what time do you open barn to boarders?

[kashmere]

Not a BO, but a very happy and grateful boarder. My barn does not have hours, the BOs just ask that people exercise good judgement and common sense, and if we are the last ones there to take a look and make sure everything is turned off/closed up etc.

It’s a small barn with ~15 boarders + a few part leasers etc. Everyone values the flexibility and respects the barn so it works out. The BO is very kind but I suspect she would not hold back if someone was blatantly disregarding rules/protocols.

9am is quite late to open, in my opinion. Makes it very difficult for most working people to ride before work.

[soloudinhere]

The place I boarded last had a rule you had to notify the barn manager if you would be there before 7am or after 9pm. The tack rooms were all alarmed between 10pm and 6am.

My lesson is often 7:30 or 8am, even though I work from home, because my trainer gets most of her riding and teaching done 8-12 so she can get her son home for his nap.

[betsyk]

No barn hours where I board. It’s a big place with lots of different boarder work and family schedules. The unspoken rule is “yield to the barn staff” if you happen to be there at feeding/turnin/cleaning time, you get out of their way! A few people have needed to be tipped off to that culture, but it works well overall.

[Simkie]

Wow, I can’t even imagine a barn closed until 9 am.

During my insomniac phase, I’d routinely ride at 4:30 am. Barn had no set hours. Owners did live on site, but barn was at front of property and house at back, so coming in early or late didn’t disturb them.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

I live near a resort town, and in the summer it’s not uncommon for service industry workers to ride at 3 or 4 a.m. after they get off work.
A 7 a.m. start is really common. By 9 a.m. it’s too hot to ride - for me, anyway!
I don’t board anymore, but I have an arena membership at a neighbor’s place. She put her ring at the other end of the property from her house and says to come whenever.

[CPL713]

It’s your barn to set the hours you are comfortable with, but I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of boarders who work typical hours?

At my barn we can’t show up until about 7, and it’s a big inconvenience to me since I have a day job and a commute. It’s my only real gripe, but wow do I wish I had more time to ride before work. I make it all work, though, and I’m the one who didn’t bother to ask what the operating hours were before we moved in (and I still would have moved in, because I was in a situation where I needed to move, so…)

While I haven’t been given a set time to be out in the evening, I try to be finishing up by 8 or so at the latest (around the time of the night hay feeding). I’m the only boarder who is there that late, which is probably why they haven’t felt a need to post a solid closing time.

I don’t think 7am is unreasonable, it just isn’t ideal for me. I think 9am is pretty late for any barn.

My previous barn had no set hours, which was nice.
The facility where I used to work had an earlier start time, especially in the summer. I think we would have some boarders come out around 6am to ride.

[kiwichick]

I used to arrive at 5am and ride from 5.30am at once place, the barn was kinda on my way to work and here it gets to be 50 million degrees late in the day with a hundred and fifty billion flies.
I loved my early starts, full use of the facilities and my young horse that id recently backed had no distractions of other people/horses/feed carts.
It worked well for me, and was no problem (that I was aware of)

[melula]

We have a couple that ride early (on at 6:00), shower, and are at work by 8. 9:00 would be far too restrictive.

[demidq]

One barn where I boarded changed their hours to 9:30 AM to 7 PM in summer, 5PM in winter, closed on Sundays and stat holidays. I got chewed out for coming at 9 even tho I had told the trainer about my plans. I’m pretty sure BO decided she disn’t want boarders any more! I moved.
Barn where I board now has no set hours but BO asks to be told if you are there outside usual hours, pretty reasonable

[tabula_rashah]

My barn is open 24/7/365. At least once a month I’m there before 4 AM to load up for a competition and in the summer I am often in the saddle by 6 on the weekends to beat the heat and bugs. I wouldn’t board somewhere that restricted when I could see my own horses.

[MsM]

OP, it should be apparent to you that opening at 9 is not standard practice. So it would not be expected by boarders. You can still do it, but it is especially important that you make the boarders aware of this limitation before they move in.
It sounds like you or the boarder have a decision to make if they want to ride early - either you decide that you can live with earlier riders (and others may follow suit) or you hold fast and the boarder decides if they can ride later or must leave.

[tbchick84]

Considering we sometimes load up and head out to shows at 5:00am or earlier, a barn that opened at 9:00am would never work for anyone I board with. Our barn is open 24/7 and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[TWH_Girl]

@Emily&Jake

My barn is open 24/7 pretty much, and I’m out as early as 6:30 to as late as 10:30pm depending on what’s going on, temperature, work schedule, etc. The more hours you’re open is a definite plus for those looking to board.

I’m so jealous of you all with no strict hours. Sigh. My barn just changed to being open 8-12 on Sundays. That bites for people who work all week and want to take their time on the weekend. I am on a waiting list for a new barn now. Sucks.

[Charmed]

We don’t have any restrictions on that, our boarders are free to come in whenever they want! We have an 11 stall barn with an indoor arena, so it’s pretty laid back.

[AKB]

There are no official hours where I board, but dawn until dusk is the unofficial policy as there is no lighted ring. If I am coming after dark, I always text the owner and barn manager so they know I am not an intruder. Several of us ride fairly early in the summertime to avoid the heat. Anyone who rides after 4pm needs to text the barn manager or bring their horse in themself. It is rare that anyone rides after 4pm.

[GraceLikeRain]

Ive never been at a barn that wasn’t open by 7 AM. At several it wasn’t unusual for a few riders to be on by 7 to beat the heat and ride before work.

[Ambitious_Kate]

As a hard working adult, I would want to ride before work and/or after work. I now work a night shift, out at 5:30 so I would be at the barn (if I were riding) at 6am, before the horse is fed, which usually is 7 or 7:30. I would leave if a barn did not allow me to ride early like that. If I was working a day shift, I would need to be able to come out in the early evening. Leaving by 10 would be fine with me.

[ammyforlife]

We don’t have official hours at my barn, but the unspoken rule is to not get there before 7am and be off your horse by 9pm unless there’s specific circumstances that prevent that (lessons that run late, medication that needs to be given, etc). Back in the good old days before I boarded there, the barn was closed Mondays and closed at 10pm.

[Mukluk]

If I were boarding I would want to be able to see my horse whenever. And for shows sometimes you need to be pulling out of the driveway at 6:00 am. Not to mention trying to fit in horse time before or after work/commute.

[ceegeetee]

Thanks for all the responses folks! I’ve reevaluated and now I’m saying typical barn hours are 8am-9pm, but if you have special circumstances that require you to ride outside those hours we just ask that you make us aware and understand that before 8am barn chores will be in process and let us know so we don’t feed your horse 5 mins before you want to ride and if you are there past 9pm you make sure everything is closed.

I guess in the past most of my boarders who worked regular jobs came after work not before so they arrived btwn 4/7 and were out by 6/9. Those who came in the morning were either stay at home parents who came after kids went to school or self/flexibly employed and they came in late morning/early afternoon.

I also used to have an issue where teenage boarders would come late in the evening with friends/boyfriends and the barn turned into a hangout spot away from parents - which I’m not crazy about- I don’t want to be responsible for whatever they get up to! Also parents would drop their kids off for evening lessons (at 5 or 6) and then not come get them till like 9pm. Or on the weekends they would drop them off in the morning, and not come get them till the kids told them they were ready - which let’s be honest horse crazy kids are never ready to leave the barn, especially when the alternative is doing homework! While I love the kiddos and totally remember being a horse crazy kid, I’m a riding instructor not a babysitter and I have a life/ family that I need to get home to too!

Horse shows and events are totally separate as far as I’m concerned, I too leave well before 9am for events like that, and usually I’m the one taking boarders to those shows so I’d better be there - haha! I was just talking about regular day to day hours.