# I'm worried



## lauraetco (Sep 14, 2011)

My barn owner's facebook status says "trails at stable are closed until further notice". Apparently, the farmer who owns the land around the barn is mad because he found hoof prints in his field. There is another way to the trails but it's blocked off with electric fence. Not sure why. Anyways, if I can't get to the trails for a couple of days, fine but if this lasts too long, I'm going to be mad. I'm not paying $375 a month to keep a horse at a place with no access to trails!


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Depending on how often the farmer has found hoof prints in his field you may end up looking for a new place to board. I feel bad for the barn owner but the people in her barn are disrespecting the farmers land then shame on them...


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## Speed Racer (Oct 21, 2009)

I have to agree with Farmpony. 

This may have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, and was just the last in a long line of disrespectful things done to the farmer and his land over a period of months or even years.

He probably plowed that land for planting, or already has something planted in it, and running horses through it could adversely affect his livelihood by damaging the young crops.

Your best bet is to talk to your BO and find out what 'until further notice' means. 

Plus, if possible, have the offending people apologize to the man and promise to never, ever do it again. That may or may not help, depending on how angry he is.


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## MN Tigerstripes (Feb 20, 2009)

I agree with the others. Farmers in general are extremely touchy about their crops and for good reason, it's their livelihood. 

I have permission to ride on a farmer's land and I never ever ride through the fields until nothing is in them. Once spring rolls around and they start plowing/planting they're off limits until fall. A friend's dad is also a farmer and the same thing goes there, once the fields are planted they're off limit until the crops are out. 

When I was a teenager my horses got out of the paddock and ran through several farmer's fields, I got a call from an irate farmer telling me I better come get them RIGHT NOW or I'd be calling the rendering truck because he was going to shoot them. That's how touchy they are about it.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Having grown up on a farm, lets just say people are extremely ignorant of the damage they can cause to crops. If you want to ride on a farm, stop and ask for permission first. If denied, stay the hell away. If they let you, ask for the rules and what to look out for then follow that list while being polite at all times. Do this and you can get years of enjoyable riding there which can also open doors on neighboring farms.


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Darrin said:


> Having grown up on a farm, lets just say people are extremely ignorant of the damage they can cause to crops. If you want to ride on a farm, stop and ask for permission first. If denied, stay the hell away. If they let you, ask for the rules and what to look out for then follow that list while being polite at all times. Do this and you can get years of enjoyable riding there which can also open doors on neighboring farms.


Agreed, and at least around here, the farmers have no problem with you riding the tree line even when the fields are planted.
Also, we have a lot of leased farm land around here so we only see the farmers a few times a year, and if you offer to keep an eye on things for them, they appreciate it.


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## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

Perhaps you and some of the other boarders at your barn should go talk to the farmer and apologize for the damage and ask if there's any work you can do to help him out. You never know, it might open the door back up for you.


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## Susan Crumrine (Oct 5, 2009)

It cost quite a bit of money to get a crop in the ground. We are "in the hole" until after harvest.
Farmer's are stressed out enough as it is without people tramping through their crops.
It just gets harder every year to make any money.
You may be able to apologize, but your barn needs to have a meeting and everyone needs to be aware, the plants that got trampled are money...so the farmer is losing money.


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

Who owns the land on which the trails are cut?

The barn owner or the surrounding farmers?


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

Every spring I go through the same scenario with my back property. I have a major snowmobile trail that cuts across my yard. The trail sits very close to the river and is subject to periodic flooding. Every spring a group of idiots use their snow mobiles as rototillers and I'm forced to block the trail. I then endure whispers and looks in town about how harsh an old bat I am.

It's pretty simple to me. The snow melts first in the sunny lowlands. If there isn't snow on the trail you are damaging the land and your machine. There needs to be grass on that trail because of the river. Since nobody ever has coughed up grass seed or fixed the damage to my fences back there I will continue to be mean and close the trail as needed.

Same with a farmers fields. Lot of damage can be done quickly especially on wet spring ground.


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

ITA with all the above. If there is to be ANY hope of repairing the situation there will need to be an apology to the farmer and some STRICT rules agreed and adhered to by each and EVERY person involved. This isn't about "some hoofprints", it is about absolute lack of respect and risk to his livelyhood!


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## mildot (Oct 18, 2011)

SueNH said:


> Every spring I go through the same scenario with my back property. I have a major snowmobile trail that cuts across my yard. The trail sits very close to the river and is subject to periodic flooding. Every spring a group of idiots use their snow mobiles as rototillers and I'm forced to block the trail. I then endure whispers and looks in town about how harsh an old bat I am.


I'd string barbed wire across it and get on a tree stand with my AR15 if that were my land.


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## SueNH (Nov 7, 2011)

mildot said:


> I'd string barbed wire across it and get on a tree stand with my AR15 if that were my land.



The guys that maintain the trails are awesome. One winter they even kept my back gate open and made a pad so I could get in and out to feed round bales. Both are old and they aren't well so I'm not sure how long the snowmobile trail is going to last. I can allow only foot traffic and keep my land in current use, lowers the tax bill considerably. Some of the younger snowmobilers seem to forget that.

I don't know how many times I've driven by the club house only to see the 80+ year old up on the roof fixing something and several 20-30 yr olds standing on the ground watching. Makes me wonder.

I want to be nice. Much easier to be nice. It's real pretty back there in all 4 seasons. I just don't do stupid well.


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