I manage a small boarding operation. Its a pretty tight knit group of us and for the most part drama free (knock on wood). Yesterday I had made plans tonride with a barnmate as we where getting ready another boarder showed up to show his mare to some potential buyers. So we took our time grooming to let them have the outdoor ring free. When I grabbed whaat I thought was my flyspray off the wall with the rest of the flyspray (I am the only one with this particular brand and I have my bottles marked). As I started to spray both the barn owner, boarder, and myself all relise that something wasn't right. Someone had filled a bottle with paint thinner and hung it with the rest of the fly spray bottles. The barn owner tossed it and I went to bath my gelding who I had unwittingly sprayed with paint thinner. Everyone else brused it off as a accident, but it put me on edge. That evening when I got to the barn for evening feed and turn out I realise both my halters had been taken from my horses stalls where I had left them that morning when I brought them in. Now the boarder who was showing his horse that am and his girlfriend had moved their horses home that afternoon so part of me feels they probably stole them but the fact of the to incidents so close togeather makes me feel like I and my horses have been targeted and I don't know why. I leave to go out of thr country in 4 days and now its like do I cancel my trip and lose my deposits? Am I just over reacting? Opnions?
Was this a problem boarder? Did you have words with either of them over something before they moved? If not, I'm going to say you're paranoid.
Yes, they may have stolen your halters which is a pain, but unless there was some sort of major argument you had with any of the boarders I'm going to say the paint thinner was an accident.
I would be much more concerned over the paint thinner incident than the halters going missing.. was the bottle the paint thinner wound up in a hand-labeled generic one or the original bottle the fly spray came in? Was it fairly empty the last time you used it? I could maybe understand someone grabbing a random generic bottle if the hand-written label was small.. and maybe someone else saw the bottle laying around afterwards and put it with the rest of the fly spray, not realizing it was no longer full of fly spray.. but it would worry me.
If the bottle was the original container.. then I would be furious as hell, as that sure seems like an intentionally malicious act. Stealing a halter - while certainly not right and very annoying - does not potentially cause direct harm to a horse or person.
These particular boarders no I was on good terms with. I serched the barn, both the tack room I share with the BO and the boarder tack rooms no halters. My stalls are closes to the arena so my guess is they walked off with the closes halters. Why use your own when you can use someone elses. I have had words with one boarder in the past who was neglectful of board payments, her horse wasnt manageable on the ground even by herself and put my staff at risk. The final straw was when she accused me of causing her horse to collic ( he had a mildcollicd on a trail after I had advised her not to take him out and she didn't tell anyone just threw him back in the pasture, luckily he was fine). There is also the former barn managers ex husband. The former bm still boards on the property. The ex husband is out on bail for assault charges, but not supposed to leave his county. I am probably just being parinoid. Still why would someone put paint thinner in a flyspray bottle
I would say the halters were stolen if they don't turn up somewhere soon. If someone grabbed them because they were handy then somewhere there should be two extra halters. The paint thinner does concern me more. Yes someone might have taken an empty fly spray bottle and used it and someone else might have found it and put it back, but deliberate or carelessness it still is an issue. I would not get paranoid about these things but would certainly be on watch.
I'm not sticking up for anyone, but people really can be careless and not even know it. They should've put a label on there, if it was paint thinner. They may have seen the empty fly spray and just figured 'oh, I can use this'.
So dangerous though. Whoever it was, should be ashamed.
I think the BO should keep a close watch on things. And, missing halters may not seem like something so serious, but it's not right either. I'm sure you are concerned, since you're going away in 4 days. Like, what else can happen right?! I hope they get to the bottom of this.
The spot on the wall I tested yesterday and the bottle in question. Only the barn owners and myself do improvement work around the barn I have spoke with the owners one of witch was present when we discovered it and neither claim to have any idea and I believe them. I have trouble understanding why someone would do this.
Hubby is horrible about snatching up my empty fly spray bottles and putting other stuff in them. I always have to smell them to make sure they contain what they should.
I understand accidents can happen, but why put the fly spray bottle with paint thinner back on the wall with the other fly sprays....?
Or maybe someone did put the paint thinner in the that bottle and left it out of reach, then someone else saw it and thought it was fly spray and put it back on the wall. But then again it should be marked.
Sometimes I wonder how people think...
Personally if I was at a boarding barn this would make me angry. There is too many people and horses to risk doing this.
I keep my horses at my place, and if this would happen because of my Fiancé or father I would at least be able to know who did and give them a ear full.
The paint thinner could be anything. Someone could have seen the empty container and thought it was convenient to use, or have mixed up the paint thinner can with fly spray (some of those smell pretty close to paint thinner) and refilled it by accident. There are a bunch of different scenarios.
Unfortunately, at boarding facilities, it's not unusual for thing to grow legs and walk away. When I boarded fly spray, halters and lead ropes and LUNGE WHIPS were the most common things to go missing. Frequently never turned up either. It's a PIA but that's kind of a fact of life unless you have individual locking tack rooms, and of course that doesn't solve the halter & lead problems because those need to hang at the horse's stall for safety.
If the people who moved out took your halters, at least that problem is gone now. And may their fingers be pricked with thistle stickers! Write your name on new halters with permanent ink to make them less attractive to crooks.
Always give a spray bottle the sniff test prior to use.
It would be kind to say people can be thoughtless...I prefer stupid.
Don't cancel your trip!!!!
I manage the facility, besides myself the only others doing work around the property are the owners. Neither of the owners filled a bottle with paint thinner and neither have I. We have a very small facility, 5 boarders currently, none of whom have any reason to bring paint thinner to the barn. We keep all of the mantinance tools locked up. As much as I want to believe this was an accident I am having a hard time believing it. I have notified boarders to keep their flyspray in the tack room locked up as I will from this point on disposing of any left out.
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