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Should I change barns?

9K views 52 replies 12 participants last post by  my2geldings 
#1 ·
My boyfriend and I purchased our 2 horses from the place where we are currently boarding. I took lessons there for a bout 2 weeks before we bought them (ive been riding for 12 years, just moved and found another stable). We have had a few...er.... many problems i guess with the people currently there. The first time was when I took my horse's halter off because i didnt want it on all the time, and there was no sign nor did anyone say their halters had to be on 24/7, so i got sternly talked to in front of a lot of people that it had to stay on. The next time was when my horse had mud fever and her leg was swollen to twice the size. I asked the owner there to check it out and she said she was just stocking up and it was nothing to worry about. The next day i had someone else who worked there take a look at her still swollen leg. She said it was mud fever and not to worry about it either, that the swelling was normal. Well after doing quite a bit of research, swelling = call the vet. So i went and got a vet out there. The owner of the barn came up to my boyfriend and I and YELLED at us. Again this was in front of quite a few people, and we found it really unprofessional. After that they stopped talking to us and we felt like an outcast. Most times too, if we would go there when our horses were out, there would be other random horses in my horse's stall. I had put a likit type toy in there for my horse, and a different horse ate it! That really ticked me off. They also seem to put whatever horse they were just riding into someone else's stall. I dont get why you pay to have a stall, if other horses use it. Recently, they have filled in all the horses stalls (this past week) but it wasn't just filled in with dirt, there is a huge volume of rocks in there. Its more so like "would you like some dirt with your rocks" and we find this very dangerous because our horses like to lay down at times. We have gone through over the past couple of days to pick out the rocks and its helped a little bit, but there's still a lot in there. Should we stay there, or should we find another barn? Part of me wants to keep them there because its stressful to move a horse, but more of me wants to move them so my boyfriend and I can really and truly enjoy spending time with our horses. Sorry this is so long, but i would like some opinions. Thanks for reading it!!
 
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#27 ·
i forgot to add, do you only have places where you can board horses in america?? is there any places that provide paddocks and yards but you do all the looking after yourself? thats what happens here other than if you have your horses at some ritzy place. it means you can keep to yourself and do your thing and its waaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper. i remember once when i needed to move my horses i went around asking everything that had large blocks of land if i could keep my horses there. eventually i found an awesome paddock that even had some old stables etc the people said i could bring my horses there for $5 a week each but i had to fix the stables etc up myself if i needed them.

where i am agisted i have MY yard and tack sheds etc and my yards are padlocked shut and i do everything myself. no one else really gets in your way cause they have their own yards to clean and their own horses to feed.

was just a thought :) i do hope you get it sorted soon though for you and your horses sake
 
#28 ·
In america i believe its called rough board, and they do have it at some places i was looking at, but my boyfriend owns his own business so its kind of time consuming, and I'm also enrolled in college, so as of right now thats not the best option for us, even though it would be great for them. Once we buy a piece of property, our horses are coming with us so we'll do it our way. But for right now its a long search. Thanks so much Jazzy, you are so supportive, and so is everyone else you has responded!!! You have no idea how much this has helped. At first i thought it was just me and my boyfriend, but its not. Thanks again to everyone!!
 
#30 ·
Stupid us didn't get a vet exam before we bought them, but we thought we were dealing with reputable people and when we asked about any medical problems, the one woman said that both of them were fine. When in fact one has cataracts in his left eye and has surgery for abscesses on his feet. The other horse is fine, except for her being HyPP postive, but should they have tested her?

We looked at another stable today and it was nice, but our horses would be in a warehouse type thing, and theyd be turned out together. But we have a gelding and a mare and i thought they have to be separated and we dont know how they act towards each other when they're loose. But the search has really begun.
 
#31 ·
if your ridding togeather with the horses they should know each other to a point, we turn mares and geldings out togeather all the time....when a "owner" say's there fine that sends up a red flag to me, by vetting them it's better to find out before then after!!! just becareful next time!! you mentioned that the barn you looked at today that it was a ware house type setting?, how many horses and how long do they get turned out evey day and if our 2 horses get turn out togeather do they get twice the turn out time? and have you talk to other people boarding at this new stable that you looked at?
 
#32 ·
Well maybe its more like a big shed than a warehouse. There are 30 horses all together, but there would be my 2 guys and another horse living in stalls together. In the fall/spring they are out pretty much 24/7 except when the weather's bad. They are in day time out night in summer, and out day in night during the winter. We didnt talk to other people there, mainly because no one else was there and it was early in the day were boarders wouldnt be there because of their jobs. They were very nice people there, but we dont want to jump into somewhere and go through the same stuff again.
 
#33 ·
appylover31803 said:
In america i believe its called rough board, and they do have it at some places i was looking at, but my boyfriend owns his own business so its kind of time consuming, and I'm also enrolled in college, so as of right now thats not the best option for us, even though it would be great for them. Once we buy a piece of property, our horses are coming with us so we'll do it our way. But for right now its a long search. Thanks so much Jazzy, you are so supportive, and so is everyone else you has responded!!! You have no idea how much this has helped. At first i thought it was just me and my boyfriend, but its not. Thanks again to everyone!!
ah ok fair enough :) glad i could be of some help to you :)

as already said be really really careful. its easy enough for people to appear nice when you first meet them. i guess talking to the people who agist there if you can would be a good thing to do.

take care, good luck and be careful :)
 
#37 ·
well my boyfriend and i were talking the other day and he wants to get a property in the spring, but keep them at the current place. I don't really like this idea, but i dont know what to do. I've tried talking to him, but he just wont listen. :x So i'm just waiting for spring to come. I'll let everyone know if the plans change and we move them.
 
#38 ·
uummm, do you really have to listen to him!!, half the time i just pretend i'm listening to my husband, (you'll chat on when you get married) if he wont move his horse out of that barn what is stopping you from moving yours???he might catch on after that
 
#40 ·
now that sounds weird. why doesnt he want to move now? does he understand the stress you are going through and the fact that your horses health and your own sanity is at risk? if that sounds cranky it wasnt meant to i just think its a little unfair that he is not supporting your want to move.

hopefully, as you said, he will notice in time. it is always hard when your partner doesnt agree with something you so badly want. if there is something my husband is fighting me on that is really affecting me, i tell him straight up that i need to talk to him about something that is very serious to me. he is then prepared for something. if you havent already, try explaining to him that this is a situation that is making you very uncomfortable and is upsetting you. usually once i explain things to my hubby, he gets that its not a whim, its something that needs to be done. sometimes men find it easy to ignore things as they dont have the emotional reactions that women have.

whatever you decide to do, i hope it all works out for you. im rather sad for you that you now have to deal with the possibility of not moving.

good luck, take care
 
#41 ·
Aww.
Yeah, just really explain to him how it's making you feel...your horses aren't being cared for in a very nice way there; & if you moved then they'd be much happier, but so would you!! :D
I'm hoping you will move 'em soon, try convincing!!!
 
#46 ·
Hi im new here and have just read through the whole story on this and there ts no way i would put up with it.You pay your board for a service,if you are not satisfied with that service tell them.I have recently moved yards 2 weeks ago because of the price i was paying and not getting what i was paying for!! I really hope you find somewhere nice where you can enjoy your horses without too much stress. :D mel xx
 
#48 ·
My boyfriend and I have talked it over for a while now. We have decided to wait until the spring to move them. Our current place has an indoor area so we can ride in the winter, and other places we were looking at didn't, or did have an indoor ring, but no space available. In the spring time, we'll move them out of there. Thank you so much for all the responses!!
 
#50 ·
I hope...

Appy,

I hope you don't move too late. I had a friend linger at a farm I found myself disgusted with, and they lost 3 horses over the winter. Luckily her horse only got sick, and she was still able to pull her horse out. If your horse is getting sick, and horses in the barn are sick, and owner/operator insists its no big deal, you need to get the heck out!! When places pack them in like yours, sick horses is just part of the day in day out. It is far from the way it should be, and such inablilties to care for the horse properly are inexcusable. Bite the bullet and pay the little bit extra for a really nice farm who truly takes care of your horses. No packing them in, and sharing stalls. When you are a boarder and you notice a few bad things only going 2-3x a week, imagine if you were there everyday. Think about what goes on when you aren't there. Do your horses really have a stall everynight? I've seen some shady scary things happen at big overcrowded barns who had a slightly lower board rate. Its all about getting the extra dollar, and doing the least amount of work to pass for caring for your horse.

Golden
 
#51 ·
hezgolden,

We are there everyday unless for some reason we can't get there. We have been there when no one was around and they did have stalls, but i appreciate your concern. I don't know what I would do if i went there and they didn't have a stall. My horse is better now. The owner said it could have been a slight reaction to the flu shot she got. I have definitely been keeping my eyes and ears more open when we go there. Who knows, maybe we'll move them out sooner.
 
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