# How to handle a disgruntled boarder



## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

I have a small five stall boarding barn with just my three horses and one boarder in it currently. shes on dry board for 250/month. on dry board i do the am feeding, but the owner is responsible for mucking the stall and pm feeding. we have automatic waterers so thats no issue. my boarder was pregnant and during her third trimester mucking and feeding became too much for her so i agreed to turn her horse out on our pasture and do her pm feed for her until after she had the baby. i didnt charge her any extra, as i have a one year old and clearly remember how hard pregnancy can be. she also hasnt had to buy hay because i keep a round bale on the pasture at all times for my horses. she all she was paying for was dry board, and her feed. i have basically been giving her partial/full board benefits at dry board cost. 

she had her baby two months ago. her horse is still on pasture (so no stall mucking), she still hasnt had to pay for hay, and is only being charged for dry board. so its been four months of me taking care of her horse and her only coming out or sending someone out once a month to buy her horses grain. her horse is the low man on the totem pole out of four horses. when we put a new round bale out, hes the last one to be allowed up to it. even my 12h pony bosses him around. recently i began to notice her horse losing a bit of weight. he also hasnt had his feet done in the six months hes been at my barn. i took his shoes off at he request, and trimmed them once, but he has a bad pigeon toe, and extremely under run heels and im not experienced enough to fix his issues. hes also due to have his teeth done. (so are mine, but we cant agree on a date to have the dentist out) we agreed to up his grain and i offered her the rest of a weight gain supplement i had tried for my paint gelding. the supplement was 3/4 full, and i wasnt using it, so ive been giving it to her for free. shes told me at least six times that shes scheduled to have a farrier out, but one hasnt shown up yet.

after four months of free hay, a month of free supplements, partial board benefits at dry board costs, my boarder is now upset that her horse is needing weight put on. i feel like ive bent over backwards for the last four month to help her during her pregnancy and her time with her newborn. shes spent no time with her horse, and neglected his basic needs. ive picked up the lack where i could, but where does my responsibility stop and hers start? does she have a right to be upset? am i somehow at fault here?


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Personally, I would put her on notice that the board will have to increase if she cannot hold up her end. I would also let her know that if she does not have his feet done (and teeth if you want) by XX date-you will have them done and charge her, plus a charge her for holding the horse. She also needs to know, if she doesn't already, that his weight loss is not your doing, but he is low man, as you said, and you are doing all you can do. If she doesn't like it, she can leave. You are being way too nice, IMO, and need to be a good business woman. I am hoping you have a boarding agreement in writing?


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

It sounds like you need to put out another bale so they all can eat. Raise the board and make sure her horse gets enough to eat. Get a check in advance for the farrier and vet and have her horse taken care of.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

IMO, if the horse was in good flesh before he went out to pasture, he needs to be brought back to weight however you need to do it. If that means putting him in the stall to eat so he gets his full share, then that's what needs to happen. Or put out another round bale far enough away that he can eat and not be run off. 

What you have described, sounds to me, a lower level of care than what she was getting before. You gave him AM feed, she picked out and gave PM feed and now, he's out on pasture with no feed or am I misunderstanding what you're doing? For $250/month out on pasture, no stall, no separation at graining time, he can't help but lose weight. I think the $250/month is a fair price but for that, her horse should be able to eat the hay whenever he wants. 

As someone who has boarded other people's horses, one thing I never allowed was for a horse to be bullied into losing weight. So either tell her she now needs to resume your former arrangement and pick up her slack, or raise her rates to full board. I would make sure he gets feed extra separate from the others so he stands a chance at gaining his weight back. As for teeth & feet, I would schedule it, tell her how much she needs to give you a check for and I'd bill holding time on her board bill. This is a prime example of why I never allowed partial or self care when I took in boarders. It's just too frustrating when they don't do what they should for their horses.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

You were nice...she is now taking advantage. If you verbally mention changes, follow up with it in writing. Date all changes and charges and give her a deadline for payment. People often rebel when the free ride comes to an end and you will probably end up being the bad guy. 
In the meantime make sure the horse is getting enough to eat. Not his fault.
Sure do hope all goes well for you.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

He's still getting grain am and pm. He's brought into his stall to eat his grain. And we recently upped his grain to help him put on a little weight and added a weight gain supplement that I'm supplying free of charge. I told her that she could supply more hay and I'd be happy to bring him in to his stall to eat his fill, but I can't provide all of his hay for free. I provide the round bale free of charge already.


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## MajorSealstheDeal (Jan 4, 2011)

AnalisaParalyzer said:


> He's still getting grain am and pm. He's brought into his stall to eat his grain. And we recently upped his grain to help him put on a little weight and added a weight gain supplement that I'm supplying free of charge. I told her that she could supply more hay and I'd be happy to bring him in to his stall to eat his fill, but I can't provide all of his hay for free. I provide the round bale free of charge already.


Do you really provide the round bale free of charge? Isn't that covered in the boarding cost? I've boarded for over ten years, and unless it's advertised that the boarder must supply their own hay, its factored into the monthly rate. 

I also would never expect my BO to supply any kind of grain or supplement, that's my department. I pay extra for BO to feed the grain if I can't do it myself. This is kind of a twisted situation where the lines have gotten all blurred. I'd be straightening that out if I were you. 

If I were the boarder I'd also be a little confused as to what exactly the $250 included, is it just the pasture? Does it include hay? You make it seem like it includes some hay, but not all. I agree with what another poster who said that you need to put another round bale out, a horse shouldn't be bullied into being skinny.

My mare was in a situation last fall where she dropped a lot of weight due to the same circumstances, (and I pay the same as your boarder). My mare was put into a pasture with fewer horses so she could pack on the pounds. I went out every day to give her extra grain, but I didn't have to pay for the change of pasture. I think that was the right call for my barn owner.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

Dry board at my place the owner provides feed AND hay. Before going out to the big pasture he was in a smaller pasture without a round bale on it, and got his hay twice a day in his stall. So the round bale is not included in her board. But I haven't been charging her for her share of the round bale, I've just been charging her the regular dry board price. If I was charging her for the round bale (they're 130 from our local feed store) her board price would have gone up to around 290.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

Then you either need to put her back on the original agreement, raise the rate and provide a 2nd round bale for them, or put her on full care whatever that rate is. Again, this is exactly why I don't allow self care, dry board or whatever you want to call it. What do you do if the boarder just stops supplying food for the animal? You have no place to go. 

What you can't ethically do is let the horse be bullied into starving. You have to feed him one way or another, so figure it out quickly and let her know what it's going to be, IN WRITING.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

I'm going to speak with her tomorrow about what she wants to do with him. She can either go back to our original agreement, start providing hay for him, or pay for a new full service agreement . Either way, the horse will be feed back into a proper weight. Thank you all for your advice.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

AnalisaParalyzer said:


> Dry board at my place the owner provides feed AND hay. Before going out to the big pasture he was in a smaller pasture without a round bale on it, and got his hay twice a day in his stall. So the round bale is not included in her board. But I haven't been charging her for her share of the round bale, I've just been charging her the regular dry board price. If I was charging her for the round bale (they're 130 from our local feed store) her board price would have gone up to around 290.


So I assume she has hay at your place you could be feeding it? Put it in the smaller pasture with her hay.


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## paintedpastures (Jun 21, 2011)

This board thing is a bit confusing,dry board part board whatever the different terms...I've seen mentioned before on forum not only this post but others:icon_rolleyes: Guess something just haven't seen around here so hard to see why people do it:wink:... leads to situations like this IMO 

All I've seen is: you have choice of different price/board option of either inside board{with turnout},outside board {smaller paddocks} or outside pasture board BO supplies hay/pasture,does turnout of horses, mucks stalls & monitors horses well being. Grain supplements are generally owners responsibility to supply.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

First, you need to charge your boarder for services rendered. If she needs full care service temporarily due to pregnancy, then charge her for full care until she's able to handle partial care again. IME people are rarely grateful for 'extras' but come to expect them, so get very upset when they get taken away again.

Second, she has every right to be unhappy if her horse is losing weight in his current situation. The 'hay is not included' policy went out the window when you put the horse into the same pasture as yours with a round bale. If you expect her to provide her own hay, then you need to enforce this policy by making sure she is buying hay and that the horse should be fed his own hay alone, either in his stall or in his own paddock/pasture. You could also charge her 1/4 the cost of each round bale, but this becomes a sticky situation when the horse is low dominance and probably isn't getting his full share.

As for dental work, don't delay your own horses' teeth to wait for her. Schedule a day that works for you, inform her of when that is, and leave it up to her whether she wants to save on the farm call fee and do it the same day or have to pay the full farm call fee herself whenever she does get it done.

The lack of farrier care is probably the biggest issue I see from her side. How bad do the feet look? Do you have a written contract that calls out the owner's responsibility to provide reasonable and customary care to the horse or risk being kicked out? Do you think you would get your money back if you arranged for the horse's farrier care and then billed her? The answers to these questions affect how I'd move forward in your position...

Ultimately, all the "free" services/hay/etc are worthless if the horse isn't thriving. So, charge for what you're giving, and if you expect the horse's owner to do something, enforce it. It's up to you to be the horse's advocate while its under your care; if you try and can't get the owner to live up to her part of the deal then tell her to find a new place to board.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

churumbeque said:


> So I assume she has hay at your place you could be feeding it? Put it in the smaller pasture with her hay.


she doesnt have any hay out there for him. the only hay out there currently is the hay ive been providing. she hasnt provided any hay for the past four months.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

AnalisaParalyzer said:


> she doesnt have any hay out there for him. the only hay out there currently is the hay ive been providing. she hasnt provided any hay for the past four months.


How did she feed him previously? Seems like you should have handled this differently 4 months ago. I can see helping her feed but she should have been made aware immediately that hay was needed when she ran out or you would supply for such and such amount.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

verona1016 said:


> The lack of farrier care is probably the biggest issue I see from her side. How bad do the feet look? Do you have a written contract that calls out the owner's responsibility to provide reasonable and customary care to the horse or risk being kicked out? Do you think you would get your money back if you arranged for the horse's farrier care and then billed her? The answers to these questions affect how I'd move forward in your position...
> 
> Ultimately, all the "free" services/hay/etc are worthless if the horse isn't thriving. So, charge for what you're giving, and if you expect the horse's owner to do something, enforce it. It's up to you to be the horse's advocate while its under your care; if you try and can't get the owner to live up to her part of the deal then tell her to find a new place to board.



the feet are bad. like, really bad. under run heels, pigeon toe effecting his knee on the right side (his knee swells from the pressure) long toes. he hasnt seen a farrier in six months, so all of his problems have become more evident. i would not be reimbursed in a timely manner if i called a farrier out for her. she might actually get angry if i did since the farrier i would call is not cheap and would put corrective shoes on him while she wants to try to keep him barefoot (not in his best interest imo)

ive picked up a couple square bales this morning and began feeding him a couple pads in his stall on his own, ill do that am and pm until hes up to weight. she wants to keep him out on pasture because shes not ready to go back to mucking his stall every day, but ive asked her to begin supplying hay for him again. ill stall him for a little while am and pm so he can eat in peace without fighting the others. 

ive informed her that as of november 1st we're going to need to go back to our original agreement or we'll need to regroup and come up with a different agreement for her horse.


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

churumbeque said:


> How did she feed him previously? Seems like you should have handled this differently 4 months ago. I can see helping her feed but she should have been made aware immediately that hay was needed when she ran out or you would supply for such and such amount.


he got 3pads hay am and scoop of grain. 2 pads hay and a scoop of grain pm then out on grass pasture for the night. 

when we switched he got 24/7 on the round bale/grass pasture, 1 scoop am, and 1 scoop pm. for the first three months he was fine, its only been in the last two or three weeks ive noticed some weight loss.

she supplied the hay and feed.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I tried the pasture board route with boarder supplying her own feed. It wasn't working out. Her father was buying old 4' round bales while mine got good hay. Her horse had to be separated. She'd be asking to "borrow" a square bale. I liked to keep 30 around for those days the field is impassable for getting a round bale in there without tearing it up. Bale borrowing got to be a habit so I billed her father for it as the boarder was under age. He wasn't happy with that and tried to pawn off the crappy bales in trade. I got my money but he got notice to move the horse. Lesson learned. After that the pasture board included hay, salt and water. If the owner wished to feed grain she had to do it. They had to attend the farrier and the vet if needed so they could hear first hand what was happening.


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## Skipsfirstspike (Mar 22, 2010)

While it was nice of you to offer to cover the boarder for free, in hindsight it didn't really work for either of you.
You probably should have moved the horse up to full board at full price until boarder was ready to resume care. Four months is too long to cover someone for free.
At the same time, you did assume care for the horse, and I would be very upset as the owner to find my horse had lost a lot of weight. If the horse was getting kicked off a bale, it was your responsibility to see that he had access to hay, be it putting out another round or feeding the horse separately. You can't call it being taken advantage of if it is something you set up and agreed to.
You should call this lady today, and let her know that in 3 days time you either go back to the original agreement, or you will have to charge her accordingly.

As the mother of 4, I understand the demands of late pregnancy and the arrival of a newborn. Do not fault her for not coming out to the barn much at this time, her priorities are with the baby, as they should be right now. However, she should obviously attend to or authorize her horse's basic care. If the horse's feet are that bad, tell her she needs to give you an appointment date with the farrier within one week, or you will set one up yourself and bill her.
Good luck with this situation. In all honesty, I probably would have offered the lady the same thing you did lol. Lesson learned I guess


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## AnalisaParalyzer (Apr 25, 2012)

Just an update: the horse has been getting extra hay am and pm. He's staying on the weight gain supplement, and the owner has talked about changing his grain to something higher in fat, or maybe adding some beet pulp for a while. For right now he's getting about three lbs pellets am and pm. He also got his feet done today. The dentist is coming next month to do my three, the owner hasn't decided if she's going to get her horse done yet.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

For that much per month you are making a nice profit if she is also supplying hay and cleans the stall. You moved the horse onto pasture and now he lost weight. I would be upset if it was my horse. You should have made sure that horse had enough feed when out on pasture. 
You offered and gave her the weight builder product because you put the horse in a situation where it lost the weight, and that should not enter into any discussion, nor should you feel taken advantage of for that. If you give someone something it is considered a gift and you should not expect any reciprocation. You need to go back to your original agreement, make a new agreement or have her move.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

His weight loss could be due to him needing his teeth rasping.

You are being way to nice and being taken advantage of. When you see her make sure she knows the rules, get an agreement and charge her for the hay. 

Get a farrier out and charge her and for the teeth rasping.

Wipe the word MUG off your forehead!y  :wink:


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

Where I keep my horses the arrangement is pretty good. I provide all feed,hay, and stall bedding for my horses. Right now I have one on full pasture, one is in a dry lot because she's was too fat and I am working with her everyday and she's a pain to catch in the pasture, and my old girl comes in a stall every night so her food does not get taken away from her. I pay 130 a month for each horse. The barn owner feeds every morning and most evenings I feed mine. I will also feed hers in the evening if she's coming home from work late. 
There is a lot of communication from her which I appreciate. We sometimes have to rearrange horses because of weather or what not, or this one is doing this or that one is doing that. I really don't care what she does as long as it works for the horses and works for her. Another boarder that is there is younger, works two jobs and has a new boyfriend. She forgets about feed sometimes but the B/O has no problem texting her and reminding her when she starts to run low. 
Clear expectations and good communication go a long way for a peaceful arrangement between B/O's and boarders. 
If you've done everything you can and it still does not work then it's time for the person and their horse to move on. If she can't get out as often as she used to then maybe you can put two round rolls out there, divide the cost between how many horses are eating off of it and charge accordingly for her horse.


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## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

I like what you said, "I've informed her that as of november 1st we're going to need to go back to our original agreement or we'll need to regroup and come up with a different agreement for her horse."
I think it's the best thing to do since because of various circumstances, the whole situation has gotten out of hand. Just be really sure of what you need before you meet with her and stick to your guns. If she leaves, she leaves. If you compromise yourself, you'll be right back where things are at now.
Be sure to get every little detail in writing as a new contract. Spell out what will happen if she doesn't do her part (hay, supplements, health care). 
You may want to reconsider partial care and move to a full care situation for her.


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