I’m sorry! I’m still learning the new format. I tried to move my response so it was actually attached to what I was responding to! It should still be here.
I’m sorry, but what??
I’m going to ignore your utterly stupid comment about getting sued for transmitting a contagious virus and move to my main point. Wearing a mask serves the purpose of minimizing the risk of the spreading the virus if you do not know you have it. If you are asymptomatic you would never know you were carrying it but could easily spread it to others. The US is at least 9 months into dealing with this and you are still pedaling absolute lies, why? Shut up and take a look in this nation’s hospitals.
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Yes, same here! I’ve been yelled out by strangers for wearing a mask at the feedstore or when picking up my carry-out order from the local restaurant…
I am in a state without a mask mandate (sigh) but I implemented one at my lesson barn. You have to wear a mask when tacking up/watching your kid, etc - or you’re staying in your car. I have disposable masks available for people who forgot theirs. Mostly people have been compliant (even the very young kids on Shetland ponies).
I had 2 families who refused to wear masks when I asked them to back in the Spring. I refunded their lesson package and told them I’d see them after a vaccine was widely available. They were not happy BUT other families approached me to say they were glad I had stood my ground and that they themselves would have stopped coming for lessons if these families were allowed in the barn without masks.
So OP, I’d reach out to the BO and let them know that you are concerned about this and try to frame it about the cost/benefit for her. If you (and potentially other boarders) were to move their horses to other barns because you’re concerned about being in contact with that mother and her daughter (and the maskless barn staff), would it be a bigger “cost” to her than removing the 2 non-compliant people?
Good luck!
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It is not that I do not believe it is happening, but darn I am shocked that people take time from their day to say rude things to people who are doing something that is not affecting your life at all (them wearing a mask).
I am related to someone who is very anti-mask (well more than one someone) and though they are very outspoken about it, I have not ever heard of them confronting someone who is just out about in the world doing their own thing while wearing a mask.
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Unless OP has another place to go I would not wield this empty threat. BO may laugh in OPs face and say “see ya”. In my area boarding is very hard to find right now as everyone has bought up horses and barns are full. They can literally take their pick of boarders.
Best to frame it as this thread has- “BO, do you have back up staff if current staff get sick or are contact traced and ask to self-isolate for 14 days? No? Perhaps mom and daughter can do their part and wear masks for YOU, BO. It could really affect your livelihood and I am concerned for YOU”
OP- Are you too shy to talk directly to the mom and kid? Can you just leave one of the posters from your state saying mandatory masks in their locker or on their stall? Surely they will get the not-so-subtle anonymous hint
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Oh, I didn’t mean to threaten the BO to leave but indeed bringing the economic impact to the BO’s livelihood into the picture (which can be hypothetical of what if you loose business because of this? or what if you don’t have barn staff because they’re in quarantine).
Very true.
I only mentioned that tactic as someone mentioned something to my BO about masks prior to them being required and said they’d leave if staff didn’t wear them. BO had her things packed for her by lunch and she had to scramble for board
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But if the BO isn’t worried about loosing clients what would be the incentive for them to make people do something they haven’t done so far?
OP, have you heard anything from other boarders?
I have not. As mentioned in the OP, I am not a boarder myself. I am a lesson client who rides additional horses as needed/as I’m available. The BO honestly has no clue who I am and consequently would likely not care if I left. So far I have only observed one other adult boarder to be consistently masked during this entire thing. Everyone else either is never wearing one or only wears one with the trainer is present.
The brainwashing as been highly effective and the brainwashed people feel empowered to attack those who are doing something that runs contrary to their false beliefs. Heck, there are numerous reports from hospital staff about people who are admitted for COVID continuing to proclaim that it’s all a political hoax.
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That is a little different than my first read of your post then: I had read it as everyone is following the rules save for the barn staff and the mother/daughter. If that’s not the case and the BO doesn’t care, I don’t see change happening.
Your two options then seem to 1) leave, 2) report them (but not sure a barn will be high on the authorities’ list of priorities).
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i run an animal farm. Each spring one of my more noisome chores is to clear out the large sheep barn of thatched (i’m talking 1 to 2 feet deep!) of old hay. I wear a mask when doing so because the mold content is high. Even in 90 degrees i wear a facemask. Most of the work is on a tractor, but all of the corners and edges need to be pitchforked by hand. I am a small (5.0) OLD (67) woman. If I can wear a facemask doing hard manual labor in high heat and (did i mention?) horrible missouri humidity, anybody can. ESPECIALLY big men who are employed specifically to do manual labor. I have zero sympathy for them!
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The health department has better things to do than see how many boarders in your tack room are wearing masks. Ridiculous.
Since you don’t even own a horse there just find another barn that does enforce the mask policy.
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I’ll give you the same advice most everybody here would have given you a year ago before everyone went bonkers. Their barn, their rules and if you don’t like it give your notice, pack up and leave for some place that works better for you.
On a side note I find it hilarious (and sad) that the “I’m on the side of science crowd” goes balls to the wall on the necessity of wearing masks while outside. And yes, the Health Department has better things to do because the professionals there are fully aware of how low risk an outdoor space is and they aren’t going to waste their time on one if they have more than 2 brain cells to rub together.
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OP
I believe you do have the right to approach the BO about the lack of compliance with the state mandates concerning COVID 19.
You dont have to be accusatory or combative. You can be respectful and still convey your concerns.
The BO may listen or she may not. But you will have at least had your say.
Does your coach use the BOs horses in her lesson program or does she have her own horses and uses the BO s facilities?
Do the mother and daughter take lessons from this coach?
The coach may not have any authority over the barn staff, but she may have some authority about who she teaches.
If the mother and daughter take lessons then the coach can refuse to teach them until they follow the rules about wearing masks.
I wouldnt count on this because it sounds like this coach wont be backed up by the BO if the mother and daughter complain, which they probably would.
If you have real fears about your safety at this barn then you should try to find another lesson barn.
You cant bend this BO to your will, or make her do the right thing.
You could exercise the nuclear option and report her to the local agencies but you will certainly be persona non grata not only at this barn, but possibly at any other lesson barn in the area because word will definitely spread around about you.
You’ll have to decide for yourself if it is worth the risk.
Undoubtedly it is the correct legal, and even ethical course of action, but it may lead to consequences that you failed to take into account.
I doubt the authorities will immediately shut the facility down. The usual course of action is for a citation to be issued.
They may not even follow it up unless there is a COVID 19 spike.
But since you’ve been vocal about your concerns it wont take the other people out at the barn very long to figure out who reported them.
Again you’ll have to decide for yourself if this is the path you want to follow.
In your case, I would simply talk to your coach about maybe trying to find a work around where your lesson is a time when there are few or no other people around.
It may or may not be doable but you can always ask. Just realize it is unreasonable to expect your coach to work everybody else around you.
If it is not possible then you may have to find another coach.
Good luck.
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I’m in an area that has good contact tracing and hence good data from the start.
Our province has learned that the larger transmission events have occurred indoors with prolonged contact, over 15 minutes.
That has included night clubs, banquet halls, hymns, spin classes, kid’s dance classes, seniors care homes, churches, crowded physical work places like food processing, and within families. We have a particular ethic community that tends to live in large multi generational homes, and often work in health care, food processing, and trucking. They are currently at the middle of a big spike in cases and that health region has put out a 2 week reset ban on visiting people at home.
The data is showing that outdoor activities are low risk (though socializing before and after is higher risk). So if it’s any consolation, OP, your barn situation is probably low risk for you if you wear a mask and stay out of the lounge and viewing areas.
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This is a hard one for me because I firmly believe in mask usage and I support the recommended guidelines HOWEVER, my golden rule for dealing with a horse BO/ BM’s is that they will never ever raise their standards to appease you. Never. There’s no “talking to the BO” about “x” issue. It just doesn’t work like that. They have their standards and that’s how they run their operation. Nothing you say or do will get them to raise their standards.
How many times a week do you see posts here along the lines of “my barn only cleans out Dobbin’s stall 1x a day, but he’s very messy so how can I get them to do it 2x a day? Or “my barn only scrubs my horse’s water tank out every 3 months, how should I ask them to do it weekly?” Or “my barn only turns my horse out for 2 hours but I would like him turned out for 12 hours, what should I do?” Those are all reasonable things to WANT from your boarding arrangement, but chances are you’re not going to get it because if the barn owner felt like it was important, they’d already be doing it. Sadly, this is the same situation. If they thought mask rules were important, they’d already have a mask policy.
I’ll tell you the same thing I’d tell anyone having barn owner/ barn manager drama… go to a barn with similar standards to yours. Do not go to a barn with standards less than yours and then attempt to get them to raise them to meet yours.
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You’re a lesson client taking part in a leisure activity. You are in the easiest position of anyone involved with horses to make a change. If the barn situation is outside of your own assessment of risk and makes you feel uncomfortable, look for another barn or take maybe a year off of lessons while this all plays out.
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Not sure what part of the country you are in, but is this your area’s first go-around with covid? I had covid in March during the big NY/NJ outbreak and our barn was closed for 6 weeks, maybe 8. We now have very firm covid rules - a mask has been required while in the barn since spring, and as cases are rising again we now require a mask at all times while on the property, including while riding.
My philosophy to stay sane during all of this has been to remind myself that I cannot control other people’s behavior, only my own. So if I go in a store and someone isn’t wearing a mask, I just leave.
I’m also a lesson rider / half-leaser / rider of extras and am a long-term client, though not a big spender, so I understand feeling like you’re involved, invested and there all the time, but without the standing to make a big fuss or create a real change. It might be worth asking your trainer one more time about masks, but I’d just find somewhere else to ride for the winter where you will feel safe, or take a break until cases calm down.
The odds of you changing the behavior of your trainer, her clients, your BO and their staff are pretty slim. But you can 100% change your behavior, and trust me - better to take a few months off riding, or find a new barn, than to get sick. If your trainer is remotely sane, you can always go back once things normalize a bit.
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