# Paying Board after horse passes.



## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

Yesterday I had to pick up some bute at my vet's office and I got to talking to one of his vet techs. 

She was telling me of the situation going on at a boarding barn. A women boarded her horse there, horse coliced and had to be PTS. A young, healthy horse, that was of course very unexpected. 

The horse passed on the 10th, the board is due on the 1st. If you leave the barn you have to give the usual 30 days notice. If you give notice on say the 15th, you have to pay another month of board even if your horse isn't staying there. Which from what I know of boarding (I keep my guys at home) that's pretty typical. 

Because the horse died on the 10th, the BO is charging the women another month of board, because the owner didn't give 30 days notice that her horse was going to die. 

This frankly amazes me. The barn is getting 20 days of money with no horse to care for already, the owner had already paid for this month and with the horse dying on the 10th. Now to be demanding another month? The poor women just lost her horse, you'd think they'd cut her some slack. 

The owner is screwed since its in the contract that if a horse leaves for any reason without the 30 days, they have to pay more. 

Is this common in this situation? Is it in your contract? I'm planning on boarding my two in a few years when I start working full-time, and its certainly something I'm going to ask potential barns.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

I don't know how commonplace something like this is. But, it is /technically/ a breach of contract, and BO can charge her for the extra time...

It seems a little odd to me that she wouldn't be more lenient, but it is within her rights.


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## Maple (Jan 10, 2012)

As Zexious said, it is in the contract HOWEVER, and depending on the competition in the area, the BO clearly runs a risk of destroying their business when other boarders/potential boarders catch wind of this. Basic human courtesy. My horse was PTS in the first week of January, my BO stopped charging me board the day he died.


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

The horse didn't leave, it DIED. I'd be telling that BO to go pound sand, and make sure that anyone and everyone in the local horse community knew what a money-grubbing, cold hearted witch she is.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

That's just plain heartless.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Speed Racer said:


> The horse didn't leave, it DIED. I'd be telling that BO to go pound sand, and make sure that anyone and everyone in the local horse community knew what a money-grubbing, cold hearted witch she is.


Me, too.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

If it is in the contract I guess the BO has the right to do this, pretty insensitive on BO"s part. I hope that if the BO gets another horse in to board and fill that stall, they have to decency to not charge the extra month. If it was me, I would be tempted to check on that and if the stall is rented out before the time I was paying for the stall ended, I would want a refund.


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

If the BO makes her pay for the next month, then the stall belongs to the owner of the deceased horse. If it was me, I would use a lock of my own on the stall door to make sure the BO would not be able to rent the stall at all for the entire month that the owner is paying for. If the BO then cuts the lock, she would owe the owner money back. Would no be breaking any rules since NO horse is in the stall in case of fire or whatever, but the stall is the owners if she is paying for it.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I'm going to say that the horse being PTS is the same as 30 days notice, so at worst she would owe board through the 10th of the next month. It would ruin someone's reputation pretty quickly to expect 30 days notice when a horse suddenly dies, though, and I'd say there's a good chance that no reasonable judge would award her the money (especially if the horse owner got a halfway decent lawyer).
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

As a horse owner I would not pay a dime & let the BO try to collect.
As a BO I would give the 10 days board $ back.

I board others' horses. My contract says what I will do & what the horse owner will do. What it doesn't have is a 30 day clause & it never will.


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

I'm glad that I'm not the only one shocked by this. 

To play devil's advocate, knowing I have no more knowledge then what I gave in the first post, the only reason I can see for charging another month is perhaps the horse was destructive? Or maybe a fence/stall something had to be dismantled to get the horse's body out and the extra board is to pay for that?


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## kenda (Oct 10, 2008)

I'll also play a little devil's advocate. I work in an industry where if you give one person an inch, the next person will hear about it and expect you to give them a mile.

What happens when the next person comes along who doesn't think they should have to pay the 30+ days extra? What if there work is moving them across the country with little notice? Or they come upon hard times and have to and are able to sell their horse asap to pay for medical bills or emergency home repair or something of the sort? Where do you draw the line? All of those people will say they didn't really have a choice in the matter, or not much of one, as did this woman. All of them are going through a period of increased stress in their lives.

(That all being said, if I were a BO, I would be to soft hearted myself to charge her for the full notice period)


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

A horse leaving in a hurry is simply _not_ the same as one dying. 

I don't know of_ any_ corporation who moves their people across country without at least 30 days notice, and it's usually much longer.

Again, falling on hard times is NOT comparable to a horse dying.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

As a horse owner, I would tell the BO to travel to a very HOT place. I'd see her in court. 

As a BO, I have 30 days notice in my contracts. I cannot even begin fathom how you'd have the gall to ask for another 30 days because a horse died. That is the most incredibly heartless thing I've ever heard. That 30 days can easily be waived and as a BO, I'd never even bring it up.


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## Red Gate Farm (Aug 28, 2011)

If I had to follow the letter of the law and pay more, I'd be making sure I went to the barn daily and pack up the feed. Part of the board is paying for that feed. I'd be hauling the hay out daily and the feed out daily. Heck, I'd offer the shavings to a friend to add more to their stall! 

If you're paying full board, there had better be food in that stall every single day.


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

As a horse owner if asked for the extra 30 days…I would also be telling the BO where to stick it, and probably looking at all the practices in that barn with a fine tooth comb to make the BO worry that I was going to hold them responsible for the horse collicking. (which I would NOT do unless they were being horses rear quarters.)


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Rain Shadow said:


> the only reason I can see for charging another month is perhaps the horse was destructive? Or maybe a fence/stall something had to be dismantled to get the horse's body out and the extra board is to pay for that?


Nope, that's the cost of doing business. Horses are destructive by nature and it just goes with the territory that you have to repair stuff. They also die at very inconvenient times and having to move fence and barn stall walls is just part of the job.


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## kenda (Oct 10, 2008)

Let's consider this from another angle then, while taking a step back emotionally. I'm not a BO, so I have no horse in the race here, but I'm interested in the different ways people view these kinds of things.

In some places, Ontario is one, on the death of a human tenant, the tenancy is deemed to end 30 days after the death of the tenant. The landlord is entitled to those 30 days of rent, as well as reasonable costs of removing belongings (if not removed by family members) and clean up. Why should the horse's 'landlord' not be entitled to the same?

The purpose of notice requirements to my mind, is that the landlord or BO can at least make an attempt to fill that vacancy as soon as it opens, thus hopefully not losing income. Regardless of whether the horse leaves in full health, or dies in the stall, the BO has a place to fill and bills to pay, though of course the bills will be smaller thanks to less supplies and less labour requirements. But insurance, and rent/mortgage, and property taxes etc. etc. are going to stay the same whether there are 29 horses on the property or 30.

If a human or horse family member of mine passed away, I don't think that exempts me from a signed contract, or legal responsibilities (if I'm the executor of the estate of said human family member).


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## IndianaJones (Aug 13, 2014)

I would raise my eyebrows at the BO and tell them "good luck with collecting that!!!" 

People are nuts.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

I know where I board when my mare first got sick my BO dropped everything and drove her three hours to a vet hospital. Then she called me. Sadly my mare passed away after two weeks of intensive care, my BO offered to drive up and bring her body back to the farm to bury. When we asked how much she wanted for the board on my mare that last month she initially said 'not a dime' because she knew we were struggling with vet bills and the loss. When we insisted and told her she WOULD take the money that we pay her some board she told us to just pay ten dollars a day up until she took her to the vet hospital. My mare died on the 19th of the month, two days before we were supposed to pay. We never could get her to accept payment for taking my mare to the vet hospital at 3 am, she still adamantly says that it's her job as a BO and as a horse person. Still she gets a nice christmas bonus from me from now on. 

Honestly a BO isn't worth their salt if they don't have a fraction of sympathy and dignity that mine did. She made my grieving period a whole heck of a lot easier and was a gracious human being. I tell people flat out if they want their horse cared for to go board with her. 

Personally if I was in that situation you described, I would refuse to pay and spread the word that there was a cold hearted ***** running the place, along with a few other profanities. I don't expect BO's to be as gracious as mine was, but I do expect them to only charge me for the days that my horse was alive and to by sympathetic and gracious to my grief.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

Kenda there's a difference between removing a body and paying another set of board. I have no qualms with paying (or expecting) owners paying the rendering service or another plan of action to dispose of the remains on the BO's farm. 

However, I have a huge problem with BO's expecting owners to pay for a dead animal. As I was taught: "Once the carcass is off the property, it isn't making us any money".


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## kenda (Oct 10, 2008)

Except I'm not just talking about removing the body. I'm saying that the tenancy, the rent end 30 days after the death of the tenant, whether the body is in there or not. If the landlord is paying for and arranging removal of the body, that would be on top of the cost of rent for those 30 days.


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## Le007 (Jan 7, 2013)

Every boarder signs a contract right? (or they should) 
If you were to move to another barn w/your animals, what's the difference to the barn owner? [whether an animal dies or the owner moves] Although they may be sympathetic for my loss, if I sign a contract I would expect to complete my contractual obligations. 
If a barn owner decides to give a break, great but they aren't 'obligated' in any way and why would you expect one?


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

You're trying to compare apples to oranges here. This is not a tenancy where there are personal items that need to be disposed of or given to a family member, it's an animal kenneling situation. Once the animal is dead, the EXPENSES incurred by that animal cease to exist. Not so a human tenant, as humans have personal effects and relatives that need to be notified.

It doesn't matter what the law states about _human_ habitation or the early departure of a _live_ animal from a kenneling situation. 

The unexpected death of a previously healthy large animal is a unique situation, and unless the boarding contract specifically states that an owner shall be liable for board for 30 days from the date of *death*, _not_ early departure, then the BO is out of luck. 

Y'all want to get nit-picky about what a boarding contract STATES, then I can get nit-picky about what it doesn't. If it doesn't actually address the death of an animal, then it's not covered under the 30 days notice rule.

All of that aside, any BO who would even try to invoke that rule on me would get a, 'Bite me, and good luck trying to collect it!'


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

kenda said:


> Except I'm not just talking about removing the body. I'm saying that the tenancy, the rent end 30 days after the death of the tenant, whether the body is in there or not. If the landlord is paying for and arranging removal of the body, that would be on top of the cost of rent for those 30 days.


Unless otherwise stated, I would assume the horse owner paid for the disposal of her horse's body

It sounds to me from the posts that the BO is asking for board for _all_ of February, even though the horse died Jan 10th. That's well over 30 days and completely unreasonable. As it is, January was already pad for, so the BO got 21 days of board paid already when there was no horse to care for. 

At the barns I've boarded at, at this time of the year, they have a waiting list and would have no trouble getting a new boarder in within a week or two. My guess is that this BO may have more trouble filling her stalls, since this can't be the first time she's pulled a ridiculous stunt like this.

I'd be interested to see what a lawyer could pull up for precedents in a case like this. A pretty good case could be argued that the horse dying was an unforeseeable 'act of God' and makes the 30 day notice null and void (and unreasonable!)


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

In a legal sense, yeah, I guess the owner is still locked into that contract. It's a darn good way to earn yourself a nasty reputation and prevent that stall from being filled for quite awhile. It seems like a really bad business move. If word gets around that the BO is such a money grubbing witch then that'll set her back quite a ways. If I was the horse's owner I would not be trying to get my money back for the rest of the month (even though the BO isn't caring for a horse and can fill that stall at any moment) but I'd take huge issue with having to pay for an extra 10 days when my horse died. Especially when you consider that the money she'd make by not having to feed/stall/care for that horse for 20 paid days (even if the stall's not filled by a new boarder) probably exceeds the 10 additional horseless days she's asking the money for. While I understand the point of enforcing a full 30 day notice if someone is just moving barns since everyone knows the rules beforehand, the point of a 30 day notice is to prevent the loss of income from someone leaving on short notice. It is NOT to pocket the money that would otherwise be spent on feed/shavings/stall cleaning/etc. It sounds like that's what this lady is trying to do, and that's just not right. 

And if that lady dares to put another horse in that stall while I was still paying for it after doing all of this nonsense? I'd be fuming mad. Either way, you could bet that I'd be letting EVERYONE know about what the BO was doing, and she'd be losing my business permanently in the event that I bought another horse.

Kenda, I do see where you're coming from. However, aside from regular building/maintenance type stuff and regular cleaning after a tenant leaves a landlord doesn't spend any additional money on care of the tenants. He's not just able to pocket the money that'd otherwise be spent on food/shavings for the tenant. When a tenant dies the spot can't immediately be made available to a new tenant. The tenant's family (or the landlord I suppose) must clean out the entire home, and that can take awhile. Then it needs to be cleaned... Once a horse dies the whole stall can be cleaned out in a day and a replacement could theoretically be in there the next day. Again, I do see where you're coming from but the situations seem entirely different to me. 

You're not making things ambiguous to other boarders by waiving the 30 day notice for this horse. It died. Unless someone else's horse dies in the middle of the month this issue won't come up again. Falling on hard times or moving across the country isn't the same thing. Other boarders don't even need to know that the BO waived the 30 day notice. Were I a BO I just wouldn't even mention it to anyone, let alone other boarders who have no business in the matter at all.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I've actually had a boarder (notice not tenant) whose horse colicked and died here. He came to me knocking on death's door because the previous place had starved him. I told her then that I didn't know if I could keep him alive but I'd try. We fed him up, got him growing again (he was a yearling colt) and gave him a really good year. He was starting to look like a horse and he was doing well. One morning on our way to church, we went out to check everyone before we left, and found him down. I called her immediately and called the vet school to come out because we could not get him up. I knew without a huge miracle he wasn't going to make it, just from looking at him. He was very bloated. When the vet got there, we got him up and onto the trailer and ran for OSU where they did Xrays and ultra sounds and determined he was twisted and would need surgery if he was going to even have a chance. She could not afford surgery and had him put to sleep. I sent her out to the waiting room (she is NOT the kind who could watch) and I stayed with the horse until he was gone. On the way home, I took her to her husband's work, then brought her home with me and kept her there all day so she wouldn't be alone. This was on the 6th of the month and she had paid a full month's board. I hadn't deposited her check yet, so I tore it up and didn't charge for the 6 days. It's not like he ate THAT much in 5 days, he didn't eat his breakfast that morning. I packaged up all his belongings and boxed them and sat them in the tack room for her to remove when she felt she could. I didn't charge her for the hauling, I didn't charge her for my Sunday time at the vet or for keeping her company all day long. I think that would be pretty darn crappy. Now, I wouldn't expect a BO to give me back my board, nor haul my horse for free, but I liked the little guy and his owner couldn't be sweeter. She's a college kid and working her way through, so doesn't have a whole lot of money. I'm a real small barn and my boarder's do get a lot more than they pay for. And now, because I treated her well, she's been a good friend for some time and if she decides to get another horse, she'll bring him here if she's still in the area. I have a 30 day notice clause in my contract but I rarely have asked anyone to actually live by it. 

The only time I might enforce it would be if they had multiple horses and were going to move them all at once. I'd like the 30 days to fill the stalls, so I didn't lose a big chunk of my income. 1 horse is not going to make or break my month. And I sure enough wouldn't ask for it while the owner was all tore up over their horse dying. That is just too creepy for words.


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## karliejaye (Nov 19, 2011)

I actually have had a horse die while being boarded, with a contract stipulating 30 days notice.
He was only at the barn 3 weeks before he had to be PTS due to a tumor that caused sudden and sever neurological problems.

The BO was fantastic. She did not ask for the next month's board, though I asked about it. She had a small barn, 4 boarders, so I knew each boarder was important to her bottom dollar. I ended up sending my roommate to board with her, since where she had her horse was horrid. 
It ended up well, but I knew she had the legal right to ask for the next month's board. luckily human decency was more important to her.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

verona1016 said:


> Unless otherwise stated, I would assume the horse owner paid for the disposal of her horse's body
> *
> It sounds to me from the posts that the BO is asking for board for all of February, even though the horse died Jan 10th. That's well over 30 days and completely unreasonable*. As it is, January was already pad for, so the BO got 21 days of board paid already when there was no horse to care for.
> 
> ...


This is how I read it from the original post, but since the entire month of February is far out of the 30 day range I just discussed the somewhat more reasonable issue associated with the full 30 days. All heck would break loose if someone tried to tell me that I owed for all of February. 

I do agree... if the BO had all of her stalls filled and interested clients then this wouldn't even be an issue unless she wanted to be a real jerk and have one horse move in while the 30 day notice was still being paid. My logic is that in the average location (one without an excessive number of boarding stables) if your stalls can't reasonably be filled then there is generally something wrong with your arrangement or you're not eagerly looking to get your stalls filled.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

What I've heard happening more and more often is, you pay board on the 1st for the month. On the 15th you find out that you will be moving on the 10th of the next month. So, thinking you're giving 30 days notice, you go to the BO and say, "Here's my 30 day notice, I will be gone on the 10th of next months, but I will pay through the 15th.". And she says, "NO, you will pay for the entire month, that is 30 days notice.". Cheap, underhanded and nasty.


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

^Yup I hear horror stories like that ALL the time. I've even lately been hearing about BO's who will rip up checks and forge legal documentation to start a lawsuit or get extra payment/funds. Despicable. 

When I say I'm leaving in 30 days I mean I'm leaving in 30 days and no, I will not pay you extra just because you can't fill a stall. IMHO a good BO will respect the 30 days notice.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Dreamcatcher Arabians said:


> What I've heard happening more and more often is, you pay board on the 1st for the month. On the 15th you find out that you will be moving on the 10th of the next month. So, thinking you're giving 30 days notice, you go to the BO and say, "Here's my 30 day notice, I will be gone on the 10th of next months, but I will pay through the 15th.". And she says, "NO, you will pay for the entire month, that is 30 days notice.". Cheap, underhanded and nasty.


That's just not ok. 30 days is 30 days whether it's on the first of the month, last, or somewhere in the middle. I don't know what the legalities associated are, but I sure hope the legal definition of 30 days is still 30 days...


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## Rain Shadow (May 1, 2014)

I don't know the whole situation of course since I heard it second hand, and I don't know the horse's owner or the boarding barn, though I have my suspicion over which barn it is. That barn has a reputation for things like this. 

I work part time at a boarding barn in my area, its pretty higher end for my area, mostly western pleasure horses and some halter horses. 


Board is due on the 1st of the month and you must give 30 days. If you say on the 15th you are moving from the barn, you are paying all of the next month. That is pretty common in my area from my understanding. Though we've had horses die on property and the board for that month was all that was expected. 

If its the barn I think it is, I'm not surprised. Not to insult anyone, but the barn is very *******. Barbwire fences, crappy stalls, BO who is famous for skimping on care, to many horses. Very much in it for the money not the horses. 

From what I've heard (It was all over work) the horse's owner is just going to pay and doesn't want to try and fight it.


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## ChristineNJ (Jan 23, 2010)

I would NOT pay the greedy, money grubbing Barn Owner a cent if my horse died in the middle of the month!! As one other person said she already has the rest of the month paid up so why should she get more that that?? She would have to take me to court and I don't think she would win.....especially if she rented the stall out to someone else and was expecting to make double her money. (which someone who would demand payment from a grevieving boarder would probable expect to do)


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## Remali (Jul 22, 2008)

I hope they don't pay that greedy sneaky BO..... like was mentioned, the horse didn't leave, it died. I think if this went to small claims the owner of the horse would win. The BO cannot charge for a horse that is not there.


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## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

Every barn I've been at would have refunded the board for that month and called it square. I've never been at a place where 30 days notice was enforced when a horse died or was sold.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

That is a terrible BO. A ladys horse here colicked and died, rent was due, but I did not charger her. The lady was heartbroken. I packed her stuff in her trunk, copied a poem, and before the carcass hauler got here, cut some of the horses tail hair, washed and braided it, and put it in a bag with the poem, and placed it inside her trunk. Also put a note so that she would always have a little bit of the horse with her.


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## Sunnylucy (Jul 3, 2012)

Stevenson, you are a class act. When you lose a horse, you kind of stop thinking because of grief. You saving part of the tail hair for her will mean a lot to her believe me. Well done.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Rain Shadow said:


> I don't know the whole situation of course since I heard it second hand, and I don't know the horse's owner or the boarding barn, though I have my suspicion over which barn it is. That barn has a reputation for things like this.
> 
> I work part time at a boarding barn in my area, its pretty higher end for my area, mostly western pleasure horses and some halter horses.
> 
> ...


 usually ******* barns as you call it are more lax and wouldn't have a contract I would think.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Will you be getting another horse? IF so, ask if she would carry it over for next horse.


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## Gretchen Kay (Feb 17, 2015)

Oh man, that's horrible! The BO should cut the owner some slack, she just lost her horse! Although it is within her rights, does the BO really need the money that badly?


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## Casey02 (Sep 20, 2011)

> Although it is within her rights, does the BO really need the money that badly?


Shes going to if that's how she treat people:wink:, they may not stay after that :shock:


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

Sunny, thank you. I got the hair idea, from a Vet that did it for me on my Paint mare.
The Vet gave me mane hair, as the mares mane was long enough. I would have used mane hair, but it was to short . 
I don't think you need to be so greedy when you board horses, for one thing, It is not a money making business unless you charge 3 to 4 
X the cost, and you would need to add insurance, mortgage percent, water cost , feed cost, bedding cost, and labor .


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