CLOSED, thank you for all the help!
If you don’t like it, move.
If you really like the barn, talk to the BM or BO first and see if it corrects anything, but if care is not up to the standards that YOU are paying for. Then leave.
You’re paying for a certain level of upkeep as set in your contract. If that is not being held to, then get the heck outta dodge.
Me personally? I would leave the barn over that, yes.
I might feel differently if it was a legitimate mistake and the BO/BM/whoever took responsibility for it and apologized. Or if they generally had permission to determine turnout arrangements without your input. But if they just put your horse out with another horse without your consent? Dealbreaker for me.
IME splint bone fractures usually have great healing & prognosis, i am sure zeke will be just fine.
that being said instead of jumping to the gun about leaving the barn, talk to your BO/BM. find out why they felt the need to put him with another horse. was this done without your permission? has anyone approached you about his injuries for the mare?
it would make me angry to see my horse injured after TO with a horse i did not consent to. i would think of leaving.
After boarding at many barns, i would not just leave over this, but it would be #1 of incidents i would discuss with BO. If my horses are happy and healthy and clean water is aways available, i can put up with a lot. I’ve dealt with so many nutballs, i can’t remember them all. So if you can communicate with the barn and figure things out, then stay.
[QUOTE=Lina;7144304]
Hi guys! Have any of you experienced boarding issues before? W/ the barn manager, workers, other boarders, the facility?[/QUOTE]
No. No one here has ever experienced any of these issues.
(Sorry, just couldn’t help myself!! 
)
“I find out that both ponies had been squealing but no one removed them from pasture.” – since you have not received huge apologies and/or offers for assistance with treatment (cut on board while he’s laid up or help with handwalking as needed) I’d conclude that bo/bm are clueless and start looking
[QUOTE=SGray;7144545]
“I find out that both ponies had been squealing but no one removed them from pasture.” – since you have not received huge apologies and/or offers for assistance with treatment (cut on board while he’s laid up or help with handwalking as needed) I’d conclude that bo/bm are clueless and start looking[/QUOTE]
I have the feeling you should rehabilitate the pony at the Vets. If course its going to cost double if not triple regular board but your pony will be monitored during its rehabilitation by pros. It will probably require stall rest, maybe medication and close over sight so the surgery has time to heal.
As a barn owner I wouldn’t necessarily stop everything to move horses over a few squeals, if one was chasing the other it would certainly get my attention. Ponies Ive met squeal when another horse looks at them so it would not alarm me to hear it from 2 new pasture mates. That said I only have barefoot horses and would not turn a shod horse in to a new herd situatin
Hi! Thanks for all the replies. 
There is so much to think about right now…
The BM is really nice, and I know it was an accident. And we have talked to the BM-- says that he will be ok. But I can’t help but think that it was kind of a careless decision… and I know many ponies squeal often but I have never heard Zeke squeal before in other pasture situations.
After he heals we are really thinking about moving to another place. I just don’t know who I can trust anymore with my pony. He is so important to me. And I don’t think it is fair for him to have to go thru anymore pain because of a mistake that could possibly been avoided if he had been supervised carefully when he was turned out for the first time with this other pony.
My mom and dad have also tossed around the idea of buying our own farmette so we could make sure he gets the upmost care. I don’t know if I am ready for that tho…
Gosh, it’s so difficult deciding what to do in situations like these. And after I moved from the first barn, my parents and I searched the whole area, visiting so many different boarding barns. So honestly after he heals I have no idea what boarding barn I could keep him at that I trusted well enough…
Problems at a boarding barn? I am shocked, just shocked. Round up the usual suspects…
Honestly, 45 years boarding out and I can’t think of a barn where nothing ever went wrong. It is going to happen but selecting barns carefully goes a long way to keep it at a minimum.
Have a problem with the first barn doing as you said not to, moving was correct. Not too sure about where you are now, yeah, he’ll mend but you get the vet bill for surgical removal of that splint bone and have to wait on his recovery. Did they offer any explanation about how it happened?
If it were my horse, I’d insist on single turn out because its odd two other horses got into it with yours hard enough to hurt him. He may not be an innocent bystander that got bullied, he may have started it or pursued it after he should have backed off. Maybe he never learned how to act with others but you don’t need to keep paying for it. Ask for single or closely supervised turnout with old geldings only.
Not time to move, yet. But if BM will not help your horse stay out of pasture fights no matter who starts it? Time to look for another place willing to work with you.
Turning new horses out with small groups, or a single other horse often results in injury. When turning new horses out with large herd of 15 -30, we have rarely had even as much as a nip from missing hair. The bigger herds have more space, and the horses don’t get “clicky” and defensive like a smaller group does.
[QUOTE=findeight;7146355]
Have a problem with the first barn doing as you said not to, moving was correct. Not too sure about where you are now, yeah, he’ll mend but you get the vet bill for surgical removal of that splint bone and have to wait on his recovery. Did they offer any explanation about how it happened?
If it were my horse, I’d insist on single turn out because its odd two other horses got into it with yours hard enough to hurt him. He may not be an innocent bystander that got bullied, he may have started it or pursued it after he should have backed off. Maybe he never learned how to act with others but you don’t need to keep paying for it. Ask for single or closely supervised turnout with old geldings only.
Not time to move, yet. But if BM will not help your horse stay out of pasture fights no matter who starts it? Time to look for another place willing to work with you.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for answering! My first horse was young and an instigator. That is one of the reasons we asked him not to be pastured in that certain pasture. We knew it would not be safe for him.
My second horse is more of an alpha, yes, but he is not known to kick another horse. Our usual turnout situation was w/ an older thoroughbred gelding that did fabulously w/ Zeke since Zeke is a bit older and can act like a cranky old fellow sometimes. I have never seen him try to mount a mare before, but honestly I don’t know. It’s a possibility that he instigated a bit, but I do know that this other pony does not like horses approaching her from behind. We found that out because after being pastured w/ Zeke, she went to another pasture and kicked another horse as well.
Single turn-out would probably not be an option. The pony that injured Zeke is now turned out alone and there is not enough pastures for Zeke to be turned out alone when he recovers.
We are not 100% sure what happened, but bm said there was squealing and when helper brought Zeke in, she saw the kick wounds and possibly bite marks as well.
Zeke is good w/ most other horses, but w/ youngsters that bug him he gets cranky.
Happy to hear this is working for you, but the pasture situation doesn’t allow for large herds at this current stable. Thanks tho!
I didn’t post that about the groups of 15-30, that was Fairview Horse Center. No idea how that ended up credited to me. Fortunately I agree IF its a big enough pasture with ample grass, several watering locations and scattered feed locations if they get their grain out there so everybody has plenty of room to avoid the bully, the alpha mare and get their fill of food and water while joining their own little group.
Long term, there are barns that can handle single turn out. Short term, most barns do NOT turn out a new gelding with a mare, most don’t even turn out even long time resident gelding with mares. Plus, there seems to be a hint this mare has kicked before. So, this barn has one strike- still two to go but you always need a plan B when you board so start looking for a plan B.
Look, the BM may be “really nice” but s/he doesn’t have a horse with a broken leg bone that has to be surgically removed because of THEIR choice to turnout a new gelding with a resident mare that can and has kicked. That’s kind of… Stupid.
Be careful and DO. NOT. BLINDLY. TRUST that they have your best interest at heart ahead of what is quickest/ most convenient for them or even properly supervised and trained help even if they do care.
If your parents want to try a farmette, go for it! Boarding stinks and if I had to do it again, I’d sell out my horses. There are situations that go with having your own farm but I think it beats boarding any day of the week. I boarded my first seven years in horses and no way I’d go back to it.
I have to chime in…
Boarding no matter how nice a place and how good the staff will always have its problems.
First off, I>n all the 40 some years I have had horses I never assumed that my horse would go injury free being turned out. They get hurt. All places usually go out of their way to find a good fit for new horses, I had a TB who was a bully, so he only went out with the bad boys, and yes got kicked up.
One of my favorite barns I was ever at, the first week he was there he got kicked in the hock and was layed up for a week.
I never blame the barn owner, Nor would I expect money off my board.
If a horse was a hard fit they would do private turn out and you paid for it.
Sorry but horses get hurt. Just my opinion.
I guess I’ll be the one who says horses are horses and accidents happen. Unless you want your horse to live in solitary at your own farmette, it’s something you’re going to have to learn to accept.
And even then, horses will still find ways of hurting themselves. Rory was in individual turnout and I found a huge gash on his lip, and BO, DH, and I both walked the stall, attached run and attached paddock several times and could never find what he did it on. My guess is he stepped on his own face because he is a re-tard.
Horse: large mammal looking for an inconvenient and expensive way to die.
Yeah, it sucks that the accident happened and it was severe enough to require surgery. And I’d question why no one checked on them during the squealfest. But move? Probably not.
[QUOTE=findeight;7146690]
I didn’t post that about the groups of 15-30, that was Fairview Horse Center. No idea how that ended up credited to me. Fortunately I agree IF its a big enough pasture with ample grass, several watering locations and scattered feed locations if they get their grain out there so everybody has plenty of room to avoid the bully, the alpha mare and get their fill of food and water while joining their own little group.
Long term, there are barns that can handle single turn out. Short term, most barns do NOT turn out a new gelding with a mare, most don’t even turn out even long time resident gelding with mares. Plus, there seems to be a hint this mare has kicked before. So, this barn has one strike- still two to go but you always need a plan B when you board so start looking for a plan B.
Look, the BM may be “really nice” but s/he doesn’t have a horse with a broken leg bone that has to be surgically removed because of THEIR choice to turnout a new gelding with a resident mare that can and has kicked. That’s kind of… Stupid.
Be careful and DO. NOT. BLINDLY. TRUST that they have your best interest at heart ahead of what is quickest/ most convenient for them or even properly supervised and trained help even if they do care.[/QUOTE]
Sorry, just fixed the comment above w/ the quote! My mistake!
Just wanted to point out that I am not sure if BM knew mare kicked before turning out w/ Zeke. After the 2 incidents w/ Zeke and the other mare the pony mare is kept alone now. Beforehand, I am not sure if BM knew but maybe owner did? Honestly, I am not sure. And even tho I am very disappointed, BM is going to trailer my pony to clinic in a few days (unfortunately, the clinic is quite a distance) Not sure if it will be free or if she expects us to pay ?
Thank you so much for your very informative comments! Learning a lot. And after the 2 accidents I have had w/ boarding barns, I am very skeptical. It’s hard to trust your horse w/ someone because you know that in most cases they do not care about the horse as much as you do.
Hi! Thanks so much for your insight. I am just worried that I do not know enough about horses to own my own farmette. My mom tries to reassure that if anything looks off about my horse that we would contact the vet. She knows how cautious I am about things >.< I muck out stalls often, used to feed horses almost every day, muck paddocks, water buckets, and turnout, but I still feel worried that I would screw something up.
[QUOTE=Sannois;7146690]I have to chime in…
Boarding no matter how nice a place and how good the staff will always have its problems.
First off, I>n all the 40 some years I have had horses I never assumed that my horse would go injury free being turned out. They get hurt. All places usually go out of their way to find a good fit for new horses, I had a TB who was a bully, so he only went out with the bad boys, and yes got kicked up.
One of my favorite barns I was ever at, the first week he was there he got kicked in the hock and was layed up for a week.
I never blame the barn owner, Nor would I expect money off my board.
If a horse was a hard fit they would do private turn out and you paid for it.
Sorry but horses get hurt. Just my opinion.[/QUOTE]
I understand totally! I knew that there would be vet bills… but this just makes me pause and think. If he was laid up for a week or even a month it would be fine, no prob. But Zeke is going to be laid up for 3 months minimum, could be closer to 6 months if everything goes as planned. There is a 90% that he will be fine and will be able to be ridden, but if there is complications, he might be lame for the rest of his life.
But definitely understand where you are coming from and thank you for your input!
[QUOTE=TheJenners;7146690]I guess I’ll be the one who says horses are horses and accidents happen. Unless you want your horse to live in solitary at your own farmette, it’s something you’re going to have to learn to accept.
And even then, horses will still find ways of hurting themselves. Rory was in individual turnout and I found a huge gash on his lip, and BO, DH, and I both walked the stall, attached run and attached paddock several times and could never find what he did it on. My guess is he stepped on his own face because he is a re-tard.
Horse: large mammal looking for an inconvenient and expensive way to die.
Yeah, it sucks that the accident happened and it was severe enough to require surgery. And I’d question why no one checked on them during the squealfest. But move? Probably not.[/QUOTE]
Thank you for your comment! Yes, I am still debating whether to move or not. Honestly, I just want to feel like I can trust the care given. And right now, I am not sure. Horses get injured, I definitely understand. I was just hoping that I wouldn’t run into fractures after only 2 months at this new barn. Thanks so much for your comment tho!
Welllllll, I’ve always been in boarding facilities and let me add another perspective. Things happen. When you tour a boarding facility, they’ll tell you if your horse can be turned out by himself/ with a buddy, or in groups. This is important information! However, horses will be horses and they will always settle out herd rank when a new horse enters the paddock. I’m really sorry that your horse received an injury but that’s always a risk when horses are turned out together. ESPECIALLY with mix-sex turnout and/or if there isn’t enough space for one horse to get away. Of course, these things can happen at your own barn, too! Ahhh, horses.
Horses do what they do. We never know what will happen. as much as i understand your situation, i would give this another chance, ask if maybe there is a more timid horse that might make a better match with your guy?
I would wonder why, in all equine common sense, if there is such a thing, anyone would turn a strange gelding out with a mare. A mare shod all around to boot.
