Do youaccept Boarders? (minis I mean)

[Bluerocket]

Just curious --- If someone approached you to board one or more minis at your place -- would you? and if so, how many would you consider boarding? and would it make a difference to you whether they were stallions, mares, geldings, weanlings etc..?

In the past few months 2 people have approached me about boarding one or more minis at our farm. The most recent request was for 1 stallion. I consulted my husband and we decided to say no to both requests.

He works 3rd shift - and I work 1st shift -- and we were concerned about people coming and going from our place with us not at home, or with him asleep (and we don't have any restroom facilities in the barn either

). Also - we have been cutting down on the number of minis we have -- thus have re-arranged the contents of the barn - filling the empty stalls with other stuff (hay, bedding, carts, etc..)

Problem for me is I feel GUILTY for not boarding those minis -- why?? Because when I relocated to KY - a wonderful family (now my cousins-in-law!!

_ ) accepted me and my minis (2 at first then a whole whole lot more of them) without knowing me at all. They were great -- and accepting - even though they were not really in the boarding business. If they had not taken "us" in -- I would have not had any place for them to live (a gelding and a dwarf mare) as I moved into an apartment. If I were not married now - I probably would have said yes to the one with only one mini (even though it was a stallion) --- but I do have to consider my husband's opinions and desires.

What do you do? and have you had calls?

JJay

 

[PaintedPromiseRanch]

we get requests all the time, minis and big ones... and our policy is, no. sorry but we have enough of our own and, like you, working outside the home, do not want people coming and going at all hours. i would feel bad limiting them access to their own horse, but i do not want people on the property when we are not home. we have a perimeter fence with a locked gate to protect our livestock, and a pack of dogs that run the property to discourage strangers from coming in... and i don't want the dogs to think it's ok for people to be coming in when we aren't home. not to mention liability... what if something happened to their horse, are they going to be coming after us even though we had nothing to do with it, just because the horse is on our property? nope, not gonna risk it...

we have made exceptions for friends on a temporary (short-term) basis but they were people we, and the dogs, already know, and we felt the situation warranted making the exception...

i understand that you feel bad because you were on the other side of the situation yourself, but you shouldn't. those people had the right to say no just as much as you do. and there are people who board for and have a facility designed for it, so it's not like you are the only option.

 

[Jill]

I have been asked but no, I would not do it. Regardess of the sex of the horse.

We have limited space, so that is a factor, but the biggest factors are:

• I like my privacy -- don't want people visiting when I'm maybe feeding the hoofed wonders in my PJ's, etc.
• We do not want the liability (emotional or financial) of being responsible for anyone else's animal
• As it is, we have plenty horses to take care of and just do not need to take on that responsiblity for one that is not ours

 

[Reble]

You could ask for a ridiculous price and they would say NO. OH!

and if they said yes, than sorry hubby money talks

Just joking and trying to make you feel less guilty.

We would not take borders, too much responsibility.

 

[Sterling]

We used to baord horses here. And I am only speaking for myself in this issue.

Reasons why we don't anymore:

Limited stall room

Outrageous liability insurance costs

Loss of privacy

Too much drama

I like my stables run a certain way....I am somewhat picky

Reasons why we enjoyed it:

Meet new people

Socialization

Gather new ideas

But that being said, would I do it again? No. Mainly because of the fact that altho I do have the acreage to have additional horses, I don't have the stall space. Plus the insurance costs for boarding are thru the roof. I do get people asking every once in a while about if we board.....and have to end up turning them away. But we do end up chatting and I try to help them if at all possible locate a good place to check out. Usually end up making a new acquaintance out of it.

 

[Shari]

I am not set up for it. Have friends ask me but with the predator base as high as it is and my son and DH doing the chores for now... I have to say no.

Do not want to be responsible for someone elses horse(s),, with my luck,, a cougar, bear or coyotes would get it, which would make me feel really bad and it would not be fair to DS & DH.

Along with others have said..you would really need to get insurance and in some places.. boarding insurance is not cheap.

 

[Mona]

JJay, don't feel guilty! If you were comfortably able to do so, you wouln't have hesitated. I personally would not do it either, because I like to keep my numbers where I feel they are manageable for myself. If I kept others horses, it would mean more work for me, and may mean taking away a horse I might personally want, that I might not have room for because of the boarder. As a breeder, I want to keep my options open. I also wouldn't want the responsibility of worrying about someone else's horse getting hurt while in my care. As safe and as cautious as we try to be, you never know when something will happen, and even if a contract was signed saying I would not be help responsible, I would still feel responsible, simply for the fact that it was in my care.

 

[minimule]

I have done it a couple of times but probably won't ever again. Like most have said the privacy thing is important.

The last time I "boarded" it became an issue. The person only came out once or twice a week but they were always telling me how I needed to be treating my horses. They are fairly new to horses and some of their ideas were a bit wacky (to say the least!). They also got access to my fenced yard which I didn't like. They couldn't back up with a trailer which almost caused some really big disasters. They would just pull into the yard and disconnect with no regard to what their trailer might be blocking of mine that I might need. It got old quick. I finally asked them to go.

This last time I boarded....the horse ended up staying here and is now mine. Long story I won't go into. Not a bad experience and the previous owners were great and very helpful but now I have a horse I really don't need.

 

[Alex]

The main reason id say NO!!!: Even if I had the space: I am extremley picky, and orderly. Those people would be outta my barn in a flash if they heard from me. Not to mention im a little selfish...

 

[Farmhand]

[SIZE=14pt]NO[/SIZE] for many of the reasons mentioned. One of the biggest reasons liability, just ask your insurance agent.

 

[Marty]

No, No, No, and absolutely not.

I do my own thing my own way and nobody is coming on my place to interupt me and my schedule and how I do things. I don't like anyone around intruding and coming in here day and night to play with their horsey on their schedule.

No amount of money would pay off for the extra insurance and general pain in the buttocks.

Besides, I'm like Jill....I wear very strange nightwear and usually feed in them and on any given day, marvelous things tend to hang out....from both ends

That being said, if there were an emergency I would make room temporarily if I had to help someone that was stuck.

 

[twister]

I would say no too, for a lot of the same reasons as others. I like my privacy and I only have enough stalls for my horses. We had to build another one so we could wean our filly from this year.

Yvonne

 

[Tatonkas Dream]

I am curious - not exactly the same but sort of, some one is interested in a mare I have for sale and wants to do payments. I am open to the payment part but don't want her leaving until the final payments made... I am not a boarding facility but would it be rude to limit her time to coming when I am around?

I lock up when I am not home and at night as a general deterant.

thoughts?

 

[Magic]

I am curious - not exactly the same but sort of, some one is interested in a mare I have for sale and wants to do payments. I am open to the payment part but don't want her leaving until the final payments made... I am not a boarding facility but would it be rude to limit her time to coming when I am around?

I lock up when I am not home and at night as a general deterant.

thoughts?

The best thing you can do, IMO, is ask your potential buyer if it would be ok with her to only come over when you are home. You can state it is for liability reasons, or whatever, but if she takes offense to it, then maybe she isn't the right buyer for your horse.

I don't accept boarders as a general rule, but I have helped out friends in the past, and actually have a horse that belongs to a friend staying here right now as well. If you don't want to board any horses, don't be afraid to say so! It's your place, and your life.

Added-- you could give the people some names and phone numbers of others that may have ideas of where they can board, to help allieviate the guilty feelings.

 

[wildoak]

Your barn, your place - your choice as to whether or not to board. There are lots of concerns with boarding already stated. I would never want to have a large boarding operation, too much like living in a fish bowl.

When I rode more, I usually kept one or two boarders, and I have a couple now although I said I wouldn't again. I was always very lucky (and very picky) with my boarders, most ended up being friends as well. Both now are people who have bought horses from me and who live in town. The boarding part kind of came with the purchase, as it was the only way they could have a horse. One boarded her big horse with me years ago, so I knew I could trust her. She always helps out when she is here, is very conscientious and horse savvy. The others are new to horses but are very helpful and willing to pitch in with almost anything. All have become friends. The upside of having boarders - good boarders - is that you have someone to help out if you have to be away, you have another pair of eyes just looking after things, and someone else to hang out with in the barn.

Lots more fun driving when all of us are out here than it is alone.

Jan

 

[Denise]

Nope nope and nope.

They only way I'd keep someone elses horse is if a friend needed to keep one here for a short while. Other than that I would not do it due to loss of privacy, possible injury and then trying to pass the livestock guard dogs, now that could be entertainment in itself.

 

[eagles ring farm]

we used to board 16 full size horses and now we are down to just one

as we have used our room for our minis and allthough we have some

empty stalls and room we are not advertising or trying to get boarders

as my husband would be stuck with too much big horse stall cleaning

and he has ruematoid (sp?) arthritis the minis are easier. we do have a field with a lean too we would field board in but again not wanting to buy more hay for the winter and our

farm is for sale so can't promise a long term home for a boarder.

But we would consider it depending on the horse

good points

we enjoyed all the people around, and they really enjoyed our facilities

 

[StarRidgeAcres]

Well, I guess we're in the minority here. Maybe we're just naive!

We have both minis as boarders and a human boarder. The human helps with the minis!

Seriously, we have 6 horses on the property that don't belong to us. 3 belong to a lady who is just getting into minis and is looking for a place with land, but still currently lives in suburbia. We're very comfortable with her and her daughters (grown) and we've given them very specific rules and we plan to stick to them. For instance, they only come in via the barn which means there are 3 gates/doors that must be opened so it reduces the chance of one or more minis making a run for it! Also, we've been successful with introducing her to our LGD and our dog is able to distinguish between Barbara and strangers. And her horses have to follow our schedule for worming, trimming, vaccinations, etc. So far, it's working out.

The other 3 horses (2 ponies, 1 mini) belong to the young man who lives in our house. He doesn't pay any board (for himself or the horses) but he does a lot of chores around the place and he is a very experienced mini person (moreso than we are!) so he's been very helpful with setting up our barn, keeping our trailers in good shape, fixing fences, etc.

But...will I do things differently next time? Yes. If I board more horses in the future, I will charge more for it and I will know that there are many ancilliary (sp?) things that I will charge for. Like giving daily meds, having to be here for vet visits for the boarded horses, taking pictures for sale/registration/etc. No stallions will be welcome and if a horse has an attitude problem, it will have to leave.

One of our boarders is a weanling colt and I did put in the boarding contract that he will either have to be gelded or sold by the time he is either weaned or starts to show an interest in the ladies!! We like gelded little boys, not bossy little stallions!

So, that's my experience. It's not for everyone and it DOES reduce your privacy!

 

[MiniHGal]

Boarding is just not for everyone.

I know that at home, we would probably not be ok with boarding horses unless we had previously known the people and their habits and their horses. We might take a horse for a friend that will be out of town long term, as that just means the horse is out in a paddock and we do whatever (no people problems).

I am very fortunate in that I found a place to board my mare during the school year up here. The owners are both vets, they have a large area open to do whatever in (so I can drive), no arena unfortunately, but there are some in the area. There are 16 other horses on the place all sizes, so she is hardly worth mentioning in the feed bill. I work off her board by feeding/cleaning/chores 3 x a week, so I don't have to pay anything and they get help. I will be moving another horse up here next year, and she will be in the same pen and be fed the same. I will clean/feed 4x a week in return for having both up there.

I am the only boarder, so we work everything out on an individual basis. I am so happy I found them to board with!

 

[hahler]

Im with Denise on this one

if the owner can get past the guard dogs they have a good chance

my livestock guard dogs are trained to stay in the pasture with the horses or the barn when the weather gets bad and they only listen to me drives dan nuts sometimes lol

i wont board cause of what was already stated

but will take in to train cause that is us working with the animal not a sudden visitor

dawn