# Quick Boarder Rant



## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

It really chaps my *** when horse owners come out once a month and think they know their horses better than I do especially when it comes to feeding.
I've probably spent more time with their horse in 6 months then they have owning them for 5 years! Very irritating! If I say your horse doesn't want to eat the 8 million lbs of grain you want me to give him.. I'm not just being cheap people!

Ok I'm done.


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## Maverick101 (Nov 8, 2009)

Amen sista!!! 
This is gotta be one of my biggest pet peeves with boarders.

This recently happened to me w a new boarder/ She had her horse on SOOO much feed when he arrived....(previous barn owners regime) he A) didn't need it, as he looked like shamoos twin. He also B) always dumped over half of it out on the floor, as he would just play w it, as he clearly wasn't all that Hungary for that large of an amount.
I finally had a discussion with her about cutting him back...she lost it....however after she talked to the vet sheepishly had to agree with my decision.

Drives me batty too!


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## Honeysuga (Sep 1, 2009)

LOL, poor thing. Yeah that would chap my *** too... Maybe you should just explain to them why you think it best to not over grain their horse, explain the health implications and that you have observed the horse looking happier just munching on hay.


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## Maverick101 (Nov 8, 2009)

Honeysuga said:


> LOL, poor thing. Yeah that would chap my *** too... Maybe you should just explain to them why you think it best to not over grain their horse, explain the health implications and that you have observed the horse looking happier just munching on hay.


Oh your so sweet.
Its these types of boarders, that you can explain things till your purple in the face, but wont listen to you, as like STAR says you don't know their horse like they do,:roll: and we are only trying to save money, believe me sugar you feel like pounding your head on a brick wall some days:shock:


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## Honeysuga (Sep 1, 2009)

OH, lol, Yeah just tryin to be helpful, I have never boarded horses before lol. Well then poo just tell her he is going to get too fat and die hehehe.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

THANK YOU MAVERICK!!!! Yes you can explain till you are blue in face and this lady doesn't want to listen! I have a 4 year equine science degree and apparently that doesn't mean crap to this lady. She wants to double his feed and he isn't eating it all. Her horse is a pasture boarder got fed once a day with a feed bag. I told her it would be a better idea to change his feed from omelene200 to Ultium so that it would save her a fortune on a second feeding and actually get him to eat it. 

Also, she brought a blue scoop with her and INSIST on us using it. I measured it with her and it was 2.5 lbs. My help measured it with her and it was 3lbs. My help and I were discussing it yesterday and we got 2 lbs when we weighed it. Since I charge by the lb because she has a different feed that is more expensive I explained to her why I don't do "scoops" and she doesn't care. She wants to use the scoop end of story. WHATEVER lady... your "scoop" is about to "get eaten by mice" or something and disappear. GRRRR!


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

Is it even healthy to shove that much grain down a horse's throat? I think not. Unless you want a rolly-polly butterball for a horse.

Smack that lady upside the head with a two-by-four.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

oh goodness, you guys are making me appreciate boarding at a barn where there are sane boarders that come to see their horses everyday, haha. 
Silly boarders(even though im a boarer > ) they can be so troublesome!


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Jessabel said:


> Is it even healthy to shove that much grain down a horse's throat? I think not. Unless you want a rolly-polly butterball for a horse.
> 
> Smack that lady upside the head with a two-by-four.


Not really sure how much they are feeding it as I am sure it is not getting 8 million pds but 1 scoop at 3 pds is not alot.


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## Honeysuga (Sep 1, 2009)

She must know my mother lol. She insists of giving Tom crap tons of "Scoops" of sweet feed every day, grrrrr. I told her "stop, he only needs hay, he is nowhere near starving", she replied "But it isnt fair the other horses get so much and he doesnt", I replied " Yeah and when they founder and have laminitis, it wont be fair that he doesn't have it too, but I am sure he will live!" Needless to say he is now on a DIET.

Some people just think they know everything. Besides how would she know what and how much you are feeding him if you just make sure to have "already fed him" for whatever reason whenever she stops in...lol.

I guess you just have to let her harm her own horse, refuse to feed him, or lose her business... not much else to do. That really blows though.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I have the same problem with my own mother... she comes down and gives them a million treats, twice their feed, more hay then any horse can eat and tries her best to switch them from pellets to sweet feed. LOL...


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## Honeysuga (Sep 1, 2009)

Must be a mother thing, they want fat little grand kids running around as well as fat little grand horses lol.


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## charlicata (Jan 12, 2010)

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. My Mom has only seen pictures of my horse. When my Mother-in-law comes, she usually brings a couple of carrots and an apple as treats for Rosie and the mini-donkeys. She doesn't mess with the grain or the hay, even if she is helping me at the barn.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

my mom owns half the herd so......she means well. she just likes em fat and spoiled.


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## qtrhrsecrazy (Aug 2, 2009)

> I told her it would be a better idea to change his feed from omelene200 to Ultium so that it would save her a fortune on a second feeding and actually get him to eat it.


 
Isn't Ultium like 12% fat? Thinking I wouldn't want to give that to an already fat horse :lol:


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

It's actually 14% fat. He's not fat.. his body condition is about a 5. It's so he could get 4 lbs of ultium instead of 6 lbs of omelene sweet feed.


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## hrfarms (Apr 4, 2010)

_Just curious, can she answer the question of why the horse needs to be on a sweet feed to begin with. If she is trying to encourage condition & health, that is the last thing the horse should be getting (as I'm sure you already know)_

_I feel your pain though, I have some boarders that complain because they can't afford "extra" feeds on top of our pasture/hay._
_The agreement is you pay for the feed & I will feed it, no cost...but if your diet doesn't work then I get to arrange their feeds, types & routine._

_I try to keep it simple but they would rather throw away $$ on something that is cheaper but not better, so they end up spending more. For some reason this does not commute in their minds._

_I find with the horses that have owners that work with me, their improvement is longer lasting & they can eventually manage their condition w/o hard feeds. Alot of it has to do with what is going on in their enviroment too...neurotic owners make for harder keepers (IMHO)_


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Ultium is for horses who are in high performance work - not for horses who are not being ridden once in a blue moon. That is what the feed was created for - high performance horses. Horses who are in a regular work out regime Monday - Sunday. 

If anything, the horse should be given unlimited amounts of hay, if not stuffed infront of a round bale instead of changing to a high performance feed like Ultium.

Intsead of going to Ultium for a horse that isn't being worked much, I would go to Beat Pulp, Alfalfa Pellets, Buckeye Grown N Win or a complete feed like Purina Senior.

Nelson is on 5 pounds of feed, per feeding which = 10lbs a day. Plus he is stuffed infront of a round bale. My BO doesn't like that Nelson is on that much feed, but guess what - my horse, my money, my choice - I pay her for a service, nothing more, nothing less. 

Nelson is 20, a hard keeper, high performance horse, he gulps it all up. He is on 3 pounds of Ultium and 2 pounds of Purina senior, plus suppliments. This was decided by my Vet. My BO is not a Vet.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

MIE - Just because it's made for performance horses doesn't mean you can't feed it to a horse that does nothing.

This particular horse was turned out full time and did have access to round bales but it became hard to find good quality so we had switch to squares.. Each horse got approximately 15lbs with squares. 

We had plenty of fiber and not enough vit/min and fat. Ultium provides more nutrition/fat per lb than beet pulp, alfalfa pellets and senior feeds... thus more bang for your buck. She was better off feeding 4 lbs of Ultium in one feeding (@ the extra cost of $10 for the feed difference a month) than 3lbs of Omelene 200, twice the recommended amount of horseshoer's secret and 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds twice a day, with an extra 10 lbs of hay (@ the extra cost of $50 a month for the extra feeding labor and feed costs) and the poor horse literally couldn't eat it all!


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## qtrhrsecrazy (Aug 2, 2009)

I would think Ultium, fed to an idle horse, would blow his/her head off. As MIE stated it's designed for performance horses. There's other quality feeds out there that will do the job without having to feed large amounts.

I'm not knocking Ultium, it's a good feed for horses that work


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

<-------- Equine Science BA (emphasis in nutrition)


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

Honeysuga said:


> LOL, poor thing. Yeah that would chap my *** too... .





starlinestables said:


> It really chaps my *** when horse owners come .


 


With all these chapped butts all I can think about is applying hand cream:lol::lol:
What were we talking about agian??????


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

RiosDad said:


> With all these chapped butts all I can think about is applying hand cream:lol::lol:
> What were we talking about agian??????


It makes me think of buying new chaps P


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## Doveguy (Apr 13, 2010)

I am no psychologist but I have seen this tendency to overfeed their horses in people (who will remain nameless) who have a guilt complex about not doing what they know they should be doing. They feed the horse because they know they aren't riding and caring for the horse. A little knowledge is worse than none. This lady knows a little about her horse but not enough to know what is really best. Then she is burdened with guilt about not spending time with her mount and faced with the person who takes care of the horse (doing what she is supposed to be doing) and she lashes out at her saying she knows best when she doesn't really know anything about her own horse. I keep my horses on our little farm and have often considered boarding a few to defray costs but with stories like this one, I am putting it back on the back burner.
Doveguy


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Yet another reason we include grain with the board.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

Doveguy that was very insightful!!!! Thank you for your input. mls I do include up to 4 lbs once daily for pasture boarders but will feed more if paid for it.. I will also feed anything available at my feed store and will just charge the difference per pound. I include feed, hay, farrier, shavings and worming in my board hoping it would help keep everyone on track.. this lady just wasn't understanding no matter how many times I explained it.


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## Cougar (Jun 11, 2009)

My mother and I keep our horses together but we agree on how to keep our horses on everything. So no complaints there. We agree on feed, turnout, how to dress a wound, when to get feet done, when to blanket etc. She said she thought my TB would do better on a different grain. I switched her and she couldn't have picked a better choice. The mare looked good before, but now looks great. My mom is a great horse woman and I really trust her judgment. 

I rent a 4 stall barn privately off a woman. Love her dearly. She is a fantastic lady but some days her in sights annoy me. I've had those two old grey mares for 11 years. I know what they're like, what they will and won't eat and they're both fat and looking good. Especially seeing as the one is 32 and the other has active spreading cancer. That being said, that is my issue not hers as being pregnant my fuse is a bit shorter than usual. I'll take her advice when I think it fits, but other than that I thank her for her opinion and concern and move on. None of my horses are over fed or under fed. They're all in good condition. So its a matter of opinion.


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## qtrhrsecrazy (Aug 2, 2009)

I don't understand people that board and have little to nothing to do with their horses... see them here and there for a lesson, or whatever. Good thing there are good BO's to make sure said horses are cared for.

I have to board now and this is new for me and took some adjusting. I see my horse every day.. they're used to me now but sure it took them some adjusting to that lol. So I'm the flip side.. I do know my horse


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

> MIE - Just because it's made for performance horses doesn't mean you can't feed it to a horse that does nothing.


I understand what you are saying, and I agree that Ultium is a great choice for horses who have high metabolism systems and who burn their intake quickly. 

But, it is designed for high performance horses. When Nelson went on stall rest, both my Veterinarians stressed to make sure I take Ultium completely out of his feeding regime because it will be far too much for him to take. They were the one's who explained to me that Ultium is not meant for horses who aren't in full work because of how it is designed.

Now I do agree with you that Sweet Feed needs to be chucked out the back door and left for the birds to clean up. Sweet Feed is garbage, and yes I do agree that the horse needs to be on something that is a completle feed that is designed for horses such as this one.

I would look more towards a Senior Feed. Yes I understand that the fat content isn't as high as Ultiums fat content, but again - this horse isn't in full work. If the horse is getting PLENTY of hay throughout the day and is getting roughage in his tummy 24/7, I don't see how putting the horse on a complete senior feed will hurt.

But again, this isn't my horse. Nor is it your horse. All you can do is explain the best you can to help educate the owner, that's in your power. But the ultimate decision still rests on the owner. Frustrating, yes, absolutely - can you do anything about it? No. The horse is in your care, and just make sure that you are doing all that you can for the horses wellbeing within your powers. That's the best you can do.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

starlinestables said:


> mls I do include up to 4 lbs once daily for pasture boarders but will feed more if paid for it.


We also changed our policy that 'special needs' horses had to at minimum come into a tie stall to be grained. Few bucks more a month but lessens the burden of babysitting to ensure the horse finishes the grain or supplements. We used to do the feed bag thing but with so many different sized heads - plus I was doing too much "drop your head and mind your manners" training.


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## BlueEyed paint (Mar 19, 2010)

Star i feel for you. I used to own my place and board horses. It was a pain in the butt i even had a boarder dump 2 horses on me and ended up having to pay to put one down. I am now stuck being the one to board and try to see my horse often but when she isnt on the same property and i have to drive so far i dont make it but i do know my horse well enough to know she DOESNT need grain.

My BO is nagging me that my overweight horse needs more weight on and insists on graining.


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## kelly (Feb 14, 2007)

I had the opposite happen to me. Before I kept my horses at my own place, I boarded for 20+yrs at a few places..Two of them insisted on giving my horse sweet feed/grain 2x a day. Despite the fact that she was very overweight and founder prone and supposed to get only a 1/4 pound of a balancer pellet (just a vitamin pellet mix) each day. I ended up leaving two great places because the manager refused to cut back her feed. She insisted she liked her horses "fat and sassy"..


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## leonalee (Jul 1, 2010)

Hahaha - I sooooooo totally know what you are talking about! Unfortunately...


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## flytobecat (Mar 28, 2010)

When a I was a kid, all of our horses got sweet feed and were on pasture, but thats what people did back then. Now, that I own a horse as an adult, I've read a little more & changed my beliefs on what a horse needs in their diet. 
Perhaps a well placed book on horse nutrition for the lady to find, or just suggesting she read the instructions on the bag might help.
But some people just aren't open to things, and there isn't much you can do about that.


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Doveguy said:


> I am no psychologist but I have seen this tendency to overfeed their horses in people (who will remain nameless) who have a guilt complex about not doing what they know they should be doing. They feed the horse because they know they aren't riding and caring for the horse. A little knowledge is worse than none. This lady knows a little about her horse but not enough to know what is really best. Then she is burdened with guilt about not spending time with her mount and faced with the person who takes care of the horse (doing what she is supposed to be doing) and she lashes out at her saying she knows best when she doesn't really know anything about her own horse. I keep my horses on our little farm and have often considered boarding a few to defray costs but with stories like this one, I am putting it back on the back burner.
> Doveguy


I think you hit the nail on the head here!

You know what is sad? There are several boarders where I keep my mare that only turn up to pay their bills. They don't care what the horse is fed, when it is due for a trim, which pasture it is turned out in, nothing. They come by once a month with a check and usually leave without so much as looking at the horse, what is the point of owning a horse at all if that is what you are going to do? Is it just something to brag about at the Country Club? Grrr.

StarlineStables, your rant is well recieved with me!


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## VelvetsAB (Aug 11, 2010)

_The barn I take lessons at includes grain in the board, and if you want anything extra fed to them (which is normally suggested by them, with one or 2 exceptions). You have to buy it and bring it in, and if its supplements, you need to ziploc bag it into individual doses (a weeks worth)._

_My grandpa who has had standardbreds since he was knee high to a grasshopper has always fed using margerine/butter containers. He always thought the feed scoops were too big and you couldnt always get a good equal amount every time. He did and still does feed sweetfeed to horses that need it, but I dont think I have ever seen any of his horses on anything but corn, grain, sweetfeed, beet pulp, and a mineral supplement. Not all at once normally, but some combo of. Grandpas horses were always some of the best looking horses at the track--good coats, well muscled and toned, race ready. _


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