Boarder won't pay horse dentist!

[Merlin_the_Mule]

Not sure what to do here. Last fall, I had the horse dentist/vet out and prior to that I had told my boarder that he was coming out and did she want her horse done? She said, Yes, but asked how much it was. I said it depended on how much he did and that she could call and ask him. She is a new boarder with not a lot of knowledge though she knows that horses need dental work. She had had her horse with me for about 6 weeks. Her horse, a 20 year old mare, needed a lot of work. The dentist did the work and left a bill/evaluation form. The bill was $300. But she never paid him.

The denist’s wife, who keeps the books, called me the next week and said that she was having trouble getting the boarder to respond. She did talk to her but she said it was too much and she didn’t have the money. After that she refused to answer their phone calls. So the dentist’s wife wanted me to talk to her and I did. Boarder said that it was too much money. I said, “Did you look at the evaluation form that he left?” That the mare had a lot done–four different hooks and wave mouth. The boarder said she had not really looked at it because she didn’t understand it. She has only had the mare for a year and never had her teeth done and previous owner, probably the same. So I said that she should pay the bill. I thought it was settled.

I just got an email from the dentist who wants me to “take charge and get the money for us.” This boarder is only coming out on weekends right now and only to pat her horse on the nose for a few minutes since the weather is so bad. I am not sure what to do. I have never had this problem before. Seems silly for me to call her because then she might not answer. The boarder had just gone through a divorce and forced sale of small farm dealing with not nice Ex. That is why she brought her horse to me for boarding. She had no place to live for a short time but then bought a house. I have had no trouble with her paying me. She left cash for the farrier so far. I was shocked to hear that she had not paid the dentist.

Any suggestions?

[Lusoluv]

I don’t think it’s your job to get your boarder to pay - even if you could. However, you may want to take this as a preview to a possible outcome of your relationship with her if she ever thinks your rate isn’t fair or has money problems in the future! OR you could tell her her non-payment for the dental service is souring your relationship with the dentist. If boarder doesn’t start making payments to cover the service, you’ll have no choice but to ask her to leave within a set amount of time. These are just a couple ideas that came to mind. In any event, I hope you have a boarding contract with her…otherwise you may experience what the dentist is right now!

[Cheerfulmelody]

$300 is a heck of a bill for dental work! That is roughly 3x what I have ever paid for one of mine to be done. That’s both vet and non vet dentist doing the work over the many years. I would tell dentist you aren’t the party that didn’t pay and here is boarders address for them to take whatever action they desire.

[Lusoluv]

A maintenance dental in my area (Midwest) is $150. That’s to power float and file down any sharp points, do basic exam, etc. If tooth extractions, infections or bad waves are found, it goes up from there - quickly. I wouldn’t be happy, but $300 would be a fair price to fix an aged horse’s mouth based on the info provided by the OP. If the horse owner said, yes do the work, and didn’t bother to ask how much as the barn owner instructed, then shame on horse’s owner. She owes the money.

[poltroon]

$300 is very ordinary especially if there was any sedation done.

I mean, if I were the vet/dentist, and I’d done the horse on your say so, I might not come back.

You’re very stuck in the middle, and this sucks. But the tack I’d take with your boarder is, “If you don’t pay this bill, you’re at risk that the vet will not treat your horse the next time you need them. You can ask more about the bill but if you want your horse to have access to veterinary care you have to pay this.”

[dmveventer]

I would tell her point blank that if she doesn’t pay the dentist she’ll need to find another place to board her horse. Call her, text her, whatever makes the most sense to get in touch with her ASAP. And frankly, even if she pays this bill I’d be looking to move her along sooner rather than later. Not only will she mess with your relationship with service providers, she’s showing you that it’s only a matter of time before YOU become the service provider she just doesn’t feel like paying.

If you’re feeling generous you can tell her she can leave cash for the dentist with you if that’s easier, same way she pays board and farrier, but I wouldn’t promise the dentist that you’ll get the money for them. If she pays you, great, if not just keep telling the dentist that you’ve been passing along their messages but that you aren’t the responsible party for the bill. Give them all of the contact info you have for her so they can keep trying in the meantime.

[BrownDerby]

Ugh! I’d have a nice gentle talk with the boarder, as you would like to be addressed. A good dental exam in a senior neglected horse can be a live saver down the road. Suggest she contact the office and arrange an affordable payment plan. I was a starving student once and paid a $600 vet bill at $12 a month because I was honest with them and kept my word.

People can get really emotional about money after a divorce and weaponize it against the least deserving of acquaintances. Avoid getting involved in one of those weird struggles.

[LilDunFilly]

Echoing what others have said. This is between the vet and the boarder. It is not your job to get boarder to pay. If the boarder refuses to do so then the vet will need to deal with it (refuse future service, small claims, etc). I would be wary of a boarder who just… refuses to pay bills, especially with her financial difficulties. All to easy for you to be stuck with her aged mare and no back board.

Personally, I would explain to the boarder that payment is due for services rendered. Failure to pay that service provider isn’t a good look and word of this will spread.

[beau159]

@Merlin_the_Mule

Not sure what to do here. Last fall, I had the horse dentist/vet out and prior to that I had told my boarder that he was coming out and did she want her horse done? She said, Yes, but asked how much it was. I said it depended on how much he did and that she could call and ask him. She is a new boarder with not a lot of knowledge though she knows that horses need dental work. She had had her horse with me for about 6 weeks. Her horse, a 20 year old mare, needed a lot of work. The dentist did the work and left a bill/evaluation form. The bill was $300. But she never paid him.

The denist’s wife, who keeps the books, called me the next week and said that she was having trouble getting the boarder to respond. She did talk to her but she said it was too much and she didn’t have the money. After that she refused to answer their phone calls. So the dentist’s wife wanted me to talk to her and I did. Boarder said that it was too much money. I said, “Did you look at the evaluation form that he left?” That the mare had a lot done–four different hooks and wave mouth. The boarder said she had not really looked at it because she didn’t understand it. She has only had the mare for a year and never had her teeth done and previous owner, probably the same. So I said that she should pay the bill. I thought it was settled.

I just got an email from the dentist who wants me to “take charge and get the money for us.” This boarder is only coming out on weekends right now and only to pat her horse on the nose for a few minutes since the weather is so bad. I am not sure what to do. I have never had this problem before. Seems silly for me to call her because then she might not answer. The boarder had just gone through a divorce and forced sale of small farm dealing with not nice Ex. That is why she brought her horse to me for boarding. She had no place to live for a short time but then bought a house. I have had no trouble with her paying me. She left cash for the farrier so far. I was shocked to hear that she had not paid the dentist.

Any suggestions?

What does your BOARDING CONTRACT say?

If you don’t have terminology worded in for these situations, you should, because they can and do happen.

Otherwise, time for a conversation with the boarder. While it’s not necessarily your business, the fact that you helped arrange everything and took care of it while the dentist was there, does probably make it your business. I would arrange an in-person meeting with the boarder to resolve this once and for all. You can’t burn bridges with your dentist to have non-paying clients.

And… devil’s advocate here … what will you do if someday she DOESN’T pay her boarding bill? Do you have a contract in place? You do need to protect yourself too.

[BeeHoney]

Ok, this is a giant red flag. When I run into an issue where a client has not paid an equine service provider (vet, farrier, dentist, chiropractor) for a service provided on my barn premises, I do reach out to the client to make sure they received the bill. Then, if it isn’t promptly taken care of, I quickly give the boarding client notice to get the horse moved.

I get it that the client has been paying YOU, but you are in a very tenuous position boarding a horse for someone that can’t pay an unexpected $300 bill. What’s going to happen if her horse needs the vet? How can you reasonably expect a vet to come out to your place and take care of this horse in an emergency when you know the owner might not pay? For all you know she might already have unpaid bills with the vet–they don’t always share this info with a BO/BM.

The smartest thing to do is to end this boarding relationship now, before you end up backed into a corner in a difficult situation. Typically where there is one unpaid bill it’s the tip of the iceberg and there are a lot of other unpaid bills. Either the owner can’t pay or feels justified not paying and both of those things are red flags. It is very common for people to financially abandon older horses.

You also are putting yourself in an awkward position in terms of reputation with equine service providers in your area. You may find that the professionals that you want to use are not enthused to come to your barn.

[luvmyhackney]

I’d tell her to pay the bill or find a new place to board. Especially if this is a valuable relationship to you.

Total red flag that she wouldn’t pay for dental on aged mare. What’s going to happen for the next dental?

[Annie10]

It’s not your job to handle the horse dentists collections issues , but I get it that you’re uncomfortable because the horse is in your barn. And as others said it can cause you difficulties as well.
I would tell her she needs to pay the horse dentist by x date. And then if she doesn’t I would tell her in writing she needs to move the horse immediately
And even if she does pay it I would still get rid of her as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

[NaturallyHappy]

Everyone has good ideas here. If it were me, I’d probably offer to pay the vet, and then press her for the money.

If the vet refused my money, I would recommend small claims court.

If I paid it and she refused to pay me back, I’d take her to small claims court.

And, if she has tack you can lock up, I’d do that, too.

Everything in writing -email or certified letter for documentation. I do not tolerate boarders who do not pay service providers.

[NancyM]

The boarder needs to make an arrangement with the vet to pay the bill off over time… if that’s what it takes. It’s not a good look to not pay yer bills. Especially for a professional whose services you may need in the future in a panic situation. And yes, you do need a boarding contract with this person, for sure… which spells out what things cost, and what you provide, and the cost of such things… and what happens if this contract is breached.
Good luck! I don’t board horses any more… and there’s a reason why.

[LilDunFilly]

I’m not 100% that suggestion is legal. You can not just pay off someone else’s bill and then hold their items hostage until you are paid back.

[cayuse]

I don’t think it’s your job to chase her down for the Dentist’s payment.
And I want to add that if my pony’s dental bill was only $300 I’d be kissing the equine tooth fairies feet

[LCDR]

Sorry that your very first post here is about collections.

If she leaves cash for the farrier that implies she knows ahead of time the farrier’s fee. And she pays her board bill, for which she also knows the amount in advance.

In my 36 years of boarding when barn owners/managers have asked me if I want my horses scheduled along with the barn group for dental, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, clipping and other such things I have ALWAYS been informed by the barn at that time what the cost will be. I believe you must assume a significant portion of the responsibility for this situation.

I’d pay the dentist $300, and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

[NaturallyHappy]

In all the years I’ve boarded horses for others, I’ve only had to do this once. It worked…she paid.

[SBrentnall]

@Cheerfulmelody

$300 is a heck of a bill for dental work! That is roughly 3x what I have ever paid for one of mine to be done. That’s both vet and non vet dentist doing the work over the many years.

That’s a basic bill for dental work here in S. California.

[Merlin_the_Mule]

I had not really thought about the boarding contract since I never had this problem with a boarder before. It does actually say that it is her responsibility to pay for the vet and the farrier. So I guess I will use that angle when I talk to her. If I can talk to her. I will try to call her tomorrow and see if she picks up. If she doesn’t I will email her. I am not really sure what the problem is. She has not been out hardly at all in the past few weeks and is not talkative when she is out. Since the time change, she only comes out on weekends. I just figured she is going through a tough time or something. I will also talk to the dentist and see if he might do payments. Really, I thought this whole thing was settled in late November.