Horse Around Acres

In writing this article, I tried to stay objective.  There are things to which this article refers that Horse Around Acres either doesn't do or doesn't offer.  When reading this article, consider that it is written by a horse boarding stable owner and read it with an interest for information, but not as encyclopedic.

How to Choose a Boarding Stable

Introduction
Evaluate Yourself
Board or Keep at Home?
Keep at a Local Farm?
How to Find a Stable
Evaluate the Barn Owner/Manager
Evaluate the Facilities
     Safety
          Barn
          Pasture
          Other
     Health
          Feed
          Hay Quality
          Dust
          Water
          Salt
          Turnout
          Fly Control
          Blanketing
     Enjoyment
     Other Services
Additional Reading
 

Picking a stable to board your horse can be a difficult process.  The cost, of course, is very high on the list of priorities for most people.  But the cheapest barn isn't always the best barn for you and your horse.  Location is another important factor.  If it's so far away from your home or work that you'll never go, why have a horse?  Typically, the further away you are from a large population area the less the cost of board will be and the more trails you're likely to have available.  If you have a trailer and your horse loads and travels well, you have the possibility of trailering to many local horse parks.  But these trails are high use, can be muddy and sometimes even crowded.  You'll spend additional time hooking up a trailer and driving to the location and will expose yourself and your horse to the chance of an accident on the road.

Here are some things to consider:

Evaluate Yourself

This can be one of the most difficult things to do.  How can you know what you don't know?  The interesting thing about horse ownership is that the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.  If you haven't owned a horse for a large part of your life and consider yourself an expert, you're probably not.  If you've done a lot of reading and researching, that's very good but if you haven't read several different views on many different opinions, you have more research to do.  We've all heard the adage, "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing."  And all the reading in the world is no substitute for experience; some things you just have to learn by doing.

Ask yourself, can you ride your horse confidently in an indoor ring and on the trails?  Do you know what hazards you should watch for on the trail?  Does your horse always do what you ask (go in the direction you want, stop, slow or pick up the pace when you ask)?  If your horse doesn't, do you know why and how to fix it?  Are you able to determine if your tack items fit?  An ill-fitted saddle can be as uncomfortable for your horse as wearing shoes that are too small would be for you.  Are you comfortable walking into a pasture with a lot of other horses to get your own?  If you answered "no" to any of these questions, look for a barn that gives riding lessons and offers training.  Taking lessons can lead to a long, rewarding relationship with your horse.

Board or Keep at Home?

If you are fortunate to own enough acreage in an area where zoning does not prohibit keeping a horse, you may be considering keeping your horse at home.  Again, evaluate yourself and add the following questions:  Would I recognize the early signs of colic?  Laminitis?  Do I know how to prevent these conditions?  Both are serious health concerns that can be caused by something as seemingly simple as improper feeding practices.  Do I know what routine care my horse would need; i.e., farrier, shots, worming, dental care?  If I can't feed my horse one day due to work schedules or vacations, would I be able to find a knowledgeable person to fill in for me?  Be aware that many nonhorse people don't know the dangers of overfeeding or moldy hay or would be able to recognize the signs of an emergency condition.  If my horse needs emergency surgical treatment, do I have a way to transport her?  Do I have a place to ride?  Am I self-motivated enough to always ride by myself?  Will I have enough time to care for my horse AND ride?  Do I have or am I prepared to build the proper housing?  Fencing?  Do I have a place to dispose of manure?

Keep at a Local Farm?

Cattle's digestive systems are different than horses'.  What may be acceptable to feed cattle can result in disaster if fed to a horse.  If you pick a cattle farm to board your horse, make sure the farmer is aware of the differences and use the same guidelines below to determine if it is a safe place to keep your horse.

How to Find a Stable

Look in your local yellow pages and newspapers.  Stop at feed stores and tack shops and look for postings on bulletin boards.  Ask feed store and tack shop owners if they know of a place.  Go to any local horse shows you may be able to find and ask around.  Search the Internet.  Some good sites are www.horseboarding.com and www.polocenter.com.  On these sites you can search by state.  Be sure to visit the facility and view their web site if one is available.  Try to visit all barns at the same time of year.  During Spring and Fall pastures will likely have more mud, and August is typically a  drought season so pastures will look weaker.  Look at the other horses.  Do they look healthy?

Evaluate the Barn Owner/Manager

This person may or may not have a degree.  Find out how long they have been in business.  Ask for references.  There are many horse "experts" out there giving advice, some of it not good.  A lot of horse people are genuinely interested in helping others and sharing their knowledge.  When you get advice, take it with a kind heart, but do your research.  Be wary of someone who intimidates you into believing they are an expert.  They could still be knowledgeable, so consider what they say, but don't jump to make changes.  Again, do your research.

Evaluate the Facilities

Safety

Barn
Are there obstructions in the aisle or stalls?  Horses are notorious for finding things on which to get injured.  Look at stall latches.  Are they positioned in such a way that a horse could get caught on one?  Look at stall walls.  Are they substantial?  A horse's kick can easily puncture thin or weak wood.  Is there any place where a horse could get a foot caught?  Where is the feed stored?  Would a horse be able to get to the feed unattended?  A large sudden increase in feed consumption can lead to colic and laminitis (also referred to as "founder").  Is there a safe place to groom your horse?  Is there a fire prevention policy; i.e., fire extinguishers inspected yearly.  Is the hay stored in the barn where your horse will be kept?  One of the major causes of fire in a barn is from hay baled too soon.  How close is the barn to roads?  If your horse escapes, what are the chances he/she will end up on a road and get hit by a car?

Pasture
What do the pastures look like?  Are they clear or do they contain hazards such as farm equipment, downed branches, etc.?  What materials are used in constructing the fences?  Many insurers refuse to provide insurance to stables that have barbed wire or single-strand electric wire for their fences due to the higher incidence of injury.  Are the fences maintained?

Other
Does the barn have a policy regarding halters?  An old statistic stated that in the United States one horse every six minutes dies of a halter-related accident.

Health

Feed
Is the feed a commercial or home mix?  Is there a guaranteed analysis?  The importance of proper feed content can be evidenced by the fact that selling feed is regulated.  If it's a home mix, did the person mixing it take into consideration the calcium/phosphorus ratio (important for bone health)?  What are the protein levels?  More is not necessarily better.  Were vitamins and minerals added?  Were they in the proper amounts?  Too much of some minerals or vitamins can actually be toxic.

How are the horses fed?  Can they be pushed out?  Group feeding isn't necessarily bad, but additional attention must be given to make sure all horses get their fair share of food.  A slow eater can begin gulping his food for fear of losing it, a harmful vice that often stays even after the threat is removed.  How often are they fed?  Smaller amounts fed more frequently are more easily processed by the horse's digestive system.

Hay Quality
Look at the hay.  Look for a lot of dust which can lead to respiratory problems.  Be aware that the quality of hay can change each year and the best quality hay may not always be available.  Yearly weather conditions play a major role in the quality of hay.  Was there a drought?  Was there a particularly long wet season which prohibited baling the hay until it was past its optimum time?  In any event, mold is never acceptable.  Do they feed round bales?  Round bales are often viewed as unhealthy for horses, but that's not necessarily true.  A round bale, if stored out of the weather, can be the same quality as square bales.

Dust
Dust can be a major assault on a horse's respiratory system and can aggravate or even cause COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), also referred to as "heaves."  As mentioned above, look at the quality of hay, but also look for where the hay is stored.  If it's stored in the same building that houses the horses, it can be a major source of dust.  Stalls located in the same building as an indoor ring without a sealed divider can be subject to large amounts of dust.

Water
Is it clean and always available?  Is it heated in winter?  One of the major causes of colic in the winter is from horses not drinking water because it's too cold or frozen.

Salt
Is salt always available?  Both regular and mineral?  It's a necessary nutrient in a horse's diet.

Turnout
Horses love a good roll in the mud and the mud does a lot to keeping their skin and coats healthy.  Does the barn offer turnout?  Is there an extra charge for it?  Is it private or group?  Horses turned out in a group will get nicked up.  When they play with each other they bite and kick.  In all likelihood, the injuries will be minor but there is always a possibility they won't be.  Consider the social needs of a horse.  They are a herd animal by nature and need like companionship.  Strong evidence of this can be seen in horses turned out alone when they are not accustomed to it.  They can get quite frantic and the possibility for injuring themselves is high.

Horses also do a fair amount of training to each other.  There will be a pecking order.  If your horse is not the "boss" horse, he/she will learn to accept dominance (something that will help you in your training).  If you decide you want private turnout, expect to pay more.  Some barns don't offer turnout at all.  This will place a larger demand on you.  You will need to visit the barn every day and your horse will have a lot of pent up energy you will have to address.  Also, horses kept in stalls full time are more likely to develop boredom-related vices such as cribbing, weaving, and stall kicking. Once these vices are established, they can be difficult if not impossible to eliminate.

Fly Control
What does the barn do to control flies?  Flies can be very annoying to horses and can cause eye problems.  Inappropriate management of manure can increase the fly population.

Blanketing
What is the barn's policy on blanketing?  It's been said that horse blankets do more for the owner than they do for the horse.  Will they apply and remove the blanket for you or will you need to do that yourself?  Be aware that a sudden rise in temperature can cause a horse to sweat beneath the blanket and cause him to be wet when the temperatures drop again.  Blankets can rub also.  They can also defeat the horse's natural protection of "loft."  When horses are cold, their hair will stand up more (provide loft), keeping the warmer air against the skin.

Enjoyment

What type of riding do you do?  Do you do mostly ring work or trail riding?  Even if you do more of one than the other, the other can still be important.  An indoor ring can allow you to ride or work with your horse during rain, cold, high winds, and evenings during the short winter days.  An indoor ring has the advantage over outdoor rings of consistent footing.  Even if the weather and lighting are good for riding, the outdoor ring may be unusable due to deep mud.  Trails can be excellent for conditioning, reducing boredom for you and your horse.  How long are the trails?  One hundred acres can be covered quite quickly on horseback.  The same trails over and over can get boring. Having an abundance of trails available at the barn where you board would mean less time trailering, hooking it up and road time and a decrease in chance of road accidents.

If the barn offers lessons, are you limited to using the indoor ring only when lessons are not being given?

If the barn offers rentals, be aware that your horse may be exposed to a lot of inexperienced people.

Are you free to choose your own style of riding?  Barns can be oriented to a particular style of riding.  If the barn is predominantly barrel racers, would they allow you to set up jumps?  Is the equipment you need for your style of riding available (barrels, jumps)?

What are the other boarders like?  Having someone to ride with can be a major encouragement to ride and increases the chances of survival should you have an accident on the trail.  Does the barn encourage a supportive environment?  Talk to the other boarders if you can.  But be aware that one unpleasant person does not necessarily mean it would be an unpleasant environment.  You may not be able to evaluate the atmosphere until you've boarded there awhile.  Are there a lot of children?  Are they always supervised?

Other Services

Does your barn arrange for farrier and routine veterinary visits or do you have to do that yourself?  How about an equine dentist?  Do they have a regular worming schedule?

Having the right place to keep your horse can result in many years of enjoyment.

Additional Reading

Trailer Safety - Rutgers Horse Trailer Maintenance and Trailering Safety

Horse Parks and Trails - Horse & Mule Trail Guide - USA or Horse Trail Directory

General Information on Horse Care - Wikipedia - Horse Care.  Also contain information on barns, fencing, acreage needed.

Regulations on Commercial Feed - Pennsylvania Commercial Feed Law

Nutrition for the Horse - University of Kentucky, "Nutrition of the Performance Horse"; Louisiana State University, Equine Health Studies Program, "Equine Nutrition for Health and Happiness"

Boredom-Related Vices - Stable Vices, Cribbing

Heaves - Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - written by Dr. H.G.G. Townsend, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan

Digestion - Cattle vs. Horses - Hygain's "The Horse's Digestive System"

A major cause of premature death in equines - Colic

There is a truism often repeated in horse circles - "No Hoof, No Horse" Laminitis (founder)

Virginia Cooperative Extension - "Hay Fire Prevention and Control"

Excess protein - "Alfalfa for Distance Horses" by Susan Evans Garlinghouse, DVM, MSc

Calcium/Phosphorus Ratio - "Understanding the Calcium/Phosphorus Ratio" by Susan Evans Garlinghouse, DVM, MSc; "Calcium and the Performance Horse" by Alliance Nutrition Equine

Blanketing - Cherry Hill's "To Blanket or Not to Blanket"