Winter Woes at Boarding Barns

[WildLittleWren]

I’m glad you found something! Jingles that it all works out for you!

[punchy]

@stargzng386

I did say some of this earlier. I usually go out to the barn 3-4x a week, that does not make me an absentee owner. In this scenario my company had just gone through a merger. I work in accounting and we rolled out new systems to both large companies about 2 weeks before this happened. I was working extremely long days, basically just going home to sleep and shower and then head off again and was only making to the barn on weekends.

When the barn owner said that it looked like he was more stiff in his hock I told her that he already had a follow up vet appointment that following Monday and she said great. Saturday morning is when I got there and hauled him off to the emergency vet.

Ok but i’m still struggling to see how all this was the BO’s fault. It’s her fault your company went through a merger? She did call to tell you his condition had deteriorated. It’s ok to be frustrated about stuff like this but blaming others when ‘life happens’ isn’t fair. Just own it — my life was crazy due to circumstances out of my control and as a result my horse’s medical condition flared up. We’ve all been there.

[BeeHoney]

@stargzng386

I’ll say this just one more time and won’t keep repeating myself. My current horse cannot be on regular stall board due to vet instructions because of hock arthritis. He cannot spend half a day in a stall because it makes him significantly stiff.

Just some thoughts re: arthritic horses here. Generally horses with arthritis do better with more turnout, but that is a generalization and NOT true during harsh winter conditions. Arthritic horses tend to be quite miserable out on frozen ground 24-7, with no soft place to lay down. Additionally, adding tender feet from uneven frozen ground is much harder on a horse with arthritis vs. a youngster. Deep or slippery mud is also stressful on sore joints. Cold temperatures, or any type of huddling or shivering that’s not a big deal for a sturdy young horse seems to really aggravate soreness in a horse with arthritis. Additionally, during times of the year when temps are cold and there isn’t much grass, horses in groups tend to run and squabble more than warmer times of the year and these gallops and squabbles are hard on joints. Those horses are often relieved to have 8 hours a day of quiet privacy in a stall to eat and rest.

IME, 24/7 works well during pleasant times of the year, but horses with arthritis invariably do BETTER when given a daily period indoors in a softly bedded stall during the winter. Maybe you could discuss some of these points with your vet to try to come up with a modified plan for your horse that will work better IRL.

[LovieBird]

OP, I’m with you!

There have been many times where I thought I would have to buy an acre of land, put my horse there, and live out of my truck.

[stargzng386]

@punchy

Ok but i’m still struggling to see how all this was the BO’s fault. It’s her fault your company went through a merger? She did call to tell you his condition had deteriorated. It’s ok to be frustrated about stuff like this but blaming others when ‘life happens’ isn’t fair. Just own it — my life was crazy due to circumstances out of my control and as a result my horse’s medical condition flared up. We’ve all been there.

I only stated the merger to try to counter the claim that I am an “absentee” boarder. I’m not. It was a short period of time where I could only get out on weekends.

It was a NEW medical condition it was not known and she did NOT call me. She did NOT pick up up the phone when I called her. She basically let a founder horse stand in her field unable to walk, unable to come in to eat the meal she was supposed to be providing him daily because she texted me one time and said he’s a little more “stiff” and answered yes that she thought it was related to the known arthritis and agreed that he was totally fine until his planned appointment the following Monday.

If she had called me and said your horse is struggling to walk then she would have done nothing wrong.

[LovieBird]

@stargzng386

I only stated the merger to try to counter the claim that I am an “absentee” boarder. I’m not. It was a short period of time where I could only get out on weekends.

It was a NEW medical condition it was not known and she did NOT call me. She did NOT pick up up the phone when I called her. She basically let a founder horse stand in her field unable to walk, unable to come in to eat the meal she was supposed to be providing him daily because she texted me one time and said he’s a little more “stiff” and answered yes that she thought it was related to the known arthritis and agreed that he was totally fine until his planned appointment the following Monday.

If she had called me and said your horse is struggling to walk then she would have done nothing wrong.

I think there are many people who are simply ignorant or apathetic.

[Angela_Freda]

@jonem004

Certainly not a good reason, but humans are lazy. No point in talking about how things should be. Let’s discuss how they actually are and what we can do to get the best care for our horses.

Not in any barn I worked in.

[jonem004]

@Angela Freda

Not in any barn I worked in.

Not in any barn I’ve worked in either, but I’ve seen this in barns where I was a border. And it sounds like it happened to OP when her horse fell on the ice and hurt his SI.

[anon68314200]

Meh… at some point horse owners get it figured out that many barns are a money losing proposition. NO ONE wants to pay a “real” board rate for a well maintained facility with on the books employees with health insurance, workman’s comp, etc. Everyone insists that they should have a lot for a little, and SUPRISE that doesn’t work. Sometimes folks luck out. But more often (if you are not paying a good amount for training/lessons in addition to board) then owners have to be very proactive, hands on, and PRESENT.

IN the USA we are conditioned to pay subsidized prices, or enjoy economies of scale, for a lot of ‘essentials’ (gas, milk, etc). We are not used to paying the REAL value of goods and services and we get cranky when there are no market forces or subsidies working to our benefit.

Simply put, horses are time consuming and expensive. If you don’t have the time and/or money, then don’t own one.

[Brunswick]

Sounds to me like you aren’t paying for the service of a professional barn.

I manage a high end barn with 52 horses on property. 46 have stalls and 6 live out with a large shelter.
Each horse gets individual care. We have our large summer pastures and our smaller winter paddocks. Other than the outdoor horses paddock which is much larger than our winter turn outs, there is no more than 3 horses per paddock. Typically they are in pairs or individual. Blanket changes are done daily along with booting. Each horse is checked while outside to ensure they are not too hot or too cold. Hay is always available to all horses at all times (there are a few who are on a diet). All water is heated and if heaters fail, I bucket water to every horses and it’s checked throughout the day outside to ensure it’s not frozen and they still have water. Each horse gets their feet picked out at the door to the barn so they don’t slip while walking on the concrete floor. Each horse gets all of their vitals checked regularly. There is Constant communication between staff and owners regarding all aspects of their horses. No injury is “to small” to not let the owner know. All injuries are tended to and vet called when required.
We have minimal employees and we get all of this done and more everyday with pride. Things needs to be prioritized. It’s very doable to do all of the extras. But you get what you pay for.