Desperately Seeking Non Crazy Boarding Facility... close to D.C.!

[HorseDreamer]

Dear COTH members, lend us (My horses & myself) your wisdom and experience.
What we expect & hope to find, someday in a boarding facility:

Regular feeding times, within a reasonable window daily.
Stalls cleaned daily, at regular hours which are reliable.
Plenty of quality hay with little to no dust or mold.
Regular turnout, with plenty of quality hay when the grass is dead.
Clean troughs and water buckets, which are checked/ filled daily.
Checking for shoes & alerting owner and/or farrier if shoes are off.
Checking for injuries and alerting owner/ treating/ calling vet as necessary.
Adding, removing or changing blankets in a manner consistent with weather.
Either putting bell boots on/ off or turning up/ down to allow feet to dry when horses are in.
Handlers whom turn horses around when leading into field & stall for safety.
Fields which are maintained, including safe fencing & mowing at appropriate times of the year.
Somewhere safe to hack out off property for fun.
Arena which is drug at least 3-4 days a week.

Bonus: A place which hoses muddy legs or picks feet! I worked at a barn as a kid which always picked feet when the horses came in. Haven’t seen it since:lol:

A non crazy trainer whom doesn’t have a heart attack when people move jumps. :winkgrin:

Where do you board? What are the pros and cons? How far from DC?

Thank you in advance… I’m new to the area and having trouble finding a place to board.

[Laurierace]

My barn would suit but we are probably an hour and a half away from DC. Or four hours with traffic!

[Where_sMyWhite]

I’m coming to your place Laurie, but a bit of a commute from Colorado

[HorseDreamer]

Laurie, you’re a lucky gal!

[Snowfox]

Hey if you move a jump move it back, it’s called manners!

[HorseDreamer]

[QUOTE=Snowfox;7357283]
Hey if you move a jump move it back, it’s called manners![/QUOTE]

Nobody said anything about not putting jumps back. However- if a barn is open to boarders, it is rude to not allow them to use the jumps for their needs too. If a trainer is at a public boarding facility, where there are non students using facilities, then they need to deal with people moving jumps. If a student at a trainer run barn moves jumps, they should obviously put everything back where it came from.

[baymarewithflair]

[QUOTE=HorseDreamer;7357171]
Dear COTH members, lend us (My horses & myself) your wisdom and experience.
What we expect & hope to find, someday in a boarding facility:

Regular feeding times, within a reasonable window daily.
Stalls cleaned daily, at regular hours which are reliable.
Plenty of quality hay with little to no dust or mold.
Regular turnout, with plenty of quality hay when the grass is dead.
Clean troughs and water buckets, which are checked/ filled daily.
Checking for shoes & alerting owner and/or farrier if shoes are off.
Checking for injuries and alerting owner/ treating/ calling vet as necessary.
Adding, removing or changing blankets in a manner consistent with weather.
Either putting bell boots on/ off or turning up/ down to allow feet to dry when horses are in.
Handlers whom turn horses around when leading into field & stall for safety.
Fields which are maintained, including safe fencing & mowing at appropriate times of the year.
Somewhere safe to hack out off property for fun.
Arena which is drug at least 3-4 days a week.

Bonus: A place which hoses muddy legs or picks feet! I worked at a barn as a kid which always picked feet when the horses came in. Haven’t seen it since:lol:

A non crazy trainer whom doesn’t have a heart attack when people move jumps. :winkgrin:

Where do you board? What are the pros and cons? How far from DC?

Thank you in advance… I’m new to the area and having trouble finding a place to board.[/QUOTE]

Dreamer, where are you located? In DC, MD, or VA? Important detail that would help us point you in the right direction. Traffic around here is horrendous, if you’re on the north side of DC, Maryland is probably better. East or south side, VA or PG county is your best bet.

[gottagrey]

yep need more information DC area covers a lot of territory these days and also what discipline - there are plenty of decent places but some might be geared towards dressage and you’re H/J or eventer etc.

[HorseDreamer]

I live on the NE side of DC. I’m close to BW Parkway, Rt. 50 and sort of close to 495. PG County seems close, and there seem to be a lot of places in Montgomery County. I have a dressage horse, and two young event horses. Thank you!

[asterix]

If you can go out not in rush hour then some Montgomery County places might work for you. I board at Waredaca - there is a lot to like (nice indoor, outdoors, xc course, trails, on site clinics with lots of folks, no drama and knowledgeable staff), but it does not entirely meet your list ( horses get run in and out, minimal blanket change / boots type care). There are some other options in that area as well.

[HorseDreamer]

I have an older gelding whom is a pretty easy keeper, but with his arthritis & caudal heel seems to enjoy his stall time. Of my two younger geldings one likes to be out all the time (if there is hay), and the other has a cracked foot and needs time in a dry stall daily to keep his feet as good as they are. Asterix, can you recommend any other places and/ or farriers in Montgomery County? I just started with Brian Purrington, and he seems excellent- but doesn’t go that far.

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=HorseDreamer;7357171]
Dear COTH members, lend us (My horses & myself) your wisdom and experience.
What we expect & hope to find, someday in a boarding facility:

Regular feeding times, within a reasonable window daily.
Stalls cleaned daily, at regular hours which are reliable.
Plenty of quality hay with little to no dust or mold.
Regular turnout, with plenty of quality hay when the grass is dead.
Clean troughs and water buckets, which are checked/ filled daily.
Checking for shoes & alerting owner and/or farrier if shoes are off.
Checking for injuries and alerting owner/ treating/ calling vet as necessary.
Adding, removing or changing blankets in a manner consistent with weather.
Either putting bell boots on/ off or turning up/ down to allow feet to dry when horses are in.
Handlers whom turn horses around when leading into field & stall for safety.
Fields which are maintained, including safe fencing & mowing at appropriate times of the year.
Somewhere safe to hack out off property for fun.
Arena which is drug at least 3-4 days a week.

Bonus: A place which hoses muddy legs or picks feet! I worked at a barn as a kid which always picked feet when the horses came in. Haven’t seen it since:lol:

A non crazy trainer whom doesn’t have a heart attack when people move jumps. :winkgrin:

Where do you board? What are the pros and cons? How far from DC?

Thank you in advance… I’m new to the area and having trouble finding a place to board.[/QUOTE]

I just left a place that did literally none of those things. Never being a boarder again! Unless, of course, you can find a place near MA for us too!!

[Nonsmom]

[QUOTE=beowulf;7357898]
I just left a place that did literally none of those things. Never being a boarder again! Unless, of course, you can find a place near MA for us too!![/QUOTE]

In the financial industry, “Past performance is not an indicator of future results” is quite true. However in the business and boarding world past performance is almost always an indicator of future results. There was a recent thread on “what to look for on a boarding stable.” Checking previous history was mentioned.

The OP is doing due diligence now.

[gottagrey]

Horsedreamer, lucky me, the place I board pretty much ticks/checks off everything on your list except it’s a small facility so doesn’t have space available. i’m not familiar w/ many of the barns over on that side of DC/MD mostly Mont. and Howard Co. and the places I know might be too far am sending you a PM

[asterix]

The places I would recommend are full as well, I think. You could try sunset Hill - they are a little further away than Waredaca and have much more limited trail riding options, but a little bit more high-touch in terms of care. I know folks who are happy there. Ditto Southwind in Damascus – probably too far for you but they have lots of trails and I think the care is pretty decent.

[asterix]

As for farrier, probably best to find a boarding plac first - as you found, that can affect who is in your reach…