Hello. I am new to this forum and looking for advice from other experienced equestrians in the dressage community. In my area (within an hour of where I live) I cannot seem to find the right barn/training situation. I would like to be at an established, high end dressage barn with great training and great care of my horse. Good footing and proper sized and maintained arenas for training. Turn out on grass pastures. Stalls that are cleaned and stripped properly for better breathing and not full of dust and cobwebs and ammonia . Climate control tack rooms. I don’t mind paying for this, yet this doesn’t seem to exist. The trainers that are known for being the best in this area offer 2-3 hours of turn out per day on a dry lot. Others that maybe do have grass turn out during season, are dry lots without water or hay during the winter months. Without getting into a debate, I don’t believe in stalling a horse for over 21 hours per day, but if I want the best training, it seems my horse has to sacrifice. Has anyone else been in this situation and what did you do? I’m starting to feel my dressage dreams may not come true where we live.
Can you compromise & board your horse someplace that provides the care you want, then trailer to the barn that has the trainer(s) you think will help you achieve your ridden goals for lessons?
Might be helpful to let readers know what area you are in so suggestions for each facility can be provided.
I would make a list of your priorities re: care of your horse and facilities that you would like in order of importance, then see which local places tick off the most important ones. Unfortunately you’ll have to compromise somewhere, and only you can decide what you are willing to give up or adjust.
Reach out to trainers that you want to work with and see if they can attend your barn for lessons and/or training rides if you can’t board at their facility, and/or can you trailer out to them?
My personal policy is that a happy horse will train better, so quality of care (including turn out) is the highest priority to me and everything else falls beneath that.
I second the suggestion to board somewhere that has what you want for the horse’s health and well-being, and either haul to the trainer’s for lessons or see if it can be arranged for the trainer to come to where you board to give lessons.
I board at a place that has the turn-out, nice riding arenas, good care, etc. There is no resident trainer at this place, and it’s a pretty small, intimate barn actually (as in, just a few boarders and horses, but lots of pasture and riding space), but because we have such a nice facility for riding (beautiful full-sized, covered arena), trainers come to us and people haul their horses over here for lessons.
So, check and make sure that some of these nice places in your area don’t have something similar, or might at least be open to something similar. If there is a place you really like for your horse, and a trainer you’re interested in working with, see if it’s possible to have that trainer come there regularly to give lessons.
Usually this is a function of land costs and local development patterns and climate.
In the metropolitan area where I live, even further out in the exurbs, you have a choice.
You can put your horse on vacation on an old cow pasture with no amenities or rings or trail access.
Or you can go into a boarding barn with all amenities but in order to support the indoor arena, barn, wash stall, trainers, etc they need to maximize the number of horses on the property and there is no room for pastures.
We are in a temperate rainy climate and if you want grass in the summer, the horses need to be off the pasture from October to April or you will just create a mudpit that will be bare earth in simmer.
In other words you are unlikely to be able to Have It All around here unless you buy your own property but that is going to run you $3 million or more for 5 acres and you will not be able to use the pasture all winter anyhow.
If you go further upcountry there are more spacious facilities but no dressage trainers.
The conundrum you describe is absolutely typical of horse care in a metropolitan region.
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I would prioritize turnout, but then I don’t have much in the way of competitive aspirations. If I did, I’d still prioritize turnout and learn how to drive a trailer. Lack of grass turnout, per se, doesn’t really bother me, but I’ve always lived places where dry lots are the norm, at least for boarding facilities.
I would prioritize turnout. Do you have a trailer? If so, is there a chance you could trailer in for training? If the barns are within a reasonable distance of each other? I prefer to keep my horse out 24/7. I try to keep my horse’s life as normal for a horse as possible. But that’s just the way I keep my horses. I also have no high level ambitions, so I can totally see the other side of the coin. I’ve just seen so many unhappy horses being stalled excessively, the behavioral and health changes it can induce (and impede training…an unhappy horse is not going to be as receptive to training as a happy horse).”‹
My advice? Pick your priority. Some horses do better stalled than others. Only you know your horse. How many hours a week can you commit to training and exercising your horse? Good luck in the decision making process.
Board at the barn you trust with the care of your horse.
I am a trainer who travels. Many barns without resident trainers are cool with this as long as the visiting trainer has proper insurance and can provide proof and a waiver of liability to the hosting facility. I do it all the time. So - I agree with the others who have said, board your horse at the barn with all the amenities and either trailer out for your lessons, or find someone you can work with who will come to you. Good luck and welcome to your new obsession!
Turnout (after quality feeding) is my #1 priority when looking at boarding barns.
Absolutely. If the care is there, somehow everything else will fall into place.
This is exactly why I keep my horse at home. I could not find a single barn in my area (which is dressage mecca) that could offer 24/7 turnout. That was my dealbreaker and why my horse is at home.
The barn you are wanting - it doesn’t exist as a boarding barn. It does exist in private barns.
What do you mean, “stripped properly” - how often do you expect stripping of stall shavings?
Unfortunately, it’s the norm that dressage barns - even the best - don’t turn out their horses much. There’s a misconception that horses get paddock injuries if they’re turned out - what the reality is, the horse is more likely to hurt themselves if they’re cooped up often - partially because standing still is extremely detrimental for them and also because they lack the limb conditioning good turnout provides, as well as them being athletes worked hard and then forced to stand around 18 hours a day in a 12x12 area… - then when they get hurt, the owners blame the injury (“paddock injury!!”) on the turnout when in reality it was culmination of work and management.
Tangent aside, I would prioritize turnout and care, and truck in to the facility with the best training for you. This is my current arrangement – one thing to be aware of is, no matter who you go with, keep in mind they are likely to prioritize their boarding clients over you. It’s just how things are.
I grew up in southern California. There’s no turnout on grass pasture, period.
I think horses do need time to be horses. The drylot turnout isn’t ideal but it’s not awful either.
In Southern California, an option to consider is the 12x24 pipe corrals. The horses can see each other and have a bit more room to hang.
If they get out every day - turned out and/or ridden - this isn’t awful. It helps too if you have options to ride outside the ring.
I think it also helps if the horses have a view of some kind of interest - activity, other horses hanging, whatever. Good people doing the care that you trust is also huge.
That said, I moved to where I live now to have the horses at home and ample turnout. It would be hard for me to ask these horses to go to a city barn arrangement, even though I know lots of horses that have seemed to well in nice city barns. However, I don’t get to ride as much and I have not been able to take the lessons I used to take.
Hauling out for the training you want is an option. It takes a lot of extra time (all hail flexible work schedules) and of course the cost of the truck and trailer is substantial. I liked doing this and it was my solution for a time to get really excellent teaching, even if I only got it once a month. Whether this works for you depends somewhat on your personal situation, and also whether the trainer you’re interested in is even able to accommodate outside clients.
The tradeoffs are real. One thing I’d do for any barn is hang a while and see if the horses and people seem happy or if they seem tense or dull or grouchy. Barns that are dark, dusty, and with stressed out overworked people are never going to be happy. If the horses seem happy, even if it doesn’t seem like your ideal, give it a thought.
I have also learned over time that I’d rather have no lessons at all than bad or questionable ones. A bad professional can make even a horse paradise into horsey hell.
If horses and the right barn are important to you, it’s also not wrong to consider moving to a region where you can find what you want.
Have you looked into a Pixem/Pixio set up? I know these are becoming more and more popular and people have been extremely happy with them once they get the hang of using the technology. If you are looking for a trainer that will ride your horse, obviously this may not be ideal. But, if you are confident in riding yourself and just need the coaching…it could definitely be an option. I have quite a few friends who “train” with higher end coaches from Wellington on a very consistent basis from home (nowhere near FL). They all seem to be progressing and couldn’t be happier.
One common theme amongst all of these riders is that they are rather advanced amateurs with a good seat and capable with dealing with problems. If there is a fear factor or perhaps someone lacking in solid basics…I believe instruction in person will be the better option. Good luck and I too have always been care first, training second in my priority list…while still being extremely competitive up through the FEI levels.
Not clear from your post, are there any barns in your area with lots of large turnout with grass? I know when I moved from the Southeast to the desert West, it was a shock to see the lack of grass pastures. But that’s just reality.
Go for the best care and trailer out for lessons
I will say, my horse regularly tried to commit suicide one hoof at a time. So he doesn’t get turned out anymore, and it’s been perfectly fine. He does have a 12x36 run off his stall, he can see other horses and he’s the first stall in the barn, so greets everyone when they arrive. He does get out 7 days a week, 1-2 days stretching, 3-4 days FEI work, 1 day of conditioning on the hills, and one day to buck and play in the round pen. This probably doesn’t work for most horses, but for some horses it does work.
