Night Check?

[Palm_Beach]

@trubandloki

And the joyous amount of extra work it makes for the morning crew who has to dump those full buckets.

:lol:

My bucket scrubbing schedule is directly related to how much water is in the bucket in the morning, and how clean the water is.

As a BO, I REALLY would NOT want boarders topping off buckets - even the most conscientious person occasionally doesn’t get the latch quite right, and a stall that was not quite shut tight could be a big problem later in the night. I also question random boarders going into the stalls of horses they don’t own. I realize that some stalls are configured so that buckets can be topped off without going in, but some cannot. Plus, all that water potentially being splashed around after the sun goes down and it potentially freezes…

[mmeqcenter]

@horsepoor

I don’t quite get this argument from some about how colic (or whatever catastrophe) can happen anytime, so night check is pointless. Yes, something might happen about anytime, but if I go check mine at 10 pm, I hopefully catch whatever might have happened since dinner, and thus lower the risk of a really bad outcome. Now I don’t necessarily expect it to happen at boarding barns, but I sure do appreciate it when they do actually do so.

One example - we had unusually cold weather, an ice storm, and my doofus horse got cast between dinner and night check. He’d given up, and by the time we had him on his feet, his temp was scary low, and he’d likely not have made it til morning without our intervention. I have no regrets for time spent doing our night checks at all.

The point (mine, anyway) was not that they’re pointless, but that it’s a bit extreme to suddenly be nervous about night checks not happening because of one colic episode that occurred. Night checks certainly have value, but they’re not the end-all-be-all for catching any issues.

[findeight]

Think it depends on what is meant by “night checks”. To me, it’s an additional visit or visits to the barn beginning at least 2 hours after closing and the normal closing routine is NOT a night check. Barn closing at 10pm and feeding at 6-7am means somebody needs to go in and check around 2am. Certainly don’t think that’s a task for boarders and why it would result in higher board for the extra staff.to cover it. Can’t imagine a BM working all day is going to jump to cover a 2am night check nightly unless there’s a known problem.

Anyway, throwing hay and topping off water when you turn off the lights for the night is not a “night check”.

[Pennywell_Bay]

@findeight

Anyway, throwing hay and topping off water when you turn off the lights for the night is not a “night check”.

At first I kind of thought- hmmm… that’s kind of my “night check” summed up for my stalled horses (my outside 24/7 will sometimes meander to fence but usually not). I go out, top off water, lock up barn cats, throw hay, lay eyes on everyone and close everything up, if needed. Not to get in to “what does night check mean to you”, but are you referring to night check as in what we pay for at shows? Just curious.

[quietann]

@Pennywell Bay

At first I kind of thought- hmmm… that’s kind of my “night check” summed up for my stalled horses (my outside 24/7 will sometimes meander to fence but usually not). I go out, top off water, lock up barn cats, throw hay, lay eyes on everyone and close everything up, if needed. Not to get in to “what does night check mean to you”, but are you referring to night check as in what we pay for at shows? Just curious.

The ideally timed, middle of the night check is just not going to happen at most boarding barns, “Night check” here means sometime in the evening, after the horses have been in for a few hours.

I forgot, the barn that had 2 checks at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. had a working student living on site, and the 11 p.m. check was part of her responsibilities. She didn’t do the first morning feeding; that was handled by regular paid barn staff.

[OneGrayPony]

Sounds like gently asking your BM why the night checks stopped might be a good idea. It may be that they haven’t really stopped (and how would you know?). It may be that “lights out” is so late it negates a night check.

One of the barns I board at definitely does a night check, and I know this because the trainer is a night person and texts me quite late. The other barn may, I’m not sure. I’ve always considered it a “nice to have” and not a normal thing.

[cruisecontrol]

This irks me because I am a farm sitter and I always do night check regardless if the owner asks me to or not. I have been involved in far too many instances where night checks have caught so many things that would’ve been dead horses in the morning. And I’ve boarded at barns that had no night check and have found dead horses in the morning. If you board at a barn there should be a clause for this or some sort of something in writing. OP if you really like this barn maybe you and the boarders can rotate out a night to share. I recently did a night check and caught a horse that had ripped the side of his face open God only knows how and if he had gone all night then he quite possibly would have bled out.

[Martina]

Wow I can’t believe how many who don’t. I’ve only known barns that do it and would never board at one that doesn’t.

[findeight]

@Pennywell Bay

At first I kind of thought- hmmm… that’s kind of my “night check” summed up for my stalled horses (my outside 24/7 will sometimes meander to fence but usually not). I go out, top off water, lock up barn cats, throw hay, lay eyes on everyone and close everything up, if needed. Not to get in to “what does night check mean to you”, but are you referring to night check as in what we pay for at shows? Just curious.

That too but have been in a couple of barns that did a formal, middle of the night check halfway between lights out and AM feeding because that worked best for them. Both those barns had staff living in a barn apartment and had it in the services provided contract, weren’t on the lower end in board rates either.

None of the others did but almost all threw hay and topped waters around 9pm at lights out and were back for AM feeding so never bothered me they didn’t (unless they had a sickie to sit with).

[kerlin]

I’ve both found colicking horses (as the person doing the night check) and had my own badly colicking horse found by someone doing a night check. I can’t imagine not doing them. In my case, my horse was 100% fine at dinner (5pm) and by 9pm was bad enough that we put him on a trailer to the clinic. If he’d been left until morning, he would not be alive.

I’ve always boarded somewhere with night check, and as a boarder - while I never top off water or throw hay - I always walk up and down the aisle and peek in stalls. I’ve caught more than one issue that way.

At my current barn, which has truly exceptional levels of care, the night check will also swap blankets if necessary. Say you ride your horse and leave them in a cooler - if you fold their blanket outside the door, staff will swap it. They’ll also throw grain if you ride through the PM grain time. It’s really great. I’m definitely aware of how above and beyond they go, though - I gave everyone who was on duty when my horse was found colicking a bottle of their favorite wine/liquor.

[joiedevie99]

@findeight

Think it depends on what is meant by “night checks”. To me, it’s an additional visit or visits to the barn beginning at least 2 hours after closing and the normal closing routine is NOT a night check. Barn closing at 10pm and feeding at 6-7am means somebody needs to go in and check around 2am. Certainly don’t think that’s a task for boarders and why it would result in higher board for the extra staff.to cover it. Can’t imagine a BM working all day is going to jump to cover a 2am night check nightly unless there’s a known problem.

Anyway, throwing hay and topping off water when you turn off the lights for the night is not a “night check”.

Around here, most barns close between 4pm and 6pm - so a fairly standard for the area 9:30/10:00 pm night check is quite a bit after lights out.

[S1969]

@joiedevie99

Around here, most barns close between 4pm and 6pm - so a fairly standard for the area 9:30/10:00 pm night check is quite a bit after lights out.

Wow, really? How do people ride after work? Or, is the obvious answer - “they don’t?”

[Mallard]

My guys (5) are mostly outdoors, but I do go and hang their overnight nets and feed cats & bunny around 9pm every night.
And yes… as I am approaching the paddocks I am already counting heads. I don’t need a flashlight!
At that time I decide if they should come in for the night (Nasty weather) or perhaps I need to plug in the trough heater (is it going below freezing) and get breakfast grain tubs ready.
Yes…it is ‘only 5 ponies’, but I want to make sure that they are all standing and eating before I tuck myself in for the night.

[MustangSavvy]

I am surprised by how many people don’t do night checks. I have never boarded at a barn that didn’t and when I worked as a stable hand we always did a night check. I agree that stuff happens and you can’t always be there but you can try to catch stuff by doing a nightly check.

[Pennywell_Bay]

It sounds like there are a few different variations of “night check”. I’m reading that a large group have it do a late PM (8-10 “check”), a very small amount may have a true early AM (12-3 AM) check (if staff lives on site) and the rest don’t after the last feeding or person leaves the barn.

So Ive never walked in on a dead horse on the rare times I haven’t gone out (just got in, 9:40-10:20) but for a lot, it seems to quell concerns of that long period where no one will lay eyes on your horse. Of course things could happen at any time or right after you walk out the door, but it is just one additional “check” box. If you dont have them or don’t do it and it works for you- that’s fantastic.

[dani0303]

I’ve never boarded anywhere with a night check and I’ve been at some fairly nice rated show barns.

Now I have 2 at home and 1 boarded at my trainer’s. My show horse that’s boarded lives out 24/7. BO lives on site but nobody does night check. I really don’t worry. The only time I’ll night check my guys at home is if they’re injured, ill, or we get a major lightning storm in the middle of the night. They live outside with a run in shed.

[reignthealarm]

I’ve only ever been at 1 barn that did night checks (and I worked there so often I was the one doing the checks). It is not a norm in my area. While it is a nice idea to make sure all is safe, I found that it stirred up otherwise already settled horses. They start to anticipate that a person showing up at night usually brings snacks. Horses start pacing and getting antsy until they get their hay refills. This barn also had the night person pick stalls- so every single horse got disturbed with lights and commotion when it should be a nice easy resting time.

In my opinion, it is a short time between feeding and night check (usually 5pm and 8pm) and then the horses are left alone for another 8-10 hours (time may vary by location). Unless someone is willing to check on them every 2 hours it seems a little pointless to do a night check. Colic and injuries can happen at any time of day, with or without someone there to witness.

My personal horses at home do not get checked on from 6pm to 7am during the week. Most days they only get eyes on them twice a day at those feeding times. On weekends I leave them out in the field overnight so that I can sleep in without worrying that they’ve been locked in a stall for 15 hours. I realize that this is not an option when you board.

In your case, OP, you may be able to talk to the BO to see if night check is an option. If they are not willing, is there internet at the barn? If so, I do like the idea of cameras. Maybe see if she would be willing to let you put up a camera in your horses stall so that you can check on him any time from your phone. But most importantly, just have the conversation to let her know your concerns with the near colic situation and see if the two of you can come up with a solution.

[TrailRides4Fun]

I night check my own horses, 9-10pm, because I feel better if I do.
i also top off water buckets, tidy the stall, and more hay if needed

[Annabelle123]

There are so many things you can catch with a night check that it seems silly not to do it. Over the years I’ve found horses cast, colicking, bleeding, injured, blankets slipping, wraps tangled, legs stuck in hay nets, water buckets dumped etc.

I actually love doing night check with the horses at home (typically around 10:00pm) and the barn is usually quiet, as they are either still munching away on their dinner hay or snoozing. I know night checks at a boarding barn can be more challenging, but it doesn’t need to be a big production, just a walk through the barn and a quick look into each stall to make sure nothing is wrong. If the barn owner is closing up the barn later in the evening, I would bet they are actually doing this anyways?

Slight rant: The whole ‘topping up’ of waters is something that drives me insane because it makes it extremely difficult to monitor how much the horses are drinking. I know exactly how much water all my horses drink overnight, and any deviation in their habits is going to set off alarm bells for me.

[Gainer]

@Annabelle123

While I understand monitoring water intake, I don’t understand how it’s OK for a horse to stand for hours without water, either. I have my guys at home now and I always end up giving each another full bucket at night check because they are usually down from 2 full buckets to about 1/2 bucket. I’d much rather refill buckets at bedtime than have my horses standing around for 8-12 hours with no water. And of course, there’s the occasional horse that will manage to dump a bucket or poop in it.

The barns where I boarded always did a night check and topped off water. If a horse hadn’t touched their water by that time, alarm bells went off and they were monitored. Once you care for horses a bit, you get to know their water “habits” and will know if they’re off in the morning even with buckets being topped off.

To each his/her own, I guess.