Boarding barn deal-breakers--what are yours?

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

This is why barn owner’s communication skills are so important.

I know many threads about barns boil down to “if you don’t like it, leave,” but if there is no honest communication before or after, boarders can’t make informed choices.

[quietann]

Most of what was said here, I agree with.

I am big on turnout and adequate hay, eyes on the horse at least twice a day, etc. My opinion on turnout and hay has been so changed by current BO (she is wonderful) that I may not be able to find a place to board, if I get another horse.

It’s hard to tell ahead of time, but I don’t like cliques. Last barn was starting to get that way, a little, mostly because the lady with 5 horses boarded (out of 15 total) had the most say, and wasn’t very good at sharing. We got along OK… until we didn’t.

I have one more deal-breaker that pertains only to me, not my horse: there must be a bathroom! I probably can deal with it being a porta-potty as long as it’s clean.

Oh, trails access is also a must (and let me know if it’s not year-round…)

[lenapesadie]

Real deal breakers for me are reliable free choice water and forage plus daily turn out. Everything else is negotiable / trade offs for me.

Reliable honest to god free choice forage eliminates a whole lot of barns in my area.

ETA: my horse has to have individual feeding to get his supps and protection from the worst of summer heat so add those to the deal breakers

[luv2lope]

I can’t count the number of times some I see a fancy, high-end boarding place costing $$$$ per month with little to no shavings in the stalls. How anyone thinks that stall mats only and/ or a small amount of bedding is acceptable is beyond me.

I boarded at a barn that had the Soft Stall mats and they got a quarter of a bag of shavings only-- I would come home REEKING of urine. BO thought the mats were just so amazing but I paid extra for a stall full of bedding. With no bedding, my horse at the time would have just been stalled in filth as he liked to stall walk. No thank you!

[fivestrideline]

Deal breaker that’s not exactly horse care related: a bathroom. Not a portable, and not in someone’s house. It doesn’t need to be fancy either, just functional and clean enough.

I want eyes on horses 2x a day. Good eyes that’ll notice a loose shoe/scrape/swelling/misc limp. Nothing drives me more crazy than bringing a horse in with a gash I could fit my hand inside, or a leg covered in dried blood, or a puncture in a neck, and having the staff be a surprised as me every time. Horses do crazy things, but when the injury is definitely a day or so old and staff presumably fed the horse a few times since then, I’d expect a text AT LEAST.

Safe turnout and true quality free choice forage are the next biggest deal breakers, and the hardest to find. “Free choice” so often means “one half filled net a day” . I can’t believe the number of times I’ve toured a barn and had the forage conversation, the BO swears up and down that hay is their priority and they make sure the horses have it 24/7 - only for me to find out my horse gets 6lbs a day and NO MORE.

[athelas]

My number one deal breaker is dishonesty. If I’ve asked for my horse to be worked when I can’t make it out or given the supplements I’ve pre-measured and provided–don’t LIE to me. If you don’t want to do it, just say that! It’s annoying but I’ll get over it. And yes, I completely understand and account for BM or owners/trainers who have had multiple concussions and/or TBI and honest to god struggle with time management and executive functioning. That is 100% a real, valid thing. However (and this falls within the sphere of dishonesty, for me), turning around and guilt tripping or gas lighting the client for the behavior is a really, really bad look.

Other things I value in no particular order: safe fencing, 24/7 turnout, professional communication, posted and accessible lesson or barn schedule, not having to provide my own grain, a weekly lesson program, quality hay & pasture, being able to pay for services via venmo or paypal, a way to communicate with other boarders (whether that’s a fb group, group chat, etc).

[tabula_rashah]

I do self care board. All I want is a drama free space with whatever facilities/ amenities were agreed upon, no one else messing with my horses and 24/7 access

[candyappy]

I had an excellent boarding experience in my 1 time of boarding (for 13 years) before having my horses at home again.

I am very easy to please as far as boarding goes but I fear what I expect is not the norm today but would be deal breakers for me. Thankfully I will never have to worry about it.

1. Barn feeds all the hay a horse requires to maintain a good body weight. Water at a drinkable temp 24/7.

2. Arena footing is regularly maintained. I mostly trail rode but did use the arenas we had.

3. Stalls and paddocks cleaned daily and well bedded( as needed) .

4. Grain/ supplements/ meds and any daily handling is done/ fed /supplied by me alone, unless I authorize another to do it or there is an emergency. ( yes --it was considered full board-- urban area no turn out).

5. Access to my horse any day, any time I choose. This can be done when respecting the barn owners private life and being very quiet! I had this privilege at my past barn but have no idea if all boarders did. I never asked.

[jvanrens]

[Tee]

This is what I do now and the happiest I’ve ever been boarding (over 30 or so years).

[lenapesadie]

I mean I got my own wee farm so the only drama I have is me versus wasps.

[Larbear]

Yup, me too

[TinFoilHat]

@Renn_aissance

Be a professional adult. Have a clear and comprehensive contract and rate sheet and do what they say. Feed my horse what we agree you will feed him, and don’t make changes without discussing it with me first. Don’t talk smack about other boarders or their horses to me and don’t talk about me or my horse to other boarders. Fix your fence. Be crazy if you want, but only in ways that don’t affect your business

ALL of this. Most importantly: DO WHAT YOU SAID YOULL DO!!

[sascha]

Took me years to figure this out, sadly, but a deal breaker for me is a BO that treats me as staff because I have a strong personality known for being able to speak straight and get things done, am seen as the peacemaker, and have mountains of experience in the industry.

I’m now at a place that treats me like a boarder (they actually listened when I told them the problems of the previous barn and how I kept trying to tell that owner I just wanted to be a boarder) and it’s as though a weight has been lifted. The owner is present and willing to take care of any drama that may come up and I don’t get stuck doing anyone’s “dirty work” just because I can and they don’t want to.

[Weezer]

As a broke student, I spent a decade trying to balance what I could afford for board, and the minimum level of care I expected for my horses. Over about 10 years i boarded my two horses at a total of 10 places (the two horses weren’t always at the same place). I could write a book about deal breakers, but my highlights are:

• BM always has a beer in-hand (this happened at two different places)
• BO hires abusive trainer and doesn’t mind that the trainer rips on reins until horse’s mouth bleeds
• BO raises turkeys in the tiny horse barn and doesn’t clean their pen so the air quality is eye-watering

I’m so grateful that I have my own place now. The boarders I’ve had are great, but I also tell them “this is my home, so I do it my way. I’m not offended if that doesn’t work for you and you decide to leave.”

[Texarkana]

@Weezer

As a broke student, I spent a decade trying to balance what I could afford for board, and the minimum level of care I expected for my horses

You just described my 20s.

That was a rough period in my life to be a horse owner.

[ZuzusPetals]

A barn owner lost my business because her politics were front and center. I wasn’t thrilled with the place on first sight, for a bunch of reasons, but initially considered it a contender because for the first three months or so all I need is mileage after 25 years away from horses.

Her particular politics are reprehensible to me. But even if a barn owner were to blare politics that align with mine, it’s a no for me. A serious, flat-out no way.

[WildGooseChase]

As a boarder here are my deal breakers:

1. Unsafe environment. Turn outs, stalls, walkways etc
2. Uncontained livestock. Keep your chickens out of the barn please.
3. A contract that is unclear or allows the owner, manager and staff to change anything without notice.
4. Inexperienced staff or minors handling my horse.
5. Such a casual environment that safety and equitation are swept under the rug.
6. Poorly maintained arenas or other riding areas.

As a barn manager (I was one for 5 years) here are boarder deal breakers:

1. Non payment or chronic late payment.
2. Doesn’t clean up after themselves or their horse.
3. Feeding extra ANYTHING unless they purchased and brought themselves.
4. Poor treatment, cruel training methods etc
5. Not keeping feet trimmed, shots and Coggins up to date.
6. Under and over communicating. Don’t text me at 4am…
7. Disrespect of the property, owner, manager, staff and barn hours.
8. Blatant disregard for the safety of the horse and others that are near.

I have been around the block a bit when it comes to this stuff. There is so much that can go wrong, but so much that can go right too.

[mep0726]

@OverandOnward

Yet another is not managing a situation where someone’s horse is not working out in a turnout group, and it’s heavily affecting my horse. Especially with when the behavior is constant. A horse that constantly, frantically runs and keeps the herd always agitated and moving. Or aggressively bites & kicks the other horses, so that the others are always covered with bites and have become shy about accessing the hay or the shelter. Even a gelding mounting mares.

The horses are not going to ‘learn’ better manners on their own in pasture. No one is standing out there in turnout teaching them. Humans put these horses together. Humans have to make some hard decisions for the best welfare of all of the horses.

This. I understand giving new pasture mates a bit of time to work things out but if it’s been a few weeks and my horse is still coming in with a new scrape/kick/bite/cut every day, then we need to look at doing something else.

My other big thing is adequate hay. 1 flake/horse 2x/day is not enough for my guys. I’m more than happy to pay for and/or provide additional hay for my horses but just please be up front with the amount of hay you give. I once moved to a new barn and early into the first winter there, I couldn’t figure out why both of my previously easy keepers were dropping quite a bit of weight. One day I was there when the BM was feeding PM feed and tossing hay…and every horse was getting one flake and if your horse happened to be the unlucky one to get the tiny flake in the bale or an end flake that wasn’t as heavy, then that was just your luck. Needless to say, I spent an obscene amount of money that winter on supplying my own hay as additional for my two but their weight loss at least stopped! One would think the fact that every horse in the barn (besides the few of us that provided supplemental hay) got horribly skinny would have been a clue to the BM but no luck.

[sascha]

@ZuzusPetals

A barn owner lost my business because her politics were front and center.

This is tough. I have been in this situation and have learnt to remember that reprehensible politics and the ability to care for horses are separate things. If the reprehensible politics owners can learn to keep their traps shut around boarders, it can work. It’s always there, always a bit of sandpaper on the brain, but the care and happiness of my horse comes first and foremost so I build a callous on my brain that the sandpaper has a bit of trouble getting through lol