One thing I like, is if there’s a place for people to sit and relax. Even if it’s nothing but an extra stall with some chairs and a cooler (better yet, a room with ac) and a fridge for drinks. To have a spot to relax, change your boots, chat about the ride etc. is a nice thing.
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Why not talk to the management about the trainer issue, whatever that is, and ask how it is going to be fixed?
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Trubandloki, that is a great idea. I’ve expressed some concern to the management but directly asking about future plans is a really good idea.
IME, when many leave, boarders and trainers, and few or none replace them? There’s more going on then you think and it’s not good. Usually finances or landlord problems, sometimes the property is being sold, do the current managers own the property outright? Is there a mortgage and are they current? Or do they just lease the barn from the property owner then sub lease stalls to trainers? Just thinking some of the trainers may have been asked to leave or not had their leases renewed and there’s no effort to replace them, just not common knowledge. Yet.
And are you an owner/boarder or just a lesson taker? Either way you can be the last to know so ask some questions. Hopefully you’ll get honest answers.
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Not questions to ask, but things you can do:
- Visit the barn without an appointment. Maybe stop by a day or two after you talk to them. See how things look: barn aisles clean and cluttter free ? Cross ties clean (manure and shavings swept up) ? Tack rooms neat and organized ? Water buckets with fresh water ? How does the hay look ? Where do they keep it ?
- Look at the horses. How is their condition ? Shiny coats ? Adequate weight and muscle tone ? Shod correctly ? Blankets in good repair ?
The horses can tell you more than anyone who rides there.
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As a previous boarder, I fully understand the thought process behind this. But even when I was a boarder, I found it to be quite rude depending on the type of facility.
A “surprise visit,” in my opinion, should only be necessary if you have reason to believe there may be substandard care the barn owner or manager will try to hide, such as reports from any ex-boarders that you know. Otherwise, simply expecting this sneaky behavior of every barn is a poor attitude to have, for one. Second, most horse barns are on people’s private property where their home is, that they live at. They may have things going on during the day that they can’t just stop in the middle of to show you around (personal or perhaps lessons/training rides). Or, for people who work a non-horse related job 8-5 M-F, the idea of random people showing up on your private property when you’re not there, walking around and possibly interacting with horses is not pleasing, and pretty terrifying actually. And no, I don’t agree that it “comes with the territory” of having a barn. There’s a reason you see a lot of BOs on here post about doing “research” on potential boarders, and some even require an application of sorts to accept new boarders. AND - many are gated, with coded entries. A further issue, which applies to me personally but probably not a large portion of BOs - I work an 8-5 M-F, but I work from home. I’m home, yes, but I’m WORKING. Like with MEETINGS (conference calls) and work and things. I’m not just readily available at any moment for you to show up like “Yo, I’m at your barn and need you to show me around.”
Maybe this would be fine to do at a large operation that has a few full-time employees that are around and available every day.
I am in Canada. Ask about heat, just because there is heaters…doesn’t mean they turn them on. Lesson learned.
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That’s very good advice.
Another thing to consider is the type of horse. Are they mostly retired, mostly trail horses, etc. Is there a mix of people doing different things, or is everyone kind of doing the same thing. Barns that cater to trail riders generally have very different priorities. Barns that have a healthy mix of people doing different activities may mean more attention paid to things important to people who train seriously.
Another thing to consider when visiting are little things that people take for granted. In visiting barns over the years, I’ve seen some weird things that one would not necessarily think to ask about. Barns that don’t feed hay during the day the the winter when horses are in turnout but there’s no grass. I’ve never seen that anywhere else. Then there are barns that don’t have running water available to boarders in the late fall and winter, no way to cold hose an injury, so you need to do ice boots. Not the end of the world, but weird for the area that barn was in.
I think the best way to really vet a place is hang out there for a day, maybe ask to meet some boarders to get to know them and see how you’d fit in. That way you get to see the staff coming and going.
One the the biggest problems I’ve seen at boarding barns are things not necessarily related to amenities or feed. One barn I considered boarding at turnout horses in and out by opening the gates and letting horses go in and out on their own. That’s a recipe for disaster. It wasn’t a backyard place either. It was a nice facility with some high level trainers. Unfortunately, the trainers didn’t have control over the day to day stuff, the BO was doing that.
An other barn I boarded at, very very nice facility, same thing, the BO handled the turnout, not the trainer. The BO would lead multiple horses at a time or let some of them loose. She ended up in the emergency room after getting stepped on. you wouldn’t necessarily know that’s what they were doing unless you saw it.
For me personally, I’d want to visit multiple times and at different times to see some of this, or only board at places where I know people who are already there.
Bathrooms aren’t important right up until the time you need one!
It’s funny you mention bathrooms. Some barns I’ve seen have pretty modest facilities and I haven’t quite figured out how important that is to me right now. [/QUOTE]
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You are 100% right - there is a lot going on, I just decided to leave some of the nitty gritty details out of my post, since I’m sure that there’s a lot I don’t know and what I think I know might be wrong. I have asked some questions, shared a few concerns, and do not feel very reassured by the response.
Time to bail. Been a boarder for almost 50 years. The signs are there, time to get a plan B in place before you have to get out on short notice.
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Earlier posters offered some great advice.
I would add one thing, if lessons are something you will need/require and outside trainers are not permitted, consider taking at least one lesson with the resident trainer, and watch her give one or two other lessons. It could all be accomplished in one afternoon. If the trainer’s teaching style isn’t your cup of tea, you’ll want to know about that sooner rather than later.
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