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Making a hard moving decision.

2K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  PaisleysMom 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, I am new to the thread and I am seeking advice for my 19 year old TB gelding and myself. I am debating if I want to move him but I'm having trouble making the decision. I am looking for some un-bias advice!

We have lived at our current barn for 7 years. It is self care, indoor/outdoor, trails, 80 acres and 57 horses. Riders are greatly varied, dressage, eventing, trail, retired, endurance, we have every type. Knowledge is even more varied, very experienced owners to complete beginners. I provide all of my own feed. I am getting very frustrated with the quality of the farm, safety of the pastures, and the fact that my horse is turned out in a group of about 15 cranky geldings and constantly coming in with a new injury, in addition to the never ending thrush, rain rot and scratches to do the severe mud in a small area. Our manager does a poor job at keeping pastures safe - fences always down, trees and branches in busy areas, and mud, mud, mud- to the point you cannot walk in the pasture without fear of being stuck or trampled by the herd. He also only gets turnout every other day about half the year (and only about 5-7 hours at a time if that on nice days). We have almost no grass in the spring, they do not seed nor do they bush hog weeds, so any grass is gone in a matter of weeks. It also takes me 15 minutes to walk to the gelding pasture (literally 30 minutes round trip just to turn out my horse). I have made some wonderful friends here, but sadly a lot of them have moved on to other farms for similar reasons. I do enjoy being able to care for my horse every day - cleaning his stall is never a problem! It is nice having an indoor and outdoor, but I honestly rarely use the indoor unless it's really nasty out and he hasn't been outside in a day or so and I will lunge him.

I have an opportunity to move to a full care farm literally minutes away. It is daily turn out, about 10 hours a day (and overnight in the summer). Bigger stalls. Tiny group (max of 6 horses, currently only 3 there). The pasture footing is much better, still mud but it is much more solid. Downside, they only have a large round pen for riding and trails. It is a large building that was converted to a barn about 10 years ago. Cost wise- it ends up averaging about the same amount as I pay for board and the hay and grain I purchase on my own. They would feed whatever grain I want - they use the brand I prefer anyway.

What would you do? Factor in - I'm really a fair weather rider nowadays. I ride dressage and trails. I like doing natural horsemanship with my boy. He is 19 and has arthritis, so being able to be out every day would be so great for him, plus a tiny very laid back group would be great. I would definitely miss my friends and riding together, but is it more important for my horse to be safe and happy outside than for me to be happy? But then isn't the point of having a horse to be able to be happy and make friends? Not that I wouldn't be happy - it would just be different. I'm so used to spending hours a day at my self-care farm, it would be a change to no longer have to worry about doing his stall after a long day at work or finding care for him if I go on vacation. I enjoy caring for him every day and having control over it all too.

Thank for reading this novel, and for any advice you can offer.
 
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#2 ·
I would say move. I have moved a fair amount over the years to get my horse some place better. Here at my house I have a few freinds who keep their horses with me and they like the full care. As they dont have to worry about anything. One of them had a family member pass away and she was out dealing with that for 2 months. Yes 2 months. It was out of state and she had to fly there, get a hotel, dealing with belongings and all that. She was happy she did not have to worry about the horse. She could get her stuff done and come home. Let alone the money to find some to care for her horse. I would say move. If someone cant fix a basic fence then its not worth the ristk.
 
#3 ·
I'm a little confused by your description of your current boarding situation. It sounds initially like he's in an extremely muddy pasture with a large group of other horses, but then you say he gets limited turn out and the stall at the new location would be bigger? I think I'm missing something /die

Either way, I say move.
The bottom line is that you're unhappy with the facilities and that alone is reason to go.
 
#5 ·
I say move as well. It sounds like they have too many people/horses, and they are not being taken care of properly and not doing much upkeep. If they can't make sure the pastures are safe, especially with THAT many horses, they shouldn't have so many.
The new opportunity sounds like a nice place. Check it out, and if you are unsure keep looking, but I wouldn't stay at your current place. Others moved on too, for the same reasons. I'd go. If you aren't happy, & your horse probably isn't that happy, plus it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen regarding the safety, so I'd leave. Sounds like a nice place, the new one. :) Daily turnout & a bigger stall sounds good too. :D
 
#6 ·
Yikes, I would move! I hate mud, and turnout where your boy is getting hurt is no good! Bad fences......awful also. I would move! You may like it better at the new place. If you like to trail ride it would be perfect. You may make some nice new friends and have more free quality time to spend with your horse since it is full board. And if you don't like it you can look around and just move somewhere else.
 
#7 ·
One thing I would be sure of before you move, if daily turnout is really a big deal for you, is if turnout is really actually, for real, every single day.
When I moved to my current barn, I was told that the horses on turnout get "weather dependent" turnout and when I asked what that meant, I was told that it meant they went out unless it was pouring rain and that they'd get out as soon as the rain stopped.

After being there for a year, I've learned that turnout is a lot more variable than I initially believed. I honestly don't mind because my gelding has surprised me with how well he does when stalled and he actually seems to prefer being in [I wish his stall had a run attached though, so he could make the choice himself].
But, this year, despite being one of the 2 "get them outside absolutely whenever possible" horses, he spent the month of December inside, spent 75% of January inside, and, so far, probably 50% of February inside. The weather this year HAS been terrible and I fully agree with the BO's decisions to keep him inside, but he's been inside way way more than I ever thought he would be.
We had back to back record-breaking snow storms, with similarly record-breaking ice storms right after each snow storm, then weeks of temperatures that froze all the outside water pipes and left the outside paddocks without water, THEN it started raining and we had days of flood warnings...it's been a mess.
My gelding is barefoot so he probably would have been ok on the snow, but he's the only barefoot horse in the barn and his buddies are a lot more active than he is. He wouldn't have been happy outside by himself, so the BO kept him in basically because of the other horses - that happened a couple of times this winter. I fully understand, of course, because I don't want him to be stressed by being outside alone, but it's another example of how he ended up staying inside for an unexpected reason.



Anyway, my gelding's barn is full-care and I love that. I find a lot of joy in being involved in his care, so the BO and I have worked out little ways that I can do the stuff I like to do - I never end up feeling like I'm missing out. For instance, stalls are only cleaned once a day [in the morning] so, on days when my guy is inside, his stall is kind of a mess by the evening. The BO lets me clean his stall and put in new shavings in the evening if his stall needs it. She also lets me do his evening feeding if I'm at the barn by 4 - she usually feeds at 4, so I can give him his dinner if I'm there between 3 and 4:30.
I get to feel like I'm more in control of his care, with the perk of knowing he'll be taken care of if I can't make it out. Full care really makes owning a horse pretty relaxing! haha


Your current barn doesn't sound like a good fit to me! Another thing I, personally, would think about with the new barn is if it's a place you could see yourself staying for the rest of your horse's life and/or if he ever becomes unrideable - shorterm or longterm. It's never fun to think about that sort of thing, but, especially with an aging horse, it's something to consider.
 
#8 · (Edited)
They have roundpen + trails? Or just roundpen.

Honestly regardless the second place sounds SOOOOO much better I wouldn't think twice about it even if it effected my riding, and that really sounds like the ONLY downside. I'm sure you could figure out the riding thing anyways esp as it sounds like you're a more casual rider.

Plus this:
"Either way, I say move.
The bottom line is that you're unhappy with the facilities and that alone is reason to go."

Honestly from the description I wouldn't have boarded where you're currently at in the first place, it sounds like a mess in multiple ways, and a lot of things you said would be flat out deal breaks for me like turnout every other day-what??

You'll get used to it, you may find you enjoy the full care! I get what you mean about being hands on and while you obviously don't want to make a pest of yourself it may be worth talking to the manager about. Not that I think they would offer self care (though they might) but they may make some compromises that would work for you.

My rough board situation I provide feed and such (buy hay directly from her) and clean my own stall. While I also do general maintenance (clean her paddock and such) the owner does EVERYTHING else, and on days that are difficult for me to come out she often just cleans my stall for me so I can just skip a day. Having someone feed/turnout twice a day is HUGE, and honestly aside from the stall that's the only important part. So definitely talk to the manager some are not so laid back but some really don't care that much as long as you follow the rules.
 
#9 ·
The barn you are in now sounds a lot like the barn I just left. When I originally moved in there 12 years ago, it was literally a showplace. Everything clean, working and fixed when needed. It was also partial care and for a while, that was just fine except for the BOs being too hands off with offensive, trouble-making boarders.

Over the years, they stopped maintaining or fixing anything-fences, potholes, arenas and everything else. Then they started requiring everyone to supply their own forks, feed/water buckets, fans, manure totes/carts, stall mats and to fix our own stalls and even replace light bulbs throughout the whole place! For about 8 months there was no water on one side of the barn and it had to be hauled in buckets every day. Electrical plugs and switches failing everywhere and never fixed. Both arenas are disasters-hard packed clay or 6" deep in mud as no topcoat has ever been put on since they were built.

When a boarding stable starts to go downhill, it usually just gets worse and worse and the quality of boarders goes downhill too. I know you have a lot of friends at your current barn but if the place continues to deteriorate, believe me the good boarders will leave and the bad ones will move in. The barn I left is now filled with a bunch of hillbillies who really can't afford horses, pick fights and drink to the point of aggression. It was making me sick to my stomach just to go there.

I found a full care farm type stable that is super quiet and it's actually saving me money as I don't have to buy all the extras as before. My horses are a lot happier and so am I. I still go out and sometimes clean my own stalls, knock down cobwebs and sweep just to spend more time with the boys but it's nice to know I don't have to! I can just show up and ride if that's how I feel that day! No more tracking down and hauling hay or feed or keeping my tool kit ready to fix things! I can skip days or even go out of town without worrying about it.

It sounds like you really aren't happy at the current barn-horse ownership is supposed to be relaxing, therapeutic and fun and when a barn makes it turn into an unhappy situation, it's time to 'get out of dodge' !
 
#10 ·
I live between two farms.

One is a few acres with my main guy, and my mothers mare. The pasture is small, (4-5 acres) but we manage it. That means the weeds are bush hogged, the burdocks are pulled up, the pasture is seeded in spring and its rested until the grass has grown to a sustainable level. When there is mud, it is fenced off so it can dry out. It isn't a boarding facility, mind you, but if it were that would be even more a reason to maintain the property! The fencing is secure and retightened every year, old posts are replaced with new, the apple trees are pruned.

The second farm is 75 acres of pasture with four horses. It has fields, swamps, creeks, cuttings and woods. The fields are seeded, and bush hogged in the fall, the alders are cleared out every year, we do a full round fence check once a month. That means putting on a backpack full of fencing gear, taking the .22, and hiking all the way around the fence- about 16 hours of work give or take. Muddy areas are fenced off, to dry out. This is also not a boarding facility, if it were we would take extra care of the pasture. The pasture would be cut into sections for rotational grazing.

It sounds like "self care" has gotten to "who cares." And if management cannot maintain their own pastures, they shouldn't be boarding horses not their own. It is an unacceptable place for your horse. I vote move.
 
#11 ·
At your present barn it seems like a lot of horses for the acreage thus so much mud if they are out on the pasture all the time.
I would go and check this new place carefully, and if you think it will pass muster for what you want, I guess there are trails but not much of a schooling area, perhaps if the other boarders are interested they might set some space aside for that.
One thing that I can think of, is if there is only three horses there at this time, do the other three boarders go out riding together and if so is your horse left alone in the pasture as they go out? Would your horse get upset if he is the only one left out there and run back and forth too much or even worse get tangled up in a fence. I would ask if all the other horses are brought in, could my horse be put in a stall while the others are out riding.
Just thinking ahead about what can happen and if you are not there to keep an eye on him. My mare is out with one other horse and if I go riding, I bring the other horse in and put him in a stall while I am gone. He might be alright but I will not be there to see if he gets into trouble, so better safe than sorry.
A good idea to have a contract so everyone knows what to expect.
 
#12 ·
Oh my, thank you guys so much! I gave my current barn my notice today and it was really hard but definitely the right decision. The barn owner was really surprised but was very generous in offering to hang onto my stall for a few months in case things didn’t work out, I could come back. She also tried to talk me into staying just until the fall since in the summer we can have a smaller group, but my summer “pasture” is nothing more than a giant hill for my horse plus 3 buddies with very little grass and more than ¾ of the area is wooded. A lot of tears were shed yesterday by myself and my few close friends, but I think this will be the best move for now. Lately when I walk into the barn it is nothing but cranky, complaining boarders (and I know I’m one of them), insane gossip and barn drama, and the atmosphere is so toxic and negative that it’s making my daily visits stressful, when they should be relaxing.

We like to joke that the farm is held together by “duct tape and bailing twine” because it literally is. It makes me so sad that this farm has fallen into such disrepair – it’s mostly due to the owners (who are in no way involved with daily care and upkeep of the farm) do not want to put any money into the place. They are sitting on a mini-gold mine with the best facility in the area yet they don’t want to do anything to make it better. The property and barns are so beautiful but beauty doesn’t translate to well cared for!

So I’m moving April 8th and I’m excited for the new adventures for Paisley and I.
 
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