Correct- NYS barns are closed and should not have anyone except essential workers!
I have been told they will have fines if they are open, but I have not seen that in writing.
I miss my horse, but people are being foolish if they are allowing nonessential people in.
The NY executive order is worded a little vaguely and can be open to various interpretations. Cornell Cooperative is clearer, stating boarders should not come at all unless they are providing essential care, but CC is a guideline, not a mandate. If my boarders come visit, I would like to encourage them to refrain from riding and merely to groom, if only to reduce the risk of injury. If some of my clients (I anticipate one or two) push back, I would try to make the circumstances as safe as possible.
In terms of rearranging the grooms schedule, that is not an option, as they muck, turn out, bring the horses in around 3, feed etc. They do maintenance as well. I am swamped with providing extra care for the horses, and some have special needs that I attend to.
I feel I am caught between doing what is right and best for peopleâs health and safety, and what will keep me from going out of business. I was hoping to hear from other NYerâs as we are in a hot zone, even with a slight flattening of the curve.
This isnât enough. There is still risk through touch and the air etc. Everyone needs to stay home no matter how much it sucks except essential staff and workers.
In Canada, barns have to be closed to boarders per EC guidelines. Anyone found in violation can be fined $50k.
People need to take this seriously or it will last a lot longer.
I do not agree. Nothing is going to protect everyone from this disease forever. That ship sailed long ago. We have to learn how to live with it.
The lockdown has helped suppress the total number of covid patients that make it to the ICU and the ventilators at any given time. That is all that that was ever intended to accomplish. And that can also be accomplished individually by practicing the kind of protection discussed in this thread.
What the lockdown has also accomplished is a hard, steep and fast learning curve for the public. The public is now much better prepared to help control the spread of the disease as they go about their daily lives.
In my mind, the precautions the OP is considering are an acceptable risk. The BM is doing their part. From there, it is up to each boarder to make a responsible decision for their own lives and families. Individuals need to decide based on their own circumstances and that of those closest to them if they should go to the barn under those circumstances, or not. The preventative actions of each individual is by far the best protection for everyone else they are in contact with.
Not all of Canada - here in BC it is ârecommendedâ but not mandatory and barns are making individual decisions about their own policies. Our provincial directives are actually still quite relaxed compared to others.
For what itâs worth (very little, lol), I am in very strong agreement with your standpoint OverandOnward.
Couldnât agree with this more. The intention of the lockdown was to flatten the curve, not to lock us down until a vaccine is found.
A problem barns are having is that while they can get assistance with paying human staff, part of their âstaffâ is their lesson horses or the horses they get in on spec in order to lease them out either by the month/year or just for shows. Board is a loss leader and even if a barn charges board enough to cover expenses, the barn is PAYING the expenses on the barn owned horses that are generating no income.
Sure some clients are paying to have their horses schooled but unless they are paying for 4 rides a week (very rare around here, we are not an area where that type of service is typical) how much can the horse be getting out of it? A once a week âschooling rideâ will start to be a roller coaster ride after a while, putting the trainer at risk.
I imagine that opening up is going to have to be a slow process. Masks will probably be required, gloves as well. We will have to spray things down but as mentioned up-thread, disinfecting supplies are hard to come by. If states are going to be requiring businesses to have them, the supply chain needs to free them up and retailers need to act to curb hoarders.
Iâm in NY and not a BO but friends with most of the local BOâs as I work in a tack store and have ridden around here for decades. We have several FB threads ongoing about the shutdown and itâs clear that some barns are open on some level. The NY mandate is quit clear. Boarding barns and lesson operations are CLOSED, The only exception is for SELF CARE boarders. Now, I suppose that barns could âtemporarilyâ change their contracts to make it appear that each client is self care but that is clearly in violation of the letter and the spirit of the mandate.
The EO isnât vague, it says lessons are non essential and it says boarding barns re closed.
Itâs going to last for a very long time. It isnât just going to go away, and we arenât going to have vaccines or wide access to them for years. What we are doing now is keeping our hospitals from being overwhelmed and letting our scientists come up with suitable treatments.
Unfortunately here in the US most states have not given specific direction regarding stables, and it often falls under recreational activity which is permissible. Barns are making their own decisions, close totally, limit access, hold private lessons, no lessons, etc.
The OP asked what to do going forward. We have to have a plan in place as we begin to open things back up, to do it slowly to prevent a spike in cases, and to let people live a bit. A schedule limiting the number of boarders at a barn, only doing private lessons outdoors with no use of the bathrooms and barns, etc will help bring some business back while slowly opening things up to keep people safe.
I would make a block and not allow boarders when your grooms are doing the most work. Then I would schedule in each boarder, say 2 boarders max one hour at a time. Or more if you have more space. One boarder in the outdoor, one in the indoor, etc. Ask them to keep separate grooming equipment in their trunk that only they use.
Does the order specify riding? You could say grooming only for the next two weeks, then just flatwork, etc.
The order says that all non-essential businesses are closed and that boarding barns and lesson programs are non-essential except for the workers necessary to provide the actual care for the livestock.
Ok. The OP did ask how to open things back up when those orders were listed.
My local orders classified barns as recreation.
One barn near us has the ability to put horses in a turnout in the front of the property. This means people can drive up to the facility and see and pet the horse on the scheduled days it is in the paddock they have access to. It seems like a very good compromise!
First I would see what your stateâs order says about agricultural businesses, and if they consider exercising horses as part of horse care and thus essential, then you can probably open your barn without fear of legal repercussions. Iâm in Maryland which considers exercising horses part of horse care which owners can assist with, even at a full care boarding facility (not every place has trainers who can ride their horses). The barns that i know that are open have owners schedule a time so they can control the # of people out there and some have set up their barns so that owners only have access to their tack room and an area to groom and tack up which is good. I also know of other barns that have flat out shut down and some of the owners are starting to squawk about it. People/clients have to understand that barn owners, their help etc may have health issues that put them in a higher risk category, and if thatâs an issue for the barn owner, then they absolutely need to factor that in when deciding what to do. Whatâs scary is many folks are getting sick, really sick who donât necessarily fall into the high risk category.
Maryland also has a letter you can download to give to essential personnel like grooms, barn help, and I suppose even clients if they are the ones riding their horses.
All I can say is do what you feel is right in your heart, clientâs should understand and accept it. Itâs not like any of us wanted this to happen.
I feel sorry for those who are in MichiganâŠ
NY governor has just announced the extension of the âpauseâ to May 15th. It looks like we in NY are SOL for another month.
I understand the BOsâ POV about the liability issues. However, Iâm paying nearly $600 a month to board a horse I canât see. If this goes on for a long time - say, after May 15 - I will have to move my horse to a smaller barn where I have access. Financially it just doesnât make sense for me to continue for a long time after that. If the order extends into September, thatâs $3000 down the tubes.
So you are going to punish a good BO who is following both the letter and the spirit of the executive order to move to a barn that is willing to, at a minimum, violate the order, or spin up some loop hope theyâve decided exists? Boarders and owners are not considered essential unless they are directly involved in daily care. People who are feeding and watering your horse each day, cleaning stalls, turning in and out, they are essential. But somehow youâve turned this into your BO choosing to screw you because they are adhering to an executive order handed out by the governor of your state?
Horse people are truly the most entitled group of people on planet earth.
Financially people have to do what they have to do. If this goes on for months and you canât see or ride people will start evaluating expenses. That full service show barn with the big indoor, top notch trainer, and fancy club room amenities starts to become a lot less essential when you loose the ability to use it. Backyard farms for 1/3 of the cost with large grass turnouts will become more and more appealing.
Thank you for you sympathy. The real sympathy is needed for those in southeast Michigan around the Detroit area where the situation is truly dire. Michigan has the 3rd highest death toll from the virus of all of the US.
The northern half of the state is a whole different world, cases of illness are often still in the single digits in many counties. We would like to keep it that way and not become the next Detroit. We need to heed the executive order. Yes, Iâm bored, cooped up, and really wishing this was over; but most important of all, I am healthy thank goodness. I will continue to do my part to see this end sooner rather than later.
The lawless, gun brandishing fools on the capitol steps in Lansing do not speak for many of us. I actually wonder who they really do speak for. Their behavior was beyond comprehension. They scare me more than the virus or any perceived government overreach. Lets see what Lansing looks like 2 to 3 weeks from now. Surely they will claim they had nothing to do with any disease spike, should it occur.
Patience and prudence will put us back on the path to normal.
Right â itâs not about demanding that places that legally canât operate change their practices or skirt the law, itâs more that a different set of trade offs might feel sensible in a context where weâre talking about a year without showing, etc. You might be more willing to do self-care or be in a lower key place rather than spending thousands of dollars a month for services you canât use and not being able to see your horse.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
