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What would you do? - BO upset about dust

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  • #1

    What would you do? - BO upset about dust

    Last Tuesday I was reunited with a horse I hadn't seen in almost 20 years. He arrived from Arizona where he hadn't eaten grass in 4 years, so I had to put him in a stall in a very nice 3-stall barn located on property where I keep two horses in a front pasture. My vet had explained that I had to slowly re-introduce him to grazing starting out with just one hour a day, and gradually increasing his time outside during a 2-week period until he could stay out 24 hours.

    The BO or property owner had said it would be all right for him to stay in the stall once I had explained that he had to be reintroduced to grass gradually, but I could tell he wasn't "wild' about the idea. He had told his wife that he was worried about dust getting on his 4-wheeler and riding mower.

    I went out and bought 5 bags of shavings to put in the stall. I bought a very large tarp that I placed around the stall except for the last 2 feet high up in the rafters. I have been misting the shavings 2X daily.

    Because of the heat, I have been leaving the top half of the outside door to his stall open during the day. This is a Morton barn, and really, unless you put padlocks on all the stall doors, the barn can be entered easily whether or not the outside stall doors are closed or not.

    Anyway, today the wife called me at work to ask if she could close the stall door because she was leaving for the city and her husband-- who is out of town for the week- had said he was worried about the barn being open when she wasn't home.

    I told her that with the temps in the 80s, I would prefer that she not close the stall door because of the heat. Then she saed, wll you really need to get him out of the barn anyway because of the dust he's causing on my husband's stuff.

    My question, has anyone re-introduced a horse to grass quickly-- going from one hour a day to 24 hours a day without a gradual increase in hours? If so, was the horse okay or did it have colic or other serious health problems.

    I'm afraid if I don't move him out of the barn, I may be told they no longer want me to rent their front pasture either. The property is less than a half mile from my house, and I'd hate to lose it-- BUT I don't want to risk harming my special horse either. What would you do?
    Tags: None
  • #2
    My question is why isn't the equipment tarped instead of the horse's stall? Seriously, that's messed up!

    Besides, if they don't want horses in the barn or dust on their fancy equipment, why the heck did they BUY all that stuff?

    My lawn tractor's in the barn with the horses. It gets dusty. Hasn't hurt it yet!

    I want to know how he uses his equipment, and doesn't get it dusty and dirty. They both sound like a couple of loonies....

    Maybe you need to move somewhere a little farther out, where people actually understand that farms and dirt are synonymous!
    Homeopathy claims water can cure you since it once held medicine. That's like saying you can get sustenance from an empty plate because it once held food.

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    • #3
      I would not rush the horse out on grass. He MAY be fine, but it wouldn't be worth the risk to me. Considering how long it takes to recover from founder and the lifelong effects if often has, it is too risky.
      Does he have a fan? Could you tarp the guy's stuff?
      "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man" -Winston Churchill

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      • #4
        He had told his wife that he was worried about dust getting on his 4-wheeler and riding mower.
        It's a barn. Not a garage. Where things get dusty anyway, but ...

        That said, it's his barn. If the concern is more for equipment than horses and they want to subject a horse to heat & possible colic to save their precious equipment from being dusty, then I think I'd be looking for another place to board since it doesn't seem like this is their prime directive.
        Delicious strawberry flavored death!

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        • #5
          You could try a grazing muzzle. It would definitely slow him down and he couldn't get huge mouthfuls of grass. Just a thought.

          I agree about them being loonies, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Would the BO be totally against you tarping his "stuff"?

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by EponaRoan View Post
            That said, it's his barn. If the concern is more for equipment than horses and they want to subject a horse to heat & possible colic to save their precious equipment from being dusty, then I think I'd be looking for another place to board since it doesn't seem like this is their prime directive.
            +1
            "smile a lot can let us ride happy,it is good thing"

            My CANTER blog.

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            • #7
              This site may help you figure out what will work:

              http://www.safergrass.org/

              It talks about when grass is lower or higher in sugar content, and various strategies you can use to lessen risk.

              What about turning him out with a grazing muzzle? That might be enough to keep him from eating too much grass at a time.

              His breed matters, too. If he is a TB or other lean breed, there is probably less risk than if he is a shetland pony or QH.

              Going slowly lessens your risk. Going faster might work, but it might not.
              If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

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              • #8
                So it has been a week now, and he is out 7 - 10 hours per day? Once they are out that long, they are pretty used to the grass, but what is another few days?

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                • Original Poster
                  #9
                  Thanks for advice-- His stuff is tarped-- and the tarps now have dust on them. I had tarped off the stall as an extra goodwill gesture.

                  But none of this addresses the "new" concern about the barn being "open" when they are not home.

                  Though I did tell them I was bringing chain and locks to lock the inside stall doors shut so no one could gain access through the stalls where I have the outside upper doors open. But of course, anyone who wanted to get at their precious motorized equipment could still open the unpadlocked closed outside doors of the third stall -- where he has stored his firewood, chain saw and log splitter.

                  I have other pastures and run-in sheds on my property, and I am going to order two farm gates to turn one of my sheds into a "barn" stall of sorts, but this will take a couple of days and hiring a man to put the gates in for me. I had never had to accomodate a horse that couldn't eat grass.

                  No, my horse does not have a fan in his stall-- a fan would cause dust -- but the weather has been in the 70s until today.

                  The wife also told me today that they have decided to sell their property and move back closer to town -- so I will probably lose that pasture anyway-- eventually -- though at their asking price, I think they might have some trouble getting a quick sale.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    someone please find me a BO that isn't a loonie!

                    every one of 'em. kookie as the day is long ...

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Could you make a small outdoor paddock for him with temporary posts and electric tape? He would probably graze it down in a matter of hours. Otherwise bringing him home is probably your best bet as you have planned.
                      Things Take Time

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                      • #12
                        As a 40+ year veteran of boarding out on everything from backyards to fancy schmanzty to one that was a front for drug runners...they sort of Left that part out of the welcome speech...you need to get out of there.

                        Even before I read they are going to sell the place-or so they say-all the signs are there that the honeymoon is over and these people don't really want livestock on their property.

                        The theories about time to reintroduce to free choice grass are not your biggest problem here...the fact they can't stand dust on the tarps, don't want the barn door open in the heat and don't want to let you have a fan in the stall in what I presume is a deep South state where they need one is going to be the biggest problem.

                        That problem is going to get worse and they are going to be on you even more every time because they really don't want you there.

                        I can empathize...I once had a couple I rented a 2 stall barn for object to me running the hose from their backyard to the barn-even tho that was the only way to get them water. That morphed into not wanting me parking in the driveway or the street in front of their house, no lights in the evening and on and on.

                        IMO the end is near...and do you really want real estate agents poking around all the cupboards and storage areas, looking in every nook and cranny of the barn with their clients???
                        I wouldn't.

                        Sell or not, I think the hint has been dropped and you need to move. Once this starts, it never gets better, trust me on that one.
                        When opportunity knocks it's wearing overalls and looks like work.

                        The horse world. Two people. Three opinions.

                        Comment

                        • Original Poster
                          #13
                          Originally posted by poltroon View Post
                          This site may help you figure out what will work:

                          http://www.safergrass.org/

                          His breed matters, too. If he is a TB or other lean breed, there is probably less risk than if he is a shetland pony or QH.

                          Going slowly lessens your risk. Going faster might work, but it might not.
                          Thanks for this info. He is a 20 year old Tennessee Walking Horse. He has been on grass hay free choice, with just a 1/2 pound of alfalfa pellets 2X daily since he arrived.

                          He has been out only one hour per day until yesterday, when he was out for two hours. So far-- no sign of colic, but his stool was very soft.

                          I called the local farmers' co-op to get a grazing halter which someone suggested, but they will have to order one and it will not get here until Saturday.

                          Called the vet, and she said to try him at three hours out today.

                          Oh, BO's wife called back to say that husband noticed that horses in pasture had leaned against the fence along the drive, and now it is leaning out--- T-posts and 4 strands of barbless wire. She wanted to know how quickly I could get that fixed. Now, I'm beginning to think that they just want to quit renting to me in general because they want to sell property.

                          Well, they probably don't need rent I pay, but I also keep up all their perimeter fencing on their 5 acres -- not just the front pasture of 4 acres -and I keep the front pasture clipped and harrowed. Hubby's riding mower is going to get a lot more than just dusty if he has to do all the upkeep on the whole place.

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                          • #14
                            Sound to me as if you've bent waaaaaay over backwards, lot's further than I would have.
                            His stuff is tarped and even if it wasn't dust wouldn't hurt it.
                            I wouldn't worry anymore about it while I was looking for a new place. This doesn't sound like a place I would last one day.
                            You know why cowboys don't like Appaloosas?" - Answer: Because to train a horse, you have to be smarter than it is.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Ah...it has started to escalate. Go back and read what I posted just above at the same time you posted this last one.
                              When opportunity knocks it's wearing overalls and looks like work.

                              The horse world. Two people. Three opinions.

                              Comment

                              • #16
                                Now, I'm beginning to think that they just want to quit renting to me in general because they want to sell property.
                                B-I-N-G-O!
                                Delicious strawberry flavored death!

                                Comment

                                • #17
                                  If you have pasture at home I would move him ASAP, set up a quickie paddock and mow the bejabbers out of it, then get him home before they evict you with no notice because the RE agent told them to "declutter". Honestly, why do people buy in the country if they can't stand dust?
                                  Courageous Weenie Eventer Wannabe
                                  Incredible Invisible

                                  Comment

                                  • #18
                                    You have pasture at home and you still lease pasture from these looney toons? Run, Run away. Putting up temporary gates on a run in is easy... just put two screw eyes in the posts and tie the gate to them. Done. Easy to remove too.

                                    Comment

                                    • #19
                                      I agree with others....They are telling you to leave without coming right out and saying it..... I have been in your shoes and their reasoning for anything regarding you and your horses will become more and more weird...Count on it....

                                      You seem to be better off than most in that you do have your own property....Get it ready as soon as possible and move them home if you can..

                                      Good luck..
                                      Crayola Posse: Mulberry

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                                      • Original Poster
                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by fourmares View Post
                                        You have pasture at home and you still lease pasture from these looney toons? Run, Run away. Putting up temporary gates on a run in is easy... just put two screw eyes in the posts and tie the gate to them. Done. Easy to remove too.
                                        Great idea! I guess I was just so surprised by the call that I freaked! I have been so worried about my horse, and his acclimating from Arizona to Louisiana that when I got this call --it just floored me. I was off all week and at the barn for hours everyday-- and they said nothing-- except that he did put a lot of his "stuff" in the barn Sunday.

                                        Yes, I have pasture at home, but rent as well-- I have the need for more pasture than I own. Plus, that Morton barn -- it's just so pretty! It has three stalls, a concrete aisle and a wash rack with hot and cold water!!!

                                        But now I can't use the aisle or wash rack any longer because BO decided to move a "project" car, jet ski, lawn mower and 4-wheeler into the barn Sunday.

                                        Then today, even though they said the horse was fine where he was, I got that call at work about the dust and the open window! At work-- when I can't do anything about the "problem." I teach so I can't just "drop" everything to respond to her concerns in the middle of the day.

                                        Meanwhile, some of my students have come forward to help me with offers of barn space, pen panels, etc.

                                        Fourmares, ReSomething, EponaRoan, and findelight -- you-- being more distant from the "forest" were much more quick to see the "trees" than I was.

                                        This is a small town, and very rural so, now that I'm over the shock, I realize that I have more resources than I thought at first. I will just move him. Then I will straighten the fence, mow and harrow the pasture for the last time, and forget about that pasture. They are asking $300,000 for five acres, the barn and a rather common looking "faux" Acadian 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with stained concrete floors, fireplace and stainless appliances-- but not even real stone or faux stone countertops-- it has granite design formica!!! At this rate, I hope they enjoy handling all the up-keep on their property for the year or so it will take to sell.

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