When can BO evict with 24-36 hour's notice?

[Trixie]

It’s legal to record a conversation to which one party consents. For example, if the person carrying the tape recorder, here the boarder, consents to recording the conversation herself, it is admissible in most courts.

That isn’t true. A dozen or so states require (under most circumstances) consent from all parties. It’s important to check the laws of your state and make sure you are not violating them prior to brandishing your tape recorded conversation in a courtroom as “evidence.”

Getting it in writing is always nice. But I agree with those that say get the horses out of there first, handle lawsuits later. Did your friend have a contract? I imagine she has records of past board payments being made on time.

[sketcher]

@SonnysMom;6065522

Doesn’t sound like this BO is the type to “help out” a boarder out of the goodness of her heart.
It very likely is that the BO needed somebody to work around the farm.

Sorry, but the barn owner may very well be doing the boarder a favor by allowing her to work off some board. She does not have to be doing it “out of the goodness of her own heart” and at cost to herself or her business but there can be headaches involved with allowing someone to work off part of their board rather than directly paying someone for their services.

@arlosmine;6065852

The one who is doing the partial board reduction for work is very limited in funds,a single mom, does not own a trailer, and has two horses. (yes she can pay for board and vet needs, she is just very money conscious and careful and every penny counts). She is really the one who is wanting to stay for her 30 days. The work reduction was a big deal to her financially, and she is unprepared to pay full Jan board twice on two horses. Also:

Sorry, that to me does sound like the BO was doing a boarder a favor. And it is possible that if she is losing boarders she no longer has the cash flow to afford to let someone work off their board.

[TheJenners]

Sometimes, life sucks. Boarder who normally pays a reduced fee should see if the BO will take payments (say beginning of month and middle), but should have seen it coming with the loss of income the BO is suffering.

Eh. Otherwise, I don’t think a BO can force anyone out with 24 hr notice…

[BeeHoney]

I agree that the first priority should be getting the horses moved to new facilities. Of course people are free to say what they want, but in the interest of getting moved out without things escalating, it might be worth it to try to keep any negative commentary discreet until after the horses are moved.

You don’t say exactly what is going on here, but in most situations (unless there is something cruel or illegal going on), I don’t think that it’s okay to badmouth someone in their own barn in front of their other clients who might not have any involvement in the situation.

That having been said, the notice period really depends on the contract. I have seen contracts that can limit riding or barn privileges in certain situations (such as unpaid board bills), but I’ve never seen a contract that gave an option for such a short notice period.

Ok, now regarding the person who works off board, if I were boarding my horses somewhere I’m not sure I would want them being cared for by a disgruntled, soon to be ex-boarder. That’s not a good situation. I don’t do board-for-work trades at my barn, but if I did and I had such a person leaving on bad terms, I would not want them working at the barn after I became aware of their negative feelings towards me or my facility.

[Credosporthorses]

[QUOTE=arlosmine;6065333]
I have some friends who are being threatened with 24 hour’s notice eviction by BO if they discuss “problems” at barn with other boarders. They have paid through Jan, and gave their 30 day’s notice with the board check. The same BO is threatening to sue a boarder who already left for inciting others to leave. (calling it interference with business).

Obviusly this ia very silly, but yet another boarder who gave notice with her board check and had an agreement of partial-barter for a board reduction with the BO is now being charged full board, with the threat that the BO will “seize” the horses if she does not pay it.

Any legal eagles out there with a way to get the BO to back off?[/QUOTE]

Sounds just like a trainer/ BO I know. Mind sharing where your friend is located?

[chizzle]

[QUOTE=arlosmine;6065333]
I have some friends who are being threatened with 24 hour’s notice eviction by BO if they discuss “problems” at barn with other boarders. They have paid through Jan, and gave their 30 day’s notice with the board check. The same BO is threatening to sue a boarder who already left for inciting others to leave. (calling it interference with business).

Obviusly this ia very silly, but yet another boarder who gave notice with her board check and had an agreement of partial-barter for a board reduction with the BO is now being charged full board, with the threat that the BO will “seize” the horses if she does not pay it.

Any legal eagles out there with a way to get the BO to back off?[/QUOTE]

First off a BO who threatens people this way - well it’s going to get people to talk so if they don’t want their business or themselves being talked about negatively here’s a thought- don’t treat people this way. Maybe BO should ask boarders why they are leaving? What could they do other than threaten to improve their business and make people stay?

Okay - boarder has contract that says they must give 30 day notice. A contract is a mutually agreed upon agreement which means boarder gives 30 days notice and BO has to abide by that (and in some cases 30 days notice applies to them as well). If I had a crackpot like that I’d forget the 30 days notice and get the heck out of there By the BO threatening them w/ 24/36 hour notice they’ve basically fore-fitted their right to a 30 day notice. Now I think OP mentioned somewhere that most of them have given 30 days notice so they’re pretty much stuck but i would make sure my horse is well taken care of. As far as the boarder who did barn work in exchange for board - if they are requiring them to pay full board - don’t do anymore barn chores. If they can’t afford to board 2 horses, then don’t board 2 horses - try to find a home for one temporarily or permanently. Times are tough.

[LauraKY]

I did force someone out with 24 hours notice. She refused to have the vet out, refused pain meds for the horse, horse was in pain. I told her to come pick him up. She did (ended up giving him away to a wonderful home).

[OverandOnward]

It’s pretty clear that there is much more to this story than has been shared. The question about 24-36 hour eviction is obviously just the tip of the iceberg. And it isn’t really necessary to elaborate about the entire situation.

Just from what you’ve posted, OP, there doesn’t seem to be much point in hyper-analyzing the rights and wrongs, who can legally do what, and who can sue who. Just for tomorrow (or today, or tonight,) forget all that and get your horse and put that barn in the rearview mirror, following the example of the other boarders who have already done that. If one removes their horse from the property now, they don’t have to worry about the BO preventing them moving their horse later. Do it before the BO has a chance to take any further action - that is, immediately.

Go back for your stuff or take it at the same time, but the horse is the priority. Don’t visibly fuss around the barn loading, don’t make loading horse/stuff take much, if any, time. Move quickly and avoid BO drama confrontation. (Don’t abandon stuff you care about - BO could lock that up if he/she doesn’t have your horse to seize.)

I have absolutely no idea who is in the right, the BO or the boarder(s.) This is about your horse, because you are the one who posted the thread.

My thoughts from what you’ve posted.

[Woodland]

My barn, if i say get out then you’d better go. Especially if you are a trouble maker or behave in a dangerous fashion. I am pretty hard to piss off - so if it has gone to this point “Get Out!” :yes:

[Miraya]

My parents and I had seen countless boarders give notice and then get treated like crap during their remaining 30 days. The first time we gave notice and tried to leave, BO\coach called all the barns we were looking at going to and told them we were bad clients…didn’t pay our bills, etc. The second time we gave notice, we attached a letter and a cheque for a half months board and stated that the remainder of board would be paid upon leaving, on the condition that myself and my horses be treated well and the horses cared for as stated in the boarding contract. This meant my horses actually still got fed, turned out and had their stalls cleaned daily.

Crazy, crazy people out there. It sucks to pay double board but its a small price to pay for the safety of your horses.

[SandraD]

“My barn, if i say get out then you’d better go. Especially if you are a trouble maker or behave in a dangerous fashion. I am pretty hard to piss off - so if it has gone to this point “Get Out!””

BM ditto here. But when boarders have been told to leave we refund partial board. So we lose some money, it’s better to cut out the cancer. If you don’t like things and have not been able to resolve things with the BM/BO then leave. If you are talking trash and haven’t tried to resolve things with the BM/BO and I hear about it through the grapevine, you will be confronted and probably asked to leave. The one situation we recently had with someone riding dangerously (liability issue) we gave them 72 hours.

[pandorasboxx]

Luckily, in the years I’ve had horses, I’ve had wonderful barn owners so that there was only one very brief (2 months) bad situation that was dealt with by moving post haste, swoop and scoop style.

I moved my horse while the Barn operator was at work with all essentials packed in one trunk and saddles & bridles removed earlier. Why not give 30 days and stay till the end? Because I was absolutely confident that my horse’s already substandard care would suffer even more. Btw, I left not only the required written 30 day notice but the extra 4 days pro-rated board into the next month so as to follow the boarding agreement to the letter. I was lucky I could afford to essentially pay for board 2x that month.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the single mom needs to borrow $ and move ASAP or tough it out. If she has to tough it out, she should be out there daily to monitor her horses well-being. BO sounds like a real piece of work and yes, I wouldn’t put it past someone threatening the boarders in this way to suddenly drop the level of care out of spite and anger.

Have the other boarder start moving her stuff out in small bits, and leave the essentials such as saddle, bridle and grooming kit in her car. I’d plan on moving the horse a day or two before her actual lease ends to forestall any nasty surprises the BO may come up with, ideally at a time when she knows the BO won’t be there.

As far as bad mouthing a facility? I wouldn’t have the slightest hesitation if it would save others from being stuck in a crappy situation. Otherwise, it just allows bad operators to continue to flourish. Feedback is essential for consumers and businesses alike and if a barn is well run that feedback should be out there as well.

[Lori_B]

Can we all agree, after the 4,127th thread about how someone can’t move their horse because they can’t pay 2x board for even a single month, that perhaps the boundary condition for horse ownership, financially, is that if you can’t manage to have 1 extra month of board available for emergencies, you might not be in a situation where owning and boarding a horse is wise?

I am not one of those fanatics who thinks that you have no business owning a horse if you don’t have 4 gazillion dollars in the bank for emergencies. BUT every time you read threads about bad boarding situations, the underlying problem regarding 30 days notice, when can I move my horse, I already paid for this month, etc., etc., etc. is “There is no way I can afford to pay double board for my horse for even a single month.” Which is really nuts. I think everyone who boards knows that no matter how smart, careful, conscientious, etc. you are, you are likely, in the course of boarding a horse, going to need to move without much notice or planning, and that means having more than exactly 1 month of board on hand to cover the overlap. Can we agree that no one should ever ever be surprised that this is probably going to happen to nearly everyone who boards, sometime or other?

I write this knowing that we will now hear from the truly annoying people who will post that they live on generic canned foods and color their own hair and never go to bars and trim their own horse’s feet and manage to own horses on $47 a month in their 1.3 acre farmette. This is why they will never board again. (Not everyone who likes horses can or wants to own land.)

Sorry to hijack. End of mini-rant.

[HeartofGlass]

Agreed, Lori B! When it happened to us it was August, and since I’m an educator that is a lean month financially (summer pay runs out in Aug. and the first paycheck for the new school year doesn’t come until early Sept.) but I still managed. I took an advance on a credit card and paid it off later. And I had 3 horses to move.

I like the “swoop and scoop” description! That is what we did, or tried to do…except the one horse wouldn’t load! O.o I actually had to call the B/O and have her help us load him. So embarrassing…

I was going to call her anyway before we left, because in her case if we didn’t I think she might have claimed that we were breaking and entering or something. Or she might have said that we caused damage or vandalized the place. She had said that about other boarders when they came and picked up their horses when she wasn’t there, so it wouldn’t have surprised me.

We did have the element of surprise on our side. Because it was so sudden and unexpected, I think we caught her off guard and we had an easier time leaving. Later when other boarders left, she was more prepared and blocked them in with her truck so they couldn’t leave until she said so.

I hope the person who is working off the board can figure something out.

[EqTrainer]

[QUOTE=Woodland;6067904]
My barn, if i say get out then you’d better go. Especially if you are a trouble maker or behave in a dangerous fashion. I am pretty hard to piss off - so if it has gone to this point “Get Out!” :yes:[/QUOTE]

Yes… People reading this might want to consider both sides.

I have only ever evicted someone on short notice once - she is a sociopath. I was advised by mental health professionals and the police to give no notice ie: time for her to make a plan and manipulate.

So when you hear someone was tossed out with no notice, think again

[wendy]

My parents and I had seen countless boarders give notice and then get treated like crap during their remaining 30 days.

yes- for the sake of the horse, and just in case, I think regardless of situation it’s best to remove the horse BEFORE actually giving notice. Yeah, it’ll cost you money. So what? you want your horse to be “accidentally” not fed and watered repeatedly, or get treated like scum yourself?

-as a boarder, I would never sign a boarding contract that allowed the BO to evict me without a 30 days notice for any reason. Horse needs somewhere to live, and it’s kind of hard to find a place sometimes.

[mkevent]

I agree with Woodland and EqTrainer. There are always two sides to every story.

I have in my contract 30 days notice preferred, can shorten to two weeks if necessary (for both sides).

I evicted someone after two weeks for same reason as EqTrainer. I blame myself for not doing the due diligence. Lesson learned! I also gave back any board money prorated just to get rid of this person.

Some barn owners can be horrible, but the same can go for some boarders.

Interestingly, I get the feeling that many people on this BB are probably better boarders because at least they read and understand more about modern horsecare. Coth tends to be fairly realistic about horses in general and what’s necessary and what isn’t. It’s the boarders who tend to frequent the “my pretty pony” websites who tend to scare me. If there is an issue, it seems these type of people will tend to get emotional and make accusations when there may not always be grounds for it.

[trubandloki]

@mkevent;6070212

I agree with Woodland and EqTrainer. There are always two sides to every story.

Three sides really. The full story is usually some where other than at either extreme.

[Halt_Near_X]

@wendy;6070071

yes- for the sake of the horse, and just in case, I think regardless of situation it’s best to remove the horse BEFORE actually giving notice.

It’s really not necessary if you’re leaving on good terms, and despite what people read on COTH, sometimes boarders actually DO leave barns on good terms.

-as a boarder, I would never sign a boarding contract that allowed the BO to evict me without a 30 days notice for any reason. Horse needs somewhere to live, and it’s kind of hard to find a place sometimes.

That only helps if both sides want to abide by the contract. I was at a barn this summer where a BO/BM dispute resulted in the BO giving the entire barn (50-70 horses, IIRC) 3 days’ eviction notice with some very specific threats about what would happen at the end of three days.

We were told by a lawyer the steps we could take to enforce the 30 days’ notice the contract said we should get, but as far as I know, everyone was out in three days. As I’m sure the BO hoped, no one was going to put their horse at risk (and the BO made it very clear there was a risk) over a contract dispute.

IMO, in addition to having a way to pay double board for a month in an emergency, you should always have a running mental list of barns you could go to on a moments’ notice. They don’t have to be barns you would stay at, but you should always know where your horse can land if crap happens.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Lori B;6069841]
Can we all agree, after the 4,127th thread about how someone can’t move their horse because they can’t pay 2x board for even a single month, that perhaps the boundary condition for horse ownership, financially, is that if you can’t manage to have 1 extra month of board available for emergencies, you might not be in a situation where owning and boarding a horse is wise?

I am not one of those fanatics who thinks that you have no business owning a horse if you don’t have 4 gazillion dollars in the bank for emergencies. BUT every time you read threads about bad boarding situations, the underlying problem regarding 30 days notice, when can I move my horse, I already paid for this month, etc., etc., etc. is “There is no way I can afford to pay double board for my horse for even a single month.” Which is really nuts. I think everyone who boards knows that no matter how smart, careful, conscientious, etc. you are, you are likely, in the course of boarding a horse, going to need to move without much notice or planning, and that means having more than exactly 1 month of board on hand to cover the overlap. Can we agree that no one should ever ever be surprised that this is probably going to happen to nearly everyone who boards, sometime or other?

I write this knowing that we will now hear from the truly annoying people who will post that they live on generic canned foods and color their own hair and never go to bars and trim their own horse’s feet and manage to own horses on $47 a month in their 1.3 acre farmette. This is why they will never board again. (Not everyone who likes horses can or wants to own land.)

Sorry to hijack. End of mini-rant.[/QUOTE]

Yes, we can agree on this point.

I think Mom With Two horses is right to ask the question about what is legal in her state. But she’s wrong, too. Getting people do to what you want, using the law as a crowbar, is expensive.

I’m poor (or cheap) and have never paid double board. That means I have done due diligence in checking out barns and BOs before moving in and read my contract carefully. I have also done my share of “just make nice and supervise the horse carefully” for those last 30 days if I had a bad vibe. Truly, there has been just one month in 15 years of horse boarding where I felt I had to do this and I don’t think Horseling would have been materially damaged by the BO. But it was a very long month. I paid for it with time and effort rather than money.