Boarder has dumped their horse

[enjoytheride]

Csper58, what is your problem?

The OP is within her legal right to uphold the contract the boarder signed. Do you not agree with late fees?

If someone had not paid their board and had not contact you regarding it being late, what would that be besides dumping the horse?

Even if the owner is struggling, that doesn’t mean that the barn owner doesn’t deserve to get paid. Why is it her responsibility to shoulder the burden of feeding the horse if the owner can’t pay? Does her financial struggle not matter?

[ThatGirlTina]

Casper wants a fight, argue, stir the pot. Seems obvious

In the internet, its called a troll.

OP went above and beyond to try and work this all out. The end.

[StarPattern]

What. A. Thread. It killed my entire lunch hour, thanks!

As someone who boards my horses, I always try to pay my board bill the day before it’s due. For me, if I don’t pay it by noon on the 1st, I consider it late. I couldn’t fathom just dumping my horse or forcing the barn owners to chase me for payments.

Second, I run my own business and I love the idea of an 11 page boarding document. I’m willing to bet it covers everything, including “impossible” scenarios. I’m a web designer and I have similar paperwork in place. Before I ever meet with a client, I send them a 5-page questionnaire to fill out to weed out the tire kickers. Once they return the questionnaire, I send them a quote. If they agree with the quote, I set up a client meeting and we sign my 6 page design contract. This agreement protects me from everything, including if the client pulls the plug on the project. Yes, I have a “kill switch” written into my contract.

As a business owner, it is our job to ensure we don’t get screwed around. And if it takes imposing a late fee on a client starting on the 2nd of the month, so be it. For me, I take their websites offline the day after they don’t pay. I have one client who owes me almost $1000 and they have until the 30th to pay. If not, their website goes bye-bye.

[ace]

Kind of derailing back to the legal discussion sorry! - I’m no lawyer, but isn’t the term “Usury” specifically related to excessive interest rates charged on loans (money lending), so has nothing to do with a boarding contract? Or am I totally out to lunch?

[soloudinhere]

While case law is never really finite, generally in order for usury to apply there must be a lender/borrower relationship involving a monetary loan.

There have been cases where things like late fees on HOA dues have been found to be illegally punitive, but in those cases it’s almost always stated that the argument of usury does not apply and it goes to “reasonable and customary” which in the case of a $50 late fee, that is pretty standard across commercial boarding agreements.

[trubandloki]

I saw the thread bumped and hoped it was an update from the OP telling us they had moved the horse (or signed the horse over to the OP).

[scrbear11]

Well I will update since this post has been bumped back up…

Parents of girlfriend have stepped in. They found a new barn for horse that is about half of what I charge. Shipper is scheduled to pick horse up next week. I have communicated with shipper, so I do know that shipping has been paid for and is booked. I do not know where horse is going, standard of care, or anything. I have to assume, and hope, it is no less than I offer.

Moral of the story… Is there one? I feel I did my diligence by speaking with prior barn owner and I was misled.

There are a few things that I have changed in my board contract. I now specify that “Owner or Agent” may sign. This means if the Owner doesn’t sign, the contract isn’t null. I have added a clause about the lien law in Virginia and outlined collection efforts.

I’m glad this will be off my plate. And I wish nothing but the best for the horse, new barn owner and owners of the horse. This situation could have turned out a lot worse than it has.

[JanM]

I’m glad this will be over for you soon. Your contract update sounds really good.

It’s is so dishonest of the previous barn owner to lie the way they did, and I hope they feel ashamed of what they did (however, I doubt they do).

You did a good thing for this horse, and you went a lot further trying to help than many others would. I’m wishing you the best, and hope things settle down once this is over.

[SMF11]

What JanM said!

[keysfins]

OP, please update when horse is shipped and off your property.

Here’s a conundrum, though. If the new barn called you to ask for a reference, what would/could you tell them? You could (potentially) be in the same position that the horse’s previous BO was in.

This is just a general question, really, not meant to put you on the spot. Thoughts from others? WWYD?

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=keysfins;9024931]
OP, please update when horse is shipped and off your property.

Here’s a conundrum, though. If the new barn called you to ask for a reference, what would/could you tell them? You could (potentially) be in the same position that the horse’s previous BO was in.

This is just a general question, really, not meant to put you on the spot. Thoughts from others? WWYD? :([/QUOTE]

After all this, I hope (and I suspect) that she’d tell the next BO the truth about what happened after the horse came to her barn.

[OverandOnward]

Here is the answer to reference checking the prior barn owner …

Don’t bother. Contact the barn owner BEFORE that one.

The OP’s was a CLASSIC case of the current barn owner wanting to be rid of the boarder ASAP, so they lied. This is quite common in the rental business - unfortunately. There is usually no accountability, in fact, the opposite, the barn owner (landlord) is rid of a problem.

But the barn owner (or landlord) before that one is likely to tell you the truth. They have no reason to lie, and most often they are more sympathetic to your situation than to the boarder’s.

Ask for TWO boarding references, the current place of board, and the one previous to that. If they insist there was no boarding previous to the last boarding, get them to explain, and if the story doesn’t hold together, wave off.

[OverandOnward]

Someone needs to do some sort of informal study … what is the cost of a “bad boarder”? Someone who doesn’t pay, and/or doesn’t pay on time, and/or causes other problems in the barn. My guess is that it is substantial. No upside to a barn owner to have them in the barn, just considerable downside.

[RedHorses]

My previous BO opted to kick me out after I gave my month’s notice (did refund the balance of that month’s board). But would the potential BO seeking references get the admission of the level of care that prompted my notice? Would they get the fact that I gave notice, or the kicking out? Would they hear that the previous BO had decided not to provide the service agreed to?

[PeteyPie]

[QUOTE=RedHorses;9026915]
My previous BO opted to kick me out after I gave my month’s notice (did refund the balance of that month’s board). But would the potential BO seeking references get the admission of the level of care that prompted my notice? Would they get the fact that I gave notice, or the kicking out? Would they hear that the previous BO had decided not to provide the service agreed to?[/QUOTE]

Of course not, but when you apply to a new boarding barn and are asked for the name of your last barn, YOU explain what happened with the level of care, and if you have another prior barn reference which is good, you be sure and give that name and number.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=OverandOnward;9025703]
Someone needs to do some sort of informal study … what is the cost of a “bad boarder”? Someone who doesn’t pay, and/or doesn’t pay on time, and/or causes other problems in the barn. My guess is that it is substantial. No upside to a barn owner to have them in the barn, just considerable downside.[/QUOTE]

Most folks who’ve been in a barn with a “problem” boarder (or “problem” owner) know how it affects a constellation of things.

Before the collapse of the equine market in 2008 a rideable horse in reasonable condition would bring 2-3 months of full care board in most places at a “forced sale.” If the sale were voluntary then it might bring a bit more. So the BO had reasonable protection under the lien laws of most states.

Now, this same horse will bring carcass weight or a bit more in a private sale and not even that in a public sale. The BO has lost the “cushion” the market used to provide. This means the BO must act immediately if they think they’ve got a default coming. The days of being able to “carry” an owner for a month or two are long gone.

And, just to add to the BO’s burden, they have to comply with the terms of conditions of their contract until they change them (and the contract ought to provide for changes in standards of care in the event of a default by the owner). Even if they can move the horse to a lower standard (say, stall board to pasture board) they are still on the hook for a basic level of care.

In our area the number of boarding barns has declined significantly over the past few years (and one large barn very near me is for sale and not taking new clients; it will likely be gone soon, too).

G.

[OverandOnward]

My previous BO opted to kick me out after I gave my month’s notice (did refund the balance of that month’s board). But would the potential BO seeking references get the admission of the level of care that prompted my notice? Would they get the fact that I gave notice, or the kicking out? Would they hear that the previous BO had decided not to provide the service agreed to?

Your point is well taken that there is considerable room for injustice. On both sides, really.

Reference checks should not hang up on one story about someone’s past history if it was a short-term situation that wasn’t repeated. One-off mistakes are just a learning experience, not a map to the future. As a boarder seeking a new barn, you shouldn’t get hung up on that barn, focus instead on longer-term situations that went well. In my own case, if a prospective tenant stayed somewhere less than a month but had other longer-term good references, I would probably just ignore that one.

If there is a difficult situation that needs to be sorted out to make a call, it comes down to listening carefully to the story told by each side and how they answer questions about it. Were their answers consistent or contradictory? Do someone seem to have an agenda other than being forthcoming with the full truth? People often do out themselves without meaning to.

[Bicoastal]

Has the horse been picked up?

[scrbear11]

Mare is gone.

I wish nothing but the best for her, her owners, and the new barn owner. Since the Father has taken over the bill, I hope new barn owner has better luck than I did.

[Zu_Zu]

Good ~ enjoy your barn again !