Recently moved horse to a farm with an indoor for the Winter. Turnout consists of smallish dry paddocks. Only 1 has a run in shed.
Staff has issues catching my horse, so a few nights ago in a very rainy, cold windy night they could not catch him and left him outside. I unfortunately was having car issues so couldn’t go put him in myself ( I have no issues whatsoever catching him).
Asked manager about possibly putting him in the turnout with the run in. She said no, and offered the solution of me purchasing a shelter to be put in his turnout area.
That isn’t going to happen. What would you do ?
Does he have a history of being hard to catch? This sounds like a training problem to me. At the dozens of barns I’ve been at or worked at there was maybe 1 or 2 horses in hundreds that couldn’t be caught easily. Do you need to work with the barn staff or work with your horse to teach better ground behavior so he becomes easier to catch? Especially in nasty weather if there’s a warm dry stall with hay he should want to come in.
Treats in a can at the gate of the turnout sounds a whole lot less expensive than buying a shelter.
That said, horses have survived a lot of rainstorms in the past.
My expectations for these kinds of situations are quite low, I guess. I wouldn’t expect staff to deal with a tough horse. They don’t get paid anywhere near enough. Not sure why the barn manager said no to your solution, unless s/he had already promised that spot to someone else, in which case, tough for you.
2 Likes
BO should know that horses can become hard to catch in storms. I doubt this is training related and more weather related.
Did the BO give any more reason? If I loved the place I would probably just buy a shelter for while Im there lol
Has the horse historically been hard to catch?
I have a feral horse that only allows certain people to catch her after she learns to trust you. My horses stay at home so it’s not an issue. But I would not expect a barn to spend extra time trying to catch my horse. If horse wants to be a jerk, then out it stays. All my horses live out 24/7 without a run in shed currently. Just trees.
If you think this is something you could work with barn staff on, I’d do that first. My horse is fine after someone catches her a few times with treats. If you like the barn, then I’d be tempted to buy a cheap shed if you feel strongly that horse can’t stay out without a shed.
1 Like
If it’s cold, wet, rainy, and the horse is refusing to come in and have dinner, I think the horse is telling you he wants 24/7 turnout.
My main barn has stalls with runouts. But I’ve spent a fair bit of time at my coach’s barn that has stalls and then daily turnout.
Some of the horses get silly at turnin dinner time, and challenging to handwalk for the junior barn girls. But I’ve never seen them refuse to come in, because dinner is waiting and they know it.
So was your horse refusing to be caught, running away? Or was he being a hyped up idiot who wanted to come in but was too dangerous for the skill level of the help?
If the former, treats. And a clear routine.
If the latter, bring him in first before the herd starting snorting and prancing. Maybe drop a handful of hay and then catch him and lead him in. Don’t leave him to last to work up a head of steam.
You may need to visit in the evening to observe if the barn help don’t have great problem solving skills.
4 Likes
The OP says right in the original post that the staff has a hard time catching their horse. They don’t say this is a unique bad weather thing.
1 Like
Horse can be a bit difficult to catch. I have no issues.
I do believe that that being the case, they should move him to the run in. If not, they cannot acomodate him and will move back home.
IMHO, what happened here sounds pretty standard for an ordinary (non-full-service) type boarding barn. Staff tried to catch horse, and when they couldn’t they notified the owner.
Expecting a boarding barn to re-arrange the turnouts so you can have the run-in isn’t likely. First, maybe someone bought that shed specifically for their horse. Second, perhaps its already in use for a night turnout horse or 24/7 turnout horse. Third, perhaps it’s promised to someone else, maybe someone who is a long-term not seasonal boarder.
Make sure the horse is well blanketed, and see if you can be there for a few days to watch staff try to catch horse and come up with a solution.
9 Likes
If you are paying board and that includes for the staff to turn your horse in/ out then they should be able and competent enough to do that under normal circumstances.
If you have a horse who is known to be impossible to catch, then you may need to buy a shelter if you don’t want him stuck out in the awful weather. Although I think shelter should be provided by the barn for all turnouts.
If you don’t want him getting pounded during bad weather you may want to take him home.
1 Like
It is unreasonable for you to expect the turn out with a shelter to become yours, when I assume it already has a resident horse.
I do think you need to talk with the people there and figure out why they can’t catch your horse when you have no trouble catching your horse. Is there some neat trick you have that makes your horse easy to catch? Or is your horse one that is always hard for others to catch?
I thought the barn owner suggesting you get a shelter was a good compromise. (Assuming it is your shelter to take with you when you leave.)
2 Likes
Any ideas of what you would buy as a run in shed on a property you do not own?
If it was imperative to me to have the indoor arena access, I’d make sure my horse had adequate waterproof full coverage blankets and then let him deal with being wet. As long as he’s not panicked over being left out and it’s not an every single day thing, I wouldn’t be overly concerned.
2 Likes
in that case, I stand by my post, if you love this place just build a shelter yourself if you can. If you are MEH about this place, maybe look elsewhere.
You can get pre fab run in sheds, that aren’t too pricey and easily moved.
Something removable would be an investment you could use at home if you ever moved him. All you need is a 12x12 portable and a way to anchor it down.
What I do would depend on the horse and where you’re located.
My filly can be hard to catch (she likes standing just out of reach but will follow people like a dog), but I know she’s fine out by herself. It could easily take someone other than me well over an hour to catch her if she’s having a day. She’s out 24/7, but if I was at a barn that did turn-out/turn-in I’d just expect her to stay outside in the elements if she’s being a brat. So, my reaction to your situation would just be a “just live outside” if possible. If you think he needs a proper shelter out there, I’d look into getting a carport and staking that down.
My reaction would be different if the horse didn’t do well outdoors (thin coat, poor body condition, worries, etc.) and thus NEEDS to go inside for the night.
@Buddy0227 are there any updates? Have you worked thru this with the barn owner?
How is your horse doing?
I would guess that if you give a sort of location people will gladly offer where to buy a shed if you go that route.
Something like thiss would be a good temporary run in option https://www.sstack.com/shelterlogic-12x12-corral-shelter/p/41628/
That’s what I was going to say! Farm and Fleet has had it on sale for under $200 IIRC. I’ve seen panels to enclose the sides too.
