She has her own horses still on the property, and she is making money off of board so that’s the reason she keeps doing it.
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Thankfully when boarders have left it isn’t because of me and they’ve made that very clear that that’s the case, they understand the shortfallings of the barn are not my fault. I don’t have my name associated with the farm and that’s part of why I work so hard for horses in my program to supplement the lack of care from the barn is to maintain a separate reputation from the barn.
He’s been with her for 20+ years. And at least is reliable about doing the very basics, but cuts corners everywhere and is disliked by all the boarders, not just ones in my program. He’s the one that really needs to go. I think she just needs help getting him out the door, she almost fired him this year. I think she also feels badly for his kids and worries what would happen to them if he didn’t have the housing/job.
Don’t kid yourself, once your former clients move on and share bad barn experiences? They aren’t going to add defending you to the conversation and those who share that second and third hand sure aren’t defending you. Yet your name is associated with that barn.
Stop and think.
Boarded out from 1970ish to late 2018. Seen it all. Believe me when I tell you these things. Please. And understand you are in a sea of yellow flags as far as the longevity of this barn goes.
Are you actually defending short feeding to keep prices low? Or keeping that guy living on the property despite underperforming his duties? That’s what you have told us reads like. It’s OK because yadayadayada. Plus you really don’t know anything about BOs financials,
Boarded in barns with very similar circumstances. Those were the ones that sold to developers, closed, got foreclosed and one that was seized by DEF and ATF. All with no notice and all never, ever sharing the real story.
Anyway, this is not what you think it is career wise.
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You can’t run a quality training operation out of a crap barn that loses clients due to bad management. Clients will put up with a lot to stay with a trainer they like, but eventually they see that their horse is suffering and they can get comparable training at a better run barn. And yes you as trainer can be seen as complicit or enabling the bad management just by staying there
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It’s a blend of innocent ignorance and youthful hubris that would lead one to believe they were going to change this situation.
20 years.
TWENTY years.
You need to get out of there.
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Yeah, he’s not going anywhere. I’m sure she’s been telling people “oh, one more mistake and I’m gonna fire him” for 20+ years. If this has been what’s been “working” for her this long, she’s not changing a thing.
Not criticizing, OP, because when I first got into horses I believed it when someone would say, “oh stick around, because we’re going to fix X or get rid of Y,” and X never gets fixed and Y never leaves.
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No, of course I’m not defending those things. And almost all of my former clients who have moved on have given my Facebook page excellent recommendations and stay in touch with me and are very appreciative of how I’ve helped their horses, several have wanted me to come train then where they are but I don’t have the time. So yes, they absolutely do think of me in a different category from the barn as do the vets etc who work with me. The horses in my program still have a pretty high standard of care, so that’s not even the reason people have left, it’s because of the facilities/busy lesson program/the barnstaff being not friendly and they notice the lack of effort on their part, with all of that I can’t make up for it no matter how hard I work to ensure horses in my program receive the best care.
I agree that if I can’t get anything to change in the current barn I need to look elsewhere, but as some others have mentioned I can at least try to make some changes here before jumping ship, there are definitely worse situations I could be in, it’s easy to get into the grass is greener frame of mind but I’ve also been around the block with boarding and I can tell you it could be worse, the barn owner is mostly MIA, but she’s isn’t crazy and isn’t mean, and it’s a low drama situation.
That guy who lives there free, collects a generous salary, doesn’t work much, is disliked by boarders and BO has let stay on for 20 years because they feel sorry for him? Really? Thats creepy.
Gone is the day of giving people the benefit of the doubt and thinking only the best of them. Its naive to do that at best, unsafe at worst. But BO continues to pay him while cutting corners on horse care? And OP helps this to continue by picking up the slack?
At best OP needs a sit down meeting to define responsibilities in meeting a minimal standard of care to allow running a successful business and review contractual responsibilities…OP does have a written agreement with BO?
The alternative is OP needs to move on, IMO its the best choice here if she wants to continue her career with a good reputation.
Oh, not suggesting the grass is greener at all. Merely pointing out the grass shes standing on is dying and FB reviews are not universally accepted as the truth and nothing but.
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Well it’s worth at least trying. I have my own boarders plus every single other full boarder that has a problem with the barnstaff in question.
So I think if I helped her find a replacement and had all of them behind me, possibly with a signed letter, that it would work. Some of the full boarders that have been there a long time tell me he used to be much better but he is burnt out, whatever the case it doesn’t matter to me but I think ultimately it’s me or him, and if I walk almost all my boarders will walk and the barn owner won’t be able to fill the majority of those stalls, as the barn has a bad reputation in the area and also even horse owners that don’t know about that are educated enough in horse care these days they don’t want to come there unless I’m providing extras.
Those stalls were all empty before I moved my program in, and in the last 2.5 years I’ve been there the barn itself has only been able to pull in one longterm full boarder, all other new ones they’ve gotten have been short term and have left. The only ones that have staid longterm are their core group of boarders who have been there forever and are ignorant/complacent enough not to move, and my group of clients (most of whom have staid longterm, have just lost 2-3 that would have been longterm because of issues with barn).
I will also say the other thing impacting my decision making is that the barn owner is very elderly. So I don’t know how much longer she’s going to be able to run the shop/run a full board program and I think when she’s not able to anymore I will be able to get rough board stalls and completely run my own program.
Or she passes and the heirs sell the place to developers or it gets seized for back property taxes…take off the rose colored glasses.
Do you have a written agreement with her or not?
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I would be shocked if this farm isn’t put up for sale at developer pricing when the BO’s health fails (enough to move in with family ro go somewhere with care), or if she unfortunately passes away. The fact that there aren’t any heirs currently setting up shop is writing on the wall that this place is not going to outlive her in any capacity.
Unless OP, you’re able to buy the place outright? In which case you’re better off just making an offer on the farm now - I would say these reasons alone are enough to be moving your program.
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When she ages out she will sell the property for a small fortune and retire to Florida. Or when she dies her heirs will. You are on borrowed time with a BO sitting on an asset, a long term barn help that may have personal emotional or substance abuse issues, may be a family friend or relative, and is basically being carried by the BO who is too old to want change.
So don’t count on ever getting hold of the property unless you buy from the estate at current prices.
The BO is letting the place run down, letting the business wind down of its own accord, while possibly qualifying for lower farm taxes by keeping a stable going (that would be motivation in my jurisdiction). She may also be able to use business losses to offset her taxes on other income.
Soon she will need to sell either to fully retire, to go into care, or her heirs will sell. Everyone knows the total value is the land, not the shaky declining horse boarding with fences starting to fall apart
Depending on your zoning the property could be sold to a developer for condos or a wealthy private owner that wants a private hobby farm or a medical marijuana grow up or blueberry farm. Etc. Unlikely any actual horse trainer will afford it.
When BO gives up the business she will want her capital out of the property to move elsewhere. She’s not going to lease you the dry stalls long term.
Dealing with very old property owners who see the end in sight and know they will be wrapping up in one way or another within 5 or 10 years are an entirely different proposition from mid career folks. She likely simply doesn’t have the bandwidth or energy to make big changes, her primary responsibility is to doofus in the barn apartment for whatever reason, and and she knows all her problems will be gone when she sells at ginormous profits
You might turn up one day to see the horses find that the ambulance took her away last night, the peacocks have lost their minds because of all the fuss and the executor son gives you 30 days to get off the property and disposes of his parents horses. As happened to me once.
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Who runs the multiple lesson programs? Does she get a % of lessons from those and/or your lessons on the horses on rough board?
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Please do not petition the BO with a “signed letter”. This is a business setting not lobbying elected government officials.
Don’t be like those summer interns I read about in Ask a Manager
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Yup. Given the overall situation this is where she decides to sell and move to Florida tomorrow because Too Much Drama.
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This is the time to make your move with the BO.
However, it is probably a do-or-die situation, as it were. You have to be ready to walk away if BO does not agree.
But if you can genuinely take that position, I wonder if there isn’t a good chance that the BO would agree to let you take over all of it and write her (him) a check every month. Maybe even happily agree.
Sounds like the BO is long over it anyway, but may feel trapped in the situation, out of habit if nothing else.
Have you had any casual conversations with the BO during your time there about how they see the future of the barn?
Very old mortgage with a very low payment. Or she owns it outright and no mortgage payment.
In either case, at this point this is someone who could easily sell the works and make out like a bandit. Even if they aren’t marketing the property, the world knows this and there is a good chance that sooner or later someone comes along and makes an offer.
Because your time is going into a profitless sink at your current barn. When it could be income time with more travel.
Think about how what you are NOT doing because of the hours spent on horse care where you are.
I hate to say it OP, but the more you share, the worse this looks for your side of the bargain.
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Yeah, it is a truly bad idea that @ihearttbs is pursuing. Just No. no no no.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
Will Rogers
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Don’t petition. Don’t make “trouble.” Old people have about zero tolerance for trouble. They are either just over drama, or they are losing some capacity and can’t respond except by ignoring it
You could crunch your numbers very carefully and come up with a sum that could pay to rent the whole facility and take care of everything. In doing this business plan you will need to factor in hiring barn help, buying hay, and doing basic repairs etc
See if you can guess what kind of sum the barn owner is taking in from the existing operation. See if you can offer the same or a bit more .
Present it as a business proposition and see if they like it. Especially if you promise them more than they are netting now.
You will still be left with the issue of Barn Dude who may be grandfathered in to his barn accomodation both legally and by the BO wishes
However the best deal will only last until she needs to sell. Or dies
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FL where it’s 80F and not a spec of mud in site. FL where the living is easy 
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