Boarding Woes/VENT

[endlessclimb]

@Impractical_Horsewoman

it’s just some people are bad at evaluating whether a dog is barn-appropriate.

Yes, that I will agree with.

[LSMarnell]

@steelerino

The insurance company called me and asked if it happened on the barns property, I said no and that was that.

I can guarantee you they did their own investigation of your claim. No, they don’t just take your word for it, and no, you do not have to be involved at all or privy to their investigation.

[sascha]

@trubandloki

Not because they are spooky but because that just does not seem like a smart place to skateboard.

Where else? If the kid lives there they don’t have access to city sidewalks or bike lanes or parks. They’ve got a nice wide open concrete aisle or they’ve got gravel and grass.

Just like my home, where if you don’t like sitting on a couch and getting cat hair all over you, you can leave, we are also free to leave situations that we don’t like when it comes to boarding barns. We are guests on someone else’s property. Yes, we are paying guests, but do the math, boarding barns are not making money hand over fist. They are offering a space in their home for us to house our horses.

[peedin]

A woman has been taking lessons at my barn for over 5 years. On schoolies. I have never seen her do more than a walk, and quite often her instructor is walking next to her. She has major anxiety about her life outside the barn and riding is her happy place. She freaks if her mount puts a foot wrong. Should she be told to get over it? Should she be denied the opportunity to ride because she might “ruin” a horse?

[endlessclimb]

@peedin

She freaks if her mount puts a foot wrong. Should she be told to get over it?

Yes. Do you realize how much this sucks for the horse?? It’s not fair at some point.

[peedin]

You just want to argue for argument’s sake. I’m out.

[Djones]

At the end of the day, it’s hard to find a barn where you feel comfortable and safe.

I have been in and around horses for 40 of my 50 years. I’ve ridden in mucky poop hole barns with sketchy fencig and I’ve ridden in barns housing AQHA Superhorse contenders alongside World and Congress winners. I guess I’m Farmers, I’ve seen it all or close.

If a rider feels uneasy, so does the horse.

I personally prefer a fair amount of movement and stuff going on so the horse and I aren’t working in a cone of near silence, I don’t mind or notice golf carts and cats and dogs and kids and ponies and all that. It’s the same reason I work in spreadsheets with the radio on - I need the noise to keep me focused. If I had to board this instant, the barn I would choose is 40 minutes away and has a barn pig, 2 turkey hens, many other birds, a pen of goats off to one side. The onsite owner and her daughter are in the barn 7 days a week and they would take care of mine like they were their own. The fences are capped t posts and hot wire and tape. Much closer to home is a cone of silence with better fences.

I would draw my own personal line at listening to relentless stall kickers and bellowing stallions. It just wears on me, personally. If someone wants to point a crooked finger at me and tell me to get over that, well - that’s none of my business. They can have their irrelevant opinion all day long. They don’t pay my bills.

I will close with this, I used to get really hung up on what some certain someone told me I hAd tO Do oR mY hOrSes weren’t well trained…then hell’s bells she moved her own horse and had 37 million rules about who was approved to simply lead him in and out of turnout, because HE WAS SPECIAL.

Whatever- live your own life folks, it doesn’t matter that someone else says you’re doing it wrong.

PS my own horses get eyeballs on them twice a day, max on days we don’t ride. I guess I need to fire myself and sell the place, right? LOL . Nah…

[SpicyPRE]

I did come here to vent and find some support. I am actually a pretty easy boarder to have around. I do however have an expectation that a barn owner be honest. If you arent going to enforce rules, dont have rules. You will attract like minded people. However, if you are running a public facility and take my money and I adhere to the contract, I am very much within my right to expect the same in return.

[Angela_Freda]

@quietann

I wouldn’t go that far. I certainly understand fear and wanting to be able to control everything. I mean, I was afraid to ride my mare after I bought her, because she was hot and prone to doing silly stuff

I balk at the idea of afraid.
There’s a time to train in your discipline and a time to train for the unexpected things that one might encounter that might change ones test in Dressage, or round over fences.

Sometimes I want to school what I’m schooling, without the leaves/skateboards/dogs/shenanigans.

That not always about fear or lack of horsemanship, but about being focused and choosing what to work on
Cause it doesn’t all get done all at once, it needs to be broken down into achievable bites.
.
I pay $$$ to board my horse so I can enjoy it.
Not to board my horse where I can’t enjoy it because the owner/manager/trainer doesn’t have a facility that’s dedicated to that.
Yes, their barn, their rules.
But it’s also a business, and should be run as such. If you want boarders, create a place that welcomes them

[endlessclimb]

I don’t disagree with this. But here’s the thing - even the animal itself is different day to day. I might want to school haunches in to shoulders in, but the horse takes the ride in an entirely different direction - she’s not coming through, or she’s evading the outside rein or whatever. New topic, no problem.

That’s life/horses, and thats definitely life/horses at a boarding barn.

[quietann]

My point was that people’s fear can keep them justifying really limiting their horse journey.

At one barn, the barn manager jokingly called the indoor “the cathedral of silence” because that’s what it was. A person who works on dressage elements only, in a silent indoor, and ignores the rest of the riding environment wants… too much control I guess. These were the people who also were no good at sharing an arena.

Or maybe I just spent a lot of time outside the arena because I suck at dressage.

[Angela_Freda]

You’re assuming alot.

@quietann

. A person who works on dressage elements only, in a silent indoor, and ignores the rest of the riding environment wants… too much control I guess

If I work all day to enjoy the hobby I pay for, so what? It’s an expensive hobby. If I prefer to be focused on many, most or all my rides, however I achieve that …

Silence isn’t the only alternative to dogs and kids running amok.

I love the indoor to school. With Earth Wind and Fire playing.
And schooling out in the field, on grass, behind the managers house.

But if one only rides in the silent indoor… What of it? Isn’t that what they’re paying ($$$,) for and why the business exists?

[CindyCRNA]

MOST barns have a no loose dogs/no running children/no skateboarding in the isle. I have never been to a barn that allowed any of this. I mean, only an idiot would allow this at a barn with non-dead 1300 pound animals whose first reaction is to kick out if startled.

Back to the OP’s OP. Sometimes the trainer thing can be a sticky wicket, sometimes not but you are not being unreasonable in your requests.

For those that say there is no money for the barn owner when the OP is only asking for normal horse requirements (clean stalls, regular turnout, non-chaotic environment ) then maybe they aren’t set up to be a boarding facility. I begged my last barn owner to raise her prices so she could hire some help. In the end I went to an expensive barn who had the cash flow to support the care.

[OverandOnward]

@Maythehorsebewithme

I had my horse at a barn like that (not dressage though). I loved it. Had the outdoor to myself, as well as a huge field. Could walk all around the property whenever I wanted. Like a private farm.

Same here! Plus the outside arenas are not all beat to death from usage. Week in, week out, the outside arena needs less grooming and tends to stay more consistent. No trenches in the shape of a 20 meter circle at A and C.

Set up jumps, no one asks me to take them down between rides.

Plus I can learn a lot from the dressage riders. Most love giving advice if asked!

[S1969]

@CindyCRNA

For those that say there is no money for the barn owner when the OP is only asking for normal horse requirements (clean stalls, regular turnout, non-chaotic environment ) then maybe they aren’t set up to be a boarding facility.

I think if you do a 10 year search on COTH about this topic you will find that generally speaking boarding itself does little more than cover expenses. If you pay enough, it might be profitable to make money by nothing but boarding, but really, it’s not likely to make much - the more services you offer, the more manpower it takes which require more salaries, benefits, equipment, etc. However, even high end barns that might make a profit on boarding (not that there are lots of those, in most places) still make more profit on lessons, coaching/training, etc. That’s where the bigger bang for the buck is, once the basic expenses are covered.

[silver_charm]

@CindyCRNA

For those that say there is no money for the barn owner when the OP is only asking for normal horse requirements (clean stalls, regular turnout, non-chaotic environment ) then maybe they aren’t set up to be a boarding facility.

But the OP wasn’t asking for just that, she wanted and indoor and a bathroom. At least in my area, you have two options - full care with outdoor and covered ring, indoor bathroom and hot water in the wash stall, onsite trainer with training/lessoning commitment or someone’s property where the horses are fed and watered and you figure out a flat area of land to ride or maybe there’s an outdoor but you can bring your own trailer and trainer and do whatever you want.

I have part leased horses at both locations. In both locations the horses are taken care of in the sense of clean stalls and turnout, they were fed and maintained well. But the one place cost 350/month and the other 900. And that’s the difference of the perks the OP is asking for. In my past two moves (outside Philly and currently NC) there no middle ground place with an indoor and nice human facilities without the corresponding price tag. Those places do not exist, or at least are so well loved they don’t have any online presence and I have been unable to find them.

[CindyCRNA]

Oh I agree. There should be a corresponding price tag for sure. If you are in a temperate climate, an indoor may be negotiable. The training facility in Aiken my guy was at that had a 5 star rider had no indoor because it was rarely needed. Here in the midwest, you could have 3-5 months of no riding if there is no indoor.

[CindyCRNA]

Ok are you guys ready to fall over because I forgot to add 2 amenities of my current barn:

The barn is heated to 60 degrees in the winter and the 2 massive indoors maintain 50 degrees.
There are 600 acres of mowed trails…

[endlessclimb]

I hate heated barns, personally - you can keep that part. Just put up R5 with bird block and let mother nature set the temperature. I think it “shocks” the horses too much going from 50-60F indoors to sub-zero turnouts.

The trails sound great!

[endlessclimb]

I mean, where does the “I don’t want anything chaotic happening around me or my horse” end?

What if the barn owner needs to do maintenance to the barn, replace a ridge vent or some paneling or whatever? Maybe they need to trench to install a new water line. Maybe they need to weedwhip along the arena. Are they supposed to 100% accommodate your schedule in order to get that work done?

If your answer is yes, here’s your “I’m that boarder” sign.