# Boarding frustrations



## Lovemystandardbred (Sep 16, 2013)

I need some advice... In the last year I have moved my horse to 3 different barns. The first one I moved because it was an hour from my house and I found a stable closer by. That place was bad for several reasons the biggest problem was they told me he would be turned out... By turned out they meant 1-2 hours a day, some days he never went out. So I moved him back to the original barn I was at. Then I got the courage to move him once again to a barn closer to c
home... I'm wondering if the issues I have noticed are enough to consider moving again or am I just being picky/paranoid? First off again I was promised lots of turn out which has turned into being 4 hours a day... Much better then 1-2 hours but I prefer a 8-10. He has arthritis so he needs to be out as much as possible. The other problems are my horse needs supplements I have been told by other boarders that he's not getting them and I counted my containers and he missed it at least 1-2 times. But I addressed the problem and it got taken care of, so far that has been ok. The pastured are drying up and I've noticed the pastures dirt is mixed with a ton of rocks. My horse always has rocks stuck in his shoes and it makes him uncomfortable. The riding areas are slim. We have to ride in the pastures or in a small indoor where the stalls are. My last issues is I have notice my horses water buckets have been empty twice the last couple weeks when I came to visit.. It's 90 degrees.


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## TurkishVan (Feb 11, 2013)

Lovemystandardbred said:


> First off again I was promised lots of turn out which has turned into being 4 hours a day... Much better then 1-2 hours but I prefer a 8-10. He has arthritis so he needs to be out as much as possible. The other problems are my horse needs supplements I have been told by other boarders that he's not getting them and I counted my containers and he missed it at least 1-2 times. But I addressed the problem and it got taken care of, so far that has been ok. The pastured are drying up and I've noticed the pastures dirt is mixed with a ton of rocks. My horse always has rocks stuck in his shoes and it makes him uncomfortable. The riding areas are slim. We have to ride in the pastures or in a small indoor where the stalls are. My last issues is I have notice my horses water buckets have been empty twice the last couple weeks when I came to visit.. It's 90 degrees.


 - Well, you're always going to have rocks, so that may be something you just have to deal with, unfortunately. 
- If you don't have anywhere to ride, that makes it pretty useless to have a horse, right? That could be an issue for me. How small is the indoor? 
- The water buckets would be a big issue for me. How many does your horse have? I'd demand at least 3, and make sure they're checked twice a day by yourself or someone in charge. Does he have a fan? That would help him cool off even better. It's too hot to be standing in a friggin' stall for 20 hours a day!


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## Emma2003 (Jan 9, 2014)

I would bring your concerns to the BO. If he or she doesn`t know you`re not happy with the situation, they can`t change it. That being said, the part about your horse being without water is unacceptable. As far as the riding areas go, for this place, it sounds like what you have is as good as it gets and it doesn`t sound like it`s suitable for you. If I were in your shoes, I would be checking out other boarding facilities in the area and be very specific about what your requirements are. Best of luck.


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## Lovemystandardbred (Sep 16, 2013)

I know the rocks sound petty but to explain the ground is covered gravel and large rocks. So when I ride him in the pasture he is constantly stepping on rocks and is uncomfortable. I don't know exactly the size of the indoor but they have a lot of stuff sitting around the sides that has made it really small and cluttered. Another thing for example this evening I went there to check on him, his stall was a total mess. I pay full care. I took 3 muck buckets full of poop and pee out of his stall. If that was cleaned once already today it shouldn't have been that bad...I know he's a messy boy but that's a whole days worth of mess. He has 2 water buckets I will get him a 3rd. As for a fan, I have a fan for him from the previous barn but there is no outlets to plug it into.


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## Lovemystandardbred (Sep 16, 2013)

One of the times he's buckets were empty. I got there and saw it so I immediately went to grab the hose to drag it over to his stall. The barn manager was giving a lesson and she said oh sorry I haven't watered cause I have a lesson I will water after I'm done. So my horse will sit with empty water buckets until she has time to water him. So as I'm filling up his buckets he's gulping the water down. He drank half a buckets while I was standing there. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt but that really got to me. Thank you for the advice! I will definitely be more specific from now on when Im looking for a barn...I hate to move him again but I might have to. :/


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

I guess it would all depend on the price tag attached to what you are getting. I know most barns charge a fee for supplements and will only accept them from smart pack. 
I have a routine, that I follow and a time schedule. When my horses are in work, they do not have access to water, so if its 745 am and my schedule to water is 815, then at 815 it gets done.
A riding area is an important consideration, depending on what you do. If you have a trail horse, then an arena isnt doing to do much if you dont have trail access and if you have a show horse, then you need an arena and possibly and indoor one. Again, you need to look at the price for what you are getting. A decent show barn, not a fancy one just decent is about $750 a month near me


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Your situation sounds similar to the place I boarded at last year for the better part of a year. Each little thing in itself wasn't a big deal, but when you added them all up I had to call it quits. They were supposed to be turned out overnight every day except in awful weather, when winter rolled around she almost never turned out. My horse isn't on supplements, but I know for a fact that there were some days that the other horses missed theirs. I had to add another water bucket and clean it myself because his would go dry, and there was always crud like tractors or multiple hay trailers in the arena. Sometimes the stalls were gross. Sound familiar? :wink: There were also a number of reasons that I loved the barn, but the care and drama caused by the barn owner's family caused me to look at new options. Sounds like you need to as well.


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## Lovemystandardbred (Sep 16, 2013)

I do use him for trails and just to ride for fun. He's not a show horse. I agree I do need access to more land to ride and enjoy him. I understand being on a schedule and watering at a certain time but it was 2 hours past feeding/watering time by the time she started feeding all the horses then she went to do something else and came back to water. I never saw any of them get hay when she fed so I ended up giving all the horses hay before I left. I have a hard time trusting people to take care of my horse and once I start seeing red flags even if they are small it still worries me. But thank you all for the advice! You were so helpful!!


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

move. no horse should ever be out of fresh water. I dislike buckets for water. You need a Barrel at least something that will hold 40 gallons of water. 
filling up a bucket for water for a day is like giving a person one bottle of water saying make it last.. 
move.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

If you're unhappy with the services, move. That said, no facility will be perfect.


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## mylilpony4u (Sep 2, 2014)

will the BO let you put a larger barrel of water in his stall?


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Yup, the water would be the one and only straw for moving somewhere else for me. I can always haul out to ride, I have a huge Equestrian Center that does nightly rentals for training, so no problem there, but the water, especially in my climate is a deal breaker.

If you can live with some of the other stuff, see about a 70 quart muck bucket, those will hold 17.5 gallons of water and might be seen as 'more manageable' than a 40 gallon barrel.


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## luvmydrafts (Dec 26, 2013)

i would move for the lack of turnout alone esp. if that is a must for his health issues...but it is up to you...

Rocks happen, that is just the way the land is...hard rocky soil can toughen up feet actually, my boys hooves are always better when they are kept on hard somewhat rocky soil...the water thing is the worst sign of neglect though and until you can move id ask about keeping a larger bucket in his stall or wherever it is kept...try one of those 20 gal. muck buckets, they can hold a decent amount of water...


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