Barn staff and boarders?

I manage a stud, and we often have visiting mares here for stud service.

Obviously, I give them full care as if they were my own. For example, one mare we have here right now has horrible sweet-itch. She gets two special creams daily that need to me massaged into the affected areas, flyspray, and constant blanketing. She also has her hooves picked twice daily, fed twice daily, sprayed with insecticide once weekly, wormed, trimmed...etc. I also supervise the vet visits (ultra-sounds) and handle all the actual stud serving.

I literally do everything for the horses. The only contact I get from the owners is over the phone or e-mail.

If this were a riding board, it would be a lot different. Everything I do is for at the owners cost, so there's no limit to what I'd do for them. It's not really being 'used' if you're being paid for it!! And since the owners aren't really in the picture, I get to do it all MY way. I don't have any nosy owners coming around and telling me I'm handling their horses wrong.

My way, or you pay me more to do it your way. Good motto, eh?

That is what a boarding contract is for. It should spell out exactly what is expected of the barn and of the boarder. It can range from renting a barn where you even have to do the repair work to full service where you call before you leave home and the horse is handed to you already saddled.

If it is not in the contract you can often get additional services - remove/put on blankets for example - for an extra fee.

There are some very pushy people in this world who will expect a lot more service than they pay for and reward that service with a surly attitude and bad manners. It is up to the staff/manager/owner to have a policy for dealing with these people already worked out ahead of time.

Sme of these people are very wealthy but stingy and need careful handling. That is why the boarding contract (with a fee schedule for additional services) and careful record keeping come in handy. Handing them a bill for additional services and having them leave in a huff may be your only recourse but can also be dangerous to your reputation.

Okay, I expect staff to:

Be friendly and helpful at all times

Work hard (it's okay to have breaks, but if you're sitting around drinking coffee all the time, then there's a problem)

Take good care of my horse (if in full or part livery)

That's all I can think of. I don't have a horse yet, so obviously I don't board, but I'm getting one soon, and I would definitely want the staff to do all of the above.

1. maintenance to keep things clean and safe (and keep arenas groomed, etc)

2. feed quality food

I'm not staff. But if I ran a barn, I would simply adhere to the two simple rules above.

If the place is kept clean and safe for horse and rider, and the feed is quality, what else is there?

Lots of barns add extras (like holding a horse for the farrier, etc) but they charge for those extras.

Some will nickle and dime the boarders with trailer fees. that's annoying.

You should expect the staff to do what the barn manager said they would do and what you pay them for. If I was staff I would do what the boss expected me to do and what ever extra I took money to do. Yes their is definitely a line that is easily and often crossed by boarders.

For full board I expect my horse's stall to be 'skipped' or just poo & dirty shavings removed 2x a day, completely mucked with new shavings 1x a day, blanketed and booted for her small group turnout, fed 2x a day, as well as get her hay. I expect my blankets and boots to be not roughly handled by the staff, and placed directly on the blanket bar from her back. I expect them to notify me if my horse is lame/sick/injured, and for them to even notice in the first place.

Most importantly, I expect her to be cared for with respect and understanding. She has her crazy 'special' moments, and for that reason I do not want to see her being hit by the staff. It is best to ignore her in those situations. I do not want new staff who don't know anything about horses to handle her, lest she injure them, and they do something to her.

Just to feed my horse and check up on her when I cannot get to the barn. If i'm at the barn that day, I have no problem taking care of my horse myself.

I personally just excpect the staff to make sure nothing happens to my horse. I like to clean his stall and everything else himself because it gives us more time to bond!:)