GOOD HORSE OWNERS ARE HARD TO FIND
My friend Karen has four nice, safe stalls and a small arena in her back yard here in Yorba Linda. She has her own horse, Lena, and she boards out the other three stalls. Boy is she having a hard time. People move their horses in, pay the board on time, but then never come to see their horse. Weeks go by and the poor horse has not been brushed, or exercised at all. So she boots them out and she gets different people, with the same results over and over again. So many bad, negligent horse owners. So many!
.jpg)
I knew that she would have this problem even before she built the stalls. I was at different public boarding facilities for over thirty five years. Public boarding facilities can house up to 150 horses, or more. The same 20 people are there just about every day. They are the “good” horse owners. A lot of horses are ignored and neglected. Neglect is abuse, period. Ignored, neglected horses suffer! Lack of exercise, grooming and love is abuse, period!
So, what should Karen do to get a good group of horse owners in her backyard? Have the horse owners sign a contract. They will be there at least four days a week to exercise their horse or they cannot come in. Interview them before they come in and make them sign a contract.
We are lucky because where we keep our horses they have thirteen stalls. We have five people there and they are all excellent horse owners. We are all there every day. But we also have 6 empty stalls because “good horse owners are hard to find”.
5 Responses to “GOOD HORSE OWNERS ARE HARD TO FIND”
Shop our online store today. Use order code: HORSESDIY to receive your free Swarovski crystal and leather key ring on any order of $26 or more. Buy 2 of these same keyrings and get the third one FREE! These Key Fobs come packaged in a Satin-Lined Gift Box and they make an excellent gift for anybody teachers, coaches, moms, sisters, etc. (not just equestrians). ORDER NOW!
Remember to use order code HORSESDIY
Cec, i checked out your website and it looks like a great place to have a horse. BUT…please tell me the 6×10 stalls are a typo. 10x10s are bad enough…really? OH MY GOD. Can they even lay down??
A 6 by 10 stall is called a standing stall but they still lie down, of course they are only in there for a few hours over night. The horse is backed in so they still see everything that is happening, they can lie down, and even turn around if they want to put there head in the corner for quiet time. These are only used for our smaller breeds.
I would send you a picture but don't know how to upload it.
"smaller breeds" refers to minis, right?
why is that referred to as a regular stall?
Sorry I have to disagree, it is not abuse. If you neglect them at a terrible boarding barn or in your back yard and not check, that is stupid. But to know your horse is well taken care of at a good barn, where he is turned out with a good bunch of horses, that is not abuse. The word abuse and rescue are so over used in our language right now. Abuse is starving a horse to death, or beating it senseless, not leaving it in the hands of a capable boarding barn, where it is turned out everyday into a big field.
Just because you can make it out to the barn everyday and some people can't doesn't make owners abusers. I have owners that come out a once a week, or once a month or maybe several times a year. I take care of their horses all the same. The horse doesn't care if they are ridden or groomed, they care about the next time the hay is coming, or what their pasture mate is eating over there, or what the heck is going down the road! A good boarding barn takes care of them all equally well.
It may be sad that owner's don't make time, but it is not negligent or in anyway abusive.
bet she misses having me there, eh? =]
jack, can you send me this pic? we never got any of them
thanks!