Exactly. Lord knows I come at my horse from all sides and directions when blanketing him (eating while loose in a 1-acre pasture with an electric fence…though the fence is far away at the time). I know something could go amiss, and I do have the experience and instinct to know if my horse is going to do something other than he normally does when I blanket him (which is stand there and ignore me while he munches). I’m not going to try to throw it on him when he’s snorting and staring bug-eyed at something in the distance with his tail flagged. I’m not going to try it before I’ve fed him when he’s pacing around the pasture in anticipation of his grub. If he’s active, distracted, or agitated in some way, I’m slipping a halter on him before tossing the blanket over his back.
I tossed hay at lunch today. Then I went into their lot with a cart full of blankets. At no point did I manage my caudal, my cranium, or my coccyx ;). I shoved blankets onto critters and made it work. No halters. I’d bathed in static guard and came with apples. Everyone stood like a stuffed animals, stuffing their faces with hay while I dressed them.
Same here. I FIRMLY believe you should do your best to train your horses to be handled by anyone. Accidents happen to anyone, even with the most docile horse under the best conditions. However, I want my horses to be able to be handled by my SO, roommate, cousin, the fire department, and your average middle schooler WITHOUT having to send those humans to the NH trainer first 
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As usual, you are are YOU and your typical poor posting status… Stalking me and talking about several different horses, ASSuming they have some connection to me, you consider they are all about my horse. You clearly did a lot of work to prove your bizarre point. And that says you’re willing to stalk people to inaccurately prove your narrative. Holy Sh#t.
They did fic the footing because a clinic was happening the next weekend. We haven’t talked about the hot wire being moved away because this is part of the current issue.
You’re right. I have to rethink why I am still there. It’s hard, but you are right. The boarding contract is very general. I haven’t signed it in years.
This
I’d stop blanketing. Probably not doable in the middle of the winter, but seriously—unless your horse has a medical condition and needs the extra warmth, I’d let it go naked.
I believe the OP rides her horse in the winter, which I realize is not a medical condition but it is a very good reason to blanket in the winter.
A horse I was required to handle, who could be a rearing, fire breathing dragon at times was allowed by their owner to jog in hand, with the rope completely slack to turnout.
That’s great for the owner, that they are comfortable with that, but the rest of us would appreciate your horse consistently being required to walk calmly, thanks.
OK, good to know. You are on a month to month basis most of which can be terminated by either side for any reason with little or no notice.
Sometimes we can get a little too comfortable and trusting when we have been at a barn for years. We assume things will continue as they have. We miss major changes in BOs situation that can drastically change the barn routine.
Whats changed is the non horsey, inexperienced adult DD of one BO and step daughter of the other has joined the mix and must be accommodated. This situation can go either way, personal experience indicates its going south.
Whatever…things have changed and you need to get a contract signed. With them or someplace else. Things change, be willing to make changes, stay alert and recognize when change is upon you. Like it or not. Roll with it, be perpared.
@J-Lu there are several other posters who’ve said the same thing. You’re focusing on a personal dispute with one person rather than the message. Stop playing tug of war with her and focus.
Findeight, this is an excellent point - sorry, I don’t know how to quote
“Sometimes we can get a little too comfortable and trusting when we have been at a barn for years. We assume things will continue as they have. We miss major changes in BOs situation that can drastically change the barn routine.”
I was at the same barn for 10+ years & things started to shift. I found myself saying, “That’s an accident waiting to happen & That’s not safe” on a regular basis. The barn owner had retired from their day job & let the barn help go. They weren’t equipped to handle the work themselves & started taking shortcuts. Also, there was a level of complacency & a lack of perspective. It happens.
Bottom line: if it isn’t safe for your horse OR the person in charge of caring for them, it’s likely time to move on. Accidents happen, but many are preventable.
OP - good luck.
Ha! I had the opposite experience yesterday. I had to unblanket my young horse while he ate breakfast in the dark and cold before going to work early, which is not a normal part of our routine (he isn’t usually blanketed). I thought of this thread and instead of just going for it with other loose horses in the general area also eating their breakfast from feed bags, I walked back out to the halter nook and put one on him. He also stood like a stuffed animal, but hey I would have felt pretty dumb if he didn’t and someone got hurt right after I read this thread!
Oh, but you see, I’m “experienced” 
Thank you! We can’t have even the saintly Petey smooshing you!
My horses all stand like saints. Until they don’t and you never know when the thing triggering “don’t” is going to happen.
This time of year I put halters on even in my stalls, because my barn is attached to the indoor and you never know when the entire roof is going to let loose an avalanche and anyone standing near or riding on a horse is in peril. I love winter so much!
I am still waiting for an update.
Side discussion :- I have no idea why an NH person would teach to lead from the withers. So tall horses can not be lead by kids?
Mine are taught to walk beside me with a click. Even kids can click their tongue. The horse will walk from a click from the tongue when you are not beside them.
So click, walk to gate. Say halt. Leave horse and open gate. Click horse walks through gate. Say halt. Horse halts, you close gate. Click and you both walk on.
Yes. And about approaching from different directions
It’s just common sense that horses tend to spook or move away from aversive stimulus.
If you walk up to the front of a horse and he takes it as aversive he will do something in the spectrum of back up, turn away, or run backwards hit the end of the lead rope, sit down and wave her hands in the air. Depending how aversive the thing is and how anxious the horse.
If you approach from behind the horse will move forward at whatever gait seems appropriate and maybe kick out.
But the horse moves away from the most scary, aversive or frightening thing.
That’s why horses will spook on top of a human handler if the scary thing is on the other side or they are being chased by another horse. Or if you accidentally herd them into the electric wire. That’s why you walk between the horse and the scary thing if you can.
I don’t even think this is NH, it’s just what you learn around horses
Since the horse in the OP was spooked by touching the hot wire while being blanketed I honestly don’t think merely being haltered would fix the problem. You need to have the horse well away from the hot wire and that means feeding away from the hot wire. Who feeds next to hot wire anyhow?
Anyhow yeah, horse will move away from you if they don’t like what you’re doing, unless they get a bigger scare from another horse, a hot wire, a dog or a duck or a vehicle on the opposite side. Then they will trample you in their panic to get away. That’s just Horse 101 and barn daughter will learn that soon enough
This is the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time 
I’m not sure how this makes your horse sane or you a good boarder
I found that odd and pretty funny too. I think it is supposed to be evidence to support her claim that her horse is “one of the easiest horses on their property.” I guess because he mows his pasture for them, LOL.
My 3 keep a 18" perimeter outside my fenceline mowed by grazing through the fence.
What do I win?
