Gifts for boarders

One year I got a very nice llbean style canvas tote with barn logo. Very handy.

As a barn worker, framed pics of the hoarders (I mean, it’s a typo, but is it??) horses I’ve taken is what I’m giving.
4x6 Pics are free with the Shutterfly app and larger sizes aren’t too spendy.

Auto Window sticker cling with barn name is a great way to advertise…

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Cookies and a gift card
Coffee gift basket

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Well, you are very nice to be thinking of gifts for your young boarders. Thank you.

But, in terms of a boarding discount: No, please no… :dizzy_face: It takes so much bandwidth to deal with board and its various nuances (because we boarders are constantly analyzing board and horse costs and relatively benefits, even in the most wonderful barns), just leave the board alone.

I’m thinking of the added time of bookkeeping if a BO was to discount the board for one month, for the barn and the clients. I can’t imagine that it would be worth it for the clients unless you were discounting by 25% or more, and I don’t know of many barns that could afford that, even for a month.

I agree with giving everyone a picture of their horse in a small, pretty frame, and be done with it.

Thank you again for thinking of your young adult boarders. That is really and truly lovely.

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It can get very expensive for a BO to give gifts for all the boarders. In the past one BO gave us “gift certificates” for braiding, clipping, a lesson, which we all appreciated.

Another barn we got barn logo gifts, my favorites were fleece scarf and headband.
Another barn the BO had an idea after a border got stockings for all the horses -everyone filled everyone’s stockings - anonymously. She put a $5 limit. it was a lot of fun and it’s amazing how much you can find for under $5.00. There was no barn gift exchange as that can also get kind of out of control.

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Nicest gift ever from a barn owner: personalized lead ropes from myrope.com

Its been 14 years since I left that farm and I a) still have those lead ropes and b) have ordered one for every new horse I’ve had since then. They’re amazing.

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Those are really nice and definitely would be handy!

Very nice, but… sigh…
Nylon leads are a Hard No for me.
Wish they had a cotton version.
Or sold just the personalized name tag I could add to my own leads.

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Both of these are a little late, but the one barn gave us aall sized calendars with the horses in it. Some split pictures on a page, some one person holding multiple horses, or horses lined up at a fence line. ALL ages seemed excited while we opened them together flipping to find our horse! They were professional photos, but something about seeing all the horses on your wall throughout the year.

Other gift was a hoof pick the barn farrier made out of half a shoe. We each got one. Kinda neat😊

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I must be doing something wrong.
A board discount would not lead to any stress for me to pay less one month.
No weird book keeping or anything like that.

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No, Trub, I think you’re probably doing something right. :slight_smile:

I’m definitely doing something wrong by not having the bandwidth to deal with a one-month change in board even if it’s a discount, but, that’s a commentary on the way-too-many-moving-parts in my life, not yours. :slight_smile:

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Or, I am just doing things in such a prehistoric way that it is easy to change. I write a paper check. One of the few things left that want those.

But you made a point that is a good reminder. A general gift that seems great might not be right for everyone.