# Would you move your horse?



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

I think you're overreacting. You clearly have you horses best interests in mind, and I understand coming home to such a visibly painful horse must have put you in a panic!! But I think you're overthinking it, in both cases you have admitted there was likely poor communication.

First of all, it's completely likely the horse was nowhere near that lame when they first contacted you based off your response they likely felt "oh well horseadult will be back soon to check in on him, let's just get him comfy and then we're done". The "injury" was noticed and addressed. I had a horse rip a muscle over the winter, my mom said I should check on him because he was sweating a lot. I shrugged it off as he had a blanket on and the temp had warmed up. 20 minutes later I head out to find him DRIPPING sweat, stiff as a board, wouldn't move, eyes bugging out. I seriously thought he was having an allergic reaction or something he was so off visible. I determined it must be pain and gave him a LOT of meds and he improved. But he escalated VERY quickly.

As far as the footing you did ask that they move him "good footing" is subjective. If he's sound enough for turnout they may have thought he was fine on that. I would be more clear next time you make a request.

I think this is a case of you being new and both parties figuring out how to work with each other. I don't think anything was done maliciously or negligently. You also have specific requests, so be specific. Don't be "that boarder" but I think outlining a few clear main concerns "per the vet he should be in paddock a or b" is perfectly fair and will help both parties out.

By all means, if you aren't happy or worse feel your horse isn't being cared for leave! But from what I just read it sounds like just miscommunication from people not used to dealing with each other. I would definitely be willing to give them more of a chance especially if you like it there overall. These issues seem relatively minor, after all it's not their fault the horse pulled a shoe, just more "how" things are handled which can and I think will be improved on. You can even sit down and talk to the manager, say you don't mean to be difficult but you have some concerns about your horses suspensory rehab (be specific) and felt like things weren't handled well which you attribute to miscommunication on both ends. I would just approach it as a "how does this not happen again" not as a "you did something wrong" because they did not.

As far as moving him, there's not necessarily a drawback to that, I don't know your arrangement. What stands out is it sounds like he will not have other horses there? That alone would be reason not to do it. Aside from that I would view it as "one boarding barn over another". I don't see any reason to move the horse right away if you will have to pay, he sounds cared for and safe. I would move right away if I felt my horse was unsafe or if I was genuinely unhappy enough to make the financial hit worth it. (On the flip side maybe free board makes it worth it?) It's up to you but I am mostly just hearing frustration over miscommunication, on both ends, nothing more.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

To add, I think there's a "grace period" for getting to know each other, however I would not expect this to continue to occur. It says a lot if the horses are happy and well cared for as well as the property. I would hope it would be short lived.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

horseadult said:


> I went away for 1.5 days and on my way home the manager messaged me and said “Your horse pulled his front shoe halfway off. He is lame. I messaged the farrier”. I said he’s done this before and the quarter clip sticks into his foot and usually he’s fine once it’s pulled and that I'd check on him when I got home around 7. To be fair, I didn't ask them to pull the shoe, but also I didn't know he was "broken leg" lame either based on that message...
> 
> When I got there he was limping horribly on that front foot from the shoe digging in and kinda stiff all over even in the hind end and he was sweating and that front leg was a little trembly.
> 
> ...



Yes, I would say you are overreacting especially since you pretty much responded to their concerns with "Ah, he's fine. I'll be there shortly."


They did say "He is lame." If you didn't ask for clarification, they could have very well meant "he's broken-leg lame" even though you only interpreted it as "he'll be fine". But they DID tell you he was lame.





horseadult said:


> Luckily about 5 days later he is sound on the barn floor and looks like we have an abscess about to pop.
> 
> I've been keeping him inside because it is about a 1/4 mile walk on a gravel/rocky road to get outside and he is still very lame when he hits pavement.



Movement is better to help the abscess to pop. I would personally NOT leave him stalled and would instead leave him in his paddock so he can move around on his own terms. Is there a reason why you HAVE to take him inside across the gravel right now? Why can't he just stay out in the paddock? (or do they have to come in at night?)






horseadult said:


> So I went in to pick that paddock too since he pooped in there and the footing is so uneven and bad in there. It's hard to describe but it has really clumpy tall grass and it is almost like walking on a mattress with divets. I'm guessing is why the shoe came off and on top of that he is rehabbing from a suspensory injury that I did a PRP injection for ($$$) last year and I don't feel that he should have been moved to footing like that without them notifying me.



"Bad footing" is subjective. 





horseadult said:


> I recently asked if he could be moved to a closer paddock so that he doesn't have to walk so far on the gravel, hoping that I would be offered one with better footing without having to risk insulting the other paddock/their decision to move him there. The new paddock she suggested to me has even worse footing than the one he pulled the shoe in, and it is very wet almost like bog land. I walked around a little and realized that most of the paddocks are like this. I realize this is my error and that I should have looked closer before moving in. The original one he had seems to actually be one of the best there is...



If she offered you a closer paddock, she's obviously trying to work with you. 



If his original one was the best one, you could ask to have him put back in there again.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

In this case, I do think you are overreacting a bit (which is what we do at times, as horse owners!) They did tell you he was lame...what else did you expect them to do? You told them he'd be fine & he's done it before etc. so they probably thought oh I guess she's going to come out later to check on him etc. They did what they could. 

As for the abscess, I agree, he should be in a spot where he can walk around a bit, not cooped in a stall. Movement is best. I know, abscesses make them look like they're totally crippled, but he would honestly be OK in a small paddock for now. & they did move him to a closer paddock...as for the footing, I can't really comment on that because I'm not there/can't see it, but if it's been raining a lot, chances are things can get pretty mucky/gross. :lol:

See if he can be moved to the first paddock if the newer one is an issue. In order for him not to step on the gravel, can't he just eat in the paddock instead of having to go up to the barn/his stall for the time being? That's another solution.

I wouldn't move because of this, no, especially since in the first sentence, you mention that it's beautiful & the horses are well-cared for and happy. I'd stay.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

As a person who does not board but goes weekly to a boarding barn I will also say you may have over reacted. The footing issue is what sticks out to me. I am not sure what your expectations are but ground is ground - it changes all of the time. the owner of the facility cannot be expected to grade and maintain premium footing. It just cannot be done. It is unfortunate that your horse pulled a shoe - it it possible that there is something more wrong with him if he keeps doing this? If he is on stall rest for a suspensory injury of you thought of pulling his shoes and having him wear rehab boots?


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

If you have shoes coming off like that more than once in the horses lifetime, then your problems with your farrier not your barn owner.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

horseadult said:


> My first worry is that they just left him in his stall like that and didn’t try to pull the shoe. I also feel that they did not make the severity of the lameness clear


I think that if you're going to have horses shod - or have horses in your care that are shod, the very least you need to do is know how, and have the tools, to be able to pull shoes in an emergency like this. But many people can't do this, so 'messaging the farrier' may have been the best they could do. At any rate, he is your horse, by the sound of what you wrote, you didn't sound too worried, and you didn't ask them to pull the shoe, so... and if you didn't ask for clarification of exactly how bad the lameness(which is subjective anyway & may not have been that bad when they rang you), I don't think it's reasonable to take exception to any of what they did/didn't did.



> All I can keep thinking about is if I had been away when this happened, no one would have really kept a close eye and he would have worked himself up into a colic.


Yeah, anything COULD happen. Sounds like the horses there are well cared for and that someone is keeping an eye out & reporting 'mishaps' to owners though, so... that's a lot more than you get at a lot of places.



> I've been keeping him inside because it is about a 1/4 mile walk on a gravel/rocky road to get outside and he is still very lame when he hits pavement.


Yeah, don't force him to walk if he's in obvious pain. If he's comfortable on soft/yielding footing though, he should be comfortable in a boot, and exercise is good for him & will also help the abscess come through quicker.



> footing is so uneven and bad in there. It's hard to describe but it has really clumpy tall grass and it is almost like walking on a mattress with divets. I'm guessing is why the shoe came off and on top of that he is rehabbing from a suspensory injury


Nope, nothing innately wrong with uneven footing - IME horses kept in pristine paddocks are more likely to hurt themselves - and that was not the cause of his shoe loss. If he has lost a shoe more than very rarely, I'd guess he has compromised/unhealthy feet, or he was badly shod, or overdue or some such. 

That he has a suspensory injury is absolutely a reasonable concern that he should be kept in a 'good' paddock though. If you have spoken to the BM about ensuring he is never put on uneven footing because of this, then you may have a cause to be unhappy with them for doing so. But even then, if BM has heaps of horses to look after, if it was a while ago you spoke to her, nothing in writing... we're all human, maybe she forgot. Accidents happen. 



> I have the option to move him to my parents house an hour away from me and keep him there for free. He wouldn't get worked as much (well he's not being worked at all right now because of his feet) but I think I'd feel more like someone would notice if he had an injury.


Are your parents extremely diligent and experienced horse people? So WOULD they notice/do any more for your horse than BM did here? Will he have company of other horses there(tho I assume he lives in solitary where he is)? And an hour away, so 2 hours drive per visit... is that worth it?


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I read all the responses...
Personally I think there is some error on both parties part...
Horses do not typically twist a shoe, partially pulling it off.
Something occurred and with that occurrence soreness presented itself.
The barn notified you of a shoe issue and soreness...
Over time/duration of a few hours it worsened is how it sounds to me...
You though did not ask for better clarification from the barn personnel either....

If you have issues otherwise with the barn have you discussed them with the barn manager/owner or just kept them to you?
If you not bring a concern to those who can do something about it, then you have no one but you to place blame on...nor to be angry with.
For that reason, voice your concern where it needs done...to those in charge not at the stall-cleaner nor to other boarders...but to management.

Footing in a paddock is season changing and unless your horse is t/o in a riding ring with groomed surface only, even then, a horse walking makes depressions in the ground from their weight, a horse galloping in t/o will make divets and cups and ground does fluctuate in levelness cause it is, ground.
If your horse is recovering from a injury and can not take uneven footing then you need to truly consider the kind of t/o situation you ask for no matter where you board at, forget riding or hand walking your animal...

Would I move..._probably not._
The horse was stalled once known he had a shoe issue...farrier notified, owner notified.
Honestly, all the steps were taken to safeguard the horse and the hoof as best they could do.
The barn and workers are not farriers, not vet. They know your horse is recovering from a injury and did what they could to hold the damages in check till proper help arrived.
How would you feel if the barn pulled the offending shoe and torqued the injured leg worse because they are not farriers, rarely have the tools, knowledge or strength to pull a shoe especially one with clips off without furthering damage to hoof material, leg or whatever...
You are the one who told them you would be present later...that then puts the finger-pointing on you.

So do you take your horse away so he is home? 
If it makes you feel better, but you have less eyes seeing him at home and after the first day or so no one is going to sit and stare at the animal to see if anything is happening in honesty..
Your horse will get a look-see at mealtimes and maybe as someone passes a house window or goes outside for something...
A barn with activity of people coming and going, horses being moved around/ridden is far more likely to catch something faster than a home situation where people go to work and are gone or busy indoors for longer periods of time...
It is all in how you look at it...
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I think you're overthinking and overreacting. As a barn owner I would have done what they did and, unless instructed to do so by the owner, would not pull a shoe from a horse. I would get the farrier out, that day or evening, but anything else would be up to the owner. Your initial reaction of, "He's done it before, I'll check on it when I get home.", pretty much absolves them of any further treatment responsibility. If you want the vet called, and with a suspensory injury I can understand why you would, you need to give that instruction. Failing that, you've been notified and it was not life threatening, so no need to drop everything and run out there or call for an emergency vet visit RIGHT NOW. 

Footing. That's an issue everywhere. It depends on how the grass grows, what kind of soil you have where you are and what your contract calls for. Here, if horses go out on pasture, that pasture is picked up, sprayed for weeds, and that's it. The rocks are where you find them, the grass grows as it will, and the horses make holes on occasion. If that's not good enough, then there are other boarding barns in the area. 

Would I move my horse? No. IMO the barn owner did everything they were supposed to do. They certainly were not negligent in any way. You don't say how much travel is involved to get to this barn, is it 15 mins, 30 mins, 45 mins or more? You know it's 1 hr each way to your folks house. If that's way over what you're currently doing, I wouldn't move there. If the distances are mostly equal and you really do feel he'll get better, more attentive care, and be just as happy there, then you may want to go ahead and move. It might be worth the extra month's board to you.


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## Filou (Jan 16, 2014)

Are there other people there to help keep an eye on things for you? Your relationship with them could be much more powerful than the one with your BM. 

I have a similar issue in that the BM doesn't ever seem to notice or care about when something happens to the horses. He won't tell anyone. The guy who feeds and cleans regularly leaves my horses stall chains unlatched and throws the chains and latch on the ground. My horse has gotten out 3 times. I still ask them regularly to be sure it's latched. Other horses have gotten out too. The BM keeps asking the guy to latch the gates, but sometimes he doesn't. I just help keep an eye on the other horses when I'm there. We have one gal who has everyone's phone numbers, if things go wrong I let her know and she asks others to help keep an eye out too. We all help watch each other's horses. The BM does nothing, but the better part is, we don't need him.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

@Filou I wouldn't call that ok!

And I agree with the point of NOT pulling the shoe, as someone who has worked at many barns I would absolutely not pull a shoe without being directly asked!! MUCH more likely to have an owner freak out on you for that. If it was that bad of course it needed to come out, but as I said initially it sounded to me like it got worse between when he came in and you saw him. I don't think anyone did anything wrong just bad timing.


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