Why is it so hard to find Professionally run boarding stables????

[BettyH]

[QUOTE=ActNatural;8717460]
it only takes one idiots mistake with your horse to cost you thousands of dollars.[/QUOTE]

:eek: Thanks everyone. My $1800, is what I can pay if I sell my place. The mortgage, insurance, taxes, and up keep (lawn guys mow, weed, seed, trim trees), + care of the horses (feed, hay). I easily pay more than $2,000 per horse. It always seemed like a nice idea to have my horses at home, but the reality has not been as romantic. I am thinking I would much rather have a small condo and board near by. It would be so nice to not have to choose between maintenance chores, and riding

I have seen bad barns, and unfortunately worked at a few, which make me weary. Its why I left the industry. I am very easy to get a long with, but scared my horses will not be taken care of, or that I won’t have access to arenas, because of bad footing …ex rock hard like concrete for months on end, or so dusty that its a health hazard, or that I moved my horses into a house of horror.

All I am asking for is transparency, BEFORE I move in. I think if these things are known up front, such as Arenas are only dragged on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then that still makes me happy, and I will plan my ride times accordingly. Where as, if arenas are dragged once a month, or once a year…then I will look elsewhere.

I have already practically run away from a barn I looked at, who’s staff was very unknowledgable. Is it too much to ask for a simple bio? Mary-Jo graduated last year from XYZ university, or Bobby-Sue has cleaned stalls for us for 2 years and is in pony club. Even better if its on the website.

In my world a high quality stable would :
Provide hay that has between 0.80 - 0.99 mcals/ lb - (mid to high quality) preferably alfalfa mix, but good hay is good hay. Generally no tree leaves, sticks, or prickly weeds. And staff that knows not to feed hay with mold, dead animals, or trash inside of it. Yes, we have all run into a bale, or two like this.

Provide quality grain - not the generic $8 a bag stuff and not a feed full of grain by product meal…like what is that anyway?

Most 15 -16hh horses need 15 mcals at maintenance (15,000 calories)
ADD in moderate work, and your horse will probably need 25,000 calories, or more if you horse is at all hyper active, or a hard keeper.

This is why I want to know ahead of time what is provided with the normal cost of board.

My TB needs 32mcals, and my 17.3 hh ISH needs closer to 35mcals with moderate work (3-4 days a week, for about 1/2 an hour). That is a lot of feed! My ISH gelding is thankfully an eating machine.

This is what 35 mcals looks like for my moderatly working ISH, in the winter with no grass…
25lbs alfalfa/orchard grass mix hay & 6lbs TC complete each day.

My TB is a picky eater, so when we get a less than perfect batch of hay that is stimmy, then I supplement with hay cubes.
Free choice hay (~10-15lbs) + 10lbs hay cubes + 8lbs TC complete + 1 cup flaxseed oil, all served over the course of 4 meals!
Usually, we exit winter at a body score of 4 - low 5.

Without good feed, I would would hate see what would happen. I think a boarding stable should ideally be prepared to provide 25,000 calories per horse, per day or more. I don’t mind paying for the extra, but some stables act like anything over 20,000 calories is way above and beyond. I had to tell one barn owner over the phone that 2 flakes per meal (2 meals a day, no night check) was probably not going to cut it for my horses, she had no idea what a general flake weighed.

As for overall facilities, a good clean, well maintained older barn, with caring people, a heated bathroom, secured tackroom, and maintained arenas, are worth far more to me than brand new Taj Mahal that could care less about anything but collecting the board check every month.

[fordtraktor]

Good luck finding that. I think you should focus less on numbers and look at what people actually use and have. I don’t test my hay, it isn’t normal to do that here unles you have an IR horse. But if you actually look at it, if you know anything about hay it is easy to see the quality. I was raised on a hay farm and I know what I am looking at.

People can say they drag the rings whenever. Doesn’t mean they do it. Or they might not have a “schedule” but still do it enough? Is the footing good when you go look at the place? If you drop in a week or two later?

I don’t at all think that is the feeding plan I would put your TB on to keep weight on him myself. you are driving yourself crazy by setting your horse up with a system that requires 4x a day feeding. No wonder you are fed up. I would get tired of that too. If I were you I would try simplifying my home system before I boarded. You couldn’t pay me enough!!!

I have some hard keeper TBs. I feed them up to 5 Qts TC Senior twice a day, Renew Gold as a supplement, and all the alfalfa/orchard they will eat. I don’t “do” cubes and other processed hay products, but they are fine. I just buy great hay. I believe in great hay and all they can eat of it. I don’t usually have a problem keeping weight on them using this system, it is just a lot more volume than the rest of the horses get. Most are a high 5. A little fat now the grass is here so they are down to 3 Qts. Twice a day. In winter they will likely go back up to 5. I watch them closely and adjust.

If you could get that horse’s schedule more manageable and buy yourself more time to ride, I think you’d be a lot better off. Simplify all the other chores you can too. Turn the horses out as much as possible. It is good for them and saves a lot of daily work. Hire a teenager to do the weed eating and ring dragging and whatnot.

I worked in a GP trainer’s barn for many years. One thing I took away is that not all of that is necessary. When it comes down to sweeping the aisle or riding --I ride. Why else do we do all of this? I don’t have a staff so I prioritize. I sweep often enough. The horses don’t care. Their buckets are clean, their feed is the best, their stalls are lovely, I pick their paddocks…that is the care that matters. My horses look at good now as they ever did but this is not a showplace, I can have a showplace or I can actually ride the horses.

[mvp]

OP, I feel your pain. And you will have to learn to take it easy if you want to board your horse out. I’m about ready to go in the other direction… heeding your warning about spending all my time on chores and less time riding.

I think you can want a high standard of care and, to an extent, you can get it. That’s true provided you are willing to pay what it costs. It sounds like you are.

So after that, ask general questions about boarding via e-mail or looking at the barn’s website. After that, do as we old school horsemen did before the interwebz: Go meet the people. See (and smell) the barn. Bottom line, look at the horses: how are they doing? If they look good and things like fencing, footing and bedding all meet your standards (or almost do), consider that a good fit. Know that your horses will cost the BO more to feed. Ask about feeding large horses or hard keepers up front.

I find that I can get a sense of the BO and she can get a sense of me if we meet in person and I ask question as she shows me her place. I am always sure to ask, “Any questions for me?” and “What do you need from me as a boarder?” I find that anyone sharing the responsibility for caring for my horse needs to feel like we are on the same side.

OP, understand that boarding is not a remunerative industry. That’s the fundamental answer to your question about why there are no professionally-run boarding barns to be found. It should not be so, but you can’t single-handedly change the industry. Work within it as best you can.

[Bent_Hickory]

[QUOTE=mvp;8732229]
That’s the fundamental answer to your question about why there are no professionally-run boarding barns to be found. It should not be so, but you can’t single-handedly change the industry. Work within it as best you can.[/QUOTE]

People are confusing “professionally run” with “run to OPs standards/needs/expectations.” There’s a difference. Just because a business is run in a manner different from how you would run it, doesn’t mean it’s not run professionally.

[DownYonder]

If you are willing to come to the north Atlanta area, Shannondale Farm might be just what you are looking for. The care is superb - excellent quality feed and hay, very experienced and knowledgeable barn owner and staff living on site, every horse gets groomed and feet picked out every day, etc. Facilities are also great - spacious, well maintained stalls, with mats and plenty of shavings, industrial fans at each stall, h/c washracks, two arenas dragged and watered regularly, one large covered arena with climate controlled viewing areas, outside grass jump field, clean inside restrooms, plenty of parking, large, well maintained paddocks/pastures with black 4-board fencing, nearby trails, etc.

Website is http://www.shannondale.com. OTOH, they are pretty much semi-private these days and very, very picky about clients. It’s a very low-drama place, and everyone wants to keep it that way.

[findeight]

Ohio is not a huge state but not that small either. Have you searched the entire state? Two hours from major Showgrounds might be limiting your search depending on what kind of shows and definition of major Showgrounds.

The rest of this, fully agree that it’s possible very Professionally run barns are not going to be managed exactly to your specifications. Perhaps they feel they cannot and/or will not be able to meet your expectations or change their established practices to accommodate you? And fear if they called back, you’d want to argue?

Have never been in a barn that listed staff names and resumes below the rank of BM on the website. For one thing, they turn over, for another, some staff don’t want their name and current location on FB or barn websites. I mean my dentist doesn’t have the hygienists and receptionist on his FB or website either.

Boarding barn is a service provider, you do pay them but, like a Dentist or hair stylist, they serve a large group of clients and cannot cater to each and every ones individual needs and stay in business. Guarantee if you called either of them for an appointment and dictated specific details as to how they will do the procedures, what products they will use, how often they clean the mini blinds or Shampoo the reception area carpet? “Oh, so sorry, booked solid for the foreseeable future”.

Hire a groom who can handle your other barn work as well. Be your own manager, folliw your own theories and meet your own demands. Be happy.

[js]

I agree that in your case you would be better off and more comfortable with hiring someone to take care of your horses at home. Cut back on some of your other services to help offset the costs.

I’m guessing most barns want to be able to keep things as simple as possible to reduce work and time that their staff is having to spend on each horse. It eliminates confusion as to who gets what and how much and avoids mistakes.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Bent Hickory;8732262]
People are confusing “professionally run” with “run to OPs standards/needs/expectations.” There’s a difference. Just because a business is run in a manner different from how you would run it, doesn’t mean it’s not run professionally.[/QUOTE]

True. But just not answering an e-mail is unprofessional… silence is the new NO?!? And so many of y’all recommend that. I think one should always be courteous to would-be customers, even if you never end up doing business with them. But then, again, this is protocol recommended to people who do want to have commercial enterprises.

My point about there being so little profit in boarding is that I think the lack of commercial incentive changes BOs’ motivation. If they aren’t going to make much money, no matter what, why take the time and trouble to court a boarder with high standards? You’d do better attracting the same boarder who paid but stayed away.

[alibi_18]

[QUOTE=findeight;8732352]
Hire a groom who can handle your other barn work as well. Be your own manager, follow your own theories and meet your own demands. Be happy.[/QUOTE]

As per the OP, she already tried to be her own manager and it’s not working/she’s not happy, hence why she’s looking to board.

@BettyH;8716206

…{for 2 horses}…finding a reliable sitter is expensive and hard to find. The downside is that I spent 10 years as an working student and then barn manager / assistant trainer, so I know a thing or two, and I expect proper care of my horses.

OP, there are NO perfect places, even if you had all the money in the world. There are better places, there are worst places and lots of in between.

You need to sit down and realize that your way is NOT the only way to take great care of horses.

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=BettyH;8732096]
:eek: Thanks everyone. My $1800, is what I can pay if I sell my place. The mortgage, insurance, taxes, and up keep (lawn guys mow, weed, seed, trim trees), + care of the horses (feed, hay). I easily pay more than $2,000 per horse. It always seemed like a nice idea to have my horses at home, but the reality has not been as romantic. I am thinking I would much rather have a small condo and board near by. It would be so nice to not have to choose between maintenance chores, and riding

I have seen bad barns, and unfortunately worked at a few, which make me weary. Its why I left the industry. I am very easy to get a long with, but scared my horses will not be taken care of, or that I won’t have access to arenas, because of bad footing …ex rock hard like concrete for months on end, or so dusty that its a health hazard, or that I moved my horses into a house of horror.

All I am asking for is transparency, BEFORE I move in. I think if these things are known up front, such as Arenas are only dragged on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then that still makes me happy, and I will plan my ride times accordingly. Where as, if arenas are dragged once a month, or once a year…then I will look elsewhere.

I have already practically run away from a barn I looked at, who’s staff was very unknowledgable. Is it too much to ask for a simple bio? Mary-Jo graduated last year from XYZ university, or Bobby-Sue has cleaned stalls for us for 2 years and is in pony club. Even better if its on the website.

In my world a high quality stable would :
Provide hay that has between 0.80 - 0.99 mcals/ lb - (mid to high quality) preferably alfalfa mix, but good hay is good hay. Generally no tree leaves, sticks, or prickly weeds. And staff that knows not to feed hay with mold, dead animals, or trash inside of it. Yes, we have all run into a bale, or two like this.

Provide quality grain - not the generic $8 a bag stuff and not a feed full of grain by product meal…like what is that anyway?

Most 15 -16hh horses need 15 mcals at maintenance (15,000 calories)
ADD in moderate work, and your horse will probably need 25,000 calories, or more if you horse is at all hyper active, or a hard keeper.

This is why I want to know ahead of time what is provided with the normal cost of board.

My TB needs 32mcals, and my 17.3 hh ISH needs closer to 35mcals with moderate work (3-4 days a week, for about 1/2 an hour). That is a lot of feed! My ISH gelding is thankfully an eating machine.

This is what 35 mcals looks like for my moderatly working ISH, in the winter with no grass…
25lbs alfalfa/orchard grass mix hay & 6lbs TC complete each day.

My TB is a picky eater, so when we get a less than perfect batch of hay that is stimmy, then I supplement with hay cubes.
Free choice hay (~10-15lbs) + 10lbs hay cubes + 8lbs TC complete + 1 cup flaxseed oil, all served over the course of 4 meals!
Usually, we exit winter at a body score of 4 - low 5.

Without good feed, I would would hate see what would happen. I think a boarding stable should ideally be prepared to provide 25,000 calories per horse, per day or more. I don’t mind paying for the extra, but some stables act like anything over 20,000 calories is way above and beyond. I had to tell one barn owner over the phone that 2 flakes per meal (2 meals a day, no night check) was probably not going to cut it for my horses, she had no idea what a general flake weighed.

As for overall facilities, a good clean, well maintained older barn, with caring people, a heated bathroom, secured tackroom, and maintained arenas, are worth far more to me than brand new Taj Mahal that could care less about anything but collecting the board check every month.[/QUOTE]

What I’m reading here is their first priority should be catering to your every need and whim. You’re not going to find that. There is no place, anywhere, that’s going to do what you say you want.

(1) As others have said, Web “bios” of rank-and-file barn staff are not a “thing.” You will not find that in barns, any more than you’ll find the equivalent searching an auto mechanic or orthopedist’s web site. Doesn’t mean their people aren’t capable of leading equines to their stalls. The job is not brain surgery.

(2) All good barn managers know “good” hay from bad and where to buy it under all but the most adverse circumstances, for the simple reason that it’s the No. 1 priority for horse health. However, most have never had it analyzed by a lab, or ever will. That’s not an industry norm you can expect. And they won’t be happy if YOU analyze it and then come to complain, either. What are they going to do, throw away a tractor-trailer load because ONE customer doesn’t think it’s quite awesome enough?

(3) Perfect footing does not exist, and nagging about it is a huge red flag that client won’t be happy with anything else, either. Most places drag arenas when they think they need it, period, not on any set schedule. Demanding to know “the schedule” or have the ring dragged just for you will get you waved off fast.

(4) Every good place is willing to feed the horses appropriately for their body type, breed and workload. Supplements you provide, IF the BM agrees they’re appropriate, OK; feed brands not so much. Remember, you’re paying for the professional’s expertise, and they may not agree with everything you think you “need.” Start talking “15,000 mCal” and demanding 4x/day and they’re going to rip up the contract and escort you to the door. Absolutely no one is going to feed in those terms. It’s a BARN, not an ICU!

(5) Plenty of places have superb horse care and are run by agreeable people without providing “heated bathrooms, secured tack rooms” and other luxury amenities. You’ll have to decide what’s most important to you.

My advice would be to CALL, not e-mail with a list of demands that make you sound like the Red Queen. Be humble, let them walk you around the barn, and decide if your horses can live there AS IT IS–because I guarantee, they’re not going to change everything they do up for YOU. Even at $2K per month.
There are plenty of people willing to pay that, and let the barn pro do things THEIR way–a huge part of what they’re paying for is the pro’s management system, experience and expertise, precisely so they can go off and concentrate on career, travel, whatever without having to micromanage horse care.

[Guilherme]

With the money the OP says she’s willing to spend ($1800/mo.) I’m sure she could approach a barn who’s basic standards are in line with hers and then get additional services. Sort of a “concierge” approach vice a “standard” approach.

As a former barn owner if someone approached me with such an offer I would consider it seriously. The money is serious and if the OP is serious enough to sign a long term contract (say, a year) for a sum certain which contract clearly identifies the level of services to be provided then you’ve got a potential “win-win” for everybody.

Of course the OP must be careful in their selection of a provider and BO must be careful to ensure that they have the capacity to provide care under the contract.

This is serious money for both sides and that means that serious folks can take notice. It also means that scoundrels, cut-purses, and mountebanks will also notice. The OP will have to be care in their choice.

G.

[red_mares]

[QUOTE=mvp;8732391]
True. But just not answering an e-mail is unprofessional… silence is the new NO?!? .[/QUOTE]

Silence is not the “new No”. It is an old No. It is not limited to horses either. I emailed several landscaping contractors about redoing a small townhouse backyard. I got one answer. Pretty easy to figure out the others weren’t interested. I can’t blame them either.

Replying to someone takes time, and time = money. Why spend money talking to someone whose business you don’t want? If I was a BO, based on what she’s posted, I’d play deaf as well.

I think some on here have an unrealistic definition of “professional”.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=red mares;8732455]
Silence is not the “new No”. It is an old No. It is not limited to horses either. I emailed several landscaping contractors about redoing a small townhouse backyard. I got one answer. Pretty easy to figure out the others weren’t interested. I can’t blame them either.

Replying to someone takes time, and time = money. Why spend money talking to someone whose business you don’t want? If I was a BO, based on what she’s posted, I’d play deaf as well.

I think some on here have an unrealistic definition of “professional”.[/QUOTE]

You need to respond politely to would-be customers because 1) They might not know what your answer will be, or that they are way out of line; and 2) Those guys thinking they are being reasonable will tell their friends that you gave 'em the silent treatment for what they perceive to be some bad reason.

I think we get to control our reputation with the public… if we choose to. If you are in business and respond with silence, you hand the brushed-off customer the power to do that. That seems like a bad idea to me.

[Bent_Hickory]

[QUOTE=mvp;8732391]
But just not answering an e-mail is unprofessional… silence is the new NO?!? And so many of y’all recommend that. I think one should always be courteous to would-be customers, even if you never end up doing business with them.[/QUOTE]

With some people, silence is the safest way to say “No.” No matter how courteous, no matter how apologetically, no matter the justifications – certain people can’t accept “No” for an answer. And the more “demanding” they are, the more this rings true. The “my way is the only way” attitude is best addressed by simply not responding. These people will “bad mouth” your facility regardless because you said “No.” I’d rather have them saying “They don’t return emails” than “They don’t provide ‘acceptable’ levels of care” simply because we don’t have every load of hay tested.

In a perfect world, all businesses would respond to every inquiry and do their best to accommodate requests. This presumes that people on both sides act reasonably. But that’s not the real world – unreasonable people abound. Many of us have learned to detect the unreasonable ones and just not engage.

[TheresanAppfurthat]

I’m weighing in on OP’s side. When I ran my own barn (before I retired and got something more manageable) I LOVED it when people asked the hard questions. I LOVED it that people CARED TO ASK if we allowed smoking in the barn. I loved it that they CARED enough about their horse to ask who would be handling their horse - I was able to introduce them to my 100% reliable, polite and extremely capable staffers with a considerable amount of pride - and yes I paid dearly for keeping those reliable, polite and highly capable staffers and not just in dollars but in all kinds of support. I LOVED it that people wanted to know how much and of what quality their horse’s feed was going to be - I loved taking them to the hay barn (while explaining to them why a separate hay storage building was important for FIRE PREVENTION - and then showing them our plan-in-place for disasters and how we drilled to cope with such disasters). I would show them that if the hay was appealing enough for a human to take a taste then it was probably okay for the horses. I LOVED introducing them to other boarders (private lesson people - they had to audition to get in my barn!).

Years before, when I was getting ready to take possession of the equestrian facility I had to be in a boarding barn for a couple of months between selling my small-acreage suburban property and getting the new place ready to occupy. I did not ask those hard questions. I assumed they had the same standards of care. Until the day I walked on-site and discovered my lesson horse bleeding from having had a pitchfork run all the way through his foreleg by a drunk stall cleaner. Or the day I discovered the kids of one of the boarders sneaking a smoke IN THE HAYLOFT. Until the day a very old Arabian gelding, the forever horse of his very young owner, colicked because he had been turned out in 90 plus degree heat with no shade and NO WATER and the bo/mgr stated that she “couldn’t be responsible for filling ever trough every day.” NUFF SAID.

[TheresanAppfurthat]

And Betty H, OP, if I still had my barn you would be most welcome in it. You know why? Because you CARE enough to ask those hard questions! I definitely do not agree with some of the posters here who seem to think that all barn managers feed decent feed - there are far too many facilities that scrimp on quality and quantity of feed to maximize profits. There are facilities that will take on any kind of employee without checking references or backgrounds because the owners or managers are too lazy to clean stalls, fill buckets or do turnout themselves while taking the time needed to FIND good employees. There are too many facilities that refuse to bed horses at all because it “makes too much of a mess” (yes - one of those is advertising right now with those exact words). And the biggest crime in my mind is the barn owner or manager careless about safety of horses and people. Betty H, if I were you, I would not sell. I’d get a caretaker who lives on-site, check background and refs and don’t be afraid to ask the “hard questions” of the applicant! The reason it is so hard to find professionally run barns is that too many people with too few qualifications think it’s a quick money maker and find out too late that running a barn is much less of a living than a labor of love - and far too many barn owners and managers do NOT love it and should find another way of making a living!

[Lady_Eboshi]

[QUOTE=TheresanAppfurthat;8732651]
And Betty H, OP, if I still had my barn you would be most welcome in it. You know why? Because you CARE enough to ask those hard questions! I definitely do not agree with some of the posters here who seem to think that all barn managers feed decent feed - there are far too many facilities that scrimp on quality and quantity of feed to maximize profits. There are facilities that will take on any kind of employee without checking references or backgrounds because the owners or managers are too lazy to clean stalls, fill buckets or do turnout themselves while taking the time needed to FIND good employees. There are too many facilities that refuse to bed horses at all because it “makes too much of a mess” (yes - one of those is advertising right now with those exact words). And the biggest crime in my mind is the barn owner or manager careless about safety of horses and people. Betty H, if I were you, I would not sell. I’d get a caretaker who lives on-site, check background and refs and don’t be afraid to ask the “hard questions” of the applicant! The reason it is so hard to find professionally run barns is that too many people with too few qualifications think it’s a quick money maker and find out too late that running a barn is much less of a living than a labor of love - and far too many barn owners and managers do NOT love it and should find another way of making a living![/QUOTE]

" . . . if I still had my barn." Well, why don’t you? What happened to all those high-qualification clients who asked all the hard questions? Were you able to make a secure, long-term living? Easy to be super-high-horse when you’re no longer in business!

It’s been my experience that people who can only be satisfied with their own home care–need to keep their horses at home and do it themselves. NO other arrangement is ever going to meet their standards, everyone will always fall short. Never mind how many times THEY might have let the buckets freeze, fed 3 hours late, never turned out one day, etc. . . . :winkgrin:

OP, if YOU don’t want to do it any more, and no one else can come close to your perfectionistic standards, maybe its time to take a break from horses altogether. Sounds like a lot more stress than pleasure to me. Horse care is NOT rocket science; cover the basics well and the small stuff takes care of itself.

[TheresanAppfurthat]

Well, Lady Eboshi, you do know what parsing out the word “assume” does, right? Although in this case it’s not going to do it to me but it sure might to you. Don’t jump to conclusions. WHY don’t I still have my barn? Because I am nearly 70 years old, have RA and other chronic health issues. AND I have a part-time paraprofessional office job that I am absolutely thrilled with. I am lucky enough to have my remaining horses at home with me, and I choose my part-time horse help with all the care I formerly spent finding help in my private lesson barn. My former employees, of whom I am exceptionally proud, have gone on to professional careers of their own. Last summer when I attended a show in another state I was approached by the mother of one of my former student/boarders who told me in no uncertain terms that they were still looking for a high-standard highly supportive environment that could come anywhere near to mine.

Satisfied?

[tazycat]

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;8732717]
" . . . if I still had my barn." Well, why don’t you? What happened to all those high-qualification clients who asked all the hard questions? Were you able to make a secure, long-term living? Easy to be super-high-horse when you’re no longer in business!

It’s been my experience that people who can only be satisfied with their own home care–need to keep their horses at home and do it themselves. NO other arrangement is ever going to meet their standards, everyone will always fall short. Never mind how many times THEY might have let the buckets freeze, fed 3 hours late, never turned out one day, etc. . . . :winkgrin:

OP, if YOU don’t want to do it any more, and no one else can come close to your perfectionistic standards, maybe its time to take a break from horses altogether. Sounds like a lot more stress than pleasure to me. Horse care is NOT rocket science; cover the basics well and the small stuff takes care of itself.[/QUOTE]

This^^^^ times 40 really sounds like OP standards of care will never be meant at a boarding barn. Either find a way to keep horses at home or get out of horses altogether.

[tazycat]

[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;8732717]
" . . . if I still had my barn." Well, why don’t you? What happened to all those high-qualification clients who asked all the hard questions? Were you able to make a secure, long-term living? Easy to be super-high-horse when you’re no longer in business!

It’s been my experience that people who can only be satisfied with their own home care–need to keep their horses at home and do it themselves. NO other arrangement is ever going to meet their standards, everyone will always fall short. Never mind how many times THEY might have let the buckets freeze, fed 3 hours late, never turned out one day, etc. . . . :winkgrin:

OP, if YOU don’t want to do it any more, and no one else can come close to your perfectionistic standards, maybe its time to take a break from horses altogether. Sounds like a lot more stress than pleasure to me. Horse care is NOT rocket science; cover the basics well and the small stuff takes care of itself.[/QUOTE]

OOPS double post,sorry…