If I am paying money to board my horse, I do not want to be told I cannot come out and ride at certain times or days.
The ‘Monday barn closed rule’ is ridiculous. Let’s say I am paying $500/month on board and there are 30 days in the month, that makes $16.67 a day. If the average month has four Mondays, that’s $66.68 per month I should not have to pay for. I’m not able to see an animal I legally own and I pay to be cared for and use the facilities? Not right. I think my new board bill is $433.32 for my missed Monday riding!
Now, as a barn manager or owner, I can understand wanting a day free of boarders. I mean, the horses are the easy part of the business. The people, are a headache. Even the people you like are sill “work”. But, why not take a different option. I think saying no turnout, no lessons, EVEN no stall cleaning makes sense, but to not allow paying boarders to come see their horses or to ride is wrong.
I can understand barn hours since people may be living on the horse property and barn gates need to be locked. Of course, if you have a working second or third shift boarder that is a good client you can trust, allowing that person to ride at “closed” hours should be offered. Some barn owners may object to those working graveyards coming to the barn outside of barn hours because “no one will be there.” But, even during open hours, there are times when there is no one else out at the barn, so that excuse alone doesn’t work. Easy solution: have ‘em sign an additional waiver.
I can understand wanting a day free of boarders. I mean, the horses are the easy part of the business.
Closing the barn at 5pm on weekends is another terrible barn rule. Not EVERYONE wants to ride while there are a million Saturday afternoon lessons going on. Some people do appreciate the ring to themselves. Riding isn’t a social event for everyone.
So, if you are at a barn with barn rules or barn hours that don’t make sense to you, make a stink about it, especially if you are missing out on times you would like to be at the barn. You pay good money to own a horse which means you should be able to see your horse at reasonable times.
Ride everyday and don’t let anyone stop you, especially barn hours!
I hate that my barn is closed Monday. I usually can’t get out to the barn on the weekends because I have plans with my husband so I like to ride after work and wish I could ride on Monday. You make a good point on discounting my board!!!! I think I would get kicked out though.
I think most bigger show barns are closed on Monday. That is the trainers day off and they don’t like people riding when they aren’t there. I guess it makes sense if you have a strict program with all of the boarders and riders.
I am at a bigger show barn and my barn isn’t closed on Mondays. I don’t think there are really hours at my barn. Even though pretty much everyone goes to the big A shows it’s pretty laid back barn without a ton of rules. I wouldn’t like being told when I can and can’t go out to the barn.
I have never experienced this phenomenon, but have heard about it. I would not be amused if I was told I could not come to see or work with my horse. I would not board my horse at a place that limited when or how I could ride my horse. I have a few friends that board at places where you cannot jump or go out on trail rides without supervision of an instructor. I might understand some of this idea for minors, but someone 18 years and up; this is ridiculous. I agree to that about half of the time I like riding alone and half the time I like riding with others. It is very peaceful to just be alone out on the trail or in an arena with your horse.
> “I think saying no turnout, no lessons, EVEN no stall cleaning makes sense, but to not allow paying boarders to come see their horses or to ride is wrong.”
No turn out is fine? No stall cleaning is fine? But wait, if you inconvenience ME then, well, you deserve the shit you get??
Whether or not I agree with the barn being closed on Monday is besides the point when I read that. What ever happened to putting the HORSE first?
I board my horse at a barn that doesn’t turn out or clean stalls on Sundays. The barn isn’t closed or anything. I don’t think any of the horses seem to care that they don’t go outside I guess they all know the routine. Some of the boarders clean their own stalls on Sundays, but most don’t. I don’t think the horses really care and I don’t mind cleaning my own stall once a week. I kinda like doing it actually.
I don’t like the idea of not going out to see my horse when I want to. I board at a hunter/jumper show barn that ISN’T closed on Mondays. No one really goes out on Mondays either. I go out every Monday and maybe once a month I see someone else out there.
The trainer doesn’t work on Mondays, the horses don’t go out on Mondays, and the stalls are only picked out (poop). Most the time I don’t think they are cleaned at all. Its just the way it is. I personally go out on Mondays because my horse doesn’t go outside and because it is really nice to ride when there aren’t a million people out at the barn!
I personally think my horse would rather get ridden than go outside.
You think Monday’s are bad…We can’t come when they are feeding, or when they are eating. When the owner has lessons, from 12 – 2, that’s her time, after 6. And no Sunday’s. That’s her day. I didn’t know how crazy the times were…since they are not posted, and not in the contract. I think we can come for 2 hours durring the when we are not being an inconvience to her.
Yes….I am trying to find a new place to board.
I guess I was even more fortunate than I realized being able to board for 15 years at the barn I had. There were no time rules; the barn was never closed; you could live there if you wanted.
It was a family run operation with about 50 horses, and we boarders were like extended family. We were always welcome. They took great care of the horses too. That’s probably why they had a 2 year waiting list. ;o)
My barn has hours that nobodys follows lol. We are open 7days a wk 9am-9pm daily – but there is one boarder whose horse is very ill she checks on him 4-5 x’s a day and is there until almost 11pm everynight with him. My owner would never dream of telling her to not be there “after hours” and i personally clean stalls at my barn for a part time job i get tehre at 4 am to start… I think barn hours are silly sometimes.. i understand the barn owner/ manager or trainers want some time without boarders or students but how many barns really follow their hours?
I would never board a horse where I was not allowed 24/7 access to him. I went the other route…I found a nice lady who’s kids had horses but they had grown up and moved away. She has pasture, paddocks, stalls and feed/tack areas that were just sitting there on five acres of land. For a very reasonable amount of money ($200 amonth for both of my horses) I rent the horse areas and do all my own care. Yes, it means leaving for work half an hour early and sometimes means getting home quite late, but it is worth the extra work! I have no dressage queens to deal with, no barn owner to argue with, my horses are guaranteed to be fed and cared for according to my wishes!
Boy, Melissa, do you sound like a spoiled brat. You say “have them sign an extra waiver” That does not legally protect the barn owner AT All. It is thrown out in any court case. Many barns cannot afford a “night shift” People who take horses to board have a 80-90 hour work week. Do you really expect barn owner to drag out at midnight (someone HAS to be responsible if there is anyone on the property) after putting a 15 hour day? You assume that if there are limits on hours, the barn owner has not done any work at that time and so you should not have to pay for that time. WRONG! horses need to be cared for 7 days a week. And their manure, getting the hay in, getting calls from worried owners who ask that their horse be brought in because there is a storm, and the horse may get hit by lightening. Then two hours later, a call to turn the horse out again. Sometimes even at night. I have sat with a sick horse all night, when the owner did not want to get out of bed. I have called the vet out, and had to pay $350 immediately for that emergency call. Only to have the owner say breezily, “i’ll pay you back”. But I never got the money.
I care first about the horses, and I give my ALL to the owners. But I cannot work 24/7.
I would hold one hell of a stink if, on Mondays, my horse was not being turned out and his stall was not being cleaned… but because I couldn’t ride? Time mgt. skills go a long way. So does compromise. Give the barn a break and manage to rewire your schedule to accomodate Mondays off, ESPECIALLY if you go into the barn well aware it is close on Mondays. Why bitch after the fact?
I agree, barn hours do suck. especially if your horse is lame, needs meds, or whatnot, and then you have to PAY EXTRA for barn staff to do it…WTF??
BTW – I LOVE my current barn – NO BARN HOURS!!!! I’ve been out riding at 10pm, and at 5:30am! I love my barn owners, staff, feeding program, low drama rate….can’t get better than that
I agree that barn hours suck, although I think 10pm is a reasonable time for most days. Although some people who work all day like to rest before going to the barn, and that may mean them being out until quite late finishing up so I think that a fair rule is that everyone should be finishing up should by 10 and barn lights are out and gates shut at 11 latest unless you have special permission from the barn owner. I hate barns where you have to plan around what everyone else’s schedule is, which is especially a pain for people like me who already have to plan around their work on a week to week basis PLUS barn hours AND lessons which are booked on a week to week basis and never consistent. There can be other riders in the ring during lessons, but it’s so chaotic when there’s a lesson of like 2-3 people plus 2-3 other riders all trying to avoid each other because it’s the only time they can ride because of barn hours, lesson times, AND they have to be at work that day! lol
but one rule that confuses the HELL out of me, is NO jumping unless there’s a qualified instructor supervising. OMGWTF!??? It’s my own fucking horse if I fall off it’s my problem!! I’m told it’s for liability and insurance reasons, but really, if I fall off when an instructor is coaching me over fences, I can more easily sue them saying they were pushing me and my horse too hard, didn’t set up the distances right, etc. whereas if something happens because I was pushing my horse too hard, or I screwed up measuring the distances between fences, etc, it’s my own goddamn fault! I can also see if I was riding someone else’s horse or one of the instructor’s horses, but this is MY OWN horse! I don’t understand, is there something I’m missing? o.O
So I do agree that a barn should not keep their clients from coming to see their horse on Mondays but unfortunately your $16.67/day is not about your visit to the farm, but rather the feed, hay, shavings, electricity, stall cleaning and worker’s wages to keep watch over your horse as most full boarding barns are responsible for. I am not sure why a barn owner would be so adamant about the horse owners not being able to visit their own horse when they want to, but let’s not be ignorant as to where that money goes. Barn owners do not make money off of the board if they are charging in the $500-$650 range a month and can only make a living from participating clients. Maybe if you bring your own feed and hay and make Mondays your “partial board” days then maybe they would kindly refund the $16.67 for each Monday. But then again, part of that would have to go for the roof over your horse’s head that the barn owner must pay every month. I wish I got Monday’s free at my house– my rent would drop considerably…. even while on vacation!
I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum and there is nothing nicer than having a day of peace and quiet in which you don’t have to deal with one single boarder/customer. but as a boarder I expect to ride when I want to ride or more appropriately when I’m able to ride.
However that $16.67/day does in fact cover visiting the farm. It pays for the facility and it’s use. Often the price is dependent on what the facility has to offer (indoor, outdoor, jumps, xc jumps, field, trails, hot/cold water, wash stall, etc.) So while your board check does in fact help to pay feed, bedding, water, electricity, gas, wages, upkeep, and a million other things, it also goes to help pay property taxes, mortgage/rent, and updates/improvements (well hopefully anyway).
When I bought my horse (recently – I purchased him in October 2012) one of my biggest worries was barn hours. I’m a night owl by nature and tend to work long hours to boot. I did research on nearly every barn/stable within 30 miles and they all closed at 8-9pm and had a “closed” day. Even more off-putting was how annoyed those places all sounded when I called to ask questions and see about visiting their facilities. I didn’t want to be treated like an inconvenience, and it made me question how they would treat my dear Nicodemus! I’m fortunate to have purchased him from friends who knew just where to send me. I’m boarding at an arena 5 miles from home for $275/mo, the owners and half the staff live on site and the property has been in the family forever – at least 65 years (so no mortgage!). I love the owners! The first time I met them I asked what their hours were and they said “you can ride at 2am if ya have the gumption, just turn off the lights when you leave” LOL. Not only that but there doesn’t seem to be any drama, at least not yet. I’ve told everyone I’ve met there (and there are easily 75-100 other owners based on the number of horses) that I’m not only a new boarder but also a new owner and they’ve all been so incredibly nice and helpful, not a judging eye in the bunch! I’ll have to bake my stable owners some cookies.
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