Enjoy your new placement ~ Happy Holidays !
[I]Glad your horse is moved & settled into the new placement ~
Happy Holidays ! ENJOY !
Don’t look back ~[/I]
I do with I hadn’t given notice once and I’m still mad about it so I’ll share…
Medium-sized private barn on Long Island where the BM likes to say she “burps” the horses to show she takes such great care of them. Yeah, right. There are 3 grades of hay - the lower barn where I was (crap hay), the upper barn (pretty good), then her hay (the finest, most gorgeous hay you’ll find anywhere!!).
Anyway, my horse started getting skinny. I started showing up just after lunch time on the weekends. All the horses had hay except mine. Another boarder pulled me aside and told me they were skipping his lunch hay. And we had no issues that I was aware of, the only difference being that my guy was supposed to get wet hay.
I foolishly gave notice, paid for the full month, and left a few days in.
I should NOT have paid psycho BM/dementia-rattled BO for ANY extra days. And there was no contract. I was too worried about not burning bridges.
In cases where the horse is abused or under-fed, all bets are off IMHO. Contract or not.
It was mid-month (December actually) and my board was paid through the end of the month, so while I moved my horse the next day, the board was paid for the entire month.
It was professional of the BO to understand the situation - I had not been made aware of the winter turn-out situation until that day and it would not work for my horse. Why would she be mad at me when it was clear that it would not be good for my horse? I had no gripes with the place and was sorry to move. Obviously my circumstances were extenuating because I was not going to be around for 3 weeks and she knew that.
It’s really all how you handle it - that’s my point.
I think sometimes it’s just hard to leave on “good” terms no matter how hard you try.
When I graduated law school I got a job in another state (GA to PA). They knew I was a student when I moved in and that I intended to return to PA after graduation. When I gave notice (2 months earlier AND the barn was CLOSING DOWN entirely anyway) there were hard feelings with the barn manager. I mean, how much more could it be “it’s not you, it’s me” than someone who tells you when they move in that they’ll only be in the state while they’re in school, with a known graduation date, who reminds you months prior, and then indeed moves 8+ hours away. And there were still grumbles?!
What Meup said. You don’t have to keep your horse there, but unless there’s some really crazy stuff going on (the owner’s beating your horse, sold your saddle, lamed your horse riding her drunk and bareback in the middle of the night, etc.), you should still pay for the month that she expected and was counting on the income from your board.
OP here said that she gave notice on Dec. 15 (not Dec. 1) because that’s when she found the new place.
That’s fine and she can exploit the lack of a contract that would hold her to something different.
But if the No TO thing had been going on for 3 months, she had plenty of time to carry out the 30 days’ notice she likes to do.
Really, the OP got everything she wanted-- especially the security of having a new place to go and getting there quicker than another 30 days at old place. So what’s the complaining about? Anyone who has given notice without having a new barn all lined up can appreciate what the OP got out of this deal.
[QUOTE=ActNatural;6726032]
Dont let it bother you too much. I moved barns last month. I gave my notice, was extremely nice, positive, and honest, it was so awkard. Barn owner was nice during our inital conversation but then started talking trash to other boarders, the lack of care was even worse than normal, and was doing everything he could to make my 30 day stay miserable so I had to move ahead of time and lose money. Thats probably what he wanted but oh well. Life goes on…[/QUOTE]
Sadly, this has happened to me more than once. It would be nice if all parties could act like adults and just get on with their lives. It’s “just business” after al.
I can totally understand why some boarders just “disappear”. Although I’ve always given at least 30 days notice, I have some times been treated miserably. The quality of care usually goes down as well. In fact at one barn when I gave 30 days notcie, she cashed my board check, then never did any contracted care at all for my (full board) horses. I had to go to the barn and feed, muck, water, etc. for the final month. What a b*tch!
She wasn’t turning your horse out - is that the only reason you are leaving? It seems like something that could have been fixed with better communication. I would have just said " I want my horse turned out x amount of times a week, I know she runs alot, and I am willing to take that risk". If the BO didn’t comply then tell her you are looking for another place that allows for more turnout. Seems like I am missing something here…
I read “turned out there” meaning turned out in the pasture the OP expected. Not “not turned out at all in 3 months”. Perhaps the OP could clarify that point?
I moved into a barn Oct 1. It turned out to be not what I expected (related to care and feeding) so I gave notice on Nov 1. I left shortly thereafter as I found somewhere else quickly. Guess what? I had to pay for part of that month at another barn.
It’s what you do.
You give notice, keep your mouth shut and look for another place. If you find one, you leave. Quietly. No need for a dramatic departure. No need for badmouthing.
[QUOTE=SarahandSam;6727650]
It’s not a good idea to burn bridges unless there are seriously crazy people with pitchforks on the other side.[/QUOTE]
I do love this!
There is something I really don’t understand here.
Of course you want to keep things civil, but in these situations I always seem to get the idea the person leaving is the bad guy.
You are hiring a service. If that service isn’t being provided in the first hand, why are you expected to just stand around for another month?
After many years dealing with BO’s, trainers and various horse related people, I am all too aware of what can happen if your instructions aren’t being followed and people just decide to do what they feel is best. I’m the one who talks to the vet, the farrier and anyone else who matters really. Why does the BO, groomer or anyone else feel they can just do things their way? And why do they get all offended if I decide that if they aren’t providing the service I’m paying for, I should leave?
If you rent a house and 3 months after you’re there the roof collapses and the owner doesn’t want to fix it, you don’t have to stay there and you most certainly aren’t expected to pay for 30 extra days.
ETA: Aw here they are, the thumbs down. Keep them coming.
This is correct. She was not turned out in the pasture.
I keep repeating myself…
A BO does not own a boarder. If they do not keep their commitments, they should not be surprised that the boarder has no compunction about leaving. If they verbally promise turnout on grass, then renege, they can expect to lose a boarder. If they don’t do contracts, they don’t do contracts.
An instructor does not own a student. Students are free to leave, or add in other instructors. It is their $$$.
Odds are the BO didn’t want to do a contract so she that she would have the option of kicking out the OP without notice. By declining to offer the boarder a contractual relationship, the BO gave up her right to impose a notice requirement.
People keep harping on 30 days notice. 30 days notice is standard contract language in the boarding industry. You want the protection of standard contract language-have a contract.
I don’t think the OP did anything wrong. I’m not surprised the COTH board thinks she should pay up though-as an industry we’re pretty brainwashed into thinking we owe horse professional service providers money in some pretty far fetched scenarios that would be laughable when extrapolated to any other professional relationship.
I agree with NCrider and the others who say - ‘no contract no notice is required’ especially when the services rendered are not the services promised. As for 30 days being ‘standard’ - when I was leaving my last barn due to differences in training needs I dealt ultra professional barn managers/barn owners where we had a written contract but it didn’t specify anything about notice. I went to pay my final bill and he actually refunded the last few days of board. He was truly a great honest man. He said that I wasn’t going to have to pay for services not rendered. By the way i still consider this barn as one of the best in the area for care of the horses, just didn’t fit my training needs. More people need to be as honest and professional as this man.
as an industry we’re pretty brainwashed into thinking we owe horse professional service providers money in some pretty far fetched scenarios that would be laughable when extrapolated to any other professional relationship.
EXACTLY!
Just another example: you hire someone to move your stuff to a new house. The service includes packing up. When you reach your new house half of the stuff is broken. There is a contract, but would you pay agreed price? No, and you would ask for compensation for all the broken stuff.
In horsey world, a facility/BO/trainer can ruin your horse all they want, if you don’t pay your dues and say thank you in the end you’ll be crucified.
RIDICULOUS.
[QUOTE=NCRider;6728777]
as an industry we’re pretty brainwashed into thinking we owe horse professional service providers money in some pretty far fetched scenarios that would be laughable when extrapolated to any other professional relationship.[/QUOTE]
I think that is a pretty insightful point. We are paying the Trainers/Barn Owners for a service, it’s their job to keep their customers happy.
1 Like
This is not the way to build a good reputation as a professional. If I were trying to build a business in the horse industry, I wouldn’t use the excuse of not having a contract to get out of doing the right thing. How well do you think it will go over when the former BO is asked about you by a potential new client and all she has to say is a cryptic, “Get it all in writing”? Word of mouth is everything at the local level.
And it is really bad form to talk about not paying for a full 30 days after giving notice on one thread, while bragging about your brand new saddle on another.
Sheilah
[QUOTE=Koniucha;6728630]
This is correct. She was not turned out in the pasture.[/QUOTE]
But she was turned out somewhere else? Perhaps a dry lot? it has been my experience that BO’s are loath to put horses who tear up the grass out on their pastures. And horses that routinely have run around and acted silly can rip up the grass pretty quickly.
Sheilah
[QUOTE=enjoytheride;6726402]
I think a few of the posters are being a bit dramatic about it. If there is no contract then it’s really up to you how much of a notice you give. 30 days is standard but you were not obligated to do so. Sure you could do so if you wanted to. You have done nothing wrong. I would leave under those circumstances as well.[/QUOTE]
Drama? Here? NEVER! 
