Thank goodness!
I just would point out that you are 2 for 2 in picking out terrible barns. I hope barn #3 is great. You might reflect on how you select barns though. If you ever need to leave again, what could you do differently? Ask for references? Ask your vet? Insist on a board contract, and read it carefully?
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Generally, not really OP …
Read the board contract carefully before moving in. Don’t know about OP, but I know people who make a move on vibe and/or friendship, and then read the contract after unloading.
Friendship, even just friendliness, does not mean knowledgeable horse care. Plus some BO’s overestimate and oversell their experience and qualifications.
It can be hard to assess a barn if one doesn’t know the community that knows it. Especially if there are not great choices in the area.
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No OP Isn’t paying board.
I would move as soon as possible ( like today).
It sounds like they provide enough food/ care but they just don’t have any grasp on what a horse can do to themselves when the opportunity presents itself and they are just giving your mare too many opportunities to hurt herself.
You missed the post where OP said she is buying feed for the barn owner’s horse as well as her own and doing some of the chores. So it sounds like she’s basically “working off” board. Granted those situations tend to go south, as the OP is finding out.
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Glad you found a place so quick.
I looked again and still couldn’t find it but it doesn’t matter now.
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Here it is:
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Honestly, if you can do it logistically and contractually, I’d move her while they’re gone. I’ve boarded at some shady places and this location wouldn’t even be on my radar. So many hazards and liabilities…
Get out before they seriously injure or kill your horse.
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So how did it turn out?
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The new barn is wonderful. It has 50 acres of turn out (which is very unusual for this area!), 80 acres of trails, only a handful of boarders, and the owners seem like genuinely warm and knowledgeable people. The husband was one of the most popular farriers in this area before he retired, I had recognized the name but didn’t know he was the owner of this barn until they came to get her. The atmosphere seems very relaxed. Board is CHEAP. I can already tell I’m going to be sad to leave this place when we move in the spring.
Two small things I’ve noticed that make me feel good about my decision: (1) when we came out today to check on Mare the wife told me she was out half a dozen times last night checking on her making sure she was settling in okay, which I definitely did not ask or expect her to do, and (2) they have so many gates segmenting pretty much all the areas outside of the pastures that the horses could be in! Gates separating the different aisles, little gated off corrals before every paddock entrance, etc. Like there is a real emphasis on risk management to prevent loose horses. My SO described the abundance of gates as, “degrees of separation between them and their liability clause.” lol.
I feel bad because I dipped out of Barn B so quickly and now their horse is going to be alone. The husband asked me why I decided to leave in such a hurry and I said, “I think Mare needs the structure of a boarding facility, but I am so deeply grateful for your generosity and hospitality letting us stay here.” I think that relationship is over. Whenever I have started to doubt myself the past 24 hours I think about how I’ve been finding scabs and minor abrasions this week right at chest and throat level from where Mare has been sticking her head over their fence with the uncapped t-posts.
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Breathing a sigh of relief for you. So glad the move and settling in went well.
Sorry about the relationship, but there was likely no saving it once they showed their true colours.
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Also breathing more deeply to hear that Mare is in a safer place now. Good for you, OP, to move so quickly to take care of her. I know those awkward transitions are not easy. 
Absolutely this. Not worth maintaining.
Very good that you did leave cordially. If you see them around in the horse community or at the grocery store, you can cheerfully sing out “Oh HI! how are you doing ???” as if you really care. 
Also props to you OP for handling this as smoothly as was possible to do it. You sound like you are good with people, even people in awkward situations.
It would be interesting to catch up on gossip about them, eventually.
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Yes, it’s extremely relieving not having her there anymore. They are nice people with good intentions but as discussed in the thread the difference in expectations was irreconcilable. I have been gripped intensely by anxiety the last 10 days she was there, which was about when the camping trip was first brought up then her getting stuck between the wall and the round bales last weekend. It’s only been a little over 24hrs at the new place but knowing she is with people who know far more than I do has taken a huge weight off me. I am very grateful to everyone in this thread for giving me the last little push I needed to move her.
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Jiminy Christmas that first post was a ride. I’m glad you’re out of there now!
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