We don’t have good ration balancer options in my area. But I agree that most barn managers and horse owners alike have not grappled with making sure horses get the correct VMS ration in their diet, whether from fortified feed or RB or VMS.
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The average boarder really doesn’t care as long as the BO/ BM are capable of feeding the horse what it needs to be at a good weight and healthy.
I think your problem lies in the fact that your BO/ BM seem to lack the knowledge to feed your horse correctly and maybe unwilling to give her what she needs . I am sorry but horses are not 1 feeding fits all and a good barn will happily work with the owner if special care needs arise.
That is my boarding experience.
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I board at a large public boarding barn. It’s not fancy, but the price is over $500. Horses get quality care and good hay. One of the boarders pays to have the hay tested.
I have 2 horses. I buy and bag the grain for both horses, so I know exactly what they are getting. This is standard at my barn. One horse needs more care, so I weigh and bag the hay for each meal. I know exactly what she gets. Several boarders choose this option. My other horse is way more flexible and they barn just gives her hay.
For me, this is the only way to go. I know my horses’ needs and I know when they change-- seasonally or if I’m riding more or less. I’m also super careful about my IR horse. Not everyone wants this much responsibility, but it’s less complicated for me in the long run. I’m also more aware of my horses.
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I have found that most places are upfront about what they feed as far as grain & hay. I’ve had no problem bagging supplements to be fed once or twice a day.
I switched my horses grain years ago. Had a lengthy conversation with that BO & they were ok with it. I would get grain & they agreed to split the cost. It was all fine until I actually showed up with the grain. I left 2 months later because it wasn’t worth the headache & snide comments. Otherwise I would have stayed even if they said they were unwilling to continue splitting the cost of grain.
Next barn was a complete nightmare. BO said she would feed my supplied grain. She took it upon herself without speaking to me first to feed a less amount of what I supplied & add one of her feeds. I was not getting any reduced rate on board. When I asked if his feed had been changed she became very defensive, said I was feeding a performance feed, she’s been doing this 30 years & all sorts of crazy bs. Her feed made my TB hotter then hell. He got very thin on her feeding plan. She never spoke to me about his weight ever or gave extra hay. I brought up the weight loss & said I was going to worm him. Got screamed at that there aren’t worms on her property, omg. The barn was a constant revolving door except a few people who were ok with it her way or the highway. If this is what you’re dealing with, run now & fast, it will never get better.
When I moved to Florida I was responsible for supplying all feed so I knew exactly what he was getting. BO was awesome at following my feed plan even with multiple adjustments to keep up with weight gain etc. I ended eventually bagging his meals to make it easier for her & the help. Now I have him at home. I will say it is annoying to go through 4 different containers of supplements twice a day.
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What has been so interesting to me as a new horse owner but I’ve ridden all my life, is that being in control of my horse’s care is so, so, so integral to my riding. The horse’s management is truly like 95% of the job, and it has such a strong effect on the riding aspect.
This was always frustrating to me when I rode other people’s horses for years and years and had no control over their management, so it’s just somewhat hard for me to understand the boarders who are so hands-off about it with barn owners. and I didn’t even think that it would be unusual / annoying to a barn owner for me to want to discuss feeding options for my horse and be involved in the feeding decisions… but turns out, it is!
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I think it’s important to understand that it’s not necessarily that these barn owners all have the attitude that it’s their way or the highway. It’s just if most boarders got to customize they day to day on their horse’s life, it would truly be a nightmare. The crowd here on CotH is vastly way more knowledgeable than the average horse owner. Also, if they’re going to take feed requests from one boarder, they’re going to have to do it for every boarder. It’s just not meant to be an insult to your intelligence, it’s just not practical in a lot of boarding situations.
I will say, that’s a perfectly valid reason to leave. You still do have control of your horses care because you can put him on a trailer and board somewhere that will feed what you want. But arguing, getting the vet involved, demanding, WILL. NOT. WORK. It’s just going to cause drama.
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I’ve been in quite a few boarding barns over the years. The further I go back in my memory, the more hands off boarders were. That said, when I needed to make a major feed change for a horse it was never a problem. Mind you, I (or my clients) always provided the different feed and made it as easy AF to feed it. Everything pre-packaged in durable, reusable, stackable containers delivered a month at a time (or every week or two if there was insufficient surplus storage space) made it so we never ran into an issue.
This has been the same from high end to darn near DIY places.
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I agree.
In the first place, I’m amazed at how passive some owners are about these ultra-basic points of care. In the second place, though, I’m equally amazed at how little some barn owners actually know or care about what constitutes a good feeding program.
It just seems like one big mess.
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I totally agree that BOs can’t be taking custom feed requests from all the boarders, and would even expect them to not allow many different types of grain due to storage, inconvenience, etc. But would you say this even applies to the BO like, say, changing a horse from one type of grain to another without discussing it or even notifying the horse’s owner? I would think a discussion at the very least is warranted.
Very true though that some boarding situations just don’t work for psychotically hands-on horse owners like me and many others on COTH 
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Honestly, I know this sounds harsh but no. All that will do is open the door up for objections and special requests which turns into a headache.
Also you might think you know more than the BO and you might, but keep in mind, they’re the ones out with the horses all day every day.
Agree and adding!
Thirdly, lots of HOs don’t know squat about feeding horses. Some BOs may think most HOs don’t know squat. And furthermore, lots and lots of BOs and lots and lots of HOs are certain that their way is the RIGHT and ONLY RIGHT way
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And it’s highly likely that the BO thinks they know better than the HO.
Though a lot of times it’s just a money thing.
Horse people are complex
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No joke!
And I don’t see either side having a monopoly on quackery and hogwash, either.
Considering how much horses cost and how long it takes to learn to ride, it’s actually kind of hard to imagine how the absolute rock bottom basics could get lost in the shuffle.
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Yes, I have always known what my horse is eating and control it as well. I suppose that may change if what I chose for my horses wasn’t working and someone had to intervene because they were losing weight, looking drab, etc. I’ve always approached a boarding barn and said, “This is what my horse eats.” I’ve never had anyone argue with me. I’ve had people say they didn’t source that brand for the barn, to which my answer has always been, “OK, then I will buy it and bring it for you.”
Trying to move into a boarding barn and having them tell me they will decide what my horse eats would be a red flag for me.
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Hmm… interesting. Agree to disagree 
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To be fair, I think it’s probably true that most barn owners know more than most horse owners. They’re the ones caring for multiple horses day to day. Most horse owners have owned maybe a dozen horses in their lifetime, whereas the barn owners see dozens of horses come and go regularly.
That said, I do think it’s also true that most CotHers know more than your average horse owner and I’d like to think I’m Included in that. For that reason, I wouldn’t want to board anywhere where I’d give up control over my horse’s diet but I think the BO being in charge of the diet is probably for the best in lots of cases… not mine, but lots of other cases for sure.
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This is a good point! And it can be as simple as “I cannot Tetris any more metal bins of food into this feed room, there is no more space.” Or it becomes a drain on staff time to prepare meals and they can either do that, or they can spend time checking the horses’ legs each day. Or, let’s face it, 1/3 of horse people are crazy, and a decent number are undereducated, and the horse is better off with his grain being managed by a sane and educated barn manager.
This is why I see this question as one of client-farm fit. A client like me, who relies on the farm for day to day care but supervises the vet, the farrier, the feeding arrangements, etc. is not a good fit for a farm which has all of that running like a well-oiled machine and feels that their solution works best when applied globally. The latter farm is probably a great fit for someone who doesn’t know a lot yet, or doesn’t feel confident supervising all of these things, or who may be away from home for prolonged periods of time and needs to be able to trust that the horse is in good hands. Provided that the horse is getting what the horse needs to thrive, there’s no wrong answer.
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For me personally it was only the one BO that was nuts when it came to the grain. I had been checking out other barns before I moved there & they were all accommodating when it came to that. I just needed to bring my own storage can. I should’ve went somewhere else but I learned that lesson the hard way. My issue was that I brought a horse in good weight & she managed to make him thin with her diet tweaking. Enough so that she was worried that a person she purchased a horse from might see him when the horse was delivered.
I had a right to question what he was eating & was upfront before I moved in that I would be supplying grain. If it was an issue it should have been addressed at that time. BO also did that to another boarder who’s horse was IR & supplied their own grain. She would have made more money on board if she just gave him my feed since I was still paying full board. I don’t understand why you would do that without speaking to the owner first. This wasn’t a situation where he was on barn grain & they announced a switch to something else.
I know there’s crazy on both sides of the fence. The BO with a business background seem to run a better barn because it’s not based on emotion & personal feelings.
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I don’t currently board horses, but have way back when, If I did board now I would offer 2 to 3 quality options and either you are a fit or not. I don’t have time to go through 20 bins 2x a day. When I used to board horses for owners that traveled or long distance, I always informed them through a weekly update report and included pictures. Maybe horse is getting fat pockets and needs a ration balancer, maybe horse isn’t holding weight and needs to get moved to senior feed, etc. I’m not going to wait for a horse owner to tell me a month later and the horse has dropped weight/foundered while waiting on the owners response. I’m responsible for their health and how they look… the horse represents my care… not the owners.
I have boarded for years and if I wanted something special for my snowflake, I put it in an easy to dump zip lock bag or container and have them dump it 2x a day. If the barn feeds my choice in grain, great, if not I just make sure if I keep a 30 day supply bagged up, and that they will feed it. Most don’t mind.
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Agreed… this is why I do self-care. I’ve done full care before but it was with people that I really really really trusted their opinion and knew that they were more knowledgeable than I was. That’s hard to find so for me, I’ll always do self/ partial care.
I don’t blame you for leaving, I would have to. I do think it’s really important though to make sure, if you’re giving up control to someone, you absolutely trust their knowledge, judgrment, and opinion. It just doesn’t work any other way.
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