This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi All and Happy Fjording-
Boarding woe seems to be the story of my horse life. Guess that's what I get for living in the Bay Area CA :-/ As some of you may recall, my first boarding facility was a nightmare. Gorgeous 120 acres with barns, paddocks, pastures, two arenas ... and an insane owner. She did things like not showing up in the morning till 11AM (horses standing in waste and not fed or watered), going home early at 3PM (leaving the metal barn shut tight on an 80 degree day). She had a bad reputation among farriers and vets for not paying bills. Oh, and did I mention she came on to all her male staff members? LOL. Facility #2 was heaven. I was referred by my farrier to a small, family owned cattle ranch. Between stalls, paddocks and pasture they boarded 15-20 horses. Nice big pasture, decent arena, trails just down the road. The best part, however, was the people. They had decades of experience with livestock and facility management. Care was tops -- I never had to worry about anything. Unfortunately, they retired and moved, selling the place to some city folks... Situation #3. Same place, different people. They moved to the country to "have privacy" evicting all the boarders, a family renting a mobile home, and the Mexican steward who had lived in the barn apartment for 15 years. I got a referral to a facility in Woodside and was all set to move, then it fell through. I explained the situation to the new owners, who assured me I could stay for several months until I found a suitable place. A few months turned into almost a year. It was "interesting" boarding with city folks. First they decided that hot-wire is "cruel, and the kids might get electrocuted" so they removed it, leaving 3 Fjords enclosed by rusty barbed wire. Didn't take the Fjords long to realize this, and "rearrange" the fence in grass-is-always-greener efforts. This led to complaints, and my suggestion (again) of hot-wire which was not well received. Their young boys, ages 3 and 5, run wild. They swing on the tie rail while I'm grooming a horse, stick their arms and legs through the arena fence while I'm lunging, and play with loud toys while I'm doing the "stand still for mounting exercise." I gently corrected them each time and explained what they should not do and why. Good boys, they listened and learned, but I think their parents were not thrilled. They expressed concern that this is the boys' home and they should be able to do whatever they want. OK... Then there's the dogs, two puppies who seemed to like nothing better than to dash into the arena while I was riding and nip at my horse's nose. I'd stop, dismount, and ask someone to please make sure the pets stay out of the arena. This was met with disapproving looks, and more often than not the kids would let the dogs out again 10 minutes later. Mind you, during this time I was paying full board and doing my best to be unobtrusive and polite. I kept the owners updated on my search for a new facility, to which they always replied, "No hurry, stay as long as you like. We won't need to use that pasture till summer." As far as I could tell, they really meant it. They even expressed interest in buying a Fjord. Two days ago, things sort of came to a head. The wife informed me that my horses would have to move into a paddock because they had destroyed the fence. I said that was fine, and explained why all 3 could not go into the same paddock ;-/ She said a guy was coming out to build a "really sturdy" fence of wood, no hot wire of course. I said that horses would walk right through any wood, as would bulls (what they intend to put in the pasture after I leave). Yesterday when I arrived, I was met with sullen faces. I was then told that "this whole horse boarding thing isn't what we expected and we don't want to do it any more." Great. Thanks, after telling me two weeks ago to stay till summer! Argh. So now I need to find a place ASAP. I've been calling around, but everyone is full. List member Dagrun is scoping out the South Bay for me, and I've written Cindy Vallecillo regarding the North Peninsula. Ideas, referrals, and prayers welcome! Brigid M Wasson San Francisco Bay Area, CA <A HREF="http://ourfjords.freeservers.com/fjord1/Our_Fjordsx.html";>Our </A> <A HREF="http://ourfjords.freeservers.com/fjord1/Our_Fjordsx.html";>Fjords</A> / )__~ /L /L
