If disagreeing with you is antagonistic in your mind, thereās nothing anyone can do about that.
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Yes.
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I donāt think any of us who have advised OP to let dentist know they are not a collection agency also advised OP to keep the boarder.
Continuing to do business with the boarder would be a hard no from me. Theyāve shown their colours. It will happen again despite any number of precautions put into place by the OP.
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In reading the posts and the updates, I feel like this is a bit of a sticky wicket.
1- barn owner does not have in contract that she will pay for any services and bill horse owner
2- while the appointment was arranged by barn owner, it seems clear she told horse owner she was not paying an horse owner should find out cost prior to services if she is concerned
3- Barn owner does not seem in habit of paying for services (as evidenced by acknowledging horse owner leaves money for farrier) and presumably (evidenced by dentistās office calling saying they are having trouble getting payment from horse owner) is not expected to pay.
4- Dentist, like any professional, should have received at least verbal confirmation of willingness to pay from customer (horse owner), especially if it is well above the usual cost. (In car repair, if cost will be more than 10% of estimated, is it my experience that shop will call customer with new quote and either get all or partial payment at that time or at least verbal acknowledgement they will pay).
I think, as others mentioned, there were a number of assumptions and miscommunications but at the end of the day, I am not sure why barn owner is even involved as it seems clear it is not regular practice to pay for services and back bill, which means barn owner also cannot authorize services. Legally speaking, in my non-lawyer opinion, horse owner could claim they did not authorize services.
There are situations where a barn owner/manager would pay and back bill horse owner but all the ones I can think of revolve around horses being in full training of some sort. Whether that is full show or full race training. A friend ran a rehab facility for race horses and she billed by the day different rates depending on purpose of visit (vacation, minor injury, post-surgery, etc). She also itemized and billed for vet visits, medications paid, and any other necessary services, such as shipment to from race training track or vet hospital.
In other scenarios, the barn owner may schedule a āgroupā appointment but each individual is required to pay for their services. That means the service provider contacts the owner directly and deals with the owner directly regarding bills.
Where I come from it is a bit of bad form for a service provider to try to elicit assistance from the barn owner in these kinds of situations. I had a farrier complaining to me about the barn owner not paying for farrier services - not my problem and donāt like that kind of gossip from my professionals.
I had spring shots done on my horse at the same time as my friend had her vet out to do shots. She gave me the information and I reached out to the vet. My friend (property owner) is not involved after that.
Now, this situation may be different depending on the relationship between barn owner and service provider as well as how the conversation went, but I am not sure.
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OP aka Merlin seems not to be responding. Maybe they have the answer/suggestions they need.
Regardless, I find this to be an informative discussion with a lot to think about for board barn managers, and for boarders. Iām on the boarder side, myself.
I think the discussion about the relative relationship between the three parties - the service provider, the barn manager, and the owner/boarder - presents several valid alternative views, depending on the different standard operating practices of board barns. Who maintain different types of relationships with different types of clients and service providers.
The next question being discussed is: Where should it go from here. What does OP / Barn Manager do now. IMO several alternative suggestions presented in this thread also take into account the different operating practices, and differing relationships with service providers, that go with those different practices.
There is no one way to run a board barn. There are different practices for maintaining service relationships with providers. And barn managers take different positions in relation to their boarders, depending on the nature and extent of their boarding services.
And I think that we also realize that, almost lost in all of this, but at the center of it, is: The Horse. The 20 yo mare who has an owner who may or may not be able to meet her needs, going forward. Both from a knowledge standpoint , and financially. ($300 worth of dentistry makes me think it hasnāt been done on schedule for some time. If that is more than a usual charge in that area.)
This is the great struggle that we all have with a living animal in the mix. No one can take on responsibility for other peopleās horses, just because the owner is not up to the demands, financially and otherwise. But still the horse slides through the cracks.
I think that must be the hardest part of barn management and management decisions. One must decide based on business necessities. The barn wonāt last, otherwise.
This mare did get what was likely much-needed work done on her teeth. And now the owner needs to make good on that, on behalf of her mare. I hope for the best for the mare as this saga moves toward some conclusion, quite possibly in a new board barn.
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I will clarify my post. Iām not bothered that the vet asked the BO what was up with the Horse Owner (HO). If the HO was in jail, trapped under something heavy, or otherwise unavailable, that would be something the BO might know, and could share with the vet. Shrug.
As a BO, I donāt want a nonpaying HO like this one in my life. Assuming the HO would follow through and make the call and learn the possible costs of said dental was an unfortunate bobble - heck as soon as that sort of thing gets questioned itās a flag that this person has no idea about horses and expenses, not really, ya know what Iām saying? Itās unfortunate that she didnāt tell the HO to make that call and that the horse wouldnāt be added to the schedule until the HO asked for that to happen.
Do I think the BO should write a $300 check? No. But the BO should have a frank convo with HO about what sheās going to do to resolve the situation, ASAP. And another convo with vet about the efforts sheās made on their behalf, and THEN step back and get out of the middle. And yes Iād get that HO out of my barn post haste.
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Regardless of who is responsible for what - the owner canāt afford maintenance care for the horse, isnāt communicating and is absent. The older horse (any horse) will have issues at some point in time. The lack of payment means #1 that BO should evict. This wonāt be a one time occurrence. A written note to this concern and include progressing with small claims court. A judgment will show up on credit reports.
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