What would be the Perfect Horse Boarding Facility?????

lol, its ok to dream!

Since I own barn.. what i would like in the perfect boarder is.....

-6'3 200 lb stud muffin with dark hair and blue eyes that comes to the barn shirtless to show off his 6 pack

-owns a friesian or giant grey warmblood

-Tells my husband how beautiful i am and how lucky he is to have me so that it makes my husband jealous enough to get more stuff done around the barn because he would be outside keeping an eye on him.

-Pays board 3 months in advance and on time!!!!

-Tips me or my staff for going above and beyond for his horse...(oh one can dream!!!)

-Doesn't complain and volunteers to help do stuff around the barn..

i love it!! I think we would all own a barn is we had someone like that coming everyday! I know i would.

~What are some pros and cons you have encountered??

lazy barn owners, b/os who hire inexperienced staff, overreactive b/os.
i had a b/o giving my horse bute w/o asking me first. i made it clear they must call me first. what if my vet was coming out to do a soundness exam? i would be sol.

~Do you look for a place that offers full borad, pasture borad??

i usually go for places with both. i do pasture but i like that i can switch if my horse is injured and needs a stall.

~Do you and a place that has an indoor, outdoor areana, a round pen?

right now we have no ring, and im not riding anyway so its fine. i prefer indoors, so i can ride if its to wet/slippery outside. i also look at footing.

~Trails for trail riding.

always a plus, but i have a trailer so i can go to an area park.

Do you want a trainer??

i like barns were there are a few trainers to choose from, and ones that allow me to let my trainer teach there for a ring fee.

~How many horses would you and to be on the facility? Does the size of the farm matter??

i like to see around 15 at the most. too many horses=not that much time for each horse. i like to have at least one other boarder, so if i take one of my horses to ride, the other dosent get too upset.

~Does the Owners education matter?? Are you more likely to borad at a facility were the owner and trainer have a degree in equine???

equine degrees dont matter to me. experience and happy boarders matter more. if there is a high rate of turn over there is usually a reason why.

~Would you like the facility to provide services such as grooming, tacking, farrier, vet, shots, deworming, massage thearpy??

nope. maybe holding a horse for the farrier/vet, but i do everything else myself. sometimes i dont even like other people talking to my vet durring the visit. i had a barn owner tell the vet my horse had navicular, and she didnt at all. ive had a friend let my farrier change my horses type of shoes, w/o my approval, when i didnt give my friend the authority to do so.

~Would you like some that gives lessons???

yes. its nice to take lessons with someone who knows your horse.
~Does riding styles matter??

not to me. but i like to be able to take lessons with a trainer who rides my style. i dont, however, appreciate people leaving the ring set up for barrels or jumping, its rude, unless the ring is designated for that.

~Would you like a place that provides space to park your horse trailer

a big YES. if i have to pay a few dollar more i dont care. i hate keeping the trainer at home, it kills my grass. i like to keep it in a paved area so we can get out even if its muddy out. and its great for private storage.

~Would you rather the facility provide a tack locker, big enough for your saddles and other tack, or would you rather bring your own tack box

i like having the option. i think lockers attached to the floor or wall are safer. but i have a huge box and it isnt pretty when i have to park in on my front porch, instead of keeping it at the barn. large tackrooms are better, i get really p/oed when i cant keep all my stuff at the barn, what if soemthing comes up and i need it and its at home...

~What kinda barn hours would you look for

i work 9-5 so after or before that time is ideal. i like being able to come up late at night (i work till 8 durring tax season.) i like when the b/o keep an eye out. ive had people using my tack and playing with my horse when they shouldnt be.

~Would you like to recieve monthy news letters

of course. i am nosey, i like to know whats going on and what people are up to.

~cook outs and barn parties, such as, a christmas party, a summer cook out

i usually dont go if there are alot of kids at the barn. if its a more mature group of boarders i would love soemthing like that.

~Sallions
nope. ive never boarded with a stallion. they can be dangerous and i dont want my mare accidently being bred. i think thats fine if the b/o owns the stallion and hes kept seperate, and very secure and he is very good. but i dont like people boarding stallions. i think they can be quite dangerous. i used to handle one at a barn i worked at. i believe that there should be one handler that know the stallion.

I would second all of that... ^ :)

I am not at any kind of dream barn but after I move to my grandpas in the winter I will be moving to the best barn I can find so I am looking for...
-3 feedings a day
-a BO who is caring and lives on sight
-a barn that feeds grain
-has paddocks that can be closed in on rainy days
-big tack room
-security
- indoor and outdoor arena
-cleans paddocks
-good fencing
-friendly atmosphere
-place to park trailer

I had to go for the only place that I knew of within a 10 mile radius of my house! I am however considering moving as I've found that there are other places within a 10 mile radius of my house ...

anyhoo, many years ago -before I moved to the town I now live in- I had a pony and kept her at livery at a riding school, and what we had there has 'spoiled' me a bit as it was 'ideal' [just very expensive] and everything else I've seen since looks miserable in comparison

We had an indoor school (which was tiny, but fine for ponies!) a bigger "floodlit" outdoor school, a field with showjumps and a field with cross country jumps (ones we built ourselves one summer ), hacking on very very quiet roads with plenty of places where you could have a canter/gallop. There were 4 other huge fields for turnout, there was hot water available, and toilet facilities. The stables were spotless, the doors were all in good repair with working hinges and bolts, the place was painted once a year, the feed and bedding was the best quality (and therefore expensive) and the staff were brilliant.

Now I have access to an indoor school - which is smaller than 20x40 metres and has jumps permanently in the middle (you couldn't practice a Dressage test in there), the surface is old and very compacted thereby making for very hard going; I don't know how much land there is, but turnout is limited to dry weather and small 'pocket' paddocks separated with electric fencing; There are cross country jumps on the property but they don't get used; there's a set of showjumps in a field but I wasn't allowed to ride out there this summer; I don't know how quiet the roads are for riding on; IMO the stables are too small for horses over 15hh; some of the stable doors are a bit dodgy; there's only cold water; several times when I've been there, there were no staff on site; three or four times when I've been riding cars have driven up to the door of the arena - you can't see or hear them coming - spook city for the horse, and I'm very nervous about cantering near the door these days; one of the staff has spoken to me [more than once] in a manner that I felt was completely unacceptable given that I'm paying them, not them paying me!

Straw that broke the camel's back was when I went up recently and discovered that someone had pulled my horse's mane. I didn't ask them to (I wanted to grow it out a bit) and no one said anything to me about it. So I'm [discreetly] looking into moving somewhere else... although at this stage of the game I couldn't care less if they find out!

My wish list would be

• decent size stables
• hot and cold running water
• proper toilet facilities
• decent size indoor school
• outdoor school
• grass 'arena'
• all year round turnout
• off road hacking
• sensible pricing!

There is no such place.

I am a BO. What makes person A happy - person B does not care for. I have stopped trying to please everyone and I simply make sure the horses are healthy and well fed.

The perfect place is in your peace of mind.