Sometimes you've just got to vent?

What the hell is a 16 year old doing in charge of a large yard like that? Where the blazes are her PARENTS, for Pete's sake? If I were you, pal, I would go ahead and get your horse seen to by your own professionals ( vet, dentist, farrier,etc.) and make it clear that you are ONLY going to pay board for last month and this month. Then I would have a chat with this girl's parents and give notice that if anything else of this type happens, or if your tack gets used without your permission, you are going to move your horse to another yard. Then be prepared to FOLLOW THROUGH. This is totally unacceptable- there is no excuse for your horse's feet to be "neglected" because the yard owner's yuppy teeniebopper daughter can't remember to have the farrier look at them. Likewise, you need to start locking your tack and brushes UP when you aren't using them- indeed, you should have been doing THAT all along. If you had been, this business with other people using and losing your stuff would never have become the issue that it has. The mare's getting "cast" in the stall is another sign of REALLY POOR MANAGEMENT on the part of the owners of that place. Properly bedded stalls with banked walls will PREVENT this problem, and the owners KNOW this, or at least they should. If they are so strapped for cash that they can't even hire decent help to keep their stalls bedded correctly, then what are they even doing in the business, I wonder? It doesn't matter that the owner is doing foal watch night after night on her mares- that's NOT YOUR PROBLEM. You have a right to expect that your horse will be cared for properly, and not be put in a situation where she will get injured and lame, no matter HOW TIRED the barn owner is. Proud flesh is more than unsightly- it's also an indication of infection. By letting her nappy daughter run the yard, the owner has put your horse's health and safety at risk, along with that of all the other horses in the yard. In your shoes, I would get my horse out of there ASAP.

I wouldn't mind them slagging you, a few jibes here and there are better than searching all over for tack or replacing anything that has been damaged.

As for farriers/vets/dentists, you're just as well to have you own out - however while failing to call a farrier for over 3 months is really not on - in some yards calling the farrier is left up to livery themselves as is making sure that the feet are kept trimmed. It could be argued that you should have had the farrier out a long time ago anyway, rather than relying on the yard owners to call them..

See how things go, if they don't improve then look elsewhere.

Also about the mare getting cast. This can be common in stables that have little bedding and no banks. So if they are in anyway mean where bedding is concerned then that could have been the reason.

I understand exactly what you're going through - the same thing has happened to me. Parts of my bridle would be missing, his boots were no where to be found, they would use some sharp-ringed cavesson on him, they wouldn't put his over reach boots on when necessary, they rode him whenever they wanted to and they INJURED him multiple times. I gradually treated them like crap more and more every time I went, I just couldn't handle it.

But just today we moved my horse to a new barn where I know him and I both will be happier. If I were you, I would move to another barn also that provides the proper care your horse needs (actually getting the farrier out on time and calling the vet when needed), and a small one where it's impossible to lose your tack. Good luck though, hope things get better. x

If you as me you should leave the yard and find a different place. People shouldn't be touching your stuff without asking you. I'd get really annoyed if I found my tack had been played about with or used on other horses. You have a lot of patience to stay there but I would of left ages ago.

I would have raised hell after my stuff had been used. I know you said you don't care, and I don't mind when people need to borrow something. However, I do like getting a text asking if they can use it and after they use it I want it adjusted back to how it was and where and how they found it. I have never borrowed someones stuff without asking - Unless it was a friend of mine I usually just borrow a halter from her trailer if I forget my tack room key. She doesn't mind as long as I put it back. I understand your frustration with things being used & taken. I have lost lots of grooming supplies over the past year only to find them in the lesson horse grooming box. Which is extremely frustrating because they are all dirty and used now and I don't want to be grooming my horses with other horses brushes! I recently had a bridle stolen from my barn. Really pissed me off because no one has fessed up about it and it still hasn't showed up after 2 months of being gone. The headstall itself wasn't expensive, but the bit was expensive and hard to find. My tack is locked up 24/7.

As for the girl taking her out on a hack, I would have been livid. My horses aren't to be taken out by anyone but me unless given permission. I do have one friend who boards at my barn who is welcome to take out my horses whenever he wants. I trust him completely, and he would never take my horses on a ride if they weren't in condition to do so.

I would move my horses, to a place where things aren't used without permission, and my horse is taken care of.

it's a good thing your not me.. i tend to be overly protective of my horse and tack. let me tell you, if i came one day looking for something, and realized someone had taken something that belongs to me WITHOUT asking and WITHOUT putting it back.. it would be all i could do to keep from punching the bleached teeth out of their face. They have no right to do that!

I would get the vet/farrier out and have a look at your mare and fix her up. I don't know what the people at your yard are thinking.. if they walked around treating me like trash.. i would open up a can of you-know-what on them. Maybe i'm overreacting.. but i am VERY protective of my horse.

You mess with my horse, you mess with me.

Im still not understanding why you are still there? If i had that many problems with other riders, barn owners, ect, then i would have been long gone by now. They obviously do not respect you if they are going against your wishes, and leaving your tack lying every where. Not to mention the fact that your horses hooves are dangerously long. Which also makes me wonder, why are you still riding her with her feet in such bad condition?

if leaving the barn isn't an option, the only recommendation I have is to stand up for yourself. I mean, I have no doubt that you can speak for yourself but it seems like you're letting them walk all over you and you don't ever express your concerns! You gotta let em know. If that doesn't work, I think you're gonna have to be the "freak" who locks her stuff up. At this barn it sounds like that would make you the "genius" who locks her stuff up.

I'd be wanting to vent, too, if I were you. Specifically, I couldn't stand it when anyone messed with my tack, or didn't put things back where they belonged. Don't have that problem anymore.

i understand you needing to vent i would have left a long time ago and gone and found another barn but that's just me if you want to borrow ask me please don't just take and put it back and hope i don't notice