Horse Boarding

I have been boarding at a local barn since May of 09. I have a 15 year old TWH that is just as mild and calm as a guy could as for.
The stable has 7 horses, 2 of which are what I would call ok to people but a real pain to the other horses in the barn. One is a mare and another is a gelding. They've been on the farm since birth but not the oldest horses there. The mare will chase just about anything away from the hay in the field and the gelding is just a little prick (sorry for the lauguage).

The problem I have is since I have been there my horse got kicked in the front to the knee and to the chest and put a Hematoma on his chest and a bum knee for about two weeks. We seperated them for a bit until he was heeled. Put him back out and they would pick a little but things seemed Ok. I would notice the occasional knick and cut here and there. With the hopes that they would work it out.
Well the other day I went to go for a ride and while grooming him out I noticed a Silver dollar or larger size cut on the front of his hind quarter right on the bone. The skin was ripped to the meat. It appeared to be a couple days old and I was out of town so didn't notice it myself until I returned.
I know horses will be horses but I think it has been long enough that if they would work it out it would have been by now.
I also learned that while I am gone and when I don't feed him he was getting fed nearly 4 times the amount of grain actually needed. I feed a different feed than what is provided in the barn but everyone was informed on what to feed. Also some joint supplements weren't being given.
This being said, how much notice should I give the stable owner that I am moving my horse or am I just being over concerned with the conditions in the barn. How often do your horses get into fights or get abused by other horses?

Its standard at my barn to give 30 days notice if you're leaving.....less if you want to be a jerk, however. Mostly its for advertising purposes, so if someone is interested in a stall, they can say "yes, we'll have one open at the beginning of the month" but I would say no less than two weeks. That way you don't have to make a mass exodus and you can start clearing your stuff out now.

My horse is actually an instigator--meaning that he either beats up the other horses, or gets beat up on but he's always the one who picks. Take a day and maybe go out and watch your horse interact--it could be possible that he's a bully as much as the others are. My gelding is on turn out by himself, but he has over-the-fence contact with other horses if he so chooses. It works out just fine for him.

Have you brought the feeding errors to the BO's attention? I have all of my things labeled--The feed bin has the amount of hay, number of scoops and a reminder to give his supplements in the AM, and my supplement bin has his hay ration and his grain ration written on it as well. On top of that, its written on the place card outside of his stall, and on a whiteboard in the feed room. A lot of different people do feeding, depending on the day, so that way I know for certain, unless someone is blind or can't read that he's going to get the right amount.

I'm sure my guy isn't instigating. He would rather go to the far end of the parture and be by himself or across to the other pasture. He doesn't approach other horses and minds his own business. His main problem is he doesn't stick up for himself. If he would then the other two probably wouldn't carry on like they do.

Did you sign a contract when you moved there? If not you can leave today if you want, if not you have to check what the contract tells you. Some facilities make you give notice 30 days ahead of time or if you leave before that 30 days, they retain your deposit(assuming you made one when you first moved in).
The last barn I was had some really serious horse caring problems, where most horses were not being fed what they were supposed to or they were not being cared for(injuries or other), the way they were supposed to for the amount of money they were being paid.

The barn owners who also managed the barn were cheap and constantly tried to cut costs down to make more profit, happened to the point where the health of the horses in question was a real issue.

I packed my stuff and left that week, gave them 5 days notice and left. Was not worth the deposit.

Get OUT!!! That isn't fair to your horse that he continually gets placed in harm and gets hurt all of the time. He has no business sharing space with a horse who is kicking him like that. It will get to the point where he will be lame or worse and it's just not worth it.

I don't board my horses, (i have 5 ) but my horses get bullied around the
Pasture.
I have 4 minitures charlie,stella,luruance,and bubba (bubba has beautiful features he was bred by my aunt a judge in minitures and full size horses)
And a full size 16.2 19 year old QH and she bullies my smaller horses
ALL the time.lol.

Thanks!

Taylor

I am sorry your horse is getting picked on. Unfortunately, that happens sometimes. Some places separate the geldings and mares which can be a good idea. Ask lots of questions when you find a new barn - talk to the other boarders - find out the personalities of the horses when pastured together. Talk to the people in charge and see if you think you'll get along with them - let them know what you expect as far as the care of your horse is concerned - then proceed if you are satisfied. You want what's best for your horse and there is NO reason he should still be getting picked on since you have had him in that facility for a good while now. The barn manager should not let that happen to him, either. There is a difference between normal pecking order and what your horse is experiencing, in my opinion. It is unacceptable to let horses fight and abuse each other - a manager should come up with a way to make each and every horse comfortable and happy! You should not have to worry about somebody feeding your horse the wrong feed or wrong amount of feed, either - that could cause your horse to colic or worse! And, your horse should get his scheduled supplements. I always asked for 1 month notice if a boarder intended to leave but if you pay the board for that month, two weeks notice would be sufficient. Usually a barn can fill a space quickly. Whenever I had a new horse come in, I would put him in a paddock where he could introduce himself to the other guys and before I put him in the pasture, I would put some Vicks Vapor Rub on all the noses so they had no idea there was a new guy in town! That really worked in my situation! I wish you and your horse the best of luck!

We have 5 horses in together, all geldings. One of my geldings is the boss - He bites a lot but haven't seen him kick. Three of the geldings are very submissive - However, my other gelding Wildey knows how to get out of the way and her is never hurt, despite being bullied. The other two, one worse than the other, just don't get out of the way and so they get cuts and scrapes.

It is normally an issue with the bullied horse more than the bulliers - There are always horses who bully/dominate, they are the natural leaders, and there are always the submissive horses. It is just how smart the submissive horses are!

If I were in your situation, I would move. "Mean" horses should be separated. I have two that like to pick on one of our geldings, but as long as we have two or three round bales out there, he has plenty to eat and never gets messed with. If he were to become injured (he never has, they just chase him), then I would separate him and a friend to their own private pasture or paddock.

If you did not sign a contract that specified how much notice you had to give, then I would think two weeks would be plenty. Or, if you're afraid that they may quit feeding your horse or other type of petty behavior, then just leave one day, in the middle of your month, so they get two free weeks of board pay. They can't really complain about that, lol.

Good luck!