Often times, when you get a boarder in, they carry on about how a self-care board situation is simply they paying you to rent the space. And that THEY will be responsible for the horses care. And yes, most of the time, that is truly what it is. But, on the other hand, you can get those one or two people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk.
That my friends, is where the issues begin. You come out to the barn each morning only to find for another day, their horse is still in the stall, and not turned out. Plus, they stall reeks and the horse is stretching their neck out of the stall to get away from the horrible stench. They are out of hay and water, but most of the time, its just that the stall isn't clean. Lets not hope the worst. :)
Anyways, you call them up and they say, :Oh yah. Im sorry I forgot to call, my son had to go to the dentist. I will be out there as soon as I can. But can you please turn them out, give them hay, feed them, clean the stall, and hold them for the farrier while Im gone?" and of course, my mom being the kind that is polite before anything else, says sure! So, she takes over that day, and thinks that they will come back tomorrow. What I want to say to that is "Excuse me? You could have called, and Im pretty sure your sons dental appointment would not take all day. You can come out later today and pick his stall and do all that. If you want your horse to live a happy, comfortable life, you would think of his needs just like you think of your sons. Do I look like a doormat? I will absolutely not handle people walking all over me. So get your butt over here ASAP and get your horse taken care of lady!" but instead, I just smile and wave. Because coming from a kid, that's rude. (I have a short fuse for people who don't care about their horses on repeat.)
How we now deal with those type of people is that we CHARGE them. $25 for cleaning the stall, $10 for hay and water, $10 for turning them out, $30 for holding them for the farrier, and $15 for feeding them. In total, $90 that she will add to her bill on the end of the month. AND, its in her contract now that they will pay us for taking care of her horses. So she has to re-compensate us.
That my friends, is where the issues begin. You come out to the barn each morning only to find for another day, their horse is still in the stall, and not turned out. Plus, they stall reeks and the horse is stretching their neck out of the stall to get away from the horrible stench. They are out of hay and water, but most of the time, its just that the stall isn't clean. Lets not hope the worst. :)
Anyways, you call them up and they say, :Oh yah. Im sorry I forgot to call, my son had to go to the dentist. I will be out there as soon as I can. But can you please turn them out, give them hay, feed them, clean the stall, and hold them for the farrier while Im gone?" and of course, my mom being the kind that is polite before anything else, says sure! So, she takes over that day, and thinks that they will come back tomorrow. What I want to say to that is "Excuse me? You could have called, and Im pretty sure your sons dental appointment would not take all day. You can come out later today and pick his stall and do all that. If you want your horse to live a happy, comfortable life, you would think of his needs just like you think of your sons. Do I look like a doormat? I will absolutely not handle people walking all over me. So get your butt over here ASAP and get your horse taken care of lady!" but instead, I just smile and wave. Because coming from a kid, that's rude. (I have a short fuse for people who don't care about their horses on repeat.)
How we now deal with those type of people is that we CHARGE them. $25 for cleaning the stall, $10 for hay and water, $10 for turning them out, $30 for holding them for the farrier, and $15 for feeding them. In total, $90 that she will add to her bill on the end of the month. AND, its in her contract now that they will pay us for taking care of her horses. So she has to re-compensate us.
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