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Opinions on pooled equipment

2K views 31 replies 26 participants last post by  boots 
#1 ·
Hello!
I accidentally derailed another thread with this question. Sorry about that.

I've always boarded at places where each person's tack is their own. People only borrow tack with express permission. Personally, if a barn manager told me my halter and lead were to be made available for general use, I'd think they were crazy. But I think I'm in the minority. I've heard from others that the open sharing of smaller tack items is common.

I wonder if I'm being petty if get annoyed about people using my tack without asking.

My last barn was an Arab breeding facility in Las Vegas. (not Wayne Newton, lol) Before that it was a Paso Fino barn in Washington state. Both were run by wonderful, kind people. At both, I could always count on my halter and lead being in the proper place (where I left it).

If pooled halters/leads are common at your barn please mention the region. I have a theory that mid-westerners are less picky then us Californians. :P
 
#2 ·
I only have experience w/ two barns: the fancy show barn where we take lessons, which probably has 10-ish boarders, and the non-fancy barn where we board (Only 1 other boarder besides me). At the show barn, I know they share things like shampoo, leg wraps, brushes, show sheen, etc. As for tack, all of the horses have their halters either on their heads or hanging on their stall door, from what I can tell. Lunge lines, whips, lead ropes, etc. seem to be community property. I'm not sure if boarders bring in their own things in addition. It seems like they all have a saddle, but it's stored in a community tack room.

At the barn where we board, where it's just me, the BO, one other boarder, and two trainers, we all sort of share. Everyone has their own stuff, but it's no big deal to borrow someone else's. It helps that we're not ever there at the same time.
 
#3 ·
I'm from the Midwest.

At my barn most of the boarders are outside only boarders. Because of that we have racks at the end of the aisle for halters and leadropes. Because there's a lot of jumbling that goes on when you have 20+ horses to care for we have the rule that if you don't want your halters used by the general public to put them in the tack room, and either provide a spare halter for the workers (aka me) to use or allow us to use any old halter we grab.

Same goes for lead ropes. This way there's no bickering about whose halter is on who's horse or how soandso can use it but so and so cannot, and all that drama, is avoided.

I've found that being open and honest is the best way to make everyone happy. It avoids a lot of drama and confusion and sometimes it's best to just 'join the flow'.
 
#4 ·
I've seen a couple barns with commons halters/leads. Those places were typically had the majority of horses as lesson horse or were owned by the BO. The boarders had halters/leads of their own, but there are just so many communal ones laying around it was just easier. Plus their stuff didn't get mixed up with all the others!!

Now, my barn doesn't have communal tack per say, but I absolutely don't mind if someone borrows something from me like a halter or a lunge line. I'm friends with all the people at my barn and they are respectful of my stuff if/when they borrow and they would have no problem replacing it if something broke. We do not share at "major" tack, like saddles, bridles, pads, etc.
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#5 ·
Can't imagine taking anything without permission. That's the definition of stealing.

However, most places where I do overnight or short term stall and paddock rental when traveling, require a halter be left hanging near the gate in case of emergency.

I picked up some very ugly, very orange rope halters for $5 years ago. I leave one of them. I also use those as loaners to anyone needing one.

Funny thing. I always, always get them back. Hmmmm
 
#18 ·
Can't imagine taking anything without permission. That's the definition of stealing.
I picked up some very ugly, very orange rope halters for $5 years ago. I leave one of them. I also use those as loaners to anyone needing one.

Funny thing. I always, always get them back. Hmmmm
ROFL! That was MY thought!!
I like how the barn where Incatatus32 boards has addressed this issue, too.
But, I really wonder, if you leave a very expensive, like $5K+ saddle in the communal tack room and find somebody else schooling with it, when you KNOW that they own their own saddle, how will you deal with it? IT MUST have happened at these places where people grab by use.
Do you constantly transport your own tack?
 
#6 ·
I have my stuff, and everyone has their own stuff where I board. I don't really mind if someone borrows my stuff briefly and then puts it back, but it does irritate me if my stuff isn't where I put it. It may not seem like a two dollar hoofpick or a six dollar bucket is a big deal. But, when you've gone through ten of them because they disappear, that 20 or 60 bucks.
 
#8 ·
Until recently I boarded at a place that had a pretty lax attitude on things like halters. It drove me crazy. I don't really mind if someone borrows my horse's halter for a quick horse move (say, moving a horse from their stall to the arena) and then puts it back, but the turn out person took a strong liking to my halter because it fit all the horses in the barn (except for the Percheron) and she'd only put it back on his stall about half the time. When I'd show up at the barn there was no telling where my halter would be, and the end of the lead rope was always being dragged through wet and mud.

I definitely prefer that the barn staff either use only the horse's specific halter on each horse, or have their own supply of halters to use for turn out and such. As for other boarders, they should have their own halters and tack, and shouldn't use other boarders' things without permission.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I'm in close to eastern TN, and the barn I'm at, we all have our own bridle/halter hangers, saddle racks, and grooming/supply shelves provided by the barn owner. At no point will someone ever touch your things without asking. A lot of the boarders are loaning me things since I am a new horse owner, to prevent me from going out and buying things and finding out I don't like them (like cinch straps and split reins for instance, I was always an English rider but now I'm a primarily western barn but really prefer my English style reins and honestly, I am about to switch back to English minus my trail riding gear). I always put them back when I am done, I make sure they are clean and how I found them. The crazy thing too is two people offered to let me use their trailers to practice trailer loading my horse. I of course wont do that without them present because god forbid we damage something, I don't want drama at the only boarding facility close to me, lol.

Also, I think even if someone wanted to use my tack, they'd have a hard time since my boy is the smallest horse outside of the BO's mini, as well as being the only arabian, so no one else fits in cob sized head gear lol.

I found out they don't even use our halters when catching and bringing the horses in for the night, they use halters that belong to the barn. I guess it's faster for them, but they literally use nothing that belongs to me when dealing with my horse (minus his feed and supplements I provide since they're the ones who do all that, but it only goes to my horse).
 
#11 ·
At my old barn, the BO had a big rack of halters and lead ropes that were available for communal use. I used one on my gelding for a little while when I first bought him, until I could get him his own (he was kind of an impulse buy). You could also borrow any of the headstalls/bits, saddles, and saddle pads he had, as long as you didn't damage it and you put it back. Heck, the headstall and saddle my gelding was broken out in and we used for his first four rides belonged to the BO. The one bad thing about this was that somehow the BO thought that it was share-and-share-alike with everything. He flat-out stole my friend's saddle bags off her saddle, then had the nerve to claim he'd had them for years. :icon_rolleyes:

At the barn I'm at now, the BO does have halters that she'll just grab if she's moving horses in a hurry, but for the most part, it's everybody has their own stuff. However, my halter and lead disappeared for quite a while one summer. The BO had no idea where they were, as she usually kept them hanging in the same place all the time. Wouldn't have been a huge deal, except my gelding wears a draft-sized halter and there isn't another horse at the barn whose head his halter will fit. They finally showed back up in a random spot, hanging on a post in the middle of the property. Weird part is, the BO's husband was helping me look for them and we had both walked by that post three or four times...and the halter wasn't there every time we walked by. He walked by one more time, and it magically appeared. :shock:

ETA: I'm in Arizona, BTW.
 
#12 ·
I can't imagine people using my stuff without asking. There are areas where shared items are left (i.e., tack room medicine cabinet; washstall where shared shampoos are left). But outside of that, it would seem crazy to me if I got to the barn and saw another horse with my horse's halter and lead on. Her halter also has an engraved nameplate, which would make it doubly weird.
 
#13 ·
The barn I go to has buckets filled and lined up in the tack room with grooming supplies...brushes, curry combs, hoof picks, fly spray, etc. Those are for communal use. Each person/horse has a spot in the tack room where they each have a halter, saddle, bridle, whatever, and no on else uses that stuff. There is also an area where tack for the lesson horses is at. Each of the lesson horses has it's own halter, lead, and bridle but the halters are somewhat interchangable if needed. Major tack like saddles are shared among lesson horses, but there are two dressage saddles, multiple western saddles, and a few jumping saddles I think.

I have a half lease on one of the horses that's at that barn so his owner keeps her saddle, bridle, and other grooming equipment in her trailer. His halter is in the tack room though so that the BO doesn't have to find everyone's halter if she needs it.

Edited to add: I'm in central Texas
 
#15 ·
We have our own stuff. I have never seen communal halters, but there are some extra barn leads used by the BM for bringing horses in and out. I had the misfortune of having my hunt riddle stolen at the previous barn. It was not fancy, but was 30 years old and well cared for. Now I mark everything I can.

The problem with too much sharing is that once it starts with something like halters, it is easy for some to justify "borrowing" anything they please. And if something is lost or broken, how would one know who is responsible?

I have some rail risers that are mine. Initially I allowed others to use them asking only they be put back in the area where I use them. After hunting them down several times, I started storing them in my car trunk. Although they are light, it is a little inconvenient to do that, but it was more inconvenient to hunt them down when they would disappear.

Signed "Does not share well with others" Michigan
 
#16 ·
I wouldn't mind someone using my stuff if they asked though to be honest I'd rather they didn't
On the yard's where I've been in charge no one touched anyone else's stuff without asking and very few people ever did, seems to avoid arguments and bad feeling that way
We did keep our horses on a yard when my youngest was a baby because we thought it would make life easier, people would just help themselves and it drove me mad having to go around searching for my own things so I could use them
 
#17 ·
Maybe we lucked out. With our communal pool we don't have anyone get into anybody else's equipment. I've yet to have the boarders throw a fit because someone used their saddle against their wishes or someone didn't put their leadrope back.

Except for training clients who get into the trainers equipment but that's another story! :lol:
 
#19 ·
I only boarded for a short time, but it was kind of common knowledge that everyone "borrowed" everyone's stuff. Except me. I like having my own things and don't borrow and would rather not share (unless asked, of course). What I did was mark pretty much everything with my initials in permanent marker. Not my saddle or pad, but pretty much everything else. All my brushes, halters, fly spray, even $1 hoof picks. Sometimes my grooming stuff would go missing and I could easily reclaim (in someone else's tote!) if it had my initials on it.

I don't think anyone did it to steal, it was more like, "gee, I need a brush and I know whose grooming kit has the perfect one!"

Now every once in a while, almost 20 years later, I will pick up a hoof pick or some other rarely used grooming tool with my initials on it and know it was from back in my boarding days. :wink: I even marked my folding saddle stand since it looked like everyone else's.
 
#20 ·
I gotta say being able to randomly grab a brush at any time does sound handy. My problem with that is that I have a habit of putting stuff (picks, grooma, etc.) in my back pocket, then finding it in the washing machine.

For me, I like to buy quality tack and supplies, but I have very little disposable income. So buying any piece of tack is a debate about how much hamburger helper I can feed my family. Lol, how many horses eat better than their owners? In the end I am a bit possessive. If I know somebody well I'll lend stuff without issue. But, if I buy something, I need it to last. My gelding had the same leather halter for 5 years. It had molded to the shape of his funny little head and it fit him like a glove. The last thing I wanted was heat and sweat of another horse altering it.

I think mainly I'm afraid of my tack walking off or being abused. It sounds like people have had mixed results.

Conversely, not all the tack I own is safe for anyone to use. I do small tack repairs myself. What if somebody borrows but doesn't spot the break? I have a stud chain from before my boy was gelded. I have side reins. I have an antique spanish spade bit with a HUGE port. What if some idiot put it on his horse and the horse flipped out and killed him? I'd feel terrible for the horse.

Why do I even have a spade bit? Somebody gave it to me. It's work of art, so I can't bare to smash it. But looking at it makes me nauseous, so it's crammed into a corner of my truck.

Love, love the orange halter idea!! Maybe I'll get my next set in baby-diaper contents green!!!
 
#22 ·
An image just came to my mind of a bunch of grooming supplies attached to a tree by chains. Kind of like a larger version of the pens at the bank :eek:) So no one could steal them.

I stated previously about how it's handled at my barn, but forgot to add that during the summer when the BO is hosting Summer Camp...all bets are off!! If you have something that you don't want to be messed with, put it up somewhere. And if you want to ensure that there are grooming supplies when/where you need them...bring your own. Because every grooming bucket will be missing at least one or two items (usually hoof picks) and will also be full of rubber bands, ribbons, and finger paint.
 
#24 ·
An image just came to my mind of a bunch of grooming supplies attached to a tree by chains.

Our barn actually does have "free use" hoofpicks hanging on a hook at the cross-ties by each of the three doors. Barn assistants pick feet for all lesson and boarders when horses come in at night, so there are communal options. I forgot about that.
 
#25 ·
I think things like every day halters and ropes are one thing but I would be very annoyed at someone using my tack.

Certain things like the lunge whip were left in the arena and there for anyone to use.

I liked to keep grooming tools for each individual horse.

Sprays are expensive so again they shouldn't be taken without permission.
 
#26 ·
We're in Florida, and At my barn I keep a communal bucket of grooming supplies out for my students and leassors. Just brushes, hoof picks, combs... But each horse has their own halter and lead, and each halter has a tag on it with the horses name, my phone number (or the owners phone number) and the barn address on it. (I do this because we often get nasty storms, and when the wind is supposed to be bad, I turn all the horses out in the pasture with their halters on. The barn is safe, but has an aluminum roof, and after a hurricane ripped off the aluminum roof of my old barn, I'm paranoid)

For saddles, my students generally use one of mine, or bring their own. Same for my leassors. Each horse has their own bridles, specific to their needs, so they don't share those. Boarders have their own tack and nobody messes with anybody else's stuff.

Medications, shampoos, sprays, and supplements are not shared either. The boarders label theirs with their names, mine are left unlabeled. My students and leassors use my stuff.

So I guess we're kind of half and half.
 
#27 ·
Every place that I've ever boarded or ridden, the owner provides his/her own stuff....no communal sharing. PEOPLE use your own stuff not someone else's. It may be different if students are riding a horse owned by the barn, but still the student would use the product supplied by the BO not some random boarder's stuff....
 
#28 ·
The one barn I boarded at, they had a problem with people stealing other people's things. So became the lockers that you put your own lock on for your tack, etc. Chances are if you left something out you would never see it again. Or you would have to steal it back from someone else. Pretty pathetic and juvenile. You can only imagine the behind-the-back talking that went on.
Needless to say, that is one good thing about having my horses on my own property now. I couldn't STAND the drama! People can be pretty pitiful sometimes and it's unfortunate.
 
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