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Full care board

Horse Care
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#21

Oy, vey… going through this right now as a boarder, and I have been on the other side of the business as well. Also, I will again switch from HO to BO when my place gets built.

Full care means the owner could go on walk about for an extended period of time and the horse would be OK. It would not be improved or exercised (beyond turnout**), but its needs would be met.

That said, I have some differences (to be put into a contract and my discussions of terms with a prospective boarder (or that I have with a BO when I’m the HO):

  1. Turn out means enough exercise for the horse, accomplished as that facility can. If you have a barn or weather that means horses have to be in stalls for more than 24 hours straight, you have to figure out how to give the horses some free time out somewhere-- in the one paddock or in the indoor or whatever. Build accordingly if you can!

  2. Feeding horses has gotten complicated and a matter of a many and strong opinions. I want to stay out of that maelstrom, so that means the HO should buy what they want fed and put their supplements into one container to be dumped. That said, if the area requires beet pulp that has to be soaked, that will be included in the price of board and soaked appropriately. If boarder doesn’t want that fed, they can refuse it, but get no discount. Enough hay and the kind required to keep the horse in good weight is included in board. There is no nickel-and-diming on either side for basic forage or feed needed to keep the horse healthy.

  3. Barn does worming, fecal testing and vaccines/Coggins unless the boarder wants to do their own vet work. In that case, they have to present proof of that within a couple of weeks of the rest of the barn being done. The idea is that the all horses on the farm are managed as a herd and, IMO, every HO benefits from knowing how their horses’ spit-brothers/sisters are also as “clean” as theirs is. Not a fan of horses living together where the BO throws up their hands and lets every boarder do this stuff their own way… or not at all. It’s not fair to the person who is rigorous about it; it’s also not fair to the person who never takes their horse to a show and poses no to the closed herd on the farm.

  4. Owner should contract for their own additional vet work and shoeing. They should be there for those appointments as a matter of saving BO labor costs and also good horsemanship. But something else can be negotiated so long as the absentee ownership style doesn’t create a problem.

  5. Treatments for medical stuff to be negotiated.

  6. Blanketing and fly spray/wardrobe is included in board, but owners have to keep those things supplied.

  7. Supervision! Supervision is important, people. Nothing chaps my HO hide more than to show up and see a rubbed tail or cut that the BO missed. To me, that means they aren’t noticing the stuff that I, when I work on their side of the table, would notice. Sometimes, if they are that careless with their own horses, you have to know that and accept that that’s the level of care your horse will get, too, and that it’s not personal.

My bottom line, no matter which side of the biz I am on, is that the horse’s basic needs will be met and no one gets exploited. But training, improvement even any kind of horse enrichment beyond basic turnout is on the owner. As a BO, I’d prefer that the HO not be absentee since I think horses are optional, luxury beasts so people who have them at all should really do right by them and stay invested in them. Alternately, I’d be cool with a retired horse and the HO who was way out of the picture so long as our standards of care and horsemanship were in line and I could set things up to keep that horse happy.

But, in answer to the OP’s question: If there is some aspect of horse care not being done such that you couldn’t leave for 2 months, it’s not Full Care.

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#22

It is so important to ask questions and be clear on how things are going to work. I have boarded several places and haven’t necessarily seen them work out a turnout situation if the horses needed to be in. The barn I was at that had the most turnout normally could have periods of several weeks without turnout if it got muddy or snowy enough, and in that case maybe they would rotate them through in the indoor but for the most part they wouldn’t. I was at another place that didn’t allow lunging or turnout in the indoor (for footing purposes). I’ve also been at a place that has smaller dry lots and tends to be able to get horses out on those on most days, but if not it’s definitely up to the owner if the horse gets hand walked or lunged or turned out in the indoor if it’s empty. It’s just so regional or perhaps discipline specific, but honestly it wouldn’t occur to me that a barn would do that because I just haven’t seen it.

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#23

I can say that I have never boarded at a barn that has included in the board handling fecals and deworming. Interesting to see that on a list of what full care must include.

Though I do blanket, I do not consider blanketing a horse necessity.

2 Likes
#24

I have not seen barn owners do fecals and worming either. But! It always surprises me when they say “I just let boarders do what they each want,” especially when there is group turn out. I don’t even see how that’s medically effective.

So I might be the first, but I wonder how/why that is.

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#25

When I see board advertised as full care I presume basically the same services you list. Blanket changes being a bit of a sticky point. I like a night check as well but a lot of farms are no longer offering that. The ability to add a lunch is getting harder to find too (my current horse doesn’t need a lunch but other horses do).

My current barn offers pretty good full care. With fly spray, masks, sheets and boots applied daily in our long fly season. Staff will also hose a really sweaty horse at turn in if needed. Night check done religiously complete with a good night cookie.

I think it’s a bit of a misleading name / title as that list really doesn’t cover a horse’s care completely. If regular hoof picking was included it would be a lot closer imo. Though I haven’t run up on anywhere that offers hoof picking unless in a “full service” training program.

To be clear, this all is only relevant to my area. Here, weather doesn’t stop turnout completely more than a handful of days per year. We do have days where horses go out late or come in early due to thunderstorms or pouring rain. I can see how things would be tougher in climates that presented more turn out challenges.

4 Likes
#26

Thank you so much for your input! I’ve managed and worked at barns previously and now am just a boarder… but barn owner is not attentive and lacks consistency for basic care. Wasn’t sure if I was having ridiculous expectations or not :hugs:

3 Likes
#27

When I lived in southeast England, “full” livery was everything. Feeding, stall cleaning, turn in/out, blanket changes, arranging all vet and farrier visits, giving medications, grooming, exercise rides, tack cleaning on days the owner was not coming … I would travel and have zero worries because everything my horse needed would be done. What I’ve experienced as full care in the US is more akin to UK “part livery” which is the above but not grooming or riding, vet/farrier holding is hit or miss.

My current barn is pretty good and will do blanket changes, feeding of medications included with full care.

In my area at least, it seems like the only barns that even offer the “absolutely everything” full care are extremely expensive hunter jumper facilities, which is not my discipline, nor am I prepared to pay that much so I’ve adjusted my expectations.

1 Like
#28

Full board minimums: your horse won’t suffer if you go on vacation

Daily turnout
Stall cleaned once a day
Water
Hay and grain that the BO provides
Notice any major issues (injuries, lost shoes, etc.)

Full board IMHO: All of the above plus

Pick feet daily
Grooming if the horse comes in muddy (nothing to spectacular, but knocking off the major dirt)
Blanket/fly masks/etc.
Schedule farrier/annual vaccinations/dental/etc.
Most places I have boarded scheduled these and charged for holding for them
Fans/fly spray
Dewormer
Again, they can charge for it, but it’s administered as needed

Basically, your horse will thrive in all ways except training/fitness if you’re gone.

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#29

I’ve been on both sides also, and what is the norm can vary a lot by location and type of facility. What I value is if the BO says they will provide XYZ, I expect them to provide that. And be up front about what they do not provide. Don’t promise me 10 other things and don’t deliver. Unreasonable expectations are expecting them to do something outside the list of what they will do. It’s up to you to decide if you can live with what is provided or if you need additional service (and whether that is accessible for an add-on at this place).

What is common and not unreasonable to be upset about is skimping on the things that are supposed to be provided. And/or doing a lot of a la carte items. I dislike both although at least the latter is honest. I just want to pay a flat rate and if that means more time or supplies one season vs another, then BO should figure out a way to make the math work. I don’t want a board increase every 6 months or to be asked to pay extra for things that are supposed to be included. And I don’t want a separate agreement over blanketing or some other routine service. Or to be told well when we meant all the hay they need, we didn’t really mean that much for your hard keeper. Or shavings for your horse with bed sores. Etc. just give me the price and the services and I’ll decide if it meets my needs well enough.

3 Likes
#30

Yes, it really depends on the barn! I have been in 4 full-care barns for at least one year. The basics at all were: hay and grain provided (with conditions such as must use something the barn already feeds), turn-out/turn-in every day, minimum of 4 hours per day turnout, bedding provided and stall cleaned once a day (and picked in the late afternoon or evening in 3 of the 4). All fed hay at least 4 times per day, and had several choices of hard feeds. Blanketing and putting on owner-provided fly spray/fly masks were included in the price. Supplements or medications provided by the owner would be added to hard feed at no charge, as long as that was an appropriate way to administer them.

All have had some version of night check, but in 2 cases much too early (before 8 p.m.)

That’s sort of the minimum I’d consider full board. This is in the Northeast, and all these barns were a bit better (and with one exception, more expensive) than the average in the area.

#31

For me, “full stall board” is: grain/hay, turn-in/out, blanketing, fly spray (using my spray), stall cleaning daily and trailer parking. They also need to pay attention to what’s going on with my horse: nothing more annoying than the BO going “oh, I hadn’t noticed that”. For example; diarrhea. There’s no excuse not to notice it and tell me. If the feed I prefer is not a choice, I understand being charged extra to get it. Owner schedules farrier / vet but BO generally holds the horse unless owner wants to be there or horse is hard to deal with (then there’s likely a fee). BO needs to know when these events are occuring.

“Full pasture board”: horse lives out full-time with a run-in shed. Hay/grain provided. Trailer parking included. Also includes blanketing/fly spray. BO needs to pay attention to horse’s well-being.

Price is a huge modifier: some places seem cheaper, but once you add blanketing fees and trailer parking fees and fly spray fees and horse holding fees (for farrier and vet), pretty soon you find yourself back up to the higher cost facility.

Amenities at the barn also can be a factor in cost.

1 Like
#32

If you need all those services, yes. There are different demographics horse barns can create service types for. Broadest being - owners that want to just come out to ride and have someone take care of everything else, and owners that want to be involved in all aspects of their horse’s care. I was always the second type of boarder, therefore did not want to pay $700+ for facilities that automatically provided a bunch of “extra stuff.”

#33

Some of us want to be, but cannot be for various reasons. (I’m boarding my mare at a fancy dressage barn. Care for the horses is quite good (though I need to find out WHY my mare has a spot of Alu-shield on her right hind hoof and just above it…) The staff were very confused at first because I never expected them to turn her out for me if I was there. To be fair, compared to a lot of the other horses, her manners are excellent. No chain over her nose, and while she expresses her frustration at me, she knows better than to try to drag me to the fresh grass.)

There are no good choices in boarding barns nearby (less than a 30 minute drive). A few are close (one would be mostly OK, except 3 hours of turnout per day is not enough.)

#34

I had all my horses at home for 15 years, but when I got down to one horse, boarding became more attractive. And yes, I would love to be at the barn in the am and pm to take care of him but working an non-horse job with strange hours kinda puts a kink in things. That said I am generally there 4 days a week. My guy is on pasture board (they hay and feed the grain I provide); the blanketing fee works for me since my job is nuts.
Guess I thought the OP’s question was more of “when you hear the words ‘full board’ what does that mean to you?”

1 Like
#35

When I was in my 20s back in the 80s full board meant hay/grain, stall cleaned 1x, water, and turnout. Now, it’s all of the above but no grain unless owner provided. Hay is 2x a day. The place my guy is at now (I’m moving soon) feeds a set amount of hay, I believe 15 lbs. a day and if horse owner wants a slow feed hay net for night time it’s an additional cost. I’m on that option but I have a feeling the staff who feed are a little confused. Last night, the hay feeder gave my horse one thin flake for dinner then a hay net with additional. That one thin flake did not weigh 7.5 lbs.

#36

Is there no hay given for breakfast to make up that 7.5lbs?

#37

Yes, they give hay in the morning but if it’s supposed to be 15 lbs. a day, that would be 7.5 lbs. morning and 7.5 lbs. night along with the hay net.

#38

Oh, so the hay net is not them putting the 7.5 pounds into a net, it is additional hay? I misunderstood what you wrote. I thought there was an additional fee to have the already included 7.5 pounds put into a net.

#39

Right, he’s supposed to get 15 lbs. a day in addition to a hay net full at night. The regular feedings of hay just go on the floor, the net is tied to the wall.

#40

Full training and board applies to my facility as follows:
Stalls cleaned daily.
Turnout daily.
Free choice 2nd cutting grass and a portion of 3rd cutting alfalfa plus our feed. Different choices in grain can be fed if supplies by owner. Same with supplements.
Blankets changed as needed.
Small scrapes down injuries tended to as needed.
Scheduling and attending farrier and vet visits. Providing any additional care directed by farrier and vet.
Use of barn supplies of shampoo, conditioner, detangler, ointments, hoof oil etc.
5-6 rides or lessons a week. Horse can be tacked occasionally for lessons if owner is running late.
Routine clipping and bathing.

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