# Public access?



## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

Move your horse. NOW.

There should be no public access. Privately owned horses are not playthings for anyone and everyone. 

You didn't opt into a petting zoo, and I'd be livid if I found pictures of my horse on someone else's FB, with them hanging all over him/her.

Besides, if your animal hurts someone guess who's responsible? YOU. Oh sure, the BO is as well, but that's not saying the person's attorney won't come after you as the owner.

Your BO sounds like a moron. Get your horse out of there.


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## ChevalBlonde (May 19, 2015)

Speed Racer said:


> Move your horse. NOW.
> 
> There should be no public access. Privately owned horses are not playthings for anyone and everyone.
> 
> ...


Thank you!!! You are just confirming what I was thinking. My stomach is in knots after my coworker showed me the pictures. 80% of the horses belong to her but the small amount of horses that are privately owned have no reason to be included in any of this.


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

To be fair, unless your barn is gated with a passcode or lock, there is always the potential for the "public" to visit.
Of course, it's another thing entirely to (apparently?) welcome and encourage strangers to tour the property unsupervised. If it's something you're uncomfortable with (I don't blame you--I would be too. This is a liability issue waiting to happen!), I'd leave.


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## Overread (Mar 7, 2015)

ChevalBlonde said:


> Thank you!!! You are just confirming what I was thinking. My stomach is in knots after my coworker showed me the pictures. 80% of the horses belong to her but the small amount of horses that are privately owned have no reason to be included in any of this.


Perhaps you could raise the issue with the owner first? It might well be that most who board their horses there have no problems or are unaware or happen to be in stalls/paddocks that are not on the main publicly accessed points so its not been an issue in the past. 

There might well be a work around that means you don't have to move - however it is odd that such practice would take place without you being informed that it is what happens at this place (then again if its publicised enough they might have just assumed you were aware and never thought to question it). 

Otherwise it sounds like you'd be best to move to a spot that isn't as publicly open. 

Certainly if a horse is in a field chances are people will pause and lean over fences/rails/walls/bushes and offer a pat or take photos. Food is another risk though you can sometimes quell that with a simple "please don't feed - on medical diet*". 
That said open public access and "hanging off the horses neck" doesn't sound like safe practice at all (though it sounds like you bought the horse from this place? So chances are the horse is more used to it than you might otherwise presume). 


*medical or some similar terminology makes people pay attention to it.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I wouldn't stay there any longer than I had too
Most barns have got some member of staff on duty all the time so even without locked gates members of the public can't just wander in and out as they feel like it - and that BO is actually encouraging it.
People could be feeding your horse all kinds of rubbish - and then there's the risk of injury and being sued if your horse bites someone


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## MaximasMommy (Sep 21, 2013)

PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING 

all over the place!

That's so scary!!! It's one thing for a barn owner to have their own horses that they do school trips or whatever with, but your horse?! What??!?!? In my barn, it's paying customers, or their closely supervised and well behaved guests only. You don't give another horse treats (unless the owner says its ok to you) or stand there rubbing on them or anything.


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## Horseychick87 (Feb 5, 2014)

Oh heck no! I'd be gone yesterday.

I don't mind people petting 'my' horse(s), but that's only with me around. Luckily though most of the horses that I've been responsible for had a tendency to head-butt strangers if they got too close. Not hard, but hard enough to make them walk away because the horse was ' mean' or ' not fun'.

If the place is great otherwise and you'd like to stay I'd see about adding a grill to the top of the stall door to keep strangers from touching, and maybe a lock that's hard to figure out, but could be opened easily by barn staff in case of emergencies.

If the visitors are getting to your horse while in the pasture/ paddock as well, then that will take some thinking to figure out ways to keep them away from your horse. Unless you could request a paddock off the beaten path so to speak.

All in all though I'd move. I'd also be informing them that they not only open you and themselves up to a lawsuit if your horse injured anyone, but that you could likely sue them as well if your horse were to be injured by one of the strangers because they allowed the public to interact with a horse not belonging to them.

Also go through your boarding contract and see what may be written in there regarding public visitors.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

There was one woman who lived down the rode from my boarding barn who considered the barn her own private park. Every couple of days, she would bring her two toddlers through the barn in a gigantic double jogging stroller because the daughter was "scared of animals," and she would push the little girl toward the (electric) fence to make her "pet the horses." She usually did this in the early morning, when there was just typically one barn assistant there doing stalls, who either didn't notice for awhile or (being a timid teen) didn't want to confront her. 

Well, at one point I happened to change the time I was typically riding- I was riding in the outdoor ring and this monstrous stroller went rolling by, and both my mare and I stared at it wide-eyed. I didn't know if this was someone who had been invited to the barn, so didn't say anything to her, though thought it was a bit sketchy. Happened again the next day, and I did say something to her about the stroller potentially scaring the horses. When I finished that ride, I was back in the barn to untack and she unleashed the kids out of the stroller and told them to run up and pet my horse- at which point, I said (politely)- no way! After that I talked with the BM, who didn't know this was happening. The barn assistant confirmed it had been going on for awhile. 

The next time the woman came to the barn, someone was there to have a talk with her about barn rules. She did eventually bring the kids for an organized pony ride, and stopped her wandering.

It is amazing to me that people have no boundaries. I would not be happy with what the OP's BO is actively encouraging, but I guess my point is that even in a place clearly marked as private property, with signs everywhere saying that "visitors must sign-in at the office," people still have this bizarre entitled approach to the world.


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## Nikkibella (Mar 10, 2012)

MOVE! At any normal boarding facility boarders themselves don't even touch/pet/feed any horses but their own, let alone complete strangers! And these people are going INTO the paddocks with us dangerous for anyone but ESPECIALLY someone who doesn't know horses. 
Absolutely move your horse, like yesterday.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Jerryleejr (May 15, 2015)

I'm currently looking for a boarding facility, and had previously found one close to my house. We went and checked it out no red flags we were allowed to walk around by ourselves and check things out..luckily I was called around looking for a farrier and was given the real scoop on the facility. The exact same thing was happening open to the public unsupervised! Some customers had even found other people riding their horses. Needless to say we are still searching and may have to deal with a further drive for a responsible facility. Good luck.

JJ


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## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

Because a boarding stable is considered a business, many in the general public think that means they are "open for business". The only way casual visiting of that business stops is if someone is there 24/7 to stop it. Many stables that board do not have an on-staff person there to control things so it's up to the barn owner and the boarders to regulate it.

Since you are probably leaving anyway, I would have a straight talk with the barn owners and show them the pictures. If they keep allowing this, someone else will end up owning _all of their assets_ via an injury lawsuit. I've seen it many times and it's becoming more common.

It sounds like these barn owners don't care but at stables that do sometime having a boarder's "membership" agreement helps. Sort of like a private club and _not open to the public_. The boarders can bring guests but can also escort the unwanted right off the property. Potential boarders can contact the BOs for a tour and information by phone.

I'd be horrified and enraged if anyone ever messed around with my horses but where I board that's not going to happen as we all keep an eye out for each other. Hopefully you can find a new place soon!


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Talk to the other boarders regarding the liability of this and present a united front. Have the BO sign full responsibility in the event of an accident, since this is being done without express permission, signed by all boarders. That might just be the wake-up he needs.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Jerryleejr said:


> I'm currently looking for a boarding facility, and had previously found one close to my house. We went and checked it out no red flags we were allowed to walk around by ourselves and check things out..luckily I was called around looking for a farrier and was given the real scoop on the facility. The exact same thing was happening open to the public unsupervised! Some customers had even found other people riding their horses. Needless to say we are still searching and may have to deal with a further drive for a responsible facility. Good luck.
> 
> JJ


Oh but there was a red flag-they let you walk around by yourselves to check things out.


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## Beckie (May 13, 2015)

I would move my horses, you don't need someone trying to hold you responsible if your horse bites or kicks them when they are visiting the facility. We board our horses about 15 miles from home, and unless you are an owner or guest of one of the owners, you are not supposed to be on the property. It's a smaller operation and not a lot of people even know it's out there, but we are a close knit group and watch out for one another's horses as well. I can't imagine someone I didn't know just coming onto the property and messing with my horses, that is beyond dangerous and irresponsible on the part of the stable owner to allow it!


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