UPDATE Page 10 (I know you're all waiting by your keyboards to respond!) (I jest.) (Kind of.) Barn worker taking things - what would your expectation be of the Barn regarding consequences?

[findeight]

@lenapesadie

My barn would throw your gloves and vest away if they were left out for any extended period of time. Barn is immaculately tidy though

So they pitch an injured riders stuff when hurt badly enough they had to leave for treatment immediately and not return to the barn for a week??? Nice.

Nick, I suffered that same injury. Non displaced shoulder fracture and cracked ribs, no surgery but the absolute most incredibly painful injury ever. Just awful for a couple of months. Had to sleep half sitting up propped up by pillows. Assure you I was quite reactive. If I returned to the barn a week later and found my vest I was hurt too badly to remember to take being worn by a staff member, I would have been positively atomic…

Don’t know what else is going on here, don’t care much, but any barn that blows off petty theft for any reason, and certainly taking advantage of riders injury to help themselves to their personal items, is nit a barn I care to deal with. On any level, not something to be tolerated. Even if the boarder involved is THAT boarder, on what planet is theft justified?

Every barn Ive ever been in for more then a couple of months even cheap, sketchy ones, had a lost and found box. Couple of times a year they posted a notice contents will be donated or pitched 30 days after notice was posted. And in those all those barns any staff who felt entitled to other people’s belongings were shown the door.

Standard COTH answer to boarders asking what to do about theft is make sure it’s true then tell their boss, if it continues, leave the barn.

Why is it turned on the OP here based on one posters opinions of OP? Like nobody else ever vents on these forums…

And for OP, be sure to get on PT as soon as advised and stick with it…and you think it hurts now? Just wait. But I didn’t go long enough ( insurance only covered a few weeks) and never did recover full range of motion in that shoulder so take care of it.

And maybe its time to think about a change of barns. Sure wouldn’t be comfortable staying after two incidents of staff openly wearing your stuff. No matter how reactive you are or are not, its not an excuse to steal your stuff. And giving it back only after being challenged does not excuse that behavior.

[Farosh]

@Nickelodian

Not sure why I feel the need to defend myself in the court of COTH law, but here:

December - 1 pair of unique gloves left out 1 night. Not the best move in the world, but life.

February - 1 martingale lifted off of my tack hook hung in the tack room (NOT left out). I had two martingales hanging there as I had one horse in long term offsite rehab who wasn’t using his martingale. I can assume someone saw two, thought it would be easy to borrow and never returned it. It is labeled with my name plate, I have been unable to find it.

April - 1 vest left out after I fell off, hit my head hard enough to throw my helmet away, a fractured shoulder and ribs.

May - 1 stick left out after my kiddo (who is four) ran off with it playing pirates. Being four, he dropped it when something else distracted him. When he was riding I noticed it sitting in the aisle way, and made a mental note to grab it. After doing his leadline “lesson” untacking the pony, putting everything away, dealing with snacks and drink and petting the kitty cats and feeding treats, and the million other questions/distractions, it got left behind. If you’re a mom, you might get this. If not then probably not.

So, in all in 6 months I have left 3 things out. I really don’t mean to be rude and try to be very conscientious of my space and things (for the person who said that I don’t care about my stuff). But when two of those things end up with the same person, even if left out, it makes me feel upset.

Again you don’t think it’s a big deal because you’re just like oh it’s just 3 things I left out. But as you’ve stated, other people are doing this too. So it adds up. Tbh that’s a lot you should never leave your stuff out, and this is just what you’re confessing to/can remember.

So every 6 months you lose things and than accuse people of stealing from you and make it the barn owner’s problem, you sound like a super fun client. Barn worker is probably tired of picking up after people and probably thought it was better to use the stuff than throw it away or have an exponentially growing lost and found pile of stuff that never gets claimed because that’s always how lost and found piles turn out lol.

[endlessclimb]

@Farosh

Again you don’t think it’s a big deal because you’re just like oh it’s just 3 things I left out. But as you’ve stated, other people are doing this too. So it adds up. Tbh that’s a lot you should never leave your stuff out, and this is just what you’re confessing to/can remember.

So every 6 months you lose things and than accuse people of stealing from you and make it the barn owner’s problem, you sound like a super fun client. Barn worker is probably tired of picking up after people and probably thought it was better to use the stuff than throw it away or have an exponentially growing lost and found pile of stuff that never gets claimed because that’s always how lost and found piles turn out lol.

Are you kidding me? Did you even read OP’s situation surrounding the vest? She was injured for cripes sake. No one has the right to use your stuff without permission, let alone not put it back where they found it. Ever. Anytime.

You sound like just like this barn worker, palming stuff. It takes one to know one, I guess…

[lenapesadie]

@findeight

In a nutshell. Yes.

If items are left out, they are placed on the list and found rack by the tack room door. Items are thrown away at the two week mark. How the heck is the stall cleaner, who picks up these left out items, supposed to know what belongs to whom?

[Farosh]

@endlessclimb

Are you kidding me? Did you even read OP’s situation surrounding the vest? She was injured for cripes sake. No one has the right to use your stuff without permission, let alone not put it back where they found it. Ever. Anytime.

You sound like just like this barn worker, palming stuff. It takes one to know one, I guess…

I stated in an earlier post the vest was understandable. But everything else, and I kind of doubt it’s just those things tbh because forgetful people rarely remember everything they lose, is just being careless.

Not even just barns but most gyms and communal areas I’ve been to have lost and found but lost and found eventually turns into free stuff pile because they’re not your personal storage space. People usually never even claim their lost stuff.

I really don’t care what happens to your stuff though if you don’t take care of it. And I really especially hate people who lose their things and blame other people, especially barn workers/employees for it and try to make their lives difficult. It’s “Karen” behavior lol.

[To_the_MAX]

COTH never ceases to amaze me.

I was brought up never to take anything that wasn’t mine. Doesn’t matter if it’s neatly put away with someone else’s things, left in the barn aisle, laying in the grass, fell from the sky… It’s illegal in most states to keep something you’ve found (take, money, for example) without trying to find its rightful owner. If a million dollars was accidentally deposited into your checking account, it’s theft to take that because you know it isn’t yours.

The OP has stated that her barn has a lost and found. The OP’s martingale has a nameplate on it. The gloves and vest were easily identifiable (refer back to my previous point to see why any of that shouldn’t even matter…) There is simply no excuse for the employee to be doing anything with the items other than picking them up and putting them in the lost and found.

Of course everyone should clean up after themselves and make an effort not to leave stuff out. But if this is a recurring issue with the OP (which it doesn’t sound like it is - two items left out in the last 6 months, one of them after a fall resulting in injury) then the BO should address it with a policy. The employee should not be able to do with the items as she pleases.

[findeight]

I don’t care much about the little stuff we have all lost, except maybe as background for taking advantage of an injured rider with fractures not cleaning up after herself, too bad so sad attitude.

I would think the neon Fuchsia color in a sea of black and muted Burberry outerwear would deter a paid staffer from wearing such a thing in front of the still recuperating, injured rider, guess not.

What do some of these barns do with the belongings of badly injured clients? What happens if they leave addled via ambulance leaving car, purse and keys? Doesn’t make one feel confident they are in caring hands.

[CanteringCarrot]

Sooo… I’m at the barn everyday. Everyday. If I leave something out, say 3 times a year, sporadically, I guess that’s terrible? I don’t know, it happens.

At my barn no one takes your things, they just leave it there, put it out of the way, or with the person’s stuff. NOT HARD. It’s called being a decent person. If it’s an occasional thing, it happens. If it’s constant, that’s a different matter entirely.

Another boarder fell off her horse awhile back and went to the hospital. I’m not her friend, but I saw her things in the aisle and put them back in her tack locker and sent her a text. Imagine that!

I left my whip out once, and someone moved it behind one of the doors to the indoor, out of the way, so I could retrieve it the next day. Occasionally someone leaves spurs or some thing in the arena or around the barn and usually someone will just send a pic and text to the group chat and ask who the thing belongs to. Simple.

I couldn’t take something that’s not mine. And like, isn’t is super awkward when the person sees you wearing or using said object? I couldn’t imagine not caring that much I guess.

I can see why the OP is upset as the barn worker should put the thing(s) aside/in lost and found, not take them. No need to berate the OP for being human.

[endlessclimb]

@Farosh

I stated in an earlier post the vest was understandable. But everything else, and I kind of doubt it’s just those things tbh because forgetful people rarely remember everything they lose, is just being careless.

Not even just barns but most gyms and communal areas I’ve been to have lost and found but lost and found eventually turns into free stuff pile because they’re not your personal storage space. People usually never even claim their lost stuff.

I really don’t care what happens to your stuff though if you don’t take care of it. And I really especially hate people who lose their things and blame other people, especially barn workers/employees for it and try to make their lives difficult. It’s “Karen” behavior lol.

It doesn’t matter that your barn can’t properly manage its lost and found. Your barn is not every barn. It’s easy to put a note on something that’s been in there for 30 days saying it’s going to be pitched or rehomed.

After your vest and gloves get blatantly stolen, wouldn’t you also be wondering what happened to your labeled martingale?

Again, you sound like a “finders keepers” type person, who would get kicked out of any barn worth its salt.

[Blinky]

Again. Wow.
I don’t care if I left something out weekly. That doesn’t then become the propery of whomever…like finders keepers. I’m glad some of you are so perfect you never forget something.

[16_Hands]

@Farosh

I stated in an earlier post the vest was understandable. But everything else, and I kind of doubt it’s just those things tbh because forgetful people rarely remember everything they lose, is just being careless.

I guess OP was just being “careless” when she found her gloves in the BW’s tack trunk.

[Farosh]

@16 Hands

I guess OP was just being “careless” when she found her gloves in the BW’s tack trunk.

Careless leaving them out. Also there is an assumption here that the bw knew they were hers. People lose gloves literally all the time it’s like the number one thing that people leave out and people almost never claim them.

[Farosh]

@endlessclimb

It doesn’t matter that your barn can’t properly manage its lost and found. Your barn is not every barn. It’s easy to put a note on something that’s been in there for 30 days saying it’s going to be pitched or rehomed.

After your vest and gloves get blatantly stolen, wouldn’t you also be wondering what happened to your labeled martingale?

Again, you sound like a “finders keepers” type person, who would get kicked out of any barn worth its salt.

lol I’m not even just talking about my barn! I’m talking about shared spaces in general. I’ve worked at parks with lost and found, other barns, and even several gyms and this is pretty standard.

“Worth its salt” lol how old are you

I was raised to leave places looking better when I leave than when I arrived and to not expect other people to take care of myself and my belongings. And if I lose something, than tough sh*t you should’ve been more responsible. Live without it or get a new one.

[enjoytheride]

Apparently Finders Keepers Losers Weepers is only applicable in a barn.

[endlessclimb]

@Farosh

lol I’m not even just talking about my barn! I’m talking about shared spaces in general. I’ve worked at parks with lost and found, other barns, and even several gyms and this is pretty standard.

“Worth its salt” lol how old are you

I was raised to leave places looking better when I leave than when I arrived and to not expect other people to take care of myself and my belongings. And if I lose something, than tough sh*t you should’ve been more responsible. Live without it or get a new one.

Hope you never accidentally leave your car keys, cell phone, or wallet somewhere. How old are you? My parents raised me better than that.

Sure leave it better than what you found it - which does not include taking the things left lying around and claiming them as my personal property.

What piggish, thug behavior.

[supershorty628]

I don’t really understand how the martingale isn’t a bigger issue, although I’m frankly fascinated by the direction this thread has gone.

The martingale was taken off OP’s bridle hook. Meaning it was put away. Not left out. It has a nameplate on it, so it clearly belongs to her. Even if someone grabbed 2 by accident and realized there was an extra, is it really that hard to, I don’t know, look at the nameplate and go “oh, Nickelodian must have 2 martingales and I grabbed them both, silly me” and put it back?

To reiterate: the martingale was stored where it should have been, disappeared, and has not been returned to OP despite having her name on it. I’m not sure why this is being lumped in with things being left out in the aisle. I’m not saying that this employee took the martingale too, but if I had a piece of tack go missing, especially one with my name on it, I’d be mad too.

[enjoytheride]

@Farosh

lol I’m not even just talking about my barn! I’m talking about shared spaces in general. I’ve worked at parks with lost and found, other barns, and even several gyms and this is pretty standard.

“Worth its salt” lol how old are you

I was raised to leave places looking better when I leave than when I arrived and to not expect other people to take care of myself and my belongings. And if I lose something, than tough sh*t you should’ve been more responsible. Live without it or get a new one.

So you walk around stealing people’s things? Because they fell off their horse and had to leave?

[Bristol_Bay]

@Farosh

I really don’t care what happens to your stuff though if you don’t take care of it. And I really especially hate people who lose their things and blame other people, especially barn workers/employees for it and try to make their lives difficult. It’s “Karen” behavior lol.

“Karen” LOL how old are you?

You seem to have chimed in here just to argue with people.

Enough of you have chimed in on the OP’s dilemma, but I will say this: the worst theft problem at any barn I’ve ever boarded at, was where the boarders had the most money. Several old money families, trust funds galore, every kid went to expensive private school, and one whose mother owned a famous Olympic horse whose name you’d all recognize (maybe not you, Farosh.) If I left my lunge whip by the gate and remembered it an hour later, I’d never see it again. Kids who left their tack locker unlocked, which was inside their horse’s stall, would return to find things missing. It was rampant. There were no pro grooms at that time, so every rider did their own grooming and tacking up. No employee with sticky fingers, just a culture of if I see it, it’s mine.

It’s hard to justify firing someone unless the theft had witnesses or it was caught on security camera. But in your case, OP, there’s a pattern of behavior. The person in question at least deserves a talking to.

I hope you heal soon from the shoulder trauma.

[GraceLikeRain]

This has been one of the more bizarre COTH threads. Maybe there is some deep seated issue with the OP that I missed but this feels like an odd dogpile.

The gloves and the whip suck but I think both fall within the category of small things walking off. The OP should have gone directly to the BO/BM about the gloves as I think going through the worker’s tackbox was inappropriate because that’s private property.

The vest is an entirely different category to me because I’m guessing the OPs injury was pretty well known, not many people wear a vest day to day, and she was understandably gone for a while. It isn’t like a pair of black gloves where they could belong to 30 people. I bet at the barn there are only a handful of people using a vest on the property and in under a minute the barn worker could identify whose trunk to set it on top of and walk away.

While I don’t condone the small things walking off, they can belong to anyone. Brazenly taking a $$$ item and then wearing it at the barn is pretty shocking.

If I informed a BO that a barn worker picked up a vest left out after an accident, took no steps to identify the owner, and then started wearing it as her own and the BO was not horrified, I don’t know if I would trust their judgment.

I’ve been at barns across the spectrum of quality and none would tolerate a barn worker stealing a $200+ item that belonged to a boarder.

[inca]

Not that it changes a thing, but I think the vest is a normal piece of outerwear you wear in lieu of a coat. Not a protective vest like you wear cross country.

But this thread has officially jumped the shark, gone off the rails, etc. Lol