# What is your daily barn routine?



## InsaneDino

Schedule (during fall/winter):
6:30 AM- Hay
7:30 AM- Grain
7:45 AM- Turn-out
8:00 AM- Clean personal and full-care stalls
~
5:45 PM- Drop Hay
6:00 PM- Turn-in
9:00 PM- Grain (maybe an additional hay if the boarders request it)
9:15 PM- Check over for stalls needing picked

^ Is that one better? Should grain be THAT far apart from hay?


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## deserthorsewoman

I would, regardless of full, partial or self care, take over the grain and hay feeding. To avoid one horse being fed, the neighbor not.
As for when, with two feedings, 12 hours in between, so 6am and again 6 pm. Hay half an hour before grain. 
After horses are out, clean and bed stalls, get everything ready for evening feeding, leaving hay outside of stalls, so they still have the full ration for the night, even when they come in early due to bad weather. 
Since I'd have my own horses there too, I'd actually feed 3 times, taking above hours, splitting morning feed in half and give second half at noon. For horses outside with grass or hay, only the sweetfeed/grain.
I would do additional cleaning only if horses stay in. 
I also wouldn't feed so late. It's a long day already, no need to make it even longer. If days are shorter, give the bigger portions at night.


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## InsaneDino

deserthorsewoman said:


> I would, regardless of full, partial or self care, take over the grain and hay feeding. To avoid one horse being fed, the neighbor not.
> As for when, with two feedings, 12 hours in between, so 6am and again 6 pm. Hay half an hour before grain.
> After horses are out, clean and bed stalls, get everything ready for evening feeding, leaving hay outside of stalls, so they still have the full ration for the night, even when they come in early due to bad weather.
> Since I'd have my own horses there too, I'd actually feed 3 times, taking above hours, splitting morning feed in half and give second half at noon. For horses outside with grass or hay, only the sweetfeed/grain.
> I would do additional cleaning only if horses stay in.
> I also wouldn't feed so late. It's a long day already, no need to make it even longer. If days are shorter, give the bigger portions at night.


You make great points. And yes, all of the horses are fed by the owner unless somebody wants to feed there horses another flake or something when they go down.
The problem with us being able to feed every 12 hours is we would always go back again at 9:00 to check on our own and give her more grain and hay since she's a quick eater and stirs everything together if she's given too much at one time. I don't know if that would be too much driving, but maybe not.

You say only to clean once? How come? Just because it's easier on us, or is that the typical full-care board thing?


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## Brighteyes

Here's my barn's schedule for a sampling. It's a small, private barn with only 10-12 horses at a time. It's also located in the summer hell that is south Georgia, so our summer schedule has to keep horses out of the heat. Winter weather is lovely 90% of the time, so we keep horses out as much as possible.

Summer:

9:00 am: Horses brought in from pasture and placed in stalls or shaded paddocks. Everyone is given their morning grain meal (for most of them, this is their only meal of the day)

Time passes...

~8:30 pm: Sunset. Horses are put out to pasture for the night. Horses that are fed twice a day are given their afternoon grain.

~9:00 pm: Stalls are cleaned, paddocks picked, everything is reset for the morning.


Winter:

10:00 am: Horses are given their morning grain. 

10:30 am: All horses are turned back out to pasture. Hay baskets are re-filled and eaten from throughout the day. 

Time passes...

5:30 pm: Horses are given their afternoon grain and turned back out. If weather is especially bad, old horses and clipped horses are blanketed. Hay is spread for the night.


It's not rocket science, but it works for us.


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## InsaneDino

Brighteyes said:


> Here's my barn's schedule for a sampling. It's a small, private barn with only 10-12 horses at a time. It's also located in the summer hell that is south Georgia, so our summer schedule has to keep horses out of the heat. Winter weather is lovely 90% of the time, so we keep horses out as much as possible.
> 
> Summer:
> 
> 9:00 am: Horses brought in from pasture and placed in stalls or shaded paddocks. Everyone is given their morning grain meal (for most of them, this is their only meal of the day)
> 
> Time passes...
> 
> ~8:30 pm: Sunset. Horses are put out to pasture for the night. Horses that are fed twice a day are given their afternoon grain.
> 
> ~9:00 pm: Stalls are cleaned, paddocks picked, everything is reset for the morning.
> 
> 
> Winter:
> 
> 10:00 am: Horses are given their morning grain.
> 
> 10:30 am: All horses are turned back out to pasture. Hay baskets are re-filled and eaten from throughout the day.
> 
> Time passes...
> 
> 5:30 pm: Horses are given their afternoon grain and turned back out. If weather is especially bad, old horses and clipped horses are blanketed. Hay is spread for the night.
> 
> 
> It's not rocket science, but it works for us.


You make this seem so simple and quick! Sounds like you also have a lot of free time to ride or actually not have to be around the barn.


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## deserthorsewoman

At the beginning you will enjoy being at the barn all day, do a little here, have a chat, and so on. It will change, trust me
You will want to do things with your horse, watch somebody ride, do shopping, be there for hay delivery, etc etc etc. 
As brighteyes said, weather dictates your schedule to a certain extend too.
And if horses are outside all day, come in, eat the grain, most likely there wont be more than one poop anyway. 
Don't know what outside arrangements you have, but pasture in winter is not very nutritious, so you might want to feed the morning hay outside so they don't run on empty all day (ulcers).
Oh, and train your boarders to clean up after themselves, to not have a horse in the isle during feeding. Makes your life easier and is not too much asked.


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## Brighteyes

InsaneDino said:


> You make this seem so simple and quick! Sounds like you also have a lot of free time to ride or actually not have to be around the barn.


Oh yes! It's the best part of the arrangement. I make good use of all the extra time. I teach riding lessons three days a week, and the rest of the week is free for my personal riding OR relaxing at home during mid day.


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## JustWingIt

I work at my boarding barn all day Saturday and this is how our schedule goes, at least on Saturdays:
As it is partially a training barn the number of horse there changes frequently, for that reason I don't have specific times written but generally we finish up morning chores by 1130 and start evening chores at 4, ending around 630 (not nearly as many stalls to pick out!)
Start at 7AM
- grain inside/outside horse + administer any meds
- hay horses staying inside
- put hay in paddocks with no grass for horses going out 
- turn out horses + check automatic waterers
- pick out all dirty stalls
- sweep
- regrain for evening feeding 
Start at 4 PM 
- bring horses in + check automatic waterers
- grain inside/outside + administer any meds
- hay all horses staying in for the night
- pick out any stalls that need it
- sweep
- regrain for AM feed
- put the gator in the indoor for the night....if the last person the use it does not do this they are shunned (jokingly) for a few days, trying to wipe frost off of a gator at 715 in the morning is not very fun 

And then around 11 the barn manager (who lives at the barn) does night check and gives a few horses more hay. 

My advice is to first just figure out everything that needs to be done and then find a system that works for you (and your boarders) there is no specific "right" way to do it, just the way the gets everything done most efficiently.

Hope this helps 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## InsaneDino

deserthorsewoman said:


> At the beginning you will enjoy being at the barn all day, do a little here, have a chat, and so on. It will change, trust me
> You will want to do things with your horse, watch somebody ride, do shopping, be there for hay delivery, etc etc etc.
> As brighteyes said, weather dictates your schedule to a certain extend too.
> And if horses are outside all day, come in, eat the grain, most likely there wont be more than one poop anyway.
> Don't know what outside arrangements you have, but pasture in winter is not very nutritious, so you might want to feed the morning hay outside so they don't run on empty all day (ulcers).
> Oh, and train your boarders to clean up after themselves, to not have a horse in the isle during feeding. Makes your life easier and is not too much asked.


I have worked at a barn for a few years before every day for about three hours (PM duty). I never once got tired of it. I find it so relaxing to put on some music, pick out some stalls, round up the horses, and listen to them munch away at their food. They make the food sound so good, I swear.

Oh gosh. Messy boarders are the worst. It's difficult though when they're paying customers, though. In this economy, you're lucky to have any type of boarder.

Edit: Oh yeah! I forgot, I'll occasionally throw out a few flakes for my horse and two others when they're pacing around and obviously showing signs of agitation and hunger. Usually, they still can find some pieces of grass, so they're typically content for the most part. I know it won't stay that way when the snow starts coming down...


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## InsaneDino

JustWingIt said:


> I work at my boarding barn all day Saturday and this is how our schedule goes, at least on Saturdays:
> As it is partially a training barn the number of horse there changes frequently, for that reason I don't have specific times written but generally we finish up morning chores by 1130 and start evening chores at 4, ending around 630 (not nearly as many stalls to pick out!)
> Start at 7AM
> - grain inside/outside horse + administer any meds
> - hay horses staying inside
> - put hay in paddocks with no grass for horses going out
> - turn out horses + check automatic waterers
> - pick out all dirty stalls
> - sweep
> - regrain for evening feeding
> Start at 4 PM
> - bring horses in + check automatic waterers
> - grain inside/outside + administer any meds
> - hay all horses staying in for the night
> - pick out any stalls that need it
> - sweep
> - regrain for AM feed
> - put the gator in the indoor for the night....if the last person the use it does not do this they are shunned (jokingly) for a few days, trying to wipe frost off of a gator at 715 in the morning is not very fun
> 
> And then around 11 the barn manager (who lives at the barn) does night check and gives a few horses more hay.
> 
> My advice is to first just figure out everything that needs to be done and then find a system that works for you (and your boarders) there is no specific "right" way to do it, just the way the gets everything done most efficiently.
> 
> Hope this helps
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


It did help! I feel bad for the person who gets shunned the next day though, ;D.

The only downside is that we don't live right on the property. It's within a minute or two drive, but I can't be driving back and forth all day to feed, clean, and just check on the horses. I'm trying to think of having a routine so I can go in the morning to feed, let out and clean, in the evening to bring them in a feed, then come back right before bed to pick any remaining dirty stalls. :/


** Does anybody here do full-care boarding? If so, how many times are the stalls picked daily?


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## BlooBabe

I don't know where you're located I have 4 seasons and my schedule is usually this all year round.
*Full board:*
AM
7:00-hay
7:30-grain
8:00-turn out
9:00-stalls/paddocks cleaned, buckets cleaned and refilled

Noon-ish Lunch hay and grain

PM
7:00- turn in with hay
7:30-grain
8:30-final check, set up for morning, and lock up for night

*Semi-full:* (Owner supplies feed and hay as well as cleans)
AM
7:00-hay
7:30-grain
8:00-turn out

Noon feeding of hay 
*grain only if owner has requested although it is recommended 

PM
7:00- turn in with hay
7:30-grain
8:30-final check, set up for morning, and lock up for night

The owner has until 7 to clean the stall, paddock, and buckets before I do it and add a cleaning fee to their monthly board unless I've been notified they will be late or they've asked me in advanced to clean for them.


*Rough:*
The owner does everything and supplies everything 
I drop morning hay and do the noon time feeding of hay and grain if they want their horse to have grain. I'll only feed the lunch grain if it's been set up for the horse.
If I have to do their work they are charged for it unless I've been notified before hand that they are/will be running late or they've asked me to do it in advanced.


I only clean once a day. Some horses don't like people in their stalls picking it if they're in it so it's safer, less stress, and easier to do without the horse in it, that's why I only do it once a day.
I also blanket in the winter if the horse gets blanketed for all the full and semi full boarded horses as long as a blanket is supplied to me. 
I pre-make all the buckets and separate each horse's hay for the next day before closing up the barn. 
The horses in the in and outs have the same feeding and cleaning but aren't ever closed into their stalls unless an owner asks me to do so or does it themselves.
As long as I have notice then the boarders on semi-full and rough aren't charged for any work I do
There are cameras on premises that the owner keeps an eye on but before we had cameras he'd do night check around 11 before locking down for the night

And that's a day in the life at the barn I run.


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## Joe4d

sometime in the morning or evening, or therabouts, walk outside Holler SUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !, chickens, goats, horses and what not come running, throw some feed in the feed bowls, get a scoop of corn sling it out the door for the chickens, drop a bit in the goats bowl, put stuff away, pick up piece of firewood throw at the goat who's punking out the horse and taking her food. Go back in barn, get eggs, Yell at goat again. Smack lard butt AKA Miss Emma for trying to eat General Beauregard's food, put some hay in the feeders, throw a couple piles out here and there. Tell chickens if I dont have eggs for breakfast I'll have chicken for dinner. Pretty much it.


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## ThatDraftGirl

I'm really surprised by the hours kept by some barns...
We feed at 6am with a flake of hay/grain then turnout with hay for the day, or on grass. (I feed my horse myself, as soon as his grain/hay is gone I put him out)
Clean throughout the day (we all clean our own horses stalls)
I bring him in at 4pm with a flake of hay or we work (in the winter because it's dark by 430pm)
I then feed him his dinner at 6pm and he gets a hay ration for the night. 
If the weather is nice, he gets turned back out after eating his dinner and gets a hay ration for the night. 
I do not like him being left all night without hay or grass. Horses are designed to eat several small meals a day, I try to give him roughage 24/7, to mimic natural grazing, whether he's on pasture in the summer or gets hay in the winter. 
Someday I'll get him home and I can really do things the way I prefer them done.


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## Maverick101

I do full care. And here is my routine (for most part of course weather/seasons make a bit of difference)...

630am Horses grained
(While horses eating, I blanket and toss hay out in paddocks)
7am Start turnout (have turnout done by 745ish)

Now for me at this time I head home have some coffee, get kids organized for school. Then return to barn around 845 to clean stalls.

845am clean barn (each stall cleaning includes.. dump/clean water buckets, remove feed tubs place in feed room, toss 3-4 flakes hay in stall for turn-in)
I'm usually fully done barn by 11am.
I then toss more hay to horses outside if needed....

Around 130pm evening feed is made up into feed tubs, as is their am feed (I have smaller pails I put their am feed into which is set aside so in am can just come in and toss into main feed into tub that's already in stall from prior eveing feed)...

330pm Place feed tubs into stalls 
4pm turnin horses
After they're in Barn check feed is made up at this time and set aside. Staff generally leave at this time.

Boarders who are in barn during evenings will toss hay to horses as needed. 

10pm. Will return to do Barn check. Horses are hayed, watered and grained at this time.
Barn locked down for night.

I don't pick my stalls I find there is no need. If the horses do come in earlier or have been in due to injury, weather etc, then I would pick them through out day, or at Barn check time. But its not like we have a set time to re pick stalls.

I find our system to work well its effecient yet simple.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## katdressagegirl

I don't a barn or anything but I've worked at this one barn for about 6 years or so.

It's full-care with 14 horses

Schedule:

Horses get fed @ 6. 

When they are done, they are turned out with any coats that they might need and a bale a hay per paddock. 

We take all the water buckets out of stalls to be cleaned and do the outside water. 

From the time they are turned out, usually 7ish, we clean all the stalls. Then put in hay, do water, and do grain. 

Around noon, in the winter, they get some lunch hay.

They all come in at dark, whenever that is and they get their supper. 

Pretty easy


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## Smokum

My friend boarded at a self boarding barn, They had a nifty way to handle self board.
All the boarders who had horses near their stalls & a few friends would get together and take care of each other. Maybe a group of 3 to 5ppl.
Each person would come on a scheduled day they each set for themselves and do all the chores to their set group. So if they had 4 people in the group they only cared for those horses and their needs at the barn
It was very helpful to each self boarder in the barn that had to work weird hours and the some people who wanted self board but could only make it to the barn early mornings or late nights even afternoons, so it would help them in the rotation. 


You can still go on vacation this way too, its very helpful. These people all boarded at this farm for many years together and its been their method since day one and they love it. 
This is a large boarding farm. Half full care.
Full care was taken care of by the manager or owner of the farm and everyone was happy.

This was a method I seen that worked out maybe it could help anyone here with self care


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## stevenson

6 am feed hay / supplements. toss hay in all feeders, go back and do the supps. 
5 pm feed hay/ repeat with supps.
at some point in between pens get cleaned, water troughs cleaned and filled as needed. Errands run etc.


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## caseymyhorserocks

Çurrently my schedule is something like this -
8:00 am - fill waters and fillup hay nets (they get free choice grass hay in small mesh hay nets) 
7:00 pm - fill waters and fill up hay nets, give alfalfa snack. Feed grain. Clean run if time, if not then clean it the nextday.

Depending on mine and others schedules, I may turn them out in a grass pasture for 3 or so hours. Typically happens 3 days a week, but they are in a 100x60 paddock, both my two. When the barn is finished (this weekend!!!) they will go inside their stalls in bad weather.


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## natisha

I only offer full care board. I feed hay every 6 around the clock, grain before turnout & when they come in.
Outside hay is in feeders & inside hay is in nibble nets.
Horses are in from dusk to dawn depending on weather & ice. Stalls are cleaned after AM turnout & picked during the day if they are stuck inside.
If kept in due to weather they get indoor arena playtime with a friend for a few hours each.


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## Delfina

I have my horse boarded and I usually do the evening feed but depending on the day, I'll often do it all.

Early morning...
Everyone goes to turnout
Hay, fresh water and grain to those who need it (only a couple)

Late evening...
Clean stalls
Wash/refill water buckets
Hay to everyone
Grain, supplements and soaked beet pulp to everyone

If everyone stays in for whatever reason, whomever does the morning feed picks the stalls after feeding. 

Then at my place.....
Early morning, open the chicken and turkey coops
Throw corn to chickens
Check their food/water
Collect eggs

Check cow's auto-waterer and clean if needed
Feed orphan calf his grain
Throw hay if butt cold or snowy

Feed goats if butt cold or snowy

Right now the cows are gone (had to send away for Winter due to drought wreaking havoc with my pastures) so it's easier.

At night we count all the chickens and close them up in coops. Have to put errant hens back int he right coop half the time, they're always convinced the wrong coop looks nicer (until they get wailed upon by another chicken!).


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## gottatrot

I wonder why you want to do self-care? Just curious. If your barn will be full with full-care boarders, then it seems more beneficial for you to do full care. Barns around here are full with a waiting list even if they only offer full care.

As a full care boarder, my perspective of being in a barn with self-care boarders is that I would rather not. What I found was: the barn would smell and/or have flies in the day because the self-care boarders may clean their stalls at night instead of morning. Some owners would have "emergencies" or work late and not clean their stalls for more than a day. Some horses would not get turned out if the owners were responsible for this task.

Some horses would not get fed in a timely manner and would be frantic in their stalls listening to the other horses get fed (someone already suggested not including this in your self care option).

I know there are many responsible owners who take impeccable care of their horses and want to save money by doing self-care. Yet there are many very poor horse owners who do self-care because they don't want to spend money on their horses. At least if an owner is negligent, in full care boarding the horse is cared for.


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## ThatDraftGirl

gottatrot said:


> I wonder why you want to do self-care? Just curious. If your barn will be full with full-care boarders, then it seems more beneficial for you to do full care. Barns around here are full with a waiting list even if they only offer full care.
> 
> As a full care boarder, my perspective of being in a barn with self-care boarders is that I would rather not. What I found was: the barn would smell and/or have flies in the day because the self-care boarders may clean their stalls at night instead of morning. Some owners would have "emergencies" or work late and not clean their stalls for more than a day. Some horses would not get turned out if the owners were responsible for this task.
> 
> Some horses would not get fed in a timely manner and would be frantic in their stalls listening to the other horses get fed (someone already suggested not including this in your self care option).
> 
> I know there are many responsible owners who take impeccable care of their horses and want to save money by doing self-care. Yet there are many very poor horse owners who do self-care because they don't want to spend money on their horses. At least if an owner is negligent, in full care boarding the horse is cared for.


 
I do selfcare because I would MUCH rather take care of my horse MYSELF than have the BO or other boarders touching/feeding/handling my horse!He's MY horse and MY responsibility. I don't have the facilities to keep him at home or I would. I want to see him EVERYDAY, more than once a day to make sure he is healthy and happy. I know too many people who own a horse and board them ina full care facility, just to only see it a few days a week when they feel like riding or having a lesson, they aren't involved in the horse's care. I PERSONALLY think that horse ownership is an involved task, and I want to be there. I work the vet and farrier appointments around my work schedule. I clean his stall everyday and pick his turnout everyday. Why would I let the barn owner or stable help take care of my horse for me? That seems lazy to me. I understand some people have to work and have weird hours, but if you can't care for your horse yourself I personally think you should stick to lessons or leasing, not owning. That way you still have your "horsie time"...


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## deserthorsewoman

I was the one saying the BO should do the feeding. I had self care boarders, and if they were there at feeding and cleaning time they did their stalls and fed their horses etc. But half the time they weren't, started cleaning and bedding when everything else was done, were using either too much or not enough straw, would not clean well enough so the stalls were messy and smelly, and wouldn't sweep their part of the isle clean enough. So I tried to beat them to it to avoid having to do it twice. I gave them other things to do to make up for it. 
I had a dust sensitive horse in the barn, and to keep her from coughing it was important to reduce dusty jobs to a minimum. 
They cleaned their turnout, but couldn't make it every day, so I did it for them, otherwise their turnout would have been really messy, since one of their horses pooped ONLY around the hayfeeder. 
So, it depends.....
"Mine" were quite happy with that arrangement, and enjoyed helping me take care of all the horses when they were there.


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## gottatrot

ThatDraftGirl said:


> Why would I let the barn owner or stable help take care of my horse for me? That seems lazy to me. I understand some people have to work and have weird hours, but if you can't care for your horse yourself I personally think you should stick to lessons or leasing, not owning. That way you still have your "horsie time"...


Well, I guess I meant more why the barn owner would want to have self care boarders if she could fill her barn with full care ones, meaning she may prevent some potential issues caused by self care boarders.

Obviously, many self care boarders are responsible and I've done it myself too. Yet would still choose to be surrounded by horses that are in full care since then the barn is a nicer environment, unless of course there are strict rules in place (have not seen that situation personally yet).

It's not necessarily lazy to need full care. Say you are a paramedic and work 48 hrs. straight, then have 5 days off. You will have plenty of time to spend with your horse, but on those two days can't do the care yourself. That doesn't mean you should only lease or take lessons, or that you don't want to spend lots of time with your horse. Instead, your horse may be getting really good care because you have a good career that can pay for all the horse's needs.

Just another perspective.


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## Annanoel

Okay, we're a full care barn. I'm there everyday for chores and board my horse there, although I practically live there. (Dating the BO's son will do that to you - lol) I spend extra time with my boy every morning and night as well, it is nice to bond and just relax.

4AM - 
- Horses are let in from the pasture into individual stalls, they all know their place which is nice. They recieve grain and hay. 
-The babies and two year old from side pasture are led over into their stalls as well.
- Goats, pig, chickens, dog and barn cat are fed.
- Water heaters (all) and heat lamps for the chickens are checked.
-Baby paddock and big stall is cleaned for them, it's always a mess!
-Pasture is checked if time allows, the farm tends to "grow" weird things. It's an old cattle farm and some crazy stuff comes up.

5-6AM, depending on other chores
-Horses are let out and checked over
-Blankets or anything necessary is put on at this time to.
-Stalls are cleaned, picked and re-bedded if necessary (we have one horse who rips up the rubber stalls mats, and pees over everything. I mean every mat is moved and some are becoming ripped. These are heavy, rubber mats! She's a mare, anyone have any suggestions for this? It's EVERY day.) 
-Wheelbarrows emptied, water tank refilled
-Grain and hay is set for PM feeding

_Work, college, what ever makes up the middle of the day. (The part we all love..)_

5PM
-Horses let in again and same procedure as morning follows
-Hoses are drained at night so they don't freeze
-Chickens closed in and goats/pig are bedded down for the night
-Arena is closed up 
-Any work we needed to get done is done in the dark, it gets dark around 4:30PM here

I think that's everything!


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## AlexS

InsaneDino said:


> ** Does anybody here do full-care boarding? If so, how many times are the stalls picked daily?


Everywhere I have boarded, the stalls are picked once a day unless there is a horse being kept in for some reason - then it's done twice a day.


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## dixieray53

ThatDraftGirl said:


> I'm really surprised by the hours kept by some barns... We feed at 6am with a flake of hay/grain then turnout with hay for the day, or on grass. (I feed my horse myself, as soon as his grain/hay is gone I put him out) Clean throughout the day (we all clean our own horses stalls) I bring him in at 4pm with a flake of hay or we work (in the winter because it's dark by 430pm) I then feed him his dinner at 6pm and he gets a hay ration for the night. If the weather is nice, he gets turned back out after eating his dinner and gets a hay ration for the night.
> I do not like him being left all night without hay or grass. Horses are designed to eat several small meals a day, I try to give him roughage 24/7, to mimic natural grazing, whether he's on pasture in the summer or gets hay in the winter. Someday I'll get him home and I can really do things the way I prefer them done.


This is pretty much our schedule... 7am feed and hay 8am turn out in pasture ( hay every 2 hours in winter)... Stalls and barn work, riding and lessons during the day... At 7pm hay and grain... Horses put up for the night... Start all over in the morning. 3 owned horses 1 boarder.


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## frizzy

ThatDraftGirl said:


> I do selfcare because I would MUCH rather take care of my horse MYSELF than have the BO or other boarders touching/feeding/handling my horse!He's MY horse and MY responsibility. I don't have the facilities to keep him at home or I would. I want to see him EVERYDAY, more than once a day to make sure he is healthy and happy. I know too many people who own a horse and board them ina full care facility, just to only see it a few days a week when they feel like riding or having a lesson, they aren't involved in the horse's care. I PERSONALLY think that horse ownership is an involved task, and I want to be there. I work the vet and farrier appointments around my work schedule. I clean his stall everyday and pick his turnout everyday. Why would I let the barn owner or stable help take care of my horse for me? That seems lazy to me. I understand some people have to work and have weird hours, but if you can't care for your horse yourself I personally think you should stick to lessons or leasing, not owning. That way you still have your "horsie time"...


Totally agree with u


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## Nightside

Mine isn't anything fancy since it is just my animals and we are on the property but here goes. I usually get up and around between 7 and 9 am.

Feed the chickens
Feed the dogs, grab water bucket
Get feed for the horses, go back, get more feed for ponies/goats/pig and fill up a bucket of hay.
Give hay to the ponies/goats, start hauling buckets of water over fence for horses. Do the same for dogs.
Give ponies grain when I need a break, sit with them and make them eat near me.
Finish getting water, check on cows.
Top off dogs food bowls and give meat scraps.
Let momma dog and chow puppy outside to play.
Bring them in, clean momma dogs pen/check puppies.

I usually go out again in the afternoon to make sure the ponies still have hay and give them a little feed with some oil.

At around 5 I take my daughter out to run around the pasture and burn energy, and feed carrots to the critters. 

And that's all there is to it. Morning takes me about an hour and a half/two hours depending on how many need water. Whew!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## InsaneDino

gottatrot said:


> I wonder why you want to do self-care? Just curious. If your barn will be full with full-care boarders, then it seems more beneficial for you to do full care. Barns around here are full with a waiting list even if they only offer full care.
> 
> As a full care boarder, my perspective of being in a barn with self-care boarders is that I would rather not. What I found was: the barn would smell and/or have flies in the day because the self-care boarders may clean their stalls at night instead of morning. Some owners would have "emergencies" or work late and not clean their stalls for more than a day. Some horses would not get turned out if the owners were responsible for this task.
> 
> Some horses would not get fed in a timely manner and would be frantic in their stalls listening to the other horses get fed (someone already suggested not including this in your self care option).
> 
> I know there are many responsible owners who take impeccable care of their horses and want to save money by doing self-care. Yet there are many very poor horse owners who do self-care because they don't want to spend money on their horses. At least if an owner is negligent, in full care boarding the horse is cared for.


I would never do full care board. My horse doesn't like the current barn owner. She got a really serious leg injury from being so scared of him. Granted, she's a rescue horse who was abused by several men of a "burly" type. Whenever she sees men that look like that, she gets really panicky if he does anything more than just walking by, maybe saying a few words, and opening the gate for them to come in. I wouldn't trust my horse in the hands of too many people. Full-care barns typically have lots of workers and often student employees. My horse is one meant more for experienced handlers and people who can understand her unique situation. I'd much rather save her's and the workers' health and do it myself.

Another reason is that I'm always at the barn. I sometimes go first thing in the morning before school, 3:00-5:00 after school, and again 9:00-10:00 during the winter. I trust that my hay and grain is of the quality and quantity I want her to have. There have been times the barn owner has forgotten to feed my horse. Thankfully, I noticed and gave her some when I came to the barn. Another reason is that the water is always dumped, scrubbed clean, and refilled straight from the spout. The barn owner fills the buckets with pre-set out buckets of water from a day or two before. The barn is a conjoined arena, so the dust is always being stirred up and getting in the water buckets set out.

Another reason is most full-care barns around here aren't cleaned well. No offense to the owners, but they have fourty-some horses, and the boarders are lucky the stalls get cleaned to a reasonable quality. I don't want my horse getting thrush, thank you very much.

The last reason is... it's cheaper. Full care board around here can go over $550/month. Why should I pay that much if I'm still going to go down and do everything myself anyway?

I prefer to know that my horse is taken care of. I know she also appreciates me coming and seeing her every day for at least a few hours. A horse can't be trained unless you put the time and effort into it. With a rescue or fresh horse, just being around them is training.


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## caseymyhorserocks

Ok since the stalls are done.. schedule redoe. 
7:00 AM: [good weather] Plop a 6 pounds of Alfalfa hay in wheelbarrow and fill up hay net with grass hay and put in wheelbarrow and spread out/hang in dry-lot. Turn out horses when done.[bad weather] Feed 3 pounds of Alfalfa hay each, fill up hay nets with grass hay. Clean stalls.
5:00 PM: Clean stalls, dry-lot if time. Fill up hay nets with grass hay, soak feed (beet pulp and rice bran pellets). Fill up waters. 
5:40 PM: Bring horses in. Hoof-pick and if time, brush. 
9:00 PM: Give 3 pounds of Alfalfa each, fill hay nets if needed. Quick clean of stalls if time. 

Horses get as much grass hay as they can eat. Alfalfa is fed on the ground. If I have a lesson I move my schedule around for the lesson.


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