Wow, after reading this thread, there goes 10 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. That’s a whole lot of drama to unpack, and not necessarily the BO (words and general conduct speaks volumes). It might work out best for everyone if OP boards her horse at home. Sounds like he will do well in a backyard situation since he does such a great job keeping the grass evenly trimmed. Hoping the OP has a positive outcome, whatever they decide that might be, but it might be best if everybody parts ways as it sounds like everybody is really tired.
Yep. Reminds me why I get a break on board - I’m the one the trainer calls when he needs to vent about his crazy customers. I don’t do social media outside of COTH & am 2 hours away; there’s little risk of what I hear getting back to the wrong person.
I guarantee that if the OP was at my barn, I’d be hearing about crazy her & her crazy horse on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. I’ve determined that the crazy owner always has the crazy horse, and minus the owner, the crazy horse isn’t nearly as crazy.
I’m a little disappointed in my horse’s reluctance to graze responsibly in an effort to help out the humans. I don’t know where I went wrong in his upbringing. He’s a somewhat entitled brat when it comes to eating where he wants without a care about how even the grass is inside and along his fence.
Thankfully, he does stand still when being blanketed from all angles.
I can’t lead him from the withers either. I tried it yesterday evening. He just walked off toward my friend who was unwrapping peppermints. I’m no match for that. It’s bred into him…the instinct to pursue the crinkly wrapper and whatever tasty snacks may be within. You can’t mess with mother nature.
Back to the original question, I think you overreacted, not necessarily in the danger you perceived, but in how you handled it. You had the perfect opportunity just between you and the 19 year old. You discussed it with her. You could have followed up with a lesson/training on how to blanket your horse safely and it would have been handled without further drama. Instead, you went and told her parents on her, and suggested she be trained to blanket safely. Why not just train her yourself while you were with her anyway? I’m guessing the daughter is not happy with you for snitching to her parents, and the parents are wondering if you’re more trouble than it’s worth.
Yes. I missed this point. If OP dealt with this with adult daughter I think complaining to parents is annoying and also betrays the daughter.
Sigh or horse is starved and the others are not.
I actually think it’s a good thing when horses poop in the rough and don’t eat that grass. Lowers worm transmission and shows common sense
I actually had the same thought. I want my horses to have some sense of self preservation to not eat around manure or bitter tasting weeds.
The whole drive line thing… that’s lunging 101? I’m not sure why that makes someone a guru. And for my horses the driveline only applies when I have the “energy” to indicate I want them to move. How else would we ever handle their hind ends… ??
Because this is a lesson i discipline ? I taught my horse to lead by my hand on the withers. Can YOU do this with your horse? Are your horses this in tune with you?
This seems to be impt to the BOs. They don’t have to manage his pasture as much.
So glad you think this is funny
What a bunch of bizarre posts i’ll ignore!

Back to the original question, I think you overreacted, not necessarily in the danger you perceived, but in how you handled it. You had the perfect opportunity just between you and the 19 year old. You discussed it with her. You could have followed up with a lesson/training on how to blanket your horse safely and it would have been handled without further drama. Instead, you went and told her parents on her, and suggested she be trained to blanket safely. Why not just train her yourself while you were with her anyway? I’m guessing the daughter is not happy with you for snitching to her parents, and the parents are wondering if you’re more trouble than it’s worth.
I could not have followed up with additional training or how to blanket safely. The daughter is quite happy with me. I intervened to help the daughter unbridle a horse. She was happy, her parents were less happy and didn’t intervene Such a bizarre response.
“Driveline” has nothing to do with lunging. You don’t seem t understand it.
I don’t think it is a good idea blanketing or really handling a horse close to hot wire that is turned on. Halter or no halter. Don’t get me wrong - I love hot wire but it is unplugged when I am handling a horse close to it. I guess you really have to see a trainwreck to understand my position.
Back when I was boarding my horse, the stable had a single strand of hotwire as a gate between a pasture and the wash rack. I know - not very smart. Anyway a boarder was trying to wash her horse and it was being really squirrelly about being tied so she got her non-horse person husband to hold the horse while she hosed horse off. The horse danced around backwards and hit the hot wire. It shot forward pulling the poor guy off balance and he wasn’t experienced enough to let go of the horse and he got pulled over backwards. His head sounded like a ripe watermelon when it hit the concrete. A Life Support helicopter flew in to airlift him to the hospital but he suffered permanent brain damage. This was a bad chain of events but panicked horses and newby people can be a bad combination. Easier to turn off the electricity to keep everybody safe. So I would be uneasy for your situation.
But - like the other people have posted - this might create a situation where you are asked to leave. For years my friend and I had a really sweet set-up in a self care situation. The property owners first wife had been the horse person and she was deceased. Second wife had two children and the son was becoming a spoiled brat. One day I go to the barn. They had given the 10 year old a BB gun and told him not to shoot anybody. Then they left him to his own devices. He was shooting the metal gate to watch the BB’s ricochet. I didn’t want to get hit with a BB nor did I want my horses to get hit. When my friend and I went to speak to the parents they were miffed that they had to tell him no. They were fine with him as long as he wasn’t whining to them. They had built a new house and were selling this property but we were asked to leave shortly. We would have had to go but not as abruptly. Still it was worth it to not find a horse shot with a BB gun. So sometimes even if you have legitimate concerns the property owners do not share those concerns and you may not change their minds. You may have to decide if this is a hill you want to die on.
Ok.
The horses are the easy part of boarding. Its the people that make it difficult, especially navigating family relationships involved in barn management.
Often turns minor challenges into no win fiascos.
I have a barn with empty stalls and more turnout than my remaining horses need. From time to time I get messages asking me if I would be willing to take on a boarder or two. Despite the stories about how wonderful the horses are and how great the owner will be I have always said no. This thread is making me feel pretty good about refusing to become a boarding site.
If I ever feel the need to have another horse around I will be going to the local horse rescue and see about adopting a senior one, without the baggage of having an owner.
Same. Been there done that. Tried to be generous. It was a real fustercluck. Worst most annoying 2 1/2 years of my life. Never again. Now just my riding horse and a retiree. Horses and their quirks are easy. People? Not so much.
So many people think their poopsie is the most obedient, amazing horse that ever lived… But in reality when you own the property and you do all the work and you’re there 24 hours a day not the 2 to 4 hours they are there you see the real horse. And have to deal with all manner of drama and personalities. I wish every single person who has ever complained about a barn (and I’m not saying there are not legit concerns) would have to buy and maintain and work a farm and deal with the day in and day out bs

Because this is a lesson i discipline ? I taught my horse to lead by my hand on the withers. Can YOU do this with your horse? Are your horses this in tune with you?
Yes my horses are in tune with me. They walk when I click next to me, whether I am not touching them or if I am touching them, wherever I like. Wither. Mane, cheek, etc. They will walk if I am near them or not near them. They will also follow me at a walk or a run as they have been taught to face up and come when called.
They will also walk next to me if I am on another horse or using both arms on crutches.
They also halt on voice command and back with a voice command and signal together. You should always have 2 signals for back. You only want one horse to back out of a float at a time. So back is first taught with a thumb touching but not pressing and the word back.
Later the word back and a gentle tug on the tail for backing out of a float and then the word back and the finger waved from side to side. So I can ask a horse to back away from a gate and halt and then I can open the gate on horseback and go through it, without worrying about the other horse coming through the gate.
Teaching them to walk only if holding the wither sounds like the horses who will only walk if the person walks first. I think I read it on this forum. One girl ended up with a Clydesdale on her foot when she hopped off to open a gate on a trail ride.
Try as she might she could not move the Clydesdale off her foot as she was unable to take a step forward. Pushing, prodding, clicking tapping with reins did not work. I think in the end someone came along who could walk forward and the horse moved.
From the way you think you are so high and mighty and think that you are better than anyone else on this thread who dares comment. There is noway I would want you boarding at our place and I am so glad you are not.