present boarder vs new boarder paying more....rant

I moved my horse to be retired at a very nice farm. He was to be turned out in a big field, about 10 acres, with another horse that we specifically matched up. My horse is an alpha and the other just a good guy. All was well, except for the buddy attachment but he was fat and happy...Then all of a sudden I get a phone call that the farm had received a call from someone looking for a field for 4 young horse a mixed group and they wanted them together. So my horse gets bumped from his field! and thrown in with a herd of older horses with a well established pecking order. My horse is a clear alpha..this was not going to work. My biggest problem was that I had no alternatives....
So, we moved them and it was not very pretty but it seemed they were working it out...I had to work the next 3 days but I got calls saying things were better..So I had hope..
I go to see my horse the next day and he has been bitten, kicked and had a bad gash on his left hind leg that needed attention..he was not weight bearing on it...He was fried in the brain and just not happy. I called the office 3 times and no one returned my calls. I called my old BO and asked if we can come back. I explained what was going on....She said we can pick him up in the morning, it was already 10pm....
I didn;t know if he would get in the trailer..He jumped in and almost ran her over....He was brought there physically sound but had some brain issues we where trying to work out, he left there refired in the brain and now lame and foot sore....he got home. looked around and totally relaxed. He has been his same bratty self as always...He was just not happy there..
Am I wrong to feel slighted? In addition to me being a boarder my daughter has been in their lesson program for over 2 years. we lesson lease a pony and take 2 lessons a week..Does she stay there or does she go too?
Then how do I move my horse again without him freaking out?

Was it clear -- in your contract -- that your horse was to be on almost-solitary turnout? If it was, and that 10 acre field was the only one available, then yes, I'd be upset. But if it was not clear, I can understand the BO wanting to make more money from that large field.

In my experience, with my small boarding barn (4 boarders now, 2 of my own horses) I've found alpha horses tend to beat up on the others, not get beat up on themselves.

I suppose if you want to move him, you'll have to specify what kind of turnout arrangement he will have. Also, give him a week or so to settle in, some horses can be stressed/not happy when they first arrive at a new situation.

I don't know if that helps.

Nobody said he couldn't be turned out with other horses. But they put me in a situation that I had only one choice and if it didn't work, oh well. He has been out with other horses for years it just had to be done cautiously. They had a total disregard for teh fact that I had no other options...
He had split the herd and was so protective over what was his that he wouldn't leave them. So neither alpha was backing down..

I don't think you are being unrealistic. It was not in your horse's best interest to be moved out of his happy situation and be put in with the other herd. The BO took in the new horses and it seems like your horse's care got downgraded... to me, not cool. Even if your horse did well enough in the new set up, what about his untreated wound. dealbreaker for sure.

He will be OK for another move, with time he will relax again and be happy in the right situation.

So it seems that your concern (and rightly so) is with the level of care at the former retirement barn. In other words, they *could* move your horse, but if they did, they had to do it in a careful, slow way. And they didn't. And then, when he was injured they didn't properly care for his wound.

So -- the care there is not up to your standards. Good thing you moved.

In general, I'd say the lessons are not related to their level of boarder care, but perhaps there's more to it. If you really like the lessons, I'd stay.

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Originally Posted by ivy62

I moved my horse to be retired at a very nice farm. He was to be turned out in a big field, about 10 acres, with another horse that we specifically matched up. Then all of a sudden I get a phone call that the farm had received a call from someone looking for a field for 4 young horse a mixed group and they wanted them together. So my horse gets bumped from his field! and thrown in with a herd of older horses with a well established pecking order. My horse is a clear alpha..this was not going to work. My biggest problem was that I had no alternatives....
So, we moved them and it was not very pretty but it seemed they were working it out...I had to work the next 3 days but I got calls saying things were better..So I had hope..
I go to see my horse the next day and he has been bitten, kicked and had a bad gash on his left hind leg that needed attention..he was not weight bearing on it...He was fried in the brain and just not happy. he got home. looked around and totally relaxed. He has been his same bratty self as always...He was just not happy there..
Am I wrong to feel slighted? In addition to me being a boarder my daughter has been in their lesson program for over 2 years. we lesson lease a pony and take 2 lessons a week..Does she stay there or does she go too?
Then how do I move my horse again without him freaking out?

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well a few things...from a business standpoint is is pretty stupid to refuse the board of four just so the one can be accommodated unless you were willing to pay the money of the 4 ?? money is hard to come by these days for everyone and you had a nice cush situation for a while with him but that has passed...

second,some times alphas run into bigger alphas and get their butt whupped, until they back down, so unless the facility is too small for the horse to get away your boy should have backed up....if he had, peace would have reigned pretty quick

my personal opinion is that he has not suffered as much mental trauma as his owner has;) he's a horse, a herd animal,an adaptable creature...don't let this incident convince you to treat him like he's crippled somehow for the rest of his days...


finally,I don't think that your daughter is an element in the discussion really...if she is happy there why upset that apple cart cause your horse can't get along with his pasture mates?
me personally, I'd not put an animal over my children being happy

anyway just thinking out loud...
best
Tamara in TN

From the sound of it, I'd fault the BO for not doing a more cautious job of integrating him into the new group, and not addressing the resulting injuries.
Other than that, from her perspective, it would be hard to turn down 4 new boarders, especially in this economy.

I'm not sure why moving your horse in the future should result in his freaking out...

Seems there are really TWO issues;

One, your horse was moved without your knowledge prior?

Two, an injury was not attended to

Sigh.. boarding.. I hate it. In your case, two significant issues, for sure.. but, imho, there are significant issues at every single boarding barn. Different issues.. but issues, none the less. You just have to pick your poison.. what you can deal with.. what you can't... cause no place is going to do it the way you would. To the barn owner, it's a business.. and frankly, to some BO's.. no more..no less.

Yeah, the BO's decision to move your horse to bring in the 4 new horses is totally understandable. Frustrating for you, I'm sure, but she has to make money.

It does sound like she may not have handled the introduction all that well, or may not have caught his serious injury as quickly as she should have, but that's not really clear from the OP. But you're not boarding there anymore, so what's done is done, as upsetting as it was.

I also think that if your daughter likes the lesson program, you should have her continue. Kids get really attached to their ponies and instructors and riding buddies, and it doesn't seem very fair to move her because you are unhappy with their boarding arrangements.

And yeah, I doubt your horse is going to freak out when moving in the future. To me it sounds like you're very upset (which I do think you have a right to be...no matter who did what wrong, your horse is injured and that's always upsetting) and are probably projecting that a bit onto your horse.

Can't blame the BO for not turning away $$$ for 4 horses and a 10-acre field for 2 horses IS a luxury...however, the situation was not handled well by the BO. If indeed your calls were not returned in a TIMELY manner (did you leave three irate phone messages within a 2-hour window?) or your horse left injured for a long period of time (did the injury occur not long before you arrived?) then I'd take all my business elsewhere.

But, if the injury was fresh and a result of your guy not backing down and if the phone calls were eventually returned, I'd think twice about canceling the lessons for your daughter because even if your horse didn't get injured, I suspect you would still be miffed by your horse being displaced by "new" boarders (hence the title of this thread).

Here is the issue, I do not have a problem with him being turned out in a large group, I actually prefer it. he has been out with an average of 6 or 7 so that is not my problem..it is the way it was done. Call me spoiled but at my present barn the B/O is very on top of new horse environment..The problem was i had no options..if it didn't work I had to leave..I left 3 messages over a 2 hour period asking them to call me back that he needed to moved...I also asked them if they could combine him into an additional 4 geldings that only go out part of the day in the field he was already in. I never said he couldn't go out with anybody else but it had to be done carefully and if it didn;t work we had to have a plan...it didn't work and no plan...That is what upset me....The other thing is. chances these 4 horses will be there less then a year, we are looking at a long term thing with us, I would hope more care would have ben taken to see that we could find a situarion that worked..
As far as my daughter, she is upset to see her horsie hurt and she already said we can go somewhere else if we want to....I love the pony she is on and her instructor is a friend of mine.....
It was amazing that his attitude completely changed after he got home....and it wasn't me, it was him....

I don't get what your thread title has to do with the content. Who is paying more?

And the fact that you're saying he has 'come home' may indicate that it does have at least as much to do with you as it does him.

It was about the care of my horse being exchanged for the money coming into his field that he lost. Home is where he lived happily for 7 years... I am going to look at a new place this week and I will lay everything out in the contract. This place is a lot smaller so easier to watch and they sound better at interavtions of the new comers...So now they lost a potential long term boarder. if it had worked out he probably would have spent the rest of his life there; he is only 12..so figure the years and my daughter likes it there. It made to so nice for us...
I was very happy there until he got bitten, kicked and beat up and I never got a call and they never returned my calls..They felt so bad that I am not paying for any days we where there in Sept...

CosMonster- He was impossible to handle. He had split the herd and wouldn't leave them. I tried to walk him into the stall they have there and he would have no part of it, he wanted to watch over his new herd. He broke through the stall guard and refused to let the 2 he had acquired leave the shed. If another horse came near them he chased them away..His attention was impossible to get..I am not projecting this onto him. I really wanted it to work but I had my doubts. I gave then 12 hours before I made arrangements to bring him back. All, I wanted was a phone call and a plan. Is that to much to ask for?
When I went there I had 3 fields to choose from. I went over his needs and they didn't have a problem with it and nothing was ever mentioned about him moving. Yes, they could introduce other horses...never said it had to 2 in thatf oeld actually, I like more then that....Yes, I am not there any more but we will be moving again. My DH doesn't want me to but he needs to be out 24/7 to see if this will work...

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Originally Posted by ivy62

. Home is where he lived happily for 7 years...

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And you can't seem to let go of that.

How come he can't just stay at the place he's happily lived for 7 years? Am I missing something?

Ivy's profile says close to the Big Apple which I take as NYC. NO farm can afford to have 2 horses on 10 acres with land costing 50,000 an acre unless of course the boarder wants to pay 1000.00 a month for pasture/self care board.
I think Ivy should have offered to frac off a part of the pasture for her horse since it was her horse that needed the special care, not the others. It would not have cost that much and woud have made life easier all around. As for the bumps and cuts the horse got at the new place, that happens, they are horses. Horses need to find their pecking order and expect some issues for the first week or two, it shouldn't be surprising.

My reference to you projecting was specifically about the part where you were worrying about how to keep him from freaking out when you move him in the future. I'm sure he is stressed right now. Two moves very suddenly for a retired horse used to bumming around in the pasture will do that. But since things like that often become a self-fulfilling prophecy, I'm probably wrong anyway.

You guys miss the point, I never said he couldn;t have other friends. But They needed to be careful who they introduce and if it didn't work I needed a plan..He has been turned out with many others for a long time in both the places I have had him over the years and have never had a horse act so herd bound and protective over his buddies.
Have you guys ever had a truly unhappy horse? My present B/O said he looked awful, not just cuts and scrapes but mentally engulfed by his new herd antics.
When we first moved I was thrilled but I guess my expectations are different then everyone else's..
Sorry I posted this.
I though I was protecting my friend and family member..
Forget it.. :-(

To me that would fall under unacceptable care. It seems (from the version written up here) that in an effort to make things smooth and happy for the new boarders (both human and horse), they completely forego the comfort and safety of the present boarders (not just ivy and the horse, but all of the other boarders/horses that were in the new field). There should definately have been alternative arrangements made if the first move didn't work out. And the move should probably have been conducted in a very different manner. It sounds as if he was just turned out into an established 'herd', rather than an introduction one horse at a time.

I think you have every right to be upset about what happened and how it was (mis)handled.

If you still feel comfortable at the barn/your daughter being at the barn, I see no reason to move her. Maybe put some feelers out if you wanted to try to find something else. But definately not a priority move.

Edited to add : I don't think that the situation (not fitting into the herd) would be reason to just leave at all. But the barns apparent unwillingness to work with you (either a new turnout situation, a different introduction to the herd, etc...) would be a sufficient reason to leave. Especially if you did in fact ask about other options and they weren't willing to discuss any.