As someone who had a 30 year old horse with a host of mental and physical issues, who at a minimum had to have 5 to 6 small feelings each day, I would have been thrilled to have found a boarding situation to take him on. AND I would have been out there doing quite a bit of self care just because I loved him and he deserved it. 
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That’s how I feel. But apparently we’re not everyone. It also doesn’t help that this was the lowest cost facility in the area for many years.
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Raise the rates to cover your real costs. If you have different sized stalls for rent you could charge more for the large ones. Put out a rate sheet saying what board covers and what you will charge for extras. It’s very common for a barn to say board includes say 5 bags of pelleted bedding a month and barn will provide more at a cost of xx per bag (cost of bag plus delivery plus extra labor). Or state your feed and say supplements can be provided by owners.
It’s difficult to transition and it is possible to grandfather in one or two special horses if you like the owners. But you cannot grandfather in all your legacy clients. I would give them a spring date when full board prices will be in effect and tell them you will waive the 30 day notice if they move before that date. Every one staying on needs to sign new contracts with you that include the owners responsibilty for vet and hoof care.
I find it hard to believe the horses were really at Henneke 2 out of 10, though I could believe 3 or 4/10. Thing is, very old horses may have tooth or health or appetite issues just like very old humans who can be scary skinny.
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It was horrible. Hooves overgrown, (one mare had gone a year and a half without farrier care) matted long manes, and skin and bones. Two of them were so bad the fat around the anus was completely gone and gaunt.
Four very light flakes a day per horse (less than 10lbs per horse), and 1/2 can of mouldy senior feed will do that right quick.
It is hard to imagine, until you see it.
The almost 40 year old was getting 9 lbs of Senior - he can’t eat hay, was getting no cubes or anything else, and he should be on 16 at least.
If I were local to you, I’d be beating your door down to come board with you 
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Just going back, so that I can expand on that a bit.
The stall cleaning system that was here when I got here was removing only the big piles, then throwing a shovel full of shavings on top of the stall. Urine was never removed. On Sunday they would scrape one wet layer off.
The stalls were brown and totally soaked, with a poof of clean shavings on top. I dug out about 5-6” worth of accumulated wet shavings, stall by stall.
The horses were emaciated. The owners who did care were doing supplemental feedings after their vets and farriers had remarked at the horrifying condition the rest of the horses were in. Many of the emaciated horses were mid-teens, not elderly. When I first got here and would walk into the barn there was so much screaming and banging. Now just whuffles.
They did not get daily turnout. There were so many horses here that they only got turned out on alternate days. The days they did not get turned out, their stalls did not get cleaned.
The barn leaked to the point that three stalls could not be used because they would have an inch of water in them after storms. A horse once electrocuted itself on a live wire from a not maintained outlet in a paddock. Another horse apparently got wrapped up in old dog fencing that was never removed. Another was allowed to wander loose in the barn and put her leg through a wheelbarrow.
Water in the paddocks was in troughs with holes in them, and the owner of the barn would yell at people who tried to fill them. This is one of the old reviews on Yelp.
They were reported for the manure pile which was not removed for 20 years. They were reported for the condition of the horses.
The staff was being paid $10/day to clean all 20 stalls and feed the horses. $20 on a stall stripping day. And then the staff member was paying rent on top of it.
This is not just hearsay, these are actually stories from boarders and the staff, as well as my own observation. There’s a lot more, but it might be too identifiable.
Board was in the $300s and the going rate is in the high fives, low sixes. There was a reason for it.
Thanks! I appreciate the vote of confidence! I care for these critters like my own and I can’t wait until I can proudly say we’ve done what we wanted to do
That’s horrifying. I’m surprised the SPCA didn’t shut it down.
Your barn employee who has lived there 30 years was complicit so its likely she will never work at your standards. If she had standards she would have left years ago.
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Ugh. No, you can’t be dealing with people who thought any of that was acceptable horse care. They have to go.
I’ve boarded at some pretty ghetto barns in the last couple of decades, but they were all clean and the horses got fed.
That 40 year old must be tough as old boots.
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When I got here I believed that it was because she was doing as she was told. Now I’m learning that it may be that plus some other issues. She has some strange ideas. But none of that was apparent up front.
The authorities determined that the horses had food and hay on site and therefore there was nothing to be done. For the manure I believe there was a fine.
It has been an exhausting ride.
He is! He was gaunt when I got here but still ticking!
That’s pretty much been my experience any time animal control has been called. Most places they do nothing unfortunately.
It sounds like it’s time you move on from a past that isn’t even yours. Cut the ties and make the place what you want it to be.
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Years ago, I had a boarder with a very elderly horse who I chased all the time for money. When I raised the board, I took her aside and told her I would not raise hers due to the age of her horse. I did not want that pony to relocate at age 35 and I was pretty sure anywhere she went, the elderly mare wouldn’t get the care she needed. I agree w everyone above…you shouldn’t be feeding everyone else’s horses. That said, I’ve never once regretted looking out for that elderly mare.
I don’t know what part of the country you’re in, but I know that in some areas mushroom farmers will haul away straw bedding for free. Our barn looked into straw and decided not to switch for other reasons, but they would have definitely saved money on the manure hauling.
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Thankfully once I can get my fences the way I need them I can compost it, and turn it into something people can buy or take for free. We don’t have mushroom farms here as far as I know, but it makes really good compost when done right.
I’m a gardener so I’m pretty excited about good poop 
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I wish I could feel better about doing that for this horse. His owners are my problem. They aren’t hurting for money, and the passive aggressive complaints are starting to get to me.
Does it affect how I feel about him? Yes. Does it affect how I treat him? No. But could I very well see why the previous barn owner didn’t do anything extra for him? Absolutely.
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I feel for you. The person who owned my elderly mare was also VERY comfortable. She brought me dinner once to say thank you. It was a 6” frozen pizza.
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“If you aren’t happy, you are welcome to leave” will either shut her up or get her to go, maybe?
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I said that I’d be happy to find her another place to go. She complained that she felt “trapped” here, and I was like “ok, then I’ll network”…it stopped that particular complaint but then it started up again.
I wish I didn’t take it so personally but it makes me cranky!!!
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That would make me cranky, too.
