I wouldn’t write this off (GOOD pasture board, anyway). Hay + shelter + a blanket arsenal and you’d be surprised how well they adapt. If there’s good pasture board near your house or work, I’d do that in the meantime IIWM.
Totally hear you about the social aspect and mental health boost. I just bought another horse for that reason myself!
Yes and because I knew this was spur of the moment I worked out a deal for her to stay there until the end of Feb. but it is 16 hours from me. So a little bit of a drive.
While not ideal (and it seems none others are, too) this might be a good temporary solution until the barn you want to go to has an opening. You could trailer her there for training/lessons.
The boutique place is out. She knows your situation, had agreed to 6 months & then came back & said a year contract? She is working against you - hard no. I also think no turn out place might not be fair to the mare. She’s a new to you horse & you’re going to be putting her in work with little outlet for her energy. Why not bring her home & bond with her? It doesn’t have to be forever…just until a stall opens. Would your schedule still allow you to visit the trainer’s barn? You could still be involved in the social aspect that way. I understand your anxiety, but set small attainable goals for yourself to get out. Volunteer, attend a tack swap, audit clinics. Your going to be busy with a new horse & having her at home will increase your need to go out…making repairs, buying feed, bedding, horse supplies, etc. Best of luck with your decision & the new horse - exciting!
This is the route I would take if I were OP until I found an ideal boarding facility. I’ve done it before and it has worked well. We know the horse has been cared for and is in good condition thus far, plus the horse is familiar with the environment and the handlers are familiar with the horse. That is IF they would extend board beyond Feb if necessary. The boutique barn sounds like a total trap and I would not do a no turn out option again unless I absolutely had to - even then it would be temporary. It would be ideal for OP to have a trainer to work with.
Just wanted to weigh in I bought a 3 year old straight off the track OTTB in fall 2022 who was bred in Florida and then raced in West Virginia. She came home to me in August to NH and went immediately into pasture board with a run in. She didn’t grow a huge coat last winter but did this winter. She was comfortable all winter being blanketed the same as my other wholly mammoth OTTB who lived with her. We had multiple weeks of single digit temps and plenty of days with feel like in the negatives with the worst being -25. She spent the more mild days in a 250g blanket with a neck and the colder ones with a 100g stable sheet underneath. She was happy as a clam to have 24/7 turnout.
I can sympathize, finding a good barn is tough these days. I would take a look at pasture board if you haven’t already, that could be a great option while you wait for a spot at your preferred barn. I think pasture board, the barn 1.5 hrs away, or keeping her at home are all better temporary options than the barn with no turnout. I know there are places where that’s standard practice because turnout isn’t an option, but I don’t think it’s fair to stall a horse all day when there are other options available, even if they aren’t as convenient.
Boutique barn sounds flaky, don’t do flaky, no telling what else they may be flaky when your mare comes, what else is not up to par there.
Better find any other place until you get an opening where you can be comfortable she is safe from flaky.
Any pictures to share, please?
“Boutique” is code for “I’m crazy and will treat my clients like 8 year olds”. Don’t go there.
I’d find a pasture board place or go month to month at the no-turn out place and pretend you are at WEF until you find a more permanent solution. Enjoy your new mare.
Yeah I was okay with the six month too, but the sudden change and a few other small things that sent up red flags with the owner…
Since I have not responded to the email with the contract other than to ask if the year was a mistake, she has been blowing up my phone and getting more and more aggressive.
Something feels so off. I wish I knew what it was. A friend said she probably has money troubles. You know if she had just been honest with me that she was over extended and having that stall filled for a year would help. I probably would have done it.
I would definitely prefer more turn out than less. I was just looking for blankets for her. Of course by the time she gets here she will probably only need a sheet, but I’m super excited and I was 5k under budget so that money has to go back to her. I already had a decent budget with the majority going to a saddle fitter and new saddle. But I thought if I need to I could take some of that a spend more getting blankets. The rest will go into her emergency fund. Do you have any recommendations on brand? Do you layer or do you have one of each kg?
The down side to this is it’s 16 hours away.
Good lord. Block her number. Whatever her issues are, they have less than nothing to do with you, and are so not your responsibility, even to think on for a moment!
Yikes! I would just respond & say you figured out an alternative & thank her for her time. Why don’t people learn to half halt their crazy LOL!
I like rhino/Rambo brand, but I have warmbloods. I particularly like them because the front design doesn’t rub their wide shoulders & they don’t shift. Hopefully someone with an OTTB can chime in.
Depending on where you are, you may get away with a rain sheet, heavier sheet & a 100 gram. I tried layering with liners, but it’s a pain & then inevitably the horse will destroy the top layer, so the liners are then useless. With a couple different items, you’re not completely out of commission if one gets destroyed…you can improvise. You may want to get something with a warranty, depending on if she’ll be turned out with a friend. I’m assuming she’s never been dressed as she’s coming from the South. So she’ll either be a dainty flower & appreciate the warmth or else say, “Get this off me” I’ve seen it go both ways with babies.
Absolutely! I prefer Horseware Ireland, for our weather in NH I like having a 0g sheet, a 200-250g medium turnout blanket and then a 100g stable blanket to put under if needed. Buying ones with neck attachments also help a lot too the necks add additional warmth. That gives me the option to have 0g, 100g, 250g and 350g with or without a neck. Dry weather she’s comfortable 35-50 = 0g sheet, 20-35 = 250g blanket and then 20 and under in 250g blanket with 100g stable blanket under. I personally always use my 250g with a 250g neck. Make sure you’re going by the feel like temperature and if it’s raining/snowing I tend to take 5-10 degrees off my “dry weather chart”. Going by this I’ve kept her sweat free and she’s always toasty under her blankets and her ears.
We’ve had highs of about 15-25 degrees all week and she’s happy in her 250g with 100g sheet under. At night we’re going into single digits and negatives. She also has access to a round bale 24/7 which I do believe makes a big difference on those really cold nights
Wow disaster averted!
Thank you. It’s pretty mild here. It’s our coldest week and it’s down around 27 for the next two days. But after that it will be back up around 30s at night and 50s during the day. I always clipped back in the day so I would just blanket at night. I figure it will be kinda the same. Most of the time a light sheet at night and then maybe a 100g will probably be all she needs but all horses take the cold different. You know my pony could go out in a blizzard. The first horse I got hit by the car on hated anything below freezing and would shiver, so I guess I won’t really know until she is here.
I’d have responded. along the lines of “If you don’t want me as a boarder, you could have just said we wouldn’t be a good fit. There’s no need for additional conditions intended to make me walk away.” and add some thanks for showing me the barn, but I can see it doesn’t suit my current needs.
As everyone else has already said, please stay far away from the crazy ‘boutique’ owner. That situation has disaster written all over it. If she is that unreliable with you - a potential client, just think how she might be once you have signed a lease! And worse, just think how she might treat.mistreat your horse. As someone who suffers from anxiety, I know this would make my anxiety skyrocket.
Hard NO in every way.
I too would not be happy with no- turnout, and think it is unhealthy for horses.
I like the idea of posting on FB to see if someone knows of a place near you that would be more suitable.
24/7 turnout would not be a deal-breaker for me at all, if if it was a good situation, with small groups, sheds, hay/grass/water access 24/7 , ample feed, suitable riding facilities, good experienced caretakers, etc. Horses are amazingly resilient and adaptable, and since you live in a temperate climate, from my own experience, I don’t think it would be a problem at all.
As for blankets? here is a thread on this page about blankets, with a wealth of information, including likes/dislikes/prices, etc
congratulations on your new mare, and very best of luck with her.
Move temporarily to the month-to-month barn but look hard for a barn with turnout.
Field board didn’t work with my three OTTBs. The grass was plentiful and there were nice round bales but they all three lost weight and condition quickly even though each horse was brought into a small fenced area to eat in peace.
I think it was stress and a general “special snowflake” dislike of not having a comfy stall. And they didn’t seem to lie down to sleep regularly.
I ended up moving back to full board with daytime turnout and they bounced back quickly. And they were always worried that they wouldn’t be taken In. 
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