That’s just crazy if you have people letting other riders/“part boarders” on your property without knowing the rules or expectations. It’s not just about lawsuits, but again, having no contract give you no protection there, either.
I doubt that will be an issue after the first ride. But agree that color matching will be pretty close.
I agree. Because while this horse has kicked the wall once, it doesn’t mean there couldn’t have been other circumstances where a wall gets kicked. What if a tree fell and several horses spooked and one kicked through the wall? What if this horse spooked and a different horse kicked through the wall?
If you would charge all of them, then you should charge this boarder. But otherwise I would probably just make the repair. Maybe they will offer to contribute.
Whether or not to kick them out…up to you. I might suggest they don’t ride in the arena. Do you have any other place to ride?
Right!
I can so see the thread from the other side.
COTH, what should I do?
My share boarder was riding Dobbin in the indoor ring the other day and he cow kicked a little and his leg went right through the ring kick boards. Thankfully he was not stuck for long but the damage to his leg involved an emergency vet visit. Lots of stitches and the vet is not sure if he will be totally sound when all this heals.
I feel like the BO should have used something more suitable for the kick boards, or properly maintained their kick boards so a simple cow kick would not lead to the horse’s leg going through them so easily.
Should I demand the BO pay for my vet bills? What about my loss of use? My share boarder has walked away because Dobbin can not be ridden so now I have to pay all the board. This has caused a huge financial burden on me, all because the BO did not build their indoor correctly.
I would say two things. The first is that is the cost of doing business. Second would be that if a horse could put a leg through the wall then your wall is too flimsy.
Horses can kick through just about anything, I wouldn’t immediately suspect flimsy. Especially if he has a habit of kicking out hard and/or is shod behind.
Just two weeks ago, one of the geldings in my gelding’s herd kicked right through the shed wall – 2x4 bracing, plywood interior/exterior, treated 2x6. He was on the cross-ties and had some big feelings about his herd mate leaving. He’s fine, but the wall is not.
I’ve seen a mare put her leg through a 2”x6” stall wall. She hated horses walking by her stall when she was in heat. She wasn’t that big either, just passionate and opinionated.
It is a metal arena with thick wood kick boards on the inside. It’s taken a lot of beatings and held up. But this horse is a thick, 17hh horse and when he kicks, he kicks hard. It isn’t a cow kick, it’s a full extended kick. I believe he is sore and the multitude of riders doesn’t help. I’ve tried to tell the owner multiple times that I believe he is sore, as have others, but she will just instruct whatever part boarder when they are out to give him intermittent previcox and then eventually they stop. The owner is a nice person and the horse is nice (in his field). It’s really this one issue that is a problem. I’m just struggling to pull the trigger on giving notice, wracking my brain to see if I can solve it some other way…
I agree, probably regardless I need to update and get out a boarding contract. Thank you to everyone who gave great perspectives while still being kind and thoughtful!
There’s plywood and then there’s plywood.
There’s 1/4” plywood then there 3/4” plywood. Then there’s marine grade plywood.
Obviously very different degrees of kick- through -ability.
IMHO around horses marine grade is the way to go…
While I was in College I spent one January term, and the time between graduating from college and going to grad school, working with IOTA.
The basic principle uses a laser (monochromatic light) and a bundle of fiber optic strands (both very new technologies at the time). Half the strands carried the light from the source to a silicon wafer with an oxide film. The other half carried the reflected light back to the computer. Since they knew the refractive index of the oxide film, the computer could calculate the thickness of the film from the frequency of the refleced/refrated laser.
The additional twist is that they set it up with the wafer in a developing tank, and measured the thickness of the oxide film AS IT WAS BEING “etched”.
Within a few years the basic technology (a high speed scanning spectrophotometer using reflected light) was being used for paint matching.
Yes, but kicking out during a canter would definitely be a different kind of kick. I would be concerned about any kind of crash going through the arena wall.
I did ride at a farm that had just a metal Morton building for the arena; seems like a poor choice (of course cheaper) compared to kick boards along the rail. For so many reasons…e.g. less chance of having a tractor hit the wall when dragging. I’d much rather replace the kick rail than the metal siding if needed.
I think you can definitely either nix the partial boarders or else restrict the partial boarders to two named individuals. They, before they start riding the horse, they need to have a conversation with you (possibly with horse-owner present) about the barn rules. These would include both general rules about being a good citizen in the barn as well as some rules specific to the situation.
Having the partial boarders sign a contract of their own could be a good way to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding expectations. They should be signing a liability release, anyway? So another doc with barn rules etc wouldn’t be out of place.
I definitely think you need to talk to the boarder. I am on the barn owners’ side on this. This is not the first time the horse has kicked the sideboards in the arena. If it was, I might consider it a “oh shit horses” sort of thing. But it is not. And the barn owner does not have the responsibility to run down every part boarder/lessor that the owner sends out to ride. That is the horse’s owner’s responsibility that they know what they can or cannot do.
So you don’t have to be nasty to the boarder. Just tell her that you are not going to be covering the cost of these sort of repairs on an ongoing basis, especially since this was not the first time the horse has done this and she was warned. You don’t have a big enough profit margin built in to keep this horse if he persists. Also tell her the horse was lucky this time in that he was not hurt seriously. Surely the owner does not want a large vet bill the next time a part boarder does this. And thirdly, the owner has a large liability if the horse does this, gets caught, and falls with the rider on its back. You would love to have the funds to convert the entire arena with a fortress around the kickwalls but that is not happening.
So ask her what she thinks the solution is. No more part boarders/lessors? Nobody can ride this horse in the arena again? Pay a substantial damage deposit? Move the horse to another environment? Tell her the horse is perfectly fine in all other respects and you hate to ask her to leave but something needs to change.
One of the things one needs to keep in mind….depending on the skill/experience/awareness of the rider…it can be difficult to keep horses off the wall. Some horses/riders are trained to stay ON the wall. Horses gravitate to the wall unless the rider is paying attention. What if someone had been between the horse and the wall??? I just don’t see a safe way he can be indoors. We had a mare here who would back up and kick at geldings in the indoor. No amount of reminding her owner or other boarders ever worked. We finally made a rule she had to ride alone or w mares inside.
Did he kick through just the kickboards? Or the kickboards and the metal?
Regardless if you have no written contract, you’re probably SOL as far as getting them to pay for it. I’d chock it up to horses being horses, ask them to move if you feel strongly about it, and then fix it and get a solid written contract from each of your boarders
And while you’re speaking with the owner, as per Susan O’s suggestions, tell the owner that as BO you feel responsible for any of your boarder horses’ health and safety, and the owner needs to have a vet visit for a lameness evaluation and document an appropriate plan of care (meaning, IN WRITING FROM THE VET), or else she will have to move the horse. (JMHO)
(I know she’s a nice boarder and the only issue after four years has been kicking the wall a couple of times, I get it, but, it just seems like the horse could be in pain. Time to take a stand on this, as well as on getting a boarding contract in place for all boarders/part-boarders?)
This is new info, which I think casts another light on the situation …
IMO (very IMO, not everyone may see it this way) … this is a dealbreaker.
If I were the BO – She and her horse are out of the barn. Whatever her story, she is not looking out for this horse’s best interests. That is why your arena became so damaged, OP. After a series of other less serious damages, that you wanted her about.
You have warned her. You have told her. She has not respected your words. She likes playing her rider game with her horse.
You have to look after the entire barn as your first priority. This damage is a problem for everyone. And especially the one who pays to provide the property and facilities for these activities.
At some point we all have to know when we have done our best and it didn’t work. Time to move on.
I feel badly for the horse. Unfortunately we can only practice self-defense, and can’t fix all of the ills in the horse world.
No she isn’t. She is continuously abusing her horse with all of these riders. Who one after the other opt out of the free ride opportunity, when they realize how bad off this horse really is.
What you have said about her practices with this horse – that she apparently rarely even sees – contradicts the statement that she is ‘nice’.
She is just good at acting nice. While distancing herself from the truth. Because she likes believing otherwise. To the detriment of her horse. And of everyone around her horse.
She’s playing some mental/emotional game of her own, regardless of everyone else’s needs. Including her rotating carousel of riders.
You don’t need this on your barn management plate, OP, along with all of the other standard/normal management needs.
Re no contract – doesn’t stop the BO from asking, or even telling. I think some of the language offered by other posters above is more than sufficient to ask for full or partial reimbursement of repairs.
Very unlikely this is headed for court or anything of that nature. This is about human interactions and relations more than it is the legalities.
