What kinds of arrangements for paying for "saving" stalls are there when you go away for the winter?

[Wicky]

What have you heard happening in this kind of situation?

I have three horses, one of which is sound ATM. Horse #2 stumbles and needs some training to remember where his legs need to be (no, he was not neurologic, he did have neck problems and was injected and now is just a bit lazy or happy with his bad habits). My new horse, Horse #3, promptly became neurologic right after he arrived in April, almost was put down, but now is NOT neurologic and hopefully will continue to be fine (we have no diagnosis - the subject of a thread in the future). When he was neurologic he stumbled and went down on his nose, and we think that the kind of training Horse #2 will be getting will be very helpful to him as he regains strength and returns to high level performance (fingers crossed!).

I pay board directly to the BO. My trainer is going south for four months, so I will not have a trainer. The BO will be taking some horses south for a few months. I want to keep Horse #1 to ride and continue to rehab (he’s wonderful, but has navicular syndrome and we are not sure what his future is). Horses 2 and 3 will go to a rehab place where they can get the proper training for their problems (and I’ll visit them). I expect them to be away Dec 1- March 30 or so.

The facility is lovely, and will be in the hands of a wonderful BM. In my area, people are often looking for winter stalls (especially because in many local towns there are laws against having horses out in the winter without adequate shelter, whatever that might be). So I think that they might be able to fill stalls, but they might not want to (totally their choice - not sure if, as BO, I’d want to bring in any old transient to a place with impeccable footing and high quality maintenance). I have been told that some retired horses there will take some of the stalls of the horses that go south (these horses live outside in pastures except in the winter).

So - what scenarios are there regarding paying through the winter to reserve stalls come April 1, for Horses 2 and 3?

1. Full board?
   2, Full board less things that they don’t have to pay for - like hay, grain, stall cleaning and shavings, for Horses 2 and 3?
2. Does it matter at all if the stalls are filled by people who come for the four months - or is that just a little extra for the BO?
3. Any other approaches I haven’t thought of?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!

[Bluey]

Just addressing your new horse stumbling and going almost down.
We had a horse do that and never could find anything wrong?
Our vets eventually were thinking a touch of WNV or some other encephalopathy, possibly?
He was tested for everything possible and nothing came up.
He made a full recovery and has never had any other such spells.
It sure was scary while it was happening.
Hoping your horse will also be fine from now on.

[Sansena]

Totally between you and the barn owner or business owner.

What’s most common in my experience (and others’ may differ) is that you pay the dry stall rate while ‘your’ stall isn’t occupied by your horse. BO can fill stall while it’s vacant. You’re paying for the guarantee the stall is available once you return.

I’ve personally been in situations where the BO and I just shake hands and say, ‘I’ll need the stall again on X date’ and no money traded hands.

In another situation I was asked to give $100 for the 3 months I was gone.
In another still, I was asked to give $100 per month for my stall.

It’s up to you and what you agree upon.

And if the BO wants to fill the stall or not in your absence – that has zero bearing upon what you pay to have the stall available to you on your return. Thinking that should have an impact on what you pay while you’re not there is kind of… distasteful. It’s not ‘extra’. It’s called doing business.

[candyappy]

I think it would be reasonable to pay for a dry stall for the months you are away. I wouldn’t want it filled by another horse on the chance that when you desire to return there is no stall for you to return to. I have known of that happening…

[cbg]

While I’m in FL for the winter, I’ve generally paid for a dry stall (which barn owner calculated to be half of regular board) unless either she or I could fill the stalls for that time (in which case I didn’t pay anything). In our area it’s not hard to find people who would like to be at a facility with an indoor for the cold months.

I am gone horse showing another 10 or so weeks (usually in two week chunks of time) over the course of the year and I do pay full board then.

[Sansena]

I’ll add: Folks seem to believe they reserve their actual stall. This needs to be specified when making payment because you can just as easily return to the facility in the stall of the B.O.'s choosing.

Best bet? Get it in writing. If you want your stall to remain empty in your absence, then you should expect to pay full board. Or at least get that in writing as well…

[Obsidian_Fire]

Most places I’ve been at have just charged a ‘dry stall rate’. But, none of them have been ‘upper end’ facilities either. However I do agree with Sansena.

[Nezzy]

Most places i have been will allow you to do option number 2- Pay for the stall, minus the cost of the bedding and feed.