# No shavings?!



## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

So I pay my board monthly for full board. I've started to realize that my horse isn't getting shavings at all. She's on basically concrete. So I took initiative and filled up her stall myself with whatever little shavings the barn had. One of the workers saw me filling up my horses stall and I saw her with her phone out. Then a few days later the barn manager happened to figure out that I filled my horses stall (I wonder how she fingered that out). The barn manager came to me and told me that their were horses that needed it worse then my horse did. Which came to me as a shock because my horse had nothing. She also said that I can't just be taking shavings, even though I pay for it in my monthly board. I don't think they buy enough shavings. I see that they completely run out of shavings and we don't get new shavings until like 2 weeks after the shavings run out which is crazy. So I was wondering what I should do?


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Is it just shavings they run out of?
Are you sure there is adequate good hay to eat and feed fed every single day?
If you are in a boarding barn and they were feeding bad hay, not "realizing" it was bad :icon_rolleyes:, I would be having some serious thoughts of finding a new barn.
Your board is to pay for the things your horse needs....hay, feed, shavings and someone to clean the stall, feed & water the horse and make sure the horse is well taken care of, safe and comfortable... _YOU are the only advocate for your horse...they can not speak up for themself!_
Unless you pay such cheap board that those items are not covered sufficiently then you should not be having to supply your own extra bedding nor be confronted because you put in enough bedding {regardless of using all of it} so your horse is not standing on concrete floors while in the stall.
The barn is mismanaged and cutting it to close that they are running out of essentials like bedding and not expecting more delivered for 10 - 14 days yet, yikes!
Your horse not having good hay to eat and having to rely on pasture they are out on for not all day doesn't cut it if you live in the USA or Canada...._grass is not growing anyplace. _
It is winter and grass for real sustenance is junk...._you need hay _unless on 24/7 pasture and even then they need fed round rolls. Yes, my opinion!

Unless you want to be buying 2 bags minimum of shavings per week in addition to paying your board bill....:x
I _would _be starting the search for a new barn and not put up with nonsense you are currently...no shavings and bad hay fed.... 
Leaves a lot to be desired both in how my horse is cared for and by whom....
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

horselovinguy said:


> Is it just shavings they run out of?
> Are you sure there is adequate good hay to eat and feed fed every single day?
> If you are in a boarding barn and they were feeding bad hay, not "realizing" it was bad :icon_rolleyes:, I would be having some serious thoughts of finding a new barn.
> Your board is to pay for the things your horse needs....hay, feed, shavings and someone to clean the stall, feed & water the horse and make sure the horse is well taken care of, safe and comfortable... _YOU are the only advocate for your horse...they can not speak up for themself!_
> ...


My horse recently got bad hay because I accidentally bought bad hay without realizing it and I'm still not sure what to do with the hay yet. So I supply my horse hay. Shavings is my only problem. I got yelled at for making sure my horse was okay and comfortable.


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## Hang on Fi (Sep 22, 2007)

The fact you got yelled out for doing what was in your horses best interest where they were lacking... Time to look for a new place. The fact you are a full board, unless otherwise stated, they should have sufficient sawdust provided for your horse and I'd raise a stink about it. You pay for sawdust to be in your stall (per what you said) Therefore your horse should have sawdust. Sounds like a barn that brews drama. I'd be looking for a new place and fast.


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## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

Hang on Fi said:


> The fact you got yelled out for doing what was in your horses best interest where they were lacking... Time to look for a new place. The fact you are a full board, unless otherwise stated, they should have sufficient sawdust provided for your horse and I'd raise a stink about it. You pay for sawdust to be in your stall (per what you said) Therefore your horse should have sawdust. Sounds like a barn that brews drama. I'd be looking for a new place and fast.


I've been trying and trying and I'm at such a complete loss. 😖


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

horselover665544 said:


> I've been trying and trying and I'm at such a complete loss. 😖


I would be buying a few bags of shavings/mo to keep my horse comfortable without depending on the BO of this current situation. As soon as I could find better lodging for my horse I'd move, but until then, I'd supply my own shavings. Not ideal but beats getting yelled at for taking too much shavings. I'd also be asking how many bags/mo of shavings was included in my current board, and get it writing. Then if you have to supply that too, you can start taking it off your board. 

Example: I use about 5 bags of pelleted bedding/mo for each horse. My stallion and mares in the foaling stalls get about double that, but I don't rent those out, ever. So, if you were my boarder and wanted 10 bags for your 1 horse, I'd tell you that you had to supply the extra 5 bags. If I ever ran out of shavings and you had to replenish what I was supposed to supply, then I'd either give you credit for 5 bags on your board or I'd go buy you 5 more bags. 

As a BO who manages things fairly carefully, I would not allow you to just help yourself to the pelleted bedding, but if you came to me and said, "Pookey's stall is looking pretty grim, can I have some new shavings please?", I'd go look and if indeed things were slim in your horses stall, I'd give him more bedding. I'd also determine if I just wanted to add or strip before I added. So, no, I wouldn't want just deciding to bed over top of what was there, but I'd also work with you to make sure my cleanliness standards and your horse's comfort weren't at odds either.


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## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> I would be buying a few bags of shavings/mo to keep my horse comfortable without depending on the BO of this current situation. As soon as I could find better lodging for my horse I'd move, but until then, I'd supply my own shavings. Not ideal but beats getting yelled at for taking too much shavings. I'd also be asking how many bags/mo of shavings was included in my current board, and get it writing. Then if you have to supply that too, you can start taking it off your board.
> 
> Example: I use about 5 bags of pelleted bedding/mo for each horse. My stallion and mares in the foaling stalls get about double that, but I don't rent those out, ever. So, if you were my boarder and wanted 10 bags for your 1 horse, I'd tell you that you had to supply the extra 5 bags. If I ever ran out of shavings and you had to replenish what I was supposed to supply, then I'd either give you credit for 5 bags on your board or I'd go buy you 5 more bags.
> 
> As a BO who manages things fairly carefully, I would not allow you to just help yourself to the pelleted bedding, but if you came to me and said, "Pookey's stall is looking pretty grim, can I have some new shavings please?", I'd go look and if indeed things were slim in your horses stall, I'd give him more bedding. I'd also determine if I just wanted to add or strip before I added. So, no, I wouldn't want just deciding to bed over top of what was there, but I'd also work with you to make sure my cleanliness standards and your horse's comfort weren't at odds either.


Thank you so much for this!! I really appreciate it.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

Why is she on concrete at all? There should be mats under those disputed shavings. A horse should never have to stand on bare concrete for any length of time, in my opinion.


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## Mirantha (May 13, 2016)

I work as a stablehand at a boarding/lesson barn with about 50 horses. Boarders are NOT permitted to help themselves to bedding, hay, grain, etc. In fact, all of those storage areas are locked. I know that sounds harsh, but it is important to keep track of supplies for the sake of everyone's well-being...both barn owner AND boarders/their horses! A few bags of bedding here, and scoops of cubes or sweet feed there, really add up and can cause a crisis (financially for owners, or unexpected 'supply shortage' impacting the horses, etc.).

That having been said, we maintain high standards of cleanliness & provide quality hay, grain options, and are happy to feed out any supplements/medications that have been provided by the owner. We work with the owners to address any concerns and/or special needs, and accommodate them. If a horse needs extra bedding, or something other than the pelleted bedding we use, that's fine - but we do need to know about it, so that we can factor it in when ordering supplies, and/or bill the owner when appropriate.

HOWEVER - a stall that is inadequately bedded, or uncleaned, would NOT be okay. And it is something that the Lead Stablehand or Barn Owner would want to know about, so that the situation could be addressed and remedied. 

So, in short, I think it's pretty common that boarders are not permitted to help themselves to supplies without permission, BUT if the owners are not responsive to your concerns, then THAT is a big "red flag" to me... the bedding situation is "visible", what about the stuff you DON'T see (feeding, turnout, water cleanliness/availability, handling, etc.)? If their standards are low for one thing, it is likely that it is low for other things, too. I would be looking for a different barn.


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## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

Avna said:


> Why is she on concrete at all? There should be mats under those disputed shavings. A horse should never have to stand on bare concrete for any length of time, in my opinion.


I recently got her a mat.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Buy shavings. Dreamcatcher has the right idea - ask how much you're allowed to use, but regardless of the response, I'd just be buying shavings. Keep a bag or two in your car if you have to, and replenish the stall as often as you can. Bedding is not that expensive - there's no reason to skimp on it. And maybe start looking for a new barn in the meantime.


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## Captain Evil (Apr 18, 2012)

My sister and I boarded our two horses at a local riding stable, and occasionally... and then often... they would be quite shy of shavings. The horses were on thick wood floorboards. 

We started buying our own supplemental shavings, so then, the manager/ owner stopped giving our horses ANY shavings, even though we were still paying for two stalls worth. so then we had to keep buying them, and one day we arrived to find the owner removing shavings from our stalls, that we bought, and distributing them around other stalls.

I kind of, "Uh, we bought those..." in my typical mousey way, and she came back at me full bore: "I can't find any shavings right now, and your horses have too much! There are other horses in need here!"

Things came to a head at the barn when we bred my sister's mare. There were three main problems- 

One: We asked if our mare could be turned out with other mares rather than with geldings, as one of the geldings was known to mount mares. 

Nope. No other horse but ours got along with that gelding.

Two: We asked if we our mare could have extra feed, if we paid increased board. 

Nope. Not possible to keep track of it. 

Could we buy our own hay, store it at home, and just bring some extra down every day? 

Nope. It would upset the other horses.

And three: Could we temporarily remove the corner hay rack from her stall, so that if the foal jumped up, it would not get entangled in it. 

Nope. We were being difficult and unreasonable. It wasn't long before we were invited to leave the barn as; "Our expectations were too high".

So we left and rented our own barn. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Obviously they are lacking funds or initiative to supply the proper amount of bedding. Which in my opinion is crucial to a boarding barn where concrete floors are involved. My horse wouldn't be there, period.


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## horselover665544 (Nov 29, 2015)

Captain Evil said:


> My sister and I boarded our two horses at a local riding stable, and occasionally... and then often... they would be quite shy of shavings. The horses were on thick wood floorboards.
> 
> We started buying our own supplemental shavings, so then, the manager/ owner stopped giving our horses ANY shavings, even though we were still paying for two stalls worth. so then we had to keep buying them, and one day we arrived to find the owner removing shavings from our stalls, that we bought, and distributing them around other stalls.
> 
> ...


Wow I'm so sorry that happened to you. That's so stupid. I hate boarding facilities like that. Your expectations weren't too high at all, there's were just too low.


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