As someone who was significantly injured by my horse reacting to a kid who rode his skateboard down the barn isle, its just too stressful for me. Well behaved kids who are aware of horses is one a totally different story. And I will share, my health insurance sued the barn for negligence. They were able to determine where I was by the address the ambulance picked me up.
16 Likes
Then that definitely shouldnāt be your compromise point!
For others, itās doable. When I first got my horse it couldnāt have been mine either. She didnāt know enough to suck it up and never ever ever ever ever barge into a human even if she thought she might die. By the time we moved to the crazy place, she had learned all that so for us it was totally doable.
1 Like
I am actually shocked more barns donāt realize this is 100% a thing now. With healthcare skyrocketing in price, your insurance company WILL look to place the blame on someone else to recoup their loss, its called subrogation.
So by allowing very unsafe behavior such as kids on skateboards (or hoverboards!*? that is CRAZY) and loose dogs around, large, easy frightened animals is opening yourself up to a significate risk of being sued for the inevitable damages.
To the OP, I feel your pain. I had to compromise on riding facilities, and ease of drive from my home in order to get rock solid care for my IR horse and no dogs/kids. I was especially worried about the kid part, as even if you tell a child why a horse cannot have an apple, that does not mean they arenāt going to give him one when no one is supervising them. The thought that my horse could have another lamanitic episode due to children was a way bigger risk than I was willing to take.
So now I have a bad commute to the barn, and I have to haul out to ride, which limits my riding, but is better than the stress over how my horse is being cared for.
13 Likes
Meh, the child lives there. The barn is their backyard substitute. Itās no worse than what a horse might see at a very busy horse show (golf carts, bicycles, dogs, strollers, etc.), itās just that itās at home and on the regular. Not for everyone for sure, but it works for us.
9 Likes
I know you donāt want to say what your specific needs are but Iāll tell you min:
Indoor arena/outdoor arena
Pasture turnout solo or with a tiny congenial group
Prefer covered trailer parking
Quality round bales in the pasture durning the winter
No running dogs
Min small kids
Indoor plumbing not portable potties
Clean stalls
Hay 24/7 while in stall
Where I am at checks all of these. For turnout, there is only paddock turnout unless you want to take them to the pasture yourself which I do every day. I live 6 min away. To keep hay in front of him while in, I fill hay bags and hang them myself in addition to what they throw him. I donāt mind hauling out for lessons but it does consume a day. Borders are in 1 barn, lesson and lesson horses are in another so no kids running thru but the kids are older so no little kids. I have found a barn that allows me to cater to what my guy needs without causing them extra work. But again, I am 6 min away. And I pay the highest board in the city so thereās that.
4 Likes
Your place sounds heavenly.
1 Like
It is not uncommon for facility insurance policies to have specific wording around dogs. My current barn has a rule of no dogs allowed that is not enforced. That also opens up the liability for barn owners.
3 Likes
Congrats about the 6 min away!! i found a nearly perfect barn but itās 40 min away 
. It checks most of the boxes although I would prefer more hayā¦.I havenāt asked for it though yet because otherwise itās perfect.
indoor outdoor arena with perfect footing
Horsewalker which is always available for boarders.
Only 4 boarder so a very privat feel,
Turnout for all my horses together
Very clean stalls
No trainer though there used to be a jumper trainer but somehow the owners got unhappy with him and got rid of him. no sales horses and no lesson horsesā¦
4 Likes
Sued for negligence ā abrogation strikes! Never thought of that before, but that is something for barn owners to think about.
I wonder how the state laws exempting barns from liability play into that. Nothing gets you off the hook for āgross negligenceā. I guess skateboarding in the barn is definitely that.
Usually individuals donāt have the means to sue. But it seems their insurance company may step into that gap.
2 Likes
I refused to participate as I really liked the BO. It was very eye opening to me that my participation was not needed and my insurance company was all about recouping their losses.
So for those of you have heard or been party to, āyou wont sue me, will you?ā in reference to boarding situations, insurance companies take negligence very seriously.
11 Likes
I hope you find the place youāre looking for. It sounds like you need to buy your own land though, because half of what you complain about is pretty common place at a boarding barn.
I mean, I board at a VERY private and quiet barn, and right now the corn harvesting is causing leaves to blow all over the place. My young mare is pretty wigged out when they come across the arena because they almost look like theyāre walking. Guess what? We ride right on through it.
There will be problems and spooky stuff no matter where you go. Either figure out how to deal with it or find a new hobby. Itās not fair to everyone else at a boarding stable to expect them to walk on eggshells around you because YOU are scared of what might happen if Pookie gets a little nervous.
17 Likes
@endlessclimb I am editing my response to you as your message has really struck a chord with me. Because I am not like you, and you are not like me, does not warrant what I perceive to be a snarky response. I am honest about my challenges. And BTW - leaves blowing across the arena are no where close to a kid skateboarding down an barn isleway.
18 Likes
No, theyāre really the same thing. The same as dragging a hose past a horse, or pulling a cart full of muck buckets. Just to continue my example: the leaves crackle and carry on, and thereās 10 of them walking across the arena at you at a time, just like a plastic bag rolls along the ground. Then the barn cat comes out from under the storage trailer, or the neighbor decides itās a good time to practice their shooting.
Horses are horses. If YOU are nervous about something, so will they be. You either need to get over it, find a horse who doesnāt care (but nervous people quickly ruin even the best horses), or find another hobby. You can not bubble wrap your and your horseās life.
You can be snarky all youād like. It doesnāt change what I said to you. You need to find a way to deal with unexpected circumstances around your horse, or buy your own property.
11 Likes
Lol, yes, I agree with you - skateboarding kid is very different than blowing leaves. Horses are actually regularly exposed to different components to weather. Canāt say my horses have ever seen a skateboard.
In the plethora of barns Iāve boarded at, theyāve often had very different environments. Some were structured towards families and lessons for kids - those usually had a lot of shenanigans where husbands or kids did things that would spook horses without even thinking about it. It got hairy at times. Iāve also been at barns with serious riders and competitors who had sensitive l horses and enough experience to not do crazy things to spook them (also quite expensive competition horses as well - all trying to avoid injury). Itās all about finding the right environment.
15 Likes
I am always thinking about first finding a barn, then moving as close to the barn as I can. Across the street would be good - but optimistic.
Finding a good board barn seems to be much more challenging than finding a place for a human to live.
Reducing their claims cost is what they really take seriously. 
4 Likes
I am extremely lucky. Iām 10 miles from my boarding facility. Itās on over 100 acres, with trails, 3 outdoors, a huge indoor, 8 hours of turnout (my mare goes out with 7 mares on 4 acres). She also goes out at night during DST. Stalls cleaned daily, hay grown on premises. The guys know all the horses and check each on when they come in. The downside is itās a busy lesson barn, and there are about 70 boarded horses. Itās not for the faint of heart. But the kids are contained in the school horse aisle and are not allowed to roam. They are respectful and polite. No loose dogs allowed. Hay fed 3 times daily. Two indoor bathrooms with hot and cold water and hand dryers. Four wash racks with hot and cold water.
The majority of boarders are adults. Now that I am retired I ride during the day so there are few people around. My mare is a former school horse so not much bothers her. But I would not board at a barn that lets kids skateboard in the aisle. Neither my mare nor I need to ālearn to deal with that.ā
18 Likes
One of the things that drove me nuts, boarding at dressage barns, was how many people would only ever ride in the indoor. I have been at 3 such barns, all with both indoor and outdoor arenas. Two of the three barns had small court indoors and large court outdoorsā¦ and almost no one would ride in them, besides me and occasionally a trainer or working student. Then the indoor-only folks would take their horses to a show held outdoors, and not understand why their horses were melting down. Two of the three had access to good trail systems (one of them to freaking GROTON HOUSE, seriously), but again, hardly anyone ever used them becauseā¦ their horse might spook. The footing was not perfect (itās New England, what can I say). There might be cars/other horses/coyotes/dogs/whatever. l
14 Likes
Take it from a nervous adult amateur whose ability to catastrophize is matched only by her Irish mareās ability to imagine ghosts behind every tree. @endlessclimb is right. Even in well-run, well-managed boarding barns, scary things happen. Horse and human both need to learn (sometimes together, in form of groundwork) how to self-soothe.
9 Likes
Thereās a huge difference between unexpected circumstances happening and unsafe practices being tolerated or even encouraged by the barn manager/ owner. Big red flag for me.
23 Likes
Unfortunately this is the truth of it. The other thing Iāve noticed in my area is due to the sky high real estate prices a lot of the facilities are owned by older folk who canāt do the labour and struggle to find reliable help. And donāt have any reason to keep up on large expenses like replacing or upgrading footing. Of the half dozen or so facilities with indoors in my immediate area 2/3 of them donāt even board anymore and just allow drop ins or host clinics.
And itās very hard or impossible for young up and coming trainers to get a facility of their own.
4 Likes
