. I start asking questions and get a bad gut feeling…

This mare was supposed to be retired. She’s 20. Wasn’t the plan for her to stay here long term to be retired?

December 1 rolls around. No check in the mail. No new credit card authorization. I email. No response. $25 late fee. Send a new invoice. December 5th rolls around. Still no payment. No communication. I call. No answer. I try girlfriend. No answer. I finally email trainer. She tells me the entire story…

They did this to her too. She gives me the contact information for the girlfriend’s mother. I contact mother. Mother is apologetic, but has no money to pay for horse. I keep in contact with mother.

December 7th rolls around. Late fee #2. Another $25. Email invoice. I email, call, text. No response. December 13th rolls around. I email, call, text. Finally I threaten warrant in debt on boyfriend. He calls back 5 minutes later.

Meanwhile, I have been communicating with mother. I offer escape from debt by having ownership of horse transferred to me. HOWEVER- girlfriend has to sign the transfer since girlfriend owns the horse. Girlfriend refuses.

Boyfriend finally pays me on December 15th. We talk this over. He has spoken to girlfriend. They want to keep the horse. I agree to keep horse for them but I need a credit card authorization, authorizing recurring payments SIGNED. After much harassing, he signs on December 23rd. OK. Maybe drama is over.

WRONG. I ran credit card provided yesterday. DECLINED.

I email, no response. Text, no response. I pick up the phone to call at 10am. One ring, then right to voicemail. I call him multiple times through out the day. Same thing. I called him at 8am this morning, straight to voicemail.

I texted, emailed, called girlfriend. No response.

I have emailed Mother. No response.

I emailed him new invoice with late fee #1. No response. Put a read receipt on it. Hasn’t been read yet.

It appears that he has blocked my phone number. My text messages (imessages) are not marked “delivered” either.

So it appears they have dumped the horse. Virginia has a wonderful law protecting me, which provides a lien on the animal. I believe I can send them notice via USPS with return receipt, that I intend on selling horse. But I’m not sure how this works.

Any words of wisdom?[/QUOTE]

I am delighted for the owner. She seems like she cares very much for her horse.

OP, you and all barn owners are entitled to every penny of the board owed you.

But in the opening post you admit you attempted to convince the owner’s mother to sign the horse over to you when the owner was only 1 week overdue with the board, and you had already slapped the owner with $50.00 in late fees.

The rest of this thread is you documenting how you hounded your customer, her boyfriend, and her mother.

While trying to convince them and us you are justified in taking the animal away from the owner.

I am happy things things worked out for the best.

The OP runs a business, not a rescue. It’s not a sin to want to be paid on time, it IS a sine (or at least a crime) to give a dud credit card.

[QUOTE=csaper58;9007613]
I am delighted for the owner. She seems like she cares very much for her horse.

OP, you and all barn owners are entitled to every penny of the board owed you.

But in the opening post you admit you attempted to convince the owner’s mother to sign the horse over to you when the owner was only 1 week overdue with the board, and you had already slapped the owner with $50.00 in late fees.

The rest of this thread is you documenting how you hounded your customer, her boyfriend, and her mother.

While trying to convince them and us you are justified in taking the animal away from the owner.

I am happy things things worked out for the best.[/QUOTE]

You would be delighted.:no:

I will chip in $25 to help this wonderful horse owner move her horse to your barn.

This woman has apparently been thrown out of 2 barns for non-payment in less than 4 months.

She’s a leach.

[QUOTE=csaper58;9007613]
I am delighted for the owner. She seems like she cares very much for her horse.

OP, you and all barn owners are entitled to every penny of the board owed you.

But in the opening post you admit you attempted to convince the owner’s mother to sign the horse over to you when the owner was only 1 week overdue with the board, and you had already slapped the owner with $50.00 in late fees.

The rest of this thread is you documenting how you hounded your customer, her boyfriend, and her mother.
.[/QUOTE]

And how many times have BO’s been chastised for letting delinquent boarders slide until suddenly they’re owed three months board and the owner is nowhere to be found? Keep in mind, this wasn’t a well established boarder who was suddenly having issues. These folks were an essentially unknown quantity. These folks signed a contract which described the late fees.

[QUOTE=csaper58;9007613]
I am delighted for the owner. She seems like she cares very much for her horse.

OP, you and all barn owners are entitled to every penny of the board owed you.

But in the opening post you admit you attempted to convince the owner’s mother to sign the horse over to you when the owner was only 1 week overdue with the board, and you had already slapped the owner with $50.00 in late fees.

The rest of this thread is you documenting how you hounded your customer, her boyfriend, and her mother.

While trying to convince them and us you are justified in taking the animal away from the owner.

I am happy things things worked out for the best.[/QUOTE]

I really don’t get where you are coming from on this. What line of business are you in that your policy is to let customers pay when they want instead of when required by contract?

Asking customers to pay is not “hounding” them, nor is being persistent when they don’t pay, nor offering them alternative solutions to their apparent financial problems, such as transferring ownership.

I find your stance on this to be really odd

Yeah I don’t get it. There is a legal remedy in every state for people who don’t pay board. That’s not just in a boarding contract. There is state law that says she will lose her horse for not paying for its care.

This is law. It’s not kind or unkind or “justified,” it is against the law to dump a horse on a stable owner. Which is why stableman’s leins have been on the books since forever to give the stable owner civil remedy in this situation without incurring court costs.

Everybody has a sob story. Generally, the most irresponsible people have the longest ones. I generally try to see the good in people but someone who will let the board go unpaid on their horse because their BF didn’t pay, doesn’t care about the horse. If my husband was supposed to pay my board bill and he didn’t pay it, he would have hell to pay from me long before he had hell to pay from a barn owner.

csaper - I’m glad you are delighted for the owner. Please PM your information so she can call you when she cannot afford the vet bill when her horse colics. This owner has NO MONEY. The horse has no value. I was attempting to remedy the situation by offering a soft place for this horse.

[QUOTE=vxf111;9005093]
I’ve never had a problem with it. It’s simple html. Quote in brackets, text, end quote in brackets.

Why are you changing the subject again?![/QUOTE]

following the theme of being difficult for no apparent reason, it’s technically not HTML… it’s MyBB. :winkgrin:

I found this thread and all replies interesting, so sorry to contribute in a way that derails a serious thread further. Good luck OP…

[QUOTE=scrbear11;9008080]
csaper - I’m glad you are delighted for the owner. Please PM your information so she can call you when she cannot afford the vet bill when her horse colics. This owner has NO MONEY. The horse has no value. I was attempting to remedy the situation by offering a soft place for this horse.[/QUOTE]

I find it implausible that you would bypass the owner and attempt to get her mother to hand over a horse to you if that horse had NO value.

I find it reprehensible that you would levy multiple late fees against an owner you clearly know is struggling, both physically and financially, and again, implausible that you would continue hounding them to sign over a valueless horse.

I find your categorizing of the owner’s actions as “dumping the horse” a unnecessary rush to inflammatory language.

You may invite your soon to be ex-boarder to join COTH, and review this thread. I will be happy to contact her here.

csaper58 seems to own some of the people in this thread. Do you all really enjoy csaper58’s bait THAT much? sigh

OP, looking forward to updates, hope all goes well for this mare.

[QUOTE=csaper58;9009109]
I find it implausible that you would bypass the owner and attempt to get her mother to hand over a horse to you if that horse had NO value.

I find it reprehensible that you would levy multiple late fees against an owner you clearly know is struggling, both physically and financially, and again, implausible that you would continue hounding them to sign over a valueless horse.

I find your categorizing of the owner’s actions as “dumping the horse” a unnecessary rush to inflammatory language.

You may invite your soon to be ex-boarder to join COTH, and review this thread. I will be happy to contact her here.[/QUOTE]

Seriously, what is your deal with this situation? Do you have a personal stake here or are you being argumentative just for the sake of playing decil’s advocate?

Why should this boarder be given any different terms than any other boarder? They signed the contract. They knew about the due date and late fee system. End of story as far as I’m concerned.

If they aren’t going to pay on time in month one and get increasingly later and hard to reach in the ensuing months, why on earth would any responsible business owner act in any other way? I can’t imagine this is how you treat not non-paying clients in your own business or that you go into local stores and businesses to use their services without paying for them.