# Boarding Barn Issues



## MirrorStage2009

What are some issues that are cause for you to move out of your boarding barn? 

Do you address problems and hope they get resolved? Or do you _expect _them to get resolved?


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## free_sprtd

When I had problems at my barn, I just sort of didn't say anything, but I did start looking around for another barn in case i couldn't handle it anymore. After about a week of that, things started to change a little and it got better there, don't know why.


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## Spastic_Dove

I have had problems with people playing with my horses and not telling me or using my stuff. I make myself clear with what I am okay with and what I am not and if it doesn't get resolved, I move. I've only had to move once though thankfully.


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## BeauReba

Stealing my hay...! It was a DIY barn (just got a stall and that was it). Hay is too expensive to have stolen! And with 30 horses it's difficult to find out who's stealing.


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## MrsB

I personally havnt had to leave a property. but Ive had to ask a couple of people to leave my property.

They were stealing food, hay, water (I know that sounds silly but we're in the middle of a drought and have strict water usage requirements etc. They were filling up geri cans and taking them home for their own use). And moving horses around without permission.

Not to mention they also tresspassed (more than once) into our house, accused my dog of attacking them, and blamed the grass on the property for killing 2 of their horses (although they seemed to ignore the fact that the 18 other horses on the propery had never been sick, and that they were stealing food that their horses were'nt used to so there you go!)

Gosh I LOVE running a barn! :shock:

Haha, ok in all seriousness they're the only bad cases Ive come across. Touch wood!


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## starlinestables

I did a pasture board with stall option.. (I would clean it myself if I needed to bring my horse in.) My friend also boarded her 4 horses there and we were the only boarders. The owners had 3 horses and they owned 30 acres with 2 side paddocks next to the barn and 2 large pastures and one was next to the barn.

They never rode their horses and kept their horses next to the barn. We had to hike up a giant hill in the far back pasture to get ours. That we could deal with but the pasture our horses were in were next to their house and they would gripe that we walk our horses down the drive way which was a slightly less sloped. They wanted us to walk through the other pasture with their horses in it and their horses would try to attack our horses when we led them through. 

It was a really nice place but they were really anal and stingy.


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## clover

I had to move out of a place once because I felt my horse was in danger. It is kind of a long story but here it is. 
It was the beginning of January and I was going away for a weekend. I was at a full care stable and all I had to do was groom, ride, blanket, etc... Well, I had his sheet on because when we left it was cold, however it was a strange winter. I asked the BO if she could take it off it if got too hot. We got back on Sunday and it was this strange heat wave coming through, it was like in the low 60s (very strang for this area at that time). Well, I went straight to the barn to get that sheet off of him, in case she had not taken it off. I had also been teaching a few lessons at this barn and on my way through the barn, I stopped to talk to the person who had covered my lessons for me this weekend. While I was talking, my Husband came in and said that I needed to get out to the pasture quickly. He said that there were people chasing the horses with a ball, I thought that was extrememly strange, so I went out to check out what was going on. I saw one of the other boarders and teh BO's boyfriend out in the field with a beach ball throwing it at the horses. My horse included and he still had his sheet on! I yelled at them asking them what they were doing, they said they were PLAYING with the horses! WHAT!! I told them that I needed to get my horse immediatly. The BO boyfriend said "hold on I will chase him toward you". Before I could say anything, he throws the ball right at clover's butt and poor Clover goes running full speed from the end of the field toward the gate. I got in front of him and calmed him down, grabbed him and immediatly took him inside. His nostrals were huge, he was visably exhausted. I took his sheet off and he was foaming! I was almost in tears!!! It took me over an hour of hosing and walking him around the track to get him cooled down. As I was hosing my horse down in the wash stall, the boarder that was out there came up to me and asked if she could help. I said no, I did not want her touching my horse but she may want to think about checking on the other horses she was chasing around with a ball in unusually hot weather! Then when I was walking my horse around the track I saw her out there feeding all the other horses carrots! So, anyway, I chalked that up to ignorance and went to talk to the BO about it when I was done with Clover. I was sure she would tell me she did not know this was going on and appologize and say she would talk to them. Instead, she told me that they were playing with the horses and the horses liked it. I informed her that my horse did not like to be chased around the field with a beach ball and that I wanted no one doing anything with my horse but leading him to and from the field besides me! She still said she saw nothing wrong with it, so I gave my 30 day notice. Then, toward the end of the 30 days, she decided to stop feeding my horse. I was there every night and discovered that he was getting hay but no grain and this went on for 3 days. I ended up moving the next day (2 weeks early). I am fairly easy to get along with but enough is enough, I won't have him put in danger like this. What would have happened if I wasn't there? How many times had this happened when I was not there? I was furious! Anyway, I know it was a long story, but that is the reason I moved from that barn.


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## KR Classified Lady

Hello. 
Some of the problems I have had with barns are things like getting to much hay, or not enough. Kids feeding the horses so grain is always messed up. Managers not keeping their word on things that are supposed to be done at the barn. Stalls not being cleaned everyday. Alot of communication problems between boarders and trainers or managers. 
I ahve been to several different barns in the last 5 years and I just recently found one I really like where everyone seems to be ok. 
I guess it just depends on what you can handle. The board for up around where i like is on average $700 per month. If im going to be paying that much, I expect things to be done right and have things be ok. 
Chelsae


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## CJ82Sky

My biggest issue as an owner of a boarding barn is when people have a problem and don't give me the opportunity to address it and just leave. Aside from obvious issues such as if you're running out of hay, or the horses don't have water which to me should be basic and be handled regardless, without needing to be addressed, if someone has issues outside of that I can't make better what I don't know about.

If people don't tell me that they don't like what their horses are being fed, or they don't want their horse out if it's raining, I'm going to treat them the way I treat my horses. My horses go out in nearly all weather, and if they act like they want to come in, I'll bring them in (as well as any/all boarder horses that also want to come in). Of course if it's a really bad storm, I'll leave them in. But unless someone tells me that they don't want their horse out int he rain, no matter what, then move without telling me why, it's not helpful to either of us and tends to create a lot of frustration for no reason.

I'm a HUGE fan of communication!


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## Colorado Dobes

Once, I boarded my horse with this lady, and I was doing full care board, but we had agreed that she would let me work off some of my boarding fee by doing some work around the facility (cleaning stalls and stuff). It worked out great for a while, and I was able to work off about half of my fee, which was great because I was right out of college and wasn't making much money. I worked 8:00 to 5:00 and came over immediately after I got off work every day. Eventually she started coming down to the barn early and getting the work done before I had a chance so she could collect my entire fee. She never said a word about it. She also would leave my horse in his stall all day during the summer (in Mississippi where it's 95 degrees and humid in the summer) with no water or anything. She was supposed to come let him out in the mornings and put him up at night. He lost a lot of weight. We didn't stay there long.


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## CdnTink

The worst place I was at was a place that was Semi care. My boarding cost covered the stall, use of the indoor arena, shavings and hay. I had to provide any grain and I had to clean my own stall. They did all the feeding and turning out. When I first started boarding there my bag of grain would last about a month. By the time I left I was going through a bag every 2 weeks so I know the owner was using it for her own horses. Also They started taking shavings out of his stall after I left. I don't over do it on shavings the woman was just being stingy. I also found out that if I was there for the night feed he would get his 3 flakes of hay. The moment I left she would go in and take half back out. 

I came up one day after dinner and found him pacing in his stall. He paced so much his shavings were banked against the sides of his stall. She decided not turn him out in two days and in that two days he had maybe 6 flakes of hay total. I got out of there very fast. Sadly I was worried about her feeding my horse as all and did not give any notice.


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## Rebelappy

well i have left three diffrent barns the first one was because my trainer left other then that it was nice place too be. the 2nd was because i had made arrangements to work of some my board my cleaning stalls well my friend did the same so her horses stall was getting cleaned twice a day she defintly over did the shavings anyways .. started a hugh fight over pitty stuff well the owner didnt want to deal with it and ignored the problem and made it hard to want to be there so we moved back to the first one then the bank forclosed on that barn which really sucked we were there about 3- 4 weeks moved to another barn where all they provided was stall /and feeding i cleaned the stall anything else was our responsiblity and well my old horse is very friendly he will beg anyone for a cookie and he start being shy and flighty standing at the back his stallcome to find out they were beating on my horses and needless to say we left in a big freakin hurry and without notice. shocking i now board @ a awsome barn with the friend for 2nd barn go figure


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## my2geldings

MirrorStage2009 said:


> What are some issues that are cause for you to move out of your boarding barn?
> 
> Do you address problems and hope they get resolved? Or do you _expect _them to get resolved?


I -LOVE- where I am now but some things I would look for are:
-regular cleaning and feeding schedule
-good barn staff that keep an eye out on the horses
-approachable and responsive management/owners that will address all your concerns
-IF something needs correcting (horses not getting along, broken fencing etc etc) I expect it to be fixed promptly. 
-Good notice of any changes made to the barn (construction, feeding schedule).

The board went up a few months ago with the hay prices and we had a great amount of notice. Pasture and paddock board was also re-arranged when they build the extension of 20-ish stalls to the barn. We had a problem boarder earlier this year which a few boarders complained about, that was also corrected.

You should generally get a good vib the second you make it on a property. If you are unsure, tag along with someone you know and try to get a feel for things before moving there.


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## xhalt63

*Not easy being a BO*

People can be very difficult to deal with. My husband is shocked at what I've had to deal with. Many people have had bad experiences and will go to anyone but the BO w their issues. I have put some rules regarding this in my boarding contract. I had an (EX)eployee/stall cleaner start a vicious rumor about me that caused four people to move out immediately and without warning. I had no idea why they moved until I overheard her in several phone conversation. Boarders MUST remember BO's are human beings, too, and they need to discuss any issues up front and early on with the BO. Boarders also need to understand that BOs aren't making $$ hand over fist. Even in hay-plentiful Ohio, we take a loss on board if we charge less than $400 per month full care (barely covers feed, hay, shavings and grain). We often use lesson revenue to help bridge the gap in paying the bills every month. I have gone to exclusively boarding only to lesson program participants to avoid any more drama and it has helped a lot.


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## starlinestables

AMEN SISTA! Its hard work for pennies.... there is no money in boarding.



xhalt63 said:


> People can be very difficult to deal with. My husband is shocked at what I've had to deal with. Many people have had bad experiences and will go to anyone but the BO w their issues. I have put some rules regarding this in my boarding contract. I had an (EX)eployee/stall cleaner start a vicious rumor about me that caused four people to move out immediately and without warning. I had no idea why they moved until I overheard her in several phone conversation. Boarders MUST remember BO's are human beings, too, and they need to discuss any issues up front and early on with the BO. Boarders also need to understand that BOs aren't making $$ hand over fist. Even in hay-plentiful Ohio, we take a loss on board if we charge less than $400 per month full care (barely covers feed, hay, shavings and grain). We often use lesson revenue to help bridge the gap in paying the bills every month. I have gone to exclusively boarding only to lesson program participants to avoid any more drama and it has helped a lot.


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## Got2Gallop

Yeah my former BO was a SUPER control freak. I would come out after work and bring my filly in from turnout and she would make me feel like I had disrupted her schedule (and her horse's, my filly was turned out with hers) I was not allowed to grain my own horse (just a little Strategy with supplements) I had to prepare it in a bucket and leave it for the BO to do??? The only reasoning I could come up with was so that her spoiled brat of a filly wouldn't freak out if Lily got her's first? I learned later that a previous border had left because they had caught her trying to vaccinate their horse for strangles without their knowledge, in spite of the fact that in the boarding agreement it was a reccommended but not a required vaccine. I could go on. Bottom line when it became stressful to go out and be with my horse we got the hell out.


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## BeauReba

I can see why you wouldn't want one horse grained and not another especially if it were a small stable. All the other horses get upset because that one got grain and they expect theirs too!


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## Angel_Leaguer

I liked the last placed I boarded at because it had an indoor arena but it had some other problems....

- I had a really hard time dealing with another boarder. It isnt the fault of the BO but it got old really fast.

-From the time I started boarding to leaving there were too many horses there. My board was for a stall at night and turned out during the day. But the turnout was with the pasture horses and my horse got the crap beat into her. i think this was because she wasnt out there all day. So I had talked with the BO and she moved her with a younger horse for sometime but then for some reason put her back out in the original pen without giving me notice.

-The BO started having other boarders do chores (including the one I didnt get along with). I was pretty sick last spring and didnt make it out for a month (I had notified the BO I wouldnt be there) and when I did make it out Chloe had lost A LOT of weight (and she is an easy keeper). The stall was really messy as well. (this was the final straw)

The BO wasnt there the day I did make it out there... so I called her and explained that I was giving my 30 day notice and was out in a couple weeks.


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## clover

xhalt63- I agree that people can be hard to deal with. I don't know if I would want the job of managing a boarding stable. Not because of the work but becuase of the unreasonable requests of some owners and other owners who never come see their horses and when they do they complain about what is being done with them. I try to be very understanding and don't think I have overly high expectations. I try to think before I get upset about something little. And when I am at the barn in the evening and the BO is brining in horses or taking out horses, I try to help when I can. I know she appriciates the assistance. 

Got2Gallop- I can completely understand why a BO would not want you graining your own horse. If you are paying her to feed your horse, then it is the BO responsibility to assure that the horse is fed properly. Double feeding can be bad. But not just that, if the other horses see you feeding your horse, they are likely to act out and be harder for the BO to bring in and feed when she is ready. A horse may get hurt or a fence may be broken in the process. If you want to feed your own horse you may want to look into a self care facility or have the horse on your own property.


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## my2geldings

Man I am reminded over and over again how much I LOVE my barn. I honestly have ZERO complaints. The owners are super approachable and very flexible, they provide great care for the horses, LOTS of space for all of them, no over crowding. The horses have waterers and are fed a few times a day. The stalls are cleaned a few times a day as well. Because we have all great, responsible boarders, the barn hours are really not set in stone. If you come in later in the evening there really are no problems. Horses have been shipped in from the states and arrive late at night but there is always someone on site to care for them and get them settled. 

The list could go on and on. You guys seem like you've gone thru a lot, makes me be even more thankful for what I have.


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## Got2Gallop

clover said:


> Got2Gallop- I can completely understand why a BO would not want you graining your own horse. If you are paying her to feed your horse, then it is the BO responsibility to assure that the horse is fed properly. Double feeding can be bad. But not just that, if the other horses see you feeding your horse, they are likely to act out and be harder for the BO to bring in and feed when she is ready. A horse may get hurt or a fence may be broken in the process. If you want to feed your own horse you may want to look into a self care facility or have the horse on your own property.


I can see what your saying but as I was out every evening and that was the only time my horse got grained, double feeding would not have been an issue. Also since all horses were brought in and grained in their stalls at night and none of them would have seen Lily getting her grain since I would bring her in an hour before the other horses when I got off work, it wouldn't have caused any issues for the BO in the pasture.


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## starlinestables

I'm with the other guys... Don't feed your horse if the BO does it. It gets confusing for everyone and there is always a chance of a double feed.

If you pay for your own feed, I guess you could feed whatever the heck you wanted but if feed is included in the agreement, then don't mess with the BO's feed. It may be your horse but its their feed so no touchy. 

I also hate when boarders go grab extra hay for their horses... apparently people haven't heard of a budget.


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## Got2Gallop

starlinestables said:


> If you pay for your own feed, I guess you could feed whatever the heck you wanted but if feed is included in the agreement, then don't mess with the BO's feed. It may be your horse but its their feed so no touchy.


I bought all my own feed!


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## starlinestables

if you by your own I guess you can feed what you want, but if they say they will feed it and your horse maintains a good weight why would you want to feed your own horse? If someone fed my horse for me.. I would be all over that!


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## Got2Gallop

With my first two horses I always did self care board so I guess old habits are hard to break :wink:


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## 1dog3cats17rodents

Over all my barn is great. The BO/trainer is a complete control freak, but it means everything is run well.
The biggest problem I had was another boarder feeding my horse. She was the one I bought him from, and I guess she feels she knows him better than I do (even though she's never ridden him, bought him from an auction, and only had him two months!) She started feeding him this really sugary mash stuff she was giving her old, retired horse while I was on vacation. Painter wouldn't even eat his own food for a week (wich meant he didn't get his much needed meds)! Worse still, Painter is on a special, high protein low carb diet. He isn't even supposed to have apples, let alone high sugar mashes :evil: My BO caught her doing this and basically told her if she EVER messed with any horse but her own again she would be kicked out of the barn:shock:


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## rosie9r

After reading some of these stories, man I feel lucky to have a good boarding situation! We do have one problem boarder, she makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. But it is a really small stables, only about 20+ horses and the BO is great. Gives everyone hugs when he greets you. The only problems I have ever had there are finding big chunks of rock in the stall. (The stall had been empty for a looong time before I moved my OTTB in, so the ground was packed down and as he moved around the stall, found all the big rocks. It is a piple corral with shelter.)So even though they clean the stalls 2x a day, I still go through it with a rake now and make sure there are no rocks.


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## Paintlover115

i have had alot of issues at boarding barns, to many to name. abuse people, people that didnt feed enough, wouldn't blanket, etc... if i have an issue at a barn i move. i have been with the same barn now for quite awhile and hope to never move my horses again! it takes awhile to find someone you trust as much as yourself to take care of your horses, and for the right price.


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## kershkova

the first move was because my trainer was moving to a differn`t barn.

second one was because barn was gross and dirty broken fenses makeing me and the other kids clean the stalls even thought it was full bord. She locked us in a stall one time and called us bitchs and hoes so my trainer bought a barn and thats my last move for a long time cus im staying with my trainer and its a prety little barn with 13 stalls and 4 pastures and its all people who ive know for a long time and will help you if your horse is bad and bucks and whont listen thats mostly outlaw


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## mls

rosie9r said:


> We do have one problem boarder, she makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes.


There is one in every crowd! If you don't see one, look out - it might be you! :wink:


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## NewHeart

kershkova said:


> the first move was because my trainer was moving to a differn`t barn.
> 
> She locked us in a stall one time and called us bitchs and hoes


Umm yeah... I am pretty sure that you could have pressed charges for that...


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## MoonlightEm

*Considering Leaving*

I loved my barn for many years and never thought I'd leave but the dynamics have changed over the years. The care of the horses is great - no complaint there. There is access to great trails and all went well for 7 years until I got a different horse that needs alot of training. Over the years, adults left the barn and now there are about 7 or 8 teenagers and only 5 adults. I can only ride around 3:00 when all the "kids" are there. They have totally taken over the big ring which has jumps set up and they jump. They also school the owner's horses. I'm am left with a smaller ring which is not graded, is up and down hill and has tree roots sticking up, which trip the horses. I used to love the quiet and companionship of an adult barn and find myself just getting stressed out now when I go to the barn. (Oh! it's important to know that I work all day with adolescents and crave adult company in my "hobby" time with my horse.) Also I want to work on schooling and training my horse, which is very difficult with 6 or 7 kids zooming around every which way. I pay full board, which is pricey in this area of the country - $800 a month. Many of the kids don't have their own horses and I don't know what their deal is. It's all very sad to me and I'm grieving the loss of the barn I once had. The only other barn in the area that offers comparable care is 45 miles away and a commute for me. I feel very loyal to this barn but feel that it's no longer working for me. Thought I'd post this perspective because it's not your usual dilemma. Any thoughts?


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## Racker

The first place I boarded had 75 horses on less than 10 acres. Every pasture was mud. Some days my horses were given hay, other days they weren't. The BO would use my Racking horse for lessons, and when i asked her to stop she became belligerent. They never seemed to notice if anything was wrong with the horses and because of this several horses died on that farm in the two years I was there. The final straw was when the BO's son kicked my Quarter horse. I was glad to get out of there. next i tried self care. But the BO was a control freak and she never liked the way we did anything. We always tried to conform to her wishes but she was never happy. We left there and went back to paying for full care. The place we are currently at is wonderful and they even have their own tack shop.


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## lonestarlady

Got2Gallop said:


> Also since all horses were brought in and grained in their stalls at night and none of them would have seen Lily getting her grain since I would bring her in an hour before the other horses when I got off work, it wouldn't have caused any issues for the BO in the pasture.


Sorry, I have to laugh. Yes, it would cause problems for the BO.
If one of my horses was brought in early & given grain you can BET that the others horses would know what was going on! While you are only concerned with one horse, she considers the herd.

This is also setting your horse up for resentment & retaliation by the other horses for her special treatment. You may be her owner but if she is to be _part of the herd_ she has to _appear_ to respect the herd heiarchy. And believe me the lead mare & the spoiled brat will notice & get back at her. 
It is the Nature of the Herd (a pecking order if you will), dont mess with it so your horse doesnt have to pay for your attention. Do you really want to put your horse through this?

Let the BO do what she is paid for.


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## Racker

I guess my prior post was premature. I caught the BO shorting my horses hay several times and discussed it with them and they seemed fine. Today I went out and they were in the process of feeding. Well they were shorting my horses hay again and I questioned them and then it just hit the fan. They started calling me the "hay police" and tried to order me off the property. So now I have to find a new place to board once again.


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## mls

Racker said:


> I guess my prior post was premature. I caught the BO shorting my horses hay several times and discussed it with them and they seemed fine. Today I went out and they were in the process of feeding. Well they were shorting my horses hay again and I questioned them and then it just hit the fan. They started calling me the "hay police" and tried to order me off the property. So now I have to find a new place to board once again.


Shorting hay?


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## Racker

Yes. Not feeding enough hay.


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## Racker

Well I moved my horses yesterday to a new facility. Hope things go smoothly.


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## Princesslover

Well at my barn there were many issues it started in april or may and it started with someone saying I was cruel to my horse (when I wasnt, I didnt do anything ) my horse was having a bad day that day, and she taught I was doing everything wrong because I wasnt trained by her trainer =S, so we tryed to resolve it and move on but then the barn owner got in it and was saying when we came into the barn that everything changed and that I was the problem and now its july and were moving on the 15th, 

so if u have problems and cant deal with it and just dont want to go back to the barn than I say move but if u can deal with it and dont want to move than dont, try to resolve it at first, 
thats what I think.


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## dressagebelle

I was at a barn that went through 3 different managers, as the owners own a couple other properties too. The owners are great, and the first two managers were very nice. The last manager I didn't like at all. She did okay at first, but then she started getting after all the younger boarders who didn't take lessons from her, and she was more concerned with giving lessons, and going to her regional and national shows than she was taking care of the barn. None of that really bugged me though until a) my Thoroughbred tore her superficial flexor tendon almost completely through, and being a high strung horse, my vet wanted me to ride her on hard flat ground at a walk, after 2 months, and work up to a trot. When we discussed that, the BM was right there, and said that it was okay for me to ride my horse around the outside of the turn out arena at no faster than a trot, as long as there weren't any horses in the arena. Then a few weeks later she came up to me and told me that I wasn't allowed to do that, as riding outside an arena stirred up the other horses, understandable, but then seconds later right in front of her, two of her students went galloping down one of the barn aisles, and she didn't say anything, and it started becoming a regular occurance. and b) my dads horse colicked one night, and there was no one in charge on the property, so some boarders had to get my horse out, and walk him around, while another one broke into the house to get our number, cause they couldn't get a hold of anyone else to get a hold of us. Needless to say, we found out that the BM was gone at the Arab nationals, and had put an 18 year old in charge of 100+ horses. The girl came for a couple hours in the middle of the day, gave lessons, then went home to her own horses she had to care for. The owner of the ranch came up to talk to us the next day when we had to put our horse down, and talked to us about what was going on, and when told that the BM had been gone for a week, said they had no idea, and that the contract was violated because they had not been notified by the BM that she was not going to be there for 2 weeks. I can not blame the actual having to euthanize my horse on the BM not being there, as he would have had to be put down anyways, but he definately would have suffered a lot less if there had been someone in charge to catch it sooner, and take charge of the situation. Shortly after that I had to sell my mare, and I've never been back to that ranch, even though the BM bought her own place a few months after I sold my horse. I do respect that barn managers and or owners have a lot on their plate, and might seem to be a little short, or picky, ect., but that they are just trying to look out for the best interests and issues of everyone at their place, but there are some things which are just totally unacceptable to do.


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## dressagebelle

Sorry for the long above post, just needed to vent, and didn't realize how much I had written.


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## thesilverspear

I once had my horse at a barn for a summer where the owner did things like ask me why I didn't lead my horse around with a stud chain over her nose. Huh? My horse has near perfect ground manners, which I pointed out, and crazy BO said that if something scared the horse and she jumped forward, then what would the mere halter do to stop her (and a chain wouldn't scare her or anything, right).

The worst thing she did though, was I when went away visiting the parents in another state for two weeks. I phoned the BO at one point, just to ask how Gypsum was getting on. I'd asked the BO to ride Gypsum while I was gone. In spite of her weird ideas, as illustrated above, she was an okay rider. Had some odd ideas in that department as well, but at least they were fairly harmless ones in the case of a schoolmaster like Gypsum, i.e. a horse shouldn't be worked in collection or even on contact for more than 15 minutes, ever. Fine, whatever, so she gets to faff about on a long rein for two weeks. Big deal. Anyway when I rang her the BO replied that she'd called the vet and had the vet do a blood test for EPM*. What? She said that Gypsum was stiff to the right (like what horse isn't) and that was a sign of early EPM. I observed that most horses are stiff to one side or another and her response was that a lot more horses have EPM than are diagnosed. What about horses in the Western US or UK where they don't even *have* EPM (I have told this story to UK friends and they are like, "what is that?")? Her response is that EPM obviously exists in these places but people don't know about it yet. I had also vaccinated the horse against EPM before I'd moved her from Colorado to the East Coast. Obviously crazy didn't know this, nor did the vet, as no one bothered to tell me they were sticking needles into my horse until after the fact. 

Needless to say, the results came back very very low positive, as you would expect if you'd been vaccinated for something. I told the vet about the vaccinations when they phoned me with the results. "Oh, we were unaware of that when we drew the blood from your horse." No duh -- cause no one told me you *were* drawing blood from my horse, you eedjits. And I had to foot the $150 vet bill. Was not impressed. 

*Blood tests for this are somewhat vague and inconclusive. To diagnose it properly you need to do a spinal tap, which is a far more invasive procedure.


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## savvylover112

i am so lucky that we have our own stables lol


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## thesilverspear

I should add that Crazy also thought she was one of the few people on the planet who could ride a horse "properly" and claimed she had "invented" natural horsemanship long before Pat Parelli, Monty Roberts et. al. got there. Apparently they all had gotten their ideas from her. Who knew.


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## savvylover112

oh ok thats weird lol


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## SeabiscuitMustang

I bought my horse in 10/07 and we are now at our 3rd stable and plan to be there a few years. 

The 1st stable he coliced 2X (lack of forage, hay, pecking order stress, other horses biting him, and other humans hitting him and using whip). 

The 2nd stable his health improved, yet owner lied, did not feed him grain I was paying him to be fed, not allowed water during the day, injuries that left scars, and pecking order issues. He would constantly change the stable hours to suit his personal needs. Was each of those for 6 mths each. Left the 2nd stable without notice. Three (3) months later his house burnt down! I know, its awful! Yet, the owner was so cheap that he could afford to take a vacation every other month, yet refused to fix his water pump! Thus, the fire engines were unable to save his house! A month or so later, he kicked off about 16 other boarders! Geesh.

My current stable is nice, yet no access to trails. I enjoy the comraderie, yet also the privacy. I do not like to mix mares and geldings, the owner did this and that mare tore him up! Now he is in a pasture by himself, and things are OK now. I do a few chores and the owner is nice enough to take me out in her horse trailer for trail rides, otherwise I ride in the arean. I have access 24/7, which is great!


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## HooverH

Good lord, I'm going to hug my BO when I see her this week. I've only ever been at one facility, my horse loves it, and the owners treat him like he's their own. My stuff is never messed with, Hoove always gets his hay and feed...they even hold him for the farrier if I can't get down.

My only complaint is the barn is a 45 min drive from my house. : /


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## Jessabel

I'm having tons of issues at my current barn which I've been at for five years, but we can't afford to go anywhere else. At least for now. It's come to the point where I dread going out there because of certain other boarders whom I can't stand. I've been searching for a new, affordable stable but so far nothing has come up. We'd pack up and leave in two seconds if we found a good barn. I could write a novel on all the problems at this place.


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## BlueGrass

MirrorStage2009 said:


> What are some issues that are cause for you to move out of your boarding barn?
> 
> Do you address problems and hope they get resolved? Or do you _expect _them to get resolved?


You know, I've only been to one farm my entire life. And the coach there is very assertive. I learnt to ride there and I'm never leaving. It's been 7 years and I wouldn't dare leave them... why? Because I know I'm safe, my horses are safe, and my items are safe there. 
They have dogs who bark at the sight of a new car or person. They bark so loud, people look to see who would come out. The house overlooks the entire stable area & pastures, I couldn't even imagine someone trying to steal something from the farm without being seen.
The coach/owner there is very trusting, but she has never accepted a boarder or new student who seemed to be sneaky or secretive. 

Its such a safe and excellent environment. Nothing has ever been stolen or broken. I like it that way - you could leave your $3000 saddle on the saddle stand drying from oiling overnight, and come back 3 days later and see someone has kindly put it back on its rack for you, even taking the time to put the saddle cover over. And if you leave the bit on your bridle dirty, you'll come back seeing it cleaned. Sure, we all take responsibility to do it ourselves, but sometimes we're in a hurry and forget. Lazy riders aren't accepted to ride or board there. And I know my stuff is safe in the tack room during shows - knowing the barn dogs are in there (very friendly and harmless, but so big that a stranger would presume they are guard dogs) and that the door is locked and all my things are safe.

It's a clean environment, so no, I've never experienced the bad.


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## holly77

*boarding barn problems*



MirrorStage2009 said:


> What are some issues that are cause for you to move out of your boarding barn?
> 
> Do you address problems and hope they get resolved? Or do you _expect _them to get resolved?


Where do I begin? I do not believe any boarding barn issues will ever be resolved in TX due to the cavalier manner of the legal system and the fact that horses are classified as livestock property and can easily be abused. It is a fact that anyone who boards in TX will sign several pages of contracts but will not have any rights, i.e. "lopsided" contracts. The barn owner has all the rights, even if your board bill is paid and the horse owner follows the rules. The horse owner has NO rights. (The items listed below occurred at several different boarding barns in Harris, Montgomery, Washington, and Waller Counties, Texas
1. All barns, but specifically a rehab barn in Harris county -Not adhering to the contract (usually in excess of 20+ pages), i.e. not feeding supplements, hay that was supplied and paid extra for but instead feeding large quantities of feed concentrates that were not agreed to in contract
2. WP breeding barn - Barn owners stealing tip money left for barn grooms
3. WP breeding barn -Barn managers stealing hay and supplements provided by horse owner
4. Luxury barn and WP barn 0Barn staff using and ruining boarder's personal equipment such as saddles and ropes
5. Western training barn -Without owners permission or knowledge, barn managers using horse for activities other than training, such as trail rides, t.v. shows, and promotional ads
6. Western training barn -Barn staff injuring horse while used in a t.v. show
7. General use barn Waller county -Barn staff caught throwing rocks at owner's horse
8. Dressage barn Montgomery county - Paddocks and water troughs never cleaned (horse owner's responsibility) in spite of large board bill, and the large manure pile on property was never removed for several years,violating city ordinances; my horse contracted conjunctivitis from flies in eyes. Also paid extra for grooms to put fly mask on, but it was never done. 
9.Luxury boarding barn -"Dental" work scheduled and performed by an unqualified EDP without horse owner's permission or knowledge, severely damaging horse's molars
10. All barns -Paying for items specified on contracts that were never done. 
11. H/J barn -Upon arrival to a h.j barn for board, turning horse loose in arena while making a stall ready and subsequently barn owner letting out her pit bull dogs into arena at same time with terrified horse
12. General board barn Waller county -Specifically asking for horse to be slowly integrated into new group of geldings in pasture and given at least a day in separate paddock (which was available), but barn owner insisted horse should go in with gelding group asap. Subsequently, he was chased by geldings and jumped a barbed wire fence to escape the others. He landed on and injured his left shoulder and scraped skin from knee to bottom of same leg. Bleeding with proud flesh was treated immediately, but shoulder has not recovered in 5 years. The barn owner insisted that vet should not be contacted and horse be put back out with geldings. It was necessary to give the barn owner a written note by vet to isolate horse.
13. H/J barn - Horse kept in small dirt paddock with no shelter from elements. He was, by contract, to have night stall and day turn out in small paddock, but on several stormy days was not removed from paddock. Confirmed 5 inches of water in paddock and no dry place to stand and left in driving rain (also no hay or water) 
There is more..so many abusive acts. Too many to list, but almost forgot: 14. WP breeding barn harris county - Barn owner has 2 way mirror with camera in barn's bathroom so that everything is filmed. This barn is still in operation in Harris county, TX.


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## KigerQueen

i feel you. my fiance has known out barn owner since he was 13. its a nice barn, we pay $240 a horse (so 960 and that is a multiple horse discount). she will NOT feed more then 15lbs of pellets a day to our big horses and less then 10 for my mares. supposedly that was vet approved... well my (now ex) vets horses are skinny so... yeah. my horses are now thin. BO cant understand why. she says the Percheron who is 1000lbs is fine on it. 1 the ranch hand forgets to feed horses. 2 most boarders supplement. and IF that horse is only 1000lbs then mine are freaks of nature. ALL my horses are 1000lbs or more. the healthy weight of my mares is is 1018 for the 14hh pony and my 15hh arab is 1078. my 16.1hh paint is only 1080 so he needs more (and he was looking half decent at the time of being weighed) and our 16.2 (used to be 17hh but he is old and shrunk) 32 year old standardbred is 1200. 

because of a pay gap i dont have money for extra feed and gas so i have not seen them for two weeks. i am tarified to see them. i moved them from a cheeper self care place that was a muddy health hazard fat and happy, to a very nice barn where the stalls are bedded and dry and the proporty is well kept and they are in slightly smaller stalls that are cleaned daily and less food...


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