Every barn I’ve ever been to has had a bulletin board with a variety of checks written out to a variety of service people- farriers, vets, etc. Some of them even have the amount blank, but are addressed. I’ve never heard of anyone having a problem. Seems to be standard in my area.
I do pay my farrier in cash, but I hide it somewhere in the barn and tell her where it is. There are a lot of randoms that come through though.
While it broke your trust, its your trust in people, not so much the barn and its services, moving might be hasty if you like boarding there and your horse is well taken care of. Ask your farrier if you can pay by other means on days you can’t be there or mail a check to him prior.
sorry this happened
You paid 100 bucks to learn that venmo or PayPal or USPS would be a better approach. It’s over and done, and I’m sorry that it happened but it’s done.
I used to manage a boarding facility with a lot of traffic. I would never leave cash out and about. I always make a point to pay my farrier directly, I physically hand them cash, or we agree to Venmo/PayPal prior to each appointment. If I pay someone to hold my horses for me, if I cannot make the appointment, I pay them their cash but always pay the farrier separately. I’ve been lied to, stolen from and cheated too many times in my life to do it any other way. 
edited to add: it would be a very hasty decision to leave a barn over this. I can tell you with quite a bit of certainty that the owner didn’t steal your money. If she did, there would be other red flags you see as well. You can’t necessarily fault the owner for a client who stole from you without actual proof. I wouldn’t leave a barn over this.
I agree I’ll never find out who, but I disagree that the owners aren’t responsible. Someone from their farm stole it. If it was one of their workers and that worker got caught, then it’s lawsuit city.
But from a different perspective, if I flipped it to something getting stolen - or even lost - at my business, I would NOT have a lame ‘maybe it blew away’ excuse, I would be so irate and feel HORRIBLE for the person. That’s what bothers me more than ‘there’s a thief among us’: that the people I pay to watch-over my darling horse (and my belongings) hasn’t shown once ounce of care or concern.
I would be livid. Depending on how the care is at the barn, the nonchalant nature of not addressing it by barn management would have me ready to leave because it should also feel like an invasion of THEIR privacy and trust.
Now, I do think the wind probably got it. BUT to all of the people on this thread who are saying the OP is the dummy for leaving it “in the open”, I disagree. I think most adults know not to touch things that don’t belong to them. Whether it’s $100 in a sealed envelope, or a drunk girl in a short dress.
I would have a reasonable expectation of leaving things out in a private, gated facility where everyone was a vetted member of the team - staff, boarder, or otherwise.
“EXACTLY”
It’s a place of trust.
Boarders shouldn’t even have to consider that as a possibility.
Big barn or small barn.
It’s like leaving your Grandmother at a nursing home and hoping she’s not mistreated.
Oof, the boarder that can not be pleased, evidenced by “Darling Horse”. Exhibit A.
DON’T LEAVE CASH OUT. You don’t know it didn’t blow away! How dare you accuse someone of theft when you did something super not-smart!
A little more like leaving a drink on top of your car and then hoping it’s still there when you get to the next gas station, but ok.
You should probably just leave this barn. The autonomy of them leaving it up to you on how to pay your farrier is clearly too much for you to handle. You need some place that will pay the farrier, and then bill you for it.
Considering the very frequent issues in nursing homes, I sure as heck hope you’re checking on Grandma regularly.
Have you ever tried to tape something to the front of a stall?
I totally believe the ‘blew away’ concept here.
Recently the wind blowing thru the barn aisle (almost spring time here, any nice weather means the barn is wide open) managed to make a paper, contained in a plastic sleeve, blow away. I saw the paper on the adjoining stall working on leaving too, that is how I know what happened. Sleeve still there (stapled in several places), contents gone.
They are not. I know it sucks and I know you feel violated and I know you’re looking to blame someone other than yourself, but this isn’t the owners fault. There’s no lawsuit. If the owners were acting negligently and hosting keggers at night, inviting randos to the barn, giving out keys to the tack room, without the boarders knowledge, then that would be the owners fault.
You were aware of the security measures or lack there of, and elected to take this risk and it costed you 100 dollars plus the cost of the clip. That’s on you.
If I did this, and I tried to blame my barn owner/ manager/ staff/ fellow boarders I would be laughed off of the property.
@EE
“Lawsuit city”???
You’ve addressed this with the farm and gotten their response. Let’s say you ask again and they agree to ask each person who has access to the barn “Did you steal EEs envelope?” (to which they will all of course say say No.) Will that be enough?
I suspect the only solution you want is for the BO to give you $100. Have you said that out loud yet to the BO? Unless you say exactly what you want, out loud and directly to the BO, you are not going to get it.
Based on how you are just swatting away the chorus of voices here saying your anger is off-base, it’s clear you are very convinced in your position and will not be happy in this barn unless the BO gives you that money.
So might as well get it over with and tell the BO that unless they replace the money you lost, you are giving your 30d notice (or whatever your boarding agreement requires). Do be sure you have your new barn lined up, because the BO probably may be happy to waive the 30d notice requirement to allow you to leave sooner.
Also be sure to tell the new barn that you will find them responsible for any money you choose to leave in random places that they know nothing about. Being upfront about this is probably best for everyone.
I don’t think OP is a dummy for leaving cash at the barn or in the open, I think OP is a dummy for leaving it attached to a stall door. I put a ziplog bag of blank checks and a note for the farrier on the barn bulletin board in the tack room for years. I’ll take the chance.
I would never put it on a stall door “securely attached”. It could fall off or knocked off by any of the horses or barn staff, especially at night and flipping wind will go right through a barn isle.
Shit happens, OP has low risk tolerance, and wants to blame everyone else for what is most likely caused by nature not a human.
If I were the sort of person who carried cash, I might leave it in the barn for the farrier. I left checks for years–many of them blank–but there was a place to do so (bulletin board). Some boarders at my barn still do this. I do not, but only because I have started holding my horses for him instead of asking the barn staff to do it.
I think there is an expected level of trust with barn staff/fellow boarders. At least I have one–but I have also been at this particular barn for decades now. I MIGHT be concerned about the lesson kids, I suppose…but only because there are now so many of them that I never meet.
I don’t think I would hold the BO responsible if my cash (or check) went missing, though. It is a known risk, for one. And, for another, things blow away, get knocked off boards, etc in barns. IF there were a pattern of thefts, then yes, I would expect the BO to step in somehow (or at least be apologetic). But if one check/cash went missing randomly? I would chalk it up to bad luck and figure out a safer way to make sure the farrier gets their money next time.
If you left an envelope of cash on your car seat and left your car unlocked in the parking lot of a small mom-and-pop store, would you blame the owner of the store when someone opened your car door and took the envelope? Would you sue the store owner if it happened to be an employee?
Ding dong? REALLY? Uh, no, it’s not my fault. Am I sensing a little aggression on your part? Then don’t reply to a thread that starts with “I’m looking for advice.”
My advice is to quit blaming others for a mistake you made. Despite being a paying customer, the barn owners are not at fault for you half-assedly taping a hundo to a stall door. That action was stupid on your part.
Better?
Did you expect wailing, gnashing teeth & rent garments?
Why should Barn mgmt be overly concerned over your mishap?
It was $100, not $100K.
Gated community or urban ghetto:
s**t happens.
Move on.
I had a similar experience many years ago when I left my vehicle overnight for a trailer brake controller to be installed.
Picked it up the next morning & slipped an envelope with $60 cash in the mail slot in the door as business was not yet open.
Owner called me later that day to ask about payment.
Seems my envelope went missing.
Awkward silence…
Then he suggested I mail him a check for half the original price.
I did so immediately & thanked him for this great Customer Service solution.
Maybe your shoer would do the same?
I was also the recipient of someone’s careless handling of cash.
When I was a landlord tenants used the back stairs to get to their 2nd floor apt.
I lived on the 1st floor.
They also did me the honor of puking on the steps & my deck.
When I went to clean the mess I also found $100 in currency.
Did I inform tenant?
No.
Did I keep the cash?
Yes.
Considered it my fee for cleaning up their mess.
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
